Red Lake Miners


Red Lake Miners
CityRed Lake
LeagueSIJHL
Founded2013 (2013)
Home arenaCochenour Arena
Colours  Canary yellow
  Black
General managerBilly Keane
Head coachBilly Keane
Websiteredlakeminers.com
Franchise history
2013–2018English River Miners
2018–presentRed Lake Miners

The Red Lake Miners are a Junior ice hockey team in the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) based in Red Lake, Ontario.

History

In May 2013, the SIJHL announced that the Ear Falls Eagles would be joining the league for the 2013–14 season.[1] Weeks later, it was announced that the team would instead be called the English River Miners to better represent the entire community.[2]

On September 20, 2013, the Miners played the first game in their franchise's history in Dryden, Ontario, against the Dryden Ice Dogs. 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.[3] 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 by a score of 3–1.[4] Devan Vander Wyk scored the eventual game-winning goal 3:47 into the third period, while Holden Melgoza made 29 saves for the victory.[5]

After finishing last in the SIJHL in their second season, Derek Sweet-Coulter was named head coach for Miners in 2015.[6] 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.[7][8] Sweet-Coulter led the Miners for four seasons before leaving to coach for the Merritt Centennials of the British Columbia Hockey League after winning the SIJHL Coach of the Year in 2019.[9][10]

Former professional hockey player Geoff Walker was then hired as general manager and head coach for the 2019–20 season.[11] Walker came to Red Lake after one season leading the Hinton Wildcats in the Western States Hockey League to a 23–19–1–2 record in that team's only season.

The Red Lake Miners were set to host the Dudley Hewitt Cup, a playoff round between the OJHL, NOJHL and the SIJHL to determine the Central Canada representative to the Centennial Cup (Canadian Jr A Championships). However, the Centennial Cup revised the format so the nine leagues champions plus the host City advance. This gives Red Lake a spot in the National Championships.

Statistics
Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA PIM Season Postseason
2013–14 56 26 30 0 0 0 47 185 228 4th place Won quarterfinal against Dryden (4:2)
Lost semifinal against Fort Frances (4:0)
2014–15 56 10 41 0 5 0 25 159 295 5th place Lost quarterfinal against Thunder Bay (3:0)
2015–16 56 12 37 0 3 4 31 144 239 5th place Won quarterfinal against Minnesota (3:2)
Lost semifinal against Fort Frances (4:0)
2016–17 56 31 21 0 1 3 66 220 197 3rd place Won semifinal against Thunder Bay (4:1)
Lost final against Dryden (4:0)
2017–18 56 28 23 0 1 4 61 188 209 4th place Lost quarterfinal against Fort Frances (3:1)
2018–19 56 38 15 0 3 0 79 278 193 2nd place Won semifinal against Thief River Falls (4:1)
Lost final against Thunder Bay (4:1)
2019–20 55 32 18 0 3 2 69 196 176 2nd place Playoffs cancelled
2020–21 4 1 2 0 1 0 3 13 16 Season cancelled Playoffs cancelled
2021–22 37 28 6 0 2 1 59 210 112 2nd place Won semifinal against Dryden (4:2)
Won league final against Kam River (4:2)
2022–23 52 22 25 0 3 2 51 168 188 5th place Lost quarterfinal against Thunder Bay (4:1)
2023–24 49 29 18 0 2 0 60 213 137 5th place Won quarterfinals against Dryden (4:1)
Lost semifinal against Kam River (4:0)
2024–25 50 22 21 2 5 0 51 159 171 5th place Won quarterfinal against Sioux Lookout (4:3)
Lost semifinal against Dryden (4:0)
Sources:
  • "English River Miners hockey team statistics and history". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  • "Red Lake Miners hockey team statistics and history". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 20 September 2025.

Centennial Cup

After winning their first league championship in 2022, the Miners went on to compete at the 2022 Centennial Cup national championship tournament in Estevan, Saskatchewan.[12][13] They were eliminated from contention after losing to the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL (11:2), Pickering Panthers of the OJHL (9:2), Collège Français de Longueuil of the QJHL (6:1), and Estevan Bruins of the SJHL (6:2). The final playoff round was between the Brooks Bandits and the Pickering Panthers, with the Brooks Bandits winning by a score of 4:1.[14]

Year Round-robin Record Standing Quarterfinal Semifinal Championship
2022 L, Pickering Panthers (OJHL), 9:2
L, Brooks Bandits (AJHL), 11:4
L, Estevan Bruins (SJHL), 6:2
L, Longueuil Collège Français (QJHL), 6:1		 0-4-0 5th of 5
Pool A		 Did not qualify Did not qualify Did not qualify

References

  1. ^ "Ear Falls, Red Lake franchise joins SIJHL". TBNewswatch. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Ear Falls SIJHL team update". Kenora Online. May 29, 2013.
  3. ^ "English River Miners at Dryden GM Ice Dogs". SIJHL. September 20, 2013.
  4. ^ "Wisconsin Wilderness at English River Miners". SIJHL. October 10, 2013.
  5. ^ "Wisconsin Wilderness 1 at English River Miners 3 (Final) | Ice Hockey Game Sheet". October 10, 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Miners hire new bench boss". KenoraOnline. May 25, 2015.
  7. ^ "Introducing the SIJHL Red Lake Miners". Netnewsledger.com. August 9, 2018.
  8. ^ "SIJHL's English River Miners change team name". TBNewswatch. August 9, 2018.
  9. ^ "Former Red Lake coach heads west". 89.5 The Lake. July 17, 2019.
  10. ^ "Change in coaching staff for the Merritt Centennials". Merritt Herald. October 16, 2019.
  11. ^ "Red Lake Miners hire hew Head Coach/GM". CKDR. June 18, 2019.
  12. ^ Dunick, Leith (22 March 2022). "Dudley Hewitt Cup cancelled, SIJHL champ will go directly to Centennial Cup". tbnewswatch.com. Dougall Media. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Road to the 2022 Centennial Cup: Red Lake Miners". hockeycanada.ca. Hockey Canada. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  14. ^ "Brooks Bandits repeat as Centennial Cup champions". Regina Leader-Post. Postmedia. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
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