The Dryden GM Ice Dogs dropped a 2-1 decision in overtime to the Fort Frances Lakers on Saturday night. Nick Fagnilli potted the winner for the Lakers, who picked up two wins on the weekend. It was the Ice Dogs’ season opener.
Miners Season Preview
The Red Lake Miners will look very different in 2025-2026 with seven graduating players and a new boss behind the bench. The Miners opened the season on Friday night with a loss in Fort Frances but hope to rebound this afternoon in their home opener against the Ice Dogs at 4:00 pm.
Billy Keane, the older brother of former NHL standout Mike Keane, admits he was at a crossroads in his professional career before the Miners Head Coach and General Manager position became available.
“My wife and three kids are here (in Winnipeg) and now I have a granddaughter in the mix, so I was hoping to stay closer to home,” Keane reflected. “That said, there are only so many hockey opportunities in Winnipeg. The Red Lake job came up on August 3rd, and I was thinking ‘Oh boy, it’s getting late here. If I don’t get this, I might have to get out of (hockey and find something else).”
Keane notes that his connections in the game helped him land the role with the Miners and remembers something that a former coach of the first version of the Winnipeg Jets said to him at a coaches clinic at the University of Manitoba.
“I was playing there at the time, and Tom Watt had just been fired by the Jets in 1984. I asked him ‘Coach, what are you going to do now?” And he replied, ‘Well, I’m in between opportunities.’ I will never forget that. That phrase has stayed with me to this day. I was in between opportunities when Red Lake came calling,” Keane said.
Keane is the fourth Head Coach and General Manager for the Miners since the 2015 campaign (Derek Sweet-Coulter 2015-2019, Geoff Walker 2019-2022 and Lee Stone 2022-2025).
He has coached at the University level with the Manitoba Bisons and in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) with the OCN Blizzard (now Northern Manitoba Blizzard), as well as a pair of former franchises (Winnipeg Saints, Winnipeg South Blues).
Keane notes that the Miners will have seven returning players from last season and added, “We are going to have our hands full with making sure that we have a group of guys that are going to be competitive every night.”
“Seven guys make a good volleyball team. We need more than seven players to fill out the roster, and we’ve made some inroads to do that.”
The Miners were able to make it as far as the semifinals last season after a seven-game series victory over the Sioux Lookout Bombers. The Dryden GM Ice Dogs eventually swept them in the second round.
Keane was quick to compliment the people behind the scenes who make the Red Lake Miners possible.
“There are ten volunteers there that have different responsibilities within the community, and it’s energizing,” Keane added. “I was really thrilled to meet (President) Jason Vinet and his team. There’s no shortage of energy in Red Lake, and I’m feeding off that already. I’m looking forward to getting things started.”
The Miners won the Bill Salonen Cup in 2022.
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE
Sunday September 21st vs. Dryden GM Ice Dogs 4pm HOME OPENER
Friday September 26th @ Fort Frances Lakers
Sunday September 28th @ Sioux Lookout Bombers
