Guelph Storm

Rink: Sleeman Centre
Capacity: 5,000
Built: 2000
League: OHL
City: Guelph, Ontario
Home Of: Guelph Storm
Games Attended: 327
First Game: December 14, 2007 vs Windsor
Most Recent Game: February 27, 2026 vs Niagara
Unique Arena: #9
OHL Arena: #5

One of the most frequently asked questions I get in my travels or from people who know I am a Guelph Storm fan is, how did you become a fan of the Guelph Storm? Especially when you don’t really have any ties to the city. As many may know I grew up in Brampton and fell in love with junior hockey in the mid 2000’s watching the Battalion play out of what was affectionately then known as The Bunker now CAA Centre. When the Troops left town in 2013 there was certainly a void I needed filled. Some asked if I would become a fan of nearby Mississauga? Hell no, I wasn’t going to cheer for my team’s main rival, plus knowing Mississauga had the same issues as Brampton I didn’t need my sports heart being broken again. Will you follow the Troops to North Bay? Again no, sure they kept the same logo and gimmick, but it was just too far away. Sure, many sports fans cheer for their teams from afar but for me I need to be at the games and commuting nearly three and half hours each way for home games was a non starter for me. So why Guelph? I went to my first Storm game in December 2007. It was only my fifth OHL arena at the time, but it became my favourite up to that point. With Guelph playing mostly Friday nights and Brampton playing mostly Sunday afternoons I had the chance over the next few years to go to several games at the Sleeman Centre for Storm games not against Brampton and I started forming a soft spot for the Storm. Add into the fact that between 2009 and 2013 when the Battalion left Brampton the two teams made several trades that saw players play for both teams. Also, Guelph was close and they weren’t a rival to Brampton as they were in separate conferences. So, in the summer of 2013 after the Troops headed north, I signed up for Guelph Storm season tickets and the rest is history!

Now all of a sudden 13 years have passed by and I have been too far more games in Guelph than I ever went to in Brampton and have been cheering for the Storm for longer than I did the Battalion. Time will sneak up on you like that. Now that I have been to more than 300 games here, I know it better than any other arena in the world and naturally I have a little bit of home bias towards it. The Sleeman Centre was built in 2000 on the site of what was an old Eaton’s store in the Old Quebec Street Mall in downtown Guelph. The front facade of the building that you see above that faces Woolwich St is probably the least used front entrance of a building in the OHL. It has almost become the de facto rear of the building, because 90% of people enter the rink through the parking garages and the mall on the other side. Yes, the Sleeman Centre is in a mall, or attached to one anyway. It’s not exactly a big destination mall but it is an active one. The main mall entrance to the arena is up on the second floor of the mall. Once your tickets are scanned you can walk straight head into the arena restaurant ‘Draught Picks’ which also doubles as part of the concourse, or you can take a left through a set of doors into the non-restaurant area of the concourse.

The Sleeman Centre is the epitome of the modern-day clone arena in the CHL. The bowl has about 4,700 blue seats, all with great views of the ice. The concourse runs around the top of the bowl with mostly unobstructed views of the ice which is nice if you need to run to the concession stand during play or you’re stuck waiting for play to stop before returning to your seat. The restaurant is located at the top of the bowl on the player bench side of the ice. All the seats in front of the restaurant are club seats with the offer of in seat service. Above the bowl suites run down the length of the ice on both sides. Behind one net is some more club seating and a bar area while the opposite end of the ice over the years has mostly sat empty but now has a stage for live bands to play pre game and at intermission. Some nights they have a keyboardist playing classic organ tunes which is neat. The concourse is packed with concessions and displays which can make things pretty cramped at intermission as the Storm usually play to a packed house. Over the past few years the Storm have made some small but very nice touches to the concourse. On the penalty box side of the concourse sits a small hat trick display. The Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters were a junior hockey team that played in the city from the 1940-60s. The team was sponsored by the local Biltmore hat company. Whenever a Guelph player scored three goals in a game the company would gift them with a brand-new hat, thus the term hat trick was born. The Mad Hatters also captured the cities first ever Memorial Cup championship in 1952 before ironically moving to Kitchener in 1960 to become todays Rangers. The display honouring the Mad Hatters is a case full of hats thrown on the ice during Storm hat tricks and the case is covered in small plaques marking every hat trick in Guelph Storm history. Near this display the team has also turned what was a very disused area of the building into a small hall of fame, honouring not only the Storm and the Mad Hatters but also the Guelph Platers who played in the city from 1982-89 and won the 1986 Memorial Cup. Every player in the history of all three franchises is listed here as are all current season ticket holders. There is also a separate section for the Storm players who have their numbers hung in the rafters as well as longtime Guelph radio announcer Larry Mellot who retired in 2025. On the pillars at the top of each section 101, 102 etc are all the players who wore the corresponding number of the section. So all players who ever wore number 8 for the Guelph Storm are listed out at section 108. Finally other pillars around the concourse are wrapped with plaques of all Storm players who have played in the NHL or played at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

