OHL franchise move official

Long rumoured and expected, it is now official: beginning this coming season the Toronto St. Michael's Majors will move to Mississauga while the Ice Dogs formally relocate to the Niagara region, temporarily (at least) to be housed in St. Catherines:

Majors on the Move

Tuesday Jun 5, 2007

Toronto, Ont. (Tuesday, June 5, 2007) — It is now official; the St. Michael’s Majors are relocating to Mississauga for the upcoming season. This situation comes as a result of the transfer of the Mississauga IceDogs to the city of St. Catharines, which has been approved by the Ontario Hockey League’s Board of Governors.

The Majors will now be known as the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and will continue to possess a strong connection to St. Michael’s College School.

The Majors web site address (www.stmichaelsmajors.com) will not change. Stay tuned to that site as the team will be releasing their 2007-08 schedule in the near future, as well as ticket packages, community programs and the many exciting initiatives planned for the upcoming season.

We'll miss visiting the 1000-capacity St. Mike's Arena, as old-school an arena as you'll find anywhere.

2008 Memorial Cup to be hosted in... (plus: Ice Dogs movement....finally?)

The Kitchener Rangers have been awarded as host team for the 2008 Memorial Cup. I'm a little surprised Oshawa didn't get it, with a chance to fully showcase the incomparable John Tavares to the rest of the hockey world - who really knows how that bidding process goes.... Congrats to Kitchener - the Kitchener/Waterloo area is growing and a fun place to hang out - best of luck to the Rangers next season.

In the seemingly never-ending saga of the future home of the Mississauga Ice Dogs franchise, it finally looks as though they'll be moving down the QEW to St. Catharines for next season (although the arena is apparently not up-to-snuff).

OHL update - IceDogs to Niagara Falls?

"The Mississauga IceDogs junior A hockey team could call Niagara Falls their new home as early as this September, if the team’s owners and city council can make a deal to build a new 5,000-seat arena. "

full story from Niagara Falls Review in comments