Niagara Icedogs 2024-25 Season, Part II
- Thread starter SoupNazi
- Start date
I really was busy dammit. Was that a jinx?
How many times do I need to say; yeah you got me there, I did not foresee Romani losing L1 & PP1 duties to a broken collarbone
Dogs Enthusiast
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Robertson has been sensational and also had a sure goal saved by the refs when they blew the whistle early on a loose puck.
Very entertaining run-and-gun hockey so far. You guys have a talented offensive team.
Dogs Enthusiast
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Sure was. Very weird game, with the Soo having at least twice as many chances, but horrendous puck luck. It was frustrating from our perspective, but from a Niagara fan perspective, you just take the lucky bounces and move on. Good road win.
I hope you guys do well going forward, one of the more fun teams I've seen this year.
Dogs Enthusiast
Registered User
Too late!!!
We are on a win streak. Go Dogs!!
Happy to see the shots against were more into the normal range. Happy to see Robertson have a decent game. Happy to see that He is back to racking up points.
The Dogs are full of confidence and playing very well together.
We are on a win streak. Go Dogs!!
Happy to see the shots against were more into the normal range. Happy to see Robertson have a decent game. Happy to see that He is back to racking up points.
The Dogs are full of confidence and playing very well together.
knowescape
Made you look
As an official member of the naysayers, I usually start most conversations with how much I enjoy the players we have this year. It has been fun to watch from my livingroom or the occasional free ticket gift. I have no quarrel with the boys on the ice.
That said, this is a discussion forum and what do you discuss after a winning game? Shots on net, D too far forward, a F line that fails to collapse and protect the house?
After that, it become a lot of "good game" and there is an entire Facebook group dedicated towards that. If you want volume of posts after a win, head there and wave pom-poms until your arms fall off.
Meanwhile, like in life, bad news sells. If I published a headline stating "Everything is Fine", no one would buy the paper. If I said something controversial like "IceDogs Slide After Trade Deadline" lots of opinions would follow.
So, @Countyview don't think for a second a win offends me. I cheer every goal we get. Enjoy those wins while they last!
Dogs Enthusiast
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At what point are you going to start financially supporting the team that is playing very well and entertains you?
Serious question.
Its ok to admit that you are wrong, or partly wrong. The IceDogs clearly are on the better side of some trades and had some excellent drafts. As much as DDD may have screwed things up, he has had some luck and success. Credit when credit is due.
We are obviously going to have a playoff run and we are likely going to have the home team advantage in the first round. That would be a good time to buy some tickets, some beer, some popcorn and maybe the playoff t-shirt!
Much more than decent. A large proportion of shots for both teams in this game were of the breakaway or alone in front variety. I thought he was brilliant.
What is more important to you. Supporting the team this season or the long term future of the team?
Do you honestly think the IceDogs can compete year after year with only 5 scouts, without a proper GM, without drafting US players, and without going all in for the import draft. There are even strong rumours that they have made unfavourable trades to reduce scholarship costs. The IceDogs I believe have the lowest budget in the OHL. No other OHL teams operates like the IceDogs.
The last 2 seasons have been the WORST seasons in IceDogs history. Now that they are having some success, you aspect fans to come running back. Maybe you’re fine with the IceDogs being the low budget team of the OHL. I’m not okay with that.
Answer me this. What is the plan for the IceDogs. Are they going for it this year? Is next year their year? Are we all in for 26-27? No one knows because DD doesn’t tell the fans anything. We have never had an owner or GM who communicates so little with the fans. Yet you expect fans to still give DD their money?
It’s not a secret that DD is interested in selling the team due to the low attendance. Wouldn’t a better plan be to continue to stay away from the arena and force DD to sell? Do you not agree that a new owner who will run the team properly would be the best solution?
First of all I don’t think the two choices are mutually exclusive. Supporting the team in the near term may be the best way to ensure the long term future of the team. Secondly, who cares what the budget of the team is if it plays good, exciting hockey. You only cheer for the Yankees and Dodgers? Finally, if I’m a potential purchaser, why would I if there are no bums in the seats when they win? Obviously the community can’t support a winning team!
Most of you use the crutch ‘it’s the rotten owner’ without ever having been in his shoes. Is it only run properly when it’s run the way you want? Is there room for improvement…absolutely…but c’mon guys stop with the whining.
Dogs Enthusiast
Registered User
I am there for the hockey mostly. Also the entertainment and a night out.
I am not there to make friends with the owner or management. So I don't care much about what they are saying.
Its been like 5 years (or more) since we had such a good team. People are missing out IMO.
You just don’t get it do you? DD took a team that was averaging 4800 a game. There was no need for him to cut the budget back. But he did in an attempt to make more money and the team was horrible for 2 years. Now fans have stopped coming and they are only averaging 3200 a game. So whose fault is that. It’s fully the owners fault. He has literally ran the franchise into the ground.
Secondly, do you not realize the team will struggle most season if they don’t have the same budget as the other teams.
Look, the owner has done a horrible job the first 2 seasons and has treated the fans bad. Maybe you have no problem with that and will always be there to support DD no matter how bad things get. That’s fine. But don’t blame the fans for having a little more self respect. For me, if a business treats me bad, I don’t spend my money there.
So when DD came in the first season and had an all rookie coaching staff and wouldn’t spend money on the players like the other teams do, do you think he thought he could get away with this and still be as competitive as the other teams. When he fired foregrounds and the in game host and had a bare bones in game experience, do you think he thought it would still be just as fun for the fans.
He knew the cut backs would hurt the competitiveness of the team and reduce the fan’s enjoyment of the game. But he thought the fans will still come out no matter what. So he thought he could reduce expenses and it wouldn’t affect revenue, thereby making more money. He was taking advantage of the loyal IceDogs fans.
But the fans fought back and said you aren’t taking advantage of us like that. We aren’t buying tickets anymore.
Maybe things have improved a little this season but I am not jumping back in. What he did was awful and I need to see a lot more before I trust DD.
Dogs Enthusiast
Registered User
I definitely feel I am getting my moneys worth this season. I truly hope it continues like that. I said on the old board that if we had another last place season I would consider cutting back on what I spend there and probably drop my seats. Just because it was no fun to be there when there was so little to cheer for.
I am not a fan of the cost cutting measures. I am still a fan of the team.
I am not a fan of the cost cutting measures. I am still a fan of the team.
It wasn’t just about cut-backs. DD had plenty of help creating that mess. He bought what was a model franchise built by the previous owners before their kids turned it into ashes. In addition to that some imo petty agents wannabe owners/GMs conspired to ruin the owner that seemed arrogant for naming himself GM.
Things were going very poorly for the franchise until DD found an agent with talented clients to work with. The product on the ice at least, looks pretty good now.
I would disagree with you on that. The last year the Burkes owned the team, they had the youngest team in the OHL yet had a better record than either of DD’s first 2 seasons.
But still finished last overall, and forfeited the team's first round pick; ouch!
I think the Burkes were excellent owners until handing over the reins to the kids.
Agreed I wanted them to stick around if we knew the boys wouldn’t come back after the suspension
