Red Lake Miners
| Red Lake Miners | |
|---|---|
| File:ER Miners.jpg | |
| City | Red Lake, Ontario, Canada |
| League | Superior International Junior Hockey League |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Home arena | Cochenour Arena |
| Colours | Black, yellow, and white |
| General manager | Geoff Walker[1] (2019–20) |
| Head coach | Geoff Walker (2019–20) |
| Franchise history | |
| 2013–2018 | English River Miners |
| 2018–present | Red Lake Miners |
The Red Lake Miners are a Canadian junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Red Lake, Ontario. The Miners play in Hockey Canada's Superior International Junior Hockey League.
History
In May 2013, the SIJHL announced that the Ear Falls Eagles would be joining the league for the 2013–14 season.[2] Weeks later, it was announced that the team would instead be called the English River Miners to better represent the entire community.[3]
On September 20, 2013, the Miners played the first game in their franchise's history in Dryden, Ontario, against the Dryden Ice Dogs. The Miners lost 4–2 after giving up two last minute goals, one of which was on an empty net. Nathan Johnson scored the first goal in team history 6:06 into the first period.[4] Greg Harney played the first game in net, making 32 saves. On October 10, 2013, the Miners picked up their first franchise victory, on home ice, defeating the Wisconsin Wilderness by a score of 3–1.[5] Devan Vander Wyk scored the eventual game-winning goal 3:47 into the third period, while Holden Melgoza made 29 saves for the victory.[6]
After finishing last in the SIJHL in their second season, Derek Sweet-Coulter was named head coach for Miners in 2015.[7] One season later, the English River Miners moved to Red Lake, Ontario, with the Cochenour Arena as their home ice. In August 2018, the team rebranded as the Red Lake Miners.[8][9] Sweet-Coulter led the Miners for four seasons before leaving to coach for the Merritt Centennials of the British Columbia Hockey League after winning the SIJHL Coach of the Year in 2019.[10][11]
Former professional hockey player Geoff Walker was then hired as general manager and head coach for the 2019–20 season.[12] Walker came to Red Lake after one season leading the Hinton Wildcats in the Western States Hockey League to a 23–19–1–2 record in the team's only season.
Season-by-season records
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Results | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | 56 | 21 | 30 | 5 | 47 | 185 | 228 | 4th of 6 | Won quarterfinals, 2–4 (Ice Dogs) Lost semifinals, 0–4 (Lakers) |
| 2014–15 | 56 | 10 | 41 | 5 | 25 | 159 | 295 | 5th of 5 | Lost quarterfinals, 0–3 (North Stars) |
| 2015–16 | 56 | 12 | 37 | 7 | 31 | 144 | 239 | 5th of 5 | Won quarterfinals, 3–2 (Iron Rangers) Lost semifinals, 0–4 (Lakers) |
| 2016–17 | 56 | 31 | 21 | 4 | 66 | 220 | 197 | 3rd of 6 | Won semifinals 4–1 (North Stars) Lost league finals, 0–4 (Ice Dogs) |
| 2017–18 | 56 | 28 | 23 | 5 | 61 | 188 | 209 | 4th of 6 | Lost quarterfinals, 1–3 (Lakers) |
| 2018–19 | 56 | 38 | 15 | 3 | 79 | 278 | 193 | 2nd of 6 | Won semifinals, 4–1 (Norskies) Lost league finals, 1–4 (North Stars) |
| 2019–20 | 55 | 32 | 18 | 5 | 69 | 196 | 176 | 2nd of 6 | Season cancelled |
References
- ^ "MINERS HIRE NEW HEAD COACH/GM". Red Lake Miners. 16 June 2019.
- ^ "Ear Falls, Red Lake franchise joins SIJHL". TBNewswatch. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Ear Falls SIJHL team update". Kenora Online. 29 May 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "English River Miners at Dryden GM Ice Dogs". SIJHL. 20 September 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Wisconsin Wilderness at English River Miners". SIJHL. 10 October 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Miners hire new bench boss". KenoraOnline. May 25, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Introducing the SIJHL Red Lake Miners". Netnewsledger.com. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "SIJHL's English River Miners change team name". TBNewswatch. 9 August 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Former Red Lake coach heads west". 89.5 The Lake. 17 July 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Change in coaching staff for the Merritt Centennials". Merritt Herald. 16 October 2019.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Red Lake Miners hire hew Head Coach/GM". CKDR. June 18, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)