The Bozeman Icedogs are a Tier III Junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

team located in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of ...

. The team is a member of the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New Yor ...

(NA3HL). The Icedogs play home games at the

Haynes Pavilion Haynes may refer to: People *Haynes (surname) Places In Australia: * Haynes, Western Australia In Canada: * Haynes, Alberta In the United Kingdom: *Haynes, Bedfordshire **Haynes Church End In the United States: *Haynes, Arkansas *Haynes, North D ...

located at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds.

History

Founded in 1996 by a

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

-based investment group, the Icedogs played in the Tier II Junior A American Frontier Hockey League (AFHL) from 1996 to 1998. The Icedogs were forced to play their entire first season on the road when the ownership team’s funding fell short with their rink only half-built. Despite the circumstances, which left them practicing at times outdoors and playing all ‘home’ games in

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would b ...

, the Icedogs, coached by David “Smoke” Cole and captained by Brad Michalski, earned a .500 record and a position in the AFHL playoffs. Forward Kevin Wesolek set a league record for single-season scoring as he captured 1996–97 Rookie of the Year honors. In the fall of 1997, the Icedogs moved into the brand new Valley Ice Garden, a state-of-the-art, 3,500-seat arena outside Bozeman. Bill Martel, owner of the Bozeman construction firm that had been building the facility, took over ownership of both the team and the arena, providing the

Gallatin Valley Gallatin County is located in the U.S. state of Montana. With its county seat in Bozeman, it is the second-most populous county in Montana, with a population of 118,960 in the 2020 Census. The county's prominent geographical features are th ...

with its first indoor

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

facility. The rink opened to the public with an open house on September 14, 1997. The Icedogs played their first game at the Valley Ice Garden on September 30, 1997, a 6-4 victory over the Butte Irish in front of a sellout crowd with Wesolek scoring the team’s first goal. The Icedogs went on to record sixteen- and seven-game unbeaten streaks while selling out nearly every game en route to a second-place finish in the AFHL. Bozeman fell to in-state rival Billings Bulls in six games in the Borne Cup Finals, but earned a berth in the Gold Cup National Championship Tournament, where they were eliminated in the first round of round robin play. Wesolek finished second in the AFHL in scoring and set a league record for career scoring, with 198 points over two seasons. In 1998, the AFHL changed its name to the

America West Hockey League The America West Hockey League (AWHL) was a Tier II Junior A ice hockey league. The AWHL was formed in 1992 to offer junior ice hockey to the Rocky Mountain region of USA Hockey. It originally was called the American Frontier Hockey League (AFHL), ...

(AWHL). The 1998–99 season brought less success for the Icedogs, who struggled throughout, and finished in last place in the AWHL, missing the playoffs for the first time. Forward Jimmy Sokol finished second in the league in scoring while linemate Jason Deitsch led the league in points-per-game. During the 1999–2000 season, Cole was fired and replaced with assistant coach Dale “Duner” Hladun. The team failed to improve under Hladun, who was forced to leave the team due to visa issues and replaced by assistant coach Darren Blue. The Icedogs missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. In March 2000, the Bozeman Icedogs hired John LaFontaine, brother of

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

great

Pat LaFontaine Patrick Michael LaFontaine (born February 22, 1965) is an American former ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and spent his entire playing career with the league's New York State-based teams. LaFontaine played for t ...

, as head coach and director of hockey operations. LaFontaine immediately turned the program around, leading the Icedogs to a .500 record and playoff appearance in his first season as coach. In 2003, the America West Hockey League merged with the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternat ...

(NAHL) and the Icedogs began playing in the Tier II NAHL. In the 2005–06 season, goaltender Matt Dalton led the NAHL in saves percentage, setting NAHL records for goals against average and saves percentage. Forward Josh Heidinger led the league in scoring was voted the NAHL’s top forward. After defeating the Fairbanks (Alaska) Ice Dogs for their second Borne Cup title, the Icedogs fell to the Texas Tornado in the final game of the national championship Robertson Cup tournament in May 2006. Later in May 2006, the

Helena Bighorns The Helena Bighorns are a Junior A ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) based in Helena, Montana United States. The team plays their home games at the 1,600-seat Helena Ice Arena. The Bighorns were members of the Nor ...

and Billings Bulls joined the

Northern Pacific Hockey League The Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) was an American Tier III junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. Its championship trophy was the Cascade Cup. History Established in 2000 as the NorPac Junior Hockey League, the league was ...

(NorPac). The Valley Ice Garden was sold to a beer distributor and the Tier II Icedogs were dissolved. However, the Icedogs would also join the Tier III Junior B NorPac when the Bozeman Blackhawks took on the Icedogs moniker and began play in Bozeman’s Haynes Pavilion. In 2007, the NorPac was promoted from Tier III Junior B to Junior A. In 2011, the Icedogs joined the other eastern teams of the NorPac and created a new

American West Hockey League The American West Hockey League (AWHL) was an American Tier III Junior ice hockey league based in Montana and Wyoming. The league was a member of USA Hockey and was founded in 2011. The AWHL merged into the NA3HL in March 2014. History The AW ...

made up of teams in Montana and Wyoming. In March 2014, the new AWHL joined the

(NA3HL) as the Frontier Division in the 2014–15 season. The Icedogs were sold after the 2012–13 season to a local couple Alec and Kate Nisbet. The Icedogs and the entire league moved from the AWHL and joined the NA3HL after the 2013–14 season and became the Frontier Division.

Previous leagues

*1996–1998 American Frontier Hockey League *1998–2003

*2003–2006

*2006–2011

*2011–2014

*2014–present

Season-by-season records

Notable Icedogs alumni

The Icedogs have had a number of alumni move on to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

Division I, Division III, and higher levels of junior ice hockey, and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

ice hockey, including: * Ryan Carrigan (1996–1999) –

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

(

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

) 2000–2002;

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. Appro ...

(

) 2002–2005; Rockford IceHogs (UHL) 2005–2007; Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (CHL) 2007–2008 * Jason Deitsch (1998–1999) – 2006 UHL Rookie of the Year, assistant captain of Cincinnati Cyclones *

Thomas Hajek Thomas Hajek (born February 6, 1978, in Bratislava, Slovakia) is a Slovak- Canadian lacrosse player from St. Catharines, Ontario, who plays for the Philadelphia Wings in the National Lacrosse League. He played Junior lacrosse for the St. Cat ...

(1996–1998) – All-star and team captain of the

Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014), a founding member of the National Lacrosse ...

of the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...

* Matt Dalton (2005-2006) – NAHL MVP (2006)
Boston Bruins (2009-2010)
Olympian for South Korea (2018)

References

External links

Official Ice Dogs Website

Official League (NA3HL) Website
{{NAHL Ice hockey teams in Montana Sports in Bozeman, Montana 1996 establishments in Montana American West Hockey League teams Defunct North American Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1996