THUNDER BAY – The Superior International Junior Hockey League, in conjunction with the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Canadian Junior Hockey League announced Monday that Fort Frances, Ont., and the Fort Frances Lakers (SIJHL) has been named the host of the 2020 Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Jr. A Championship.
The five-day event will run April 28 through May 2 at Ice for Kids Arena.
This will mark the third time that Fort Frances has hosted the Dudley-Hewitt Cup.
It was first held there back in 2003 and more recently in 2015 where they set numerous attendance records with near-capacity crowds throughout.
“We at the SIJHL congratulate the Fort Frances Lakers on being selected to host this prestigious Jr. A hockey event” offered league commissioner Bryan Graham.
“The entire Lakers organization and the town of Fort Frances did a tremendous job hosting the Dudley-Hewitt Cup back if 2015 where the game action and attendance figures were second to none,” added Graham. “We look forward to much the same in 2020 back in the Fort.”
“We would also like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to CJHL president Brent Ladds for his efforts in the selection process as well as our partners in the NOJHL and OJHL, especially NOJHL commissioner Robert Mazzuca and OJHL commissioner Marty Savoy, for their significant involvement and contributions.”
The four-team event will feature the respective champions of the SIJHL, NOJHL and OJHL along with the host Lakers competing for a berth in the 2020 Canadian Jr. A Championship, this May, in Portage la Prairie, Man.
As an organization, the Lakers are looking forward to hosting the Dudley-Hewitt Cup once again.
“We are honoured to be selected to host the 2020 Dudley-Hewitt Cup and thank the selection committee for this opportunity,” stated Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan. “Our organization is excited and we are taking the necessary steps to get this prestigious event organized,” said Strachan.
“We have an initial template to follow from hosting in 2015 and hope the Rainy River District, and our fans, will be behind us again to make it another successful championship held in Fort Frances,” summarized the Strachan, the winningest coach in SIJHL history, who himself won a Dudley-Hewitt Cup as a player back in the early 1990s.
Should Fort Frances win the SIJHL’s Bill Salonen Cup title, then the league finalist will also compete in the DHC.
Further information on the 2020 Dudley-Hewitt Cup, including host committee news, sponsorship opportunities and ticket packages will be released in the coming weeks.