The Red Lake Miners are a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

junior 'A'

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 based in Red Lake, Ontario. The Miners play in

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

Superior International Junior Hockey League The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) is a junior A ice hockey league and a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada. The league operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of ...

History

In May 2013, the SIJHL announced that the Ear Falls Eagles would be joining the league for the 2013–14 season. Weeks later, it was announced that the team would instead be called the English River Miners to better represent the entire community. On September 20, 2013, the Miners played the first game in their franchise's history in

Dryden, Ontario Dryden, originally known as New Prospect, is the second-largest city in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located on Wabigoon Lake. It is the least populous community in Ontario incorporated as a city. The City of Dryden had a ...

, against the

Dryden Ice Dogs The Dryden Ice Dogs are a junior A ice hockey team from Dryden, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Superior International Junior Hockey League. History At 49° 47′ North, the Ice Dogs were the most northern junior A team in Ontario until ...

. 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. 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 The Wisconsin Wilderness were an American Junior ice hockey team based in Spooner, Wisconsin. The Wilderness played in the Canadian-based Superior International Junior Hockey League. History In the summer of 2012, Donnie Roberts sold the orig ...

by a score of 3–1. Devan Vander Wyk scored the eventual game-winning goal 3:47 into the third period, while Holden Melgoza made 29 saves for the victory. After finishing last in the SIJHL in their second season, Derek Sweet-Coulter was named head coach for Miners in 2015. 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. Sweet-Coulter led the Miners for four seasons before leaving to coach for the

Merritt Centennials The Merritt Centennials are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Merritt, British Columbia. They are members of the Interior Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). The franchise was established in Kamloops in 1961 and moved to ...

of the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams. From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Ca ...

after winning the SIJHL Coach of the Year in 2019. Former professional hockey player Geoff Walker was then hired as general manager and head coach for the 2019–20 season. Walker came to Red Lake after one season leading the Hinton Wildcats in the

Western States Hockey League The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 19 ...

to a 23–19–1–2 record in that team's only season.

Season-by-season records

References

External links

Red Lake MinersSuperior International Junior Hockey League
{{SIJHL Superior International Junior Hockey League teams Sport in Northern Ontario Ice hockey clubs established in 2013 2013 establishments in Ontario Red Lake, Ontario