The Niagara IceDogs are preparing for an important weekend as they face-off against two Central Division rivals in three extremely important games.

The IceDogs will be the first host in a home-and-home weekend with the Brampton Battalion, beginning Thursday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m.  The last time Brampton visited Niagara on February 18, the ‘Dogs emerged victorious in a 4-3 come from behind thriller. Brampton currently is comfortably in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and has been hot as of late, having won three straight games this past weekend.  The season series between the IceDogs and Battalion is currently tied at 2-2, with the IceDogs having taken the last two meetings.  The games between these Central Division rivals always seem to be intense and Thursday’s game figures to be no different, with the IceDogs looking to pick up a win to help make gains in their playoff push.

Steve Ludzik will also be in attendance at Thursday’s game, where he will be dropping the puck for the ceremonial opening faceoff, in addition to having a table set up in the concourse where he will be selling and signing copies of his new book “Been There, Done That” throughout the game.

The next game will take place on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. as the IceDogs play host to the Sudbury Wolves, who are one point ahead of the IceDogs for 7th place in the Eastern Conference, with Sudbury sitting at 52 points, to Niagara’s 51 points. The Wolves won the previous time the two teams met in Sudbury on February 19th, and Niagara will look to avenge the loss and pick up two points as they look to move into 7th place.   The IceDogs will also be looking to even the season series, as Sudbury comes into the game leading the series 3-2.  This game could certainly be one of the most important games of the season and will go a long way in determining playoff positioning.

Saturday’s game will see a special anthem performance by Michael Wainwright.  The St. Catharines musician was born in England before moving here as a young boy.  He has had his music featured in the movie “Moving McAllister” and his CD “Wainwright” was released on Town Records in early 2008.  In addition, Michael will soon be leaving to open for Tears for Fears on their upcoming tour.  Michael is also a part of local Beatles tribute band, The Caverners.

The weekend concludes Sunday afternoon in Brampton, with the puck drop set for 2:00 p.m.  This will be the last meeting between the two rivals this season. The IceDogs are 1-1 while visiting Brampton at the Powerade Centre, and as mentioned earlier, the season series is even at 2-2 thus far.   This figures to be another exciting matchup and the IceDogs will certainly be hoping to gain some energy from what is often solid fan support in Brampton from the Niagara fans who make the trip down the QEW.

Tickets for both Thursday and Saturday’s games are still available and can be purchased at any IceDogs ticketing location. For more information, please contact the IceDogs office at 905-687- DOG1 (3641).

- Jeff Blay, Media Relations