Dudley Hewitt Cup in Cochrane

The Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Junior A Championship begins today in Cochrane, as the host Cochrane Crunch (NOJHL) and the Hearst Lumberjacks (NOJHL), Oakville Blades (OJHL) and Thunder Bay North Stars (SIJHL) get set to vie for the title and a trip to the Canadian Jr. A Championship.

For anyone who doesn't know, there are different playoff brackets after winning the NOJHL Championship. The point is that the NOJHL is local to Northern Ontario and each level is a step up to the national stage. The NOJHL winner advances to the Dudley-Hewitt Cup to face off against the champions of the OJHL and SIJHL along with a host team for the Central Canadian title. Every year the Dudley Hewitt Cup is held in a different city across Ontario so we are really fortunate to have it here in Cochrane this year.

Finally, the winner of that regional tournament secures their ticket to the RBC Cup, where they will battle the country's other regional champions for the ultimate prize in Canadian Junior A hockey.

The Dudley-Hewitt Cup host location is decided through a structured rotation and bidding process: The hosting rights are automatically rotated on a yearly basis among the three central Canadian Junior A leagues that competed for the cup: Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) and the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).

Because it was so rare to have the Dudley Hewitt Cup so close to Timmins, we decided to film Home Ice inside the Cochrane arena live on location right before the game. We also had time to film a promo video.