The Sleeman Centre is almost identical to the OHL buildings in Sarnia and Sault Ste. Marie. One of the differences I have noticed is the Sleeman Centre feels a bit tighter than all of those arenas. I have no facts to back this up other than it just feels tighter and more intimate. The roof of the rink isn’t that high which adds to that feel I believe. Currently in the spring of 2026 Guelph has the oldest video scoreboard in the OHL, having been installed in 2010. Back in 2010 just having any video scoreboard in the OHL was great but in the decade and a half since the standard for scoreboards in junior hockey has skyrocketed. I have been saying for years now that the Storm might have the worst scoreboard in the league and perhaps now in the entire CHL since Kelowna replaced theirs in the summer of 2025. However, Storm fans will be getting an upgrade soon as a new video scoreboard is set to be installed during the summer of 2026 in anticipation of the rink hosting the 2027 Memorial Cup.

For the first decade or so that the Sleeman Centre was open it was quite common to see crowds of 2,500-3,000 in between games that would sell out.
However, over the years it seems that Friday night Storm games have become an institution in the city and now even when the team is doing poorly on the ice, near sellout crowds are the norm at the Sleeman Centre. Just simply walking up and buying a group of 4 tickets with the view you want before the game isn’t quite as common as it used to be. While the building is packed most nights, I do have to say the atmosphere in Guelph could be better. Sure, it gets loud during goals or in the waning minutes of a close game but sometimes you can hear a pin drop, hopefully one day the people of Guelph can turn up the atmosphere a bit.

Overall, I love going to games week in and week out at the Sleeman Centre. OHLAG and I have always preferred and praised the old barns of the CHL for their uniqueness, but we have also acknowledged that while they are a blast to visit for a game or two, they lack the modern comforts and convenience that newer rinks bring and having to deal with them every week would get slightly annoying. As much as we blast clone rinks for being boring there is a reason, they keep getting built and that is because they work. Perhaps outside fans or even people reading this go to games in Guelph and not think much of it but as someone who goes to most games in Guelph its almost everything I could ask for in an arena. It’s not perfect, but its home.

Games Attended

2007-2013

December 14, 2007: Guelph 1 – Windsor 0 OT
February 8, 2008: Saginaw 4 – Guelph 1
February 27, 2008: Kitchener 2 – Guelph 1
September 12, 2008: Barrie 4 – Guelph 3
November 20, 2008: Team OHL 6 – Team Russia 3
December 12, 2008: Guelph 7 – Plymouth 0
December 20, 2008: Sault Ste. Marie 2 – Guelph 1 SO
January 30, 2009: Guelph 5 – Peterborough 2
February 10, 2009: Windsor 5 – Guelph 3
November 18, 2009: Brampton 5 – Guelph 2
December 19, 2009: Guelph 4 – Plymouth 3
November 26, 2010: Belleville 4 – Guelph 1
February 2, 2011: Guelph 3 – Kitchener 2 SO
February 11, 2011: Guelph 4 – Brampton 2
October 7, 2011: Brampton 4 – Guelph 3 OT
September 23, 2012: London 8 – Guelph 2
November 2, 2012: Guelph 4 – Oshawa 1
November 8, 2012: Team Russia 2 – Team OHL 1
November 30, 2012: Guelph 3 – Brampton 2
February 6, 2013: Kitchener 5 – Guelph 2

2013-14

September 2, 2013: Guelph 5 – North Bay 4
September 20, 2013: Guelph 4 – Erie 3 OT
October 4, 2013: Guelph 7 – Owen Sound 1
October 18, 2013: Guelph 5 – Niagara 4 SO
October 20, 2013: Guelph 7 – Ottawa 3
October 25, 2013: Guelph 7 – North Bay 2
October 27, 2013: Guelph 7 – London 4
November 1, 2013: Guelph 6 – Kitchener 3
November 8, 2013: Plymouth 3 – Guelph 2 SO
November 22, 2013: Windsor 4 – Guelph 2
November 24, 2013: Guelph 6 – Kitchener 0
December 15, 2013: Guelph 5 – Erie 0
December 19, 2013: Guelph 6 – Sault Ste. Marie 5 OT
January 3, 2014: Guelph 5 – Sault Ste. Marie 3
January 10, 2014: Guelph 5 – London 3
January 12, 2014: Guelph 5 – Kitchener 0
January 19, 2014: Guelph 6 – Kingston 1
January 26, 2014: Guelph 4 – Saginaw 2
February 6, 2014: Guelph 8 – Mississauga 0
February 7, 2014: Guelph 7 – Belleville 4
February 17, 2014: Guelph 9 – Plymouth 3
February 21, 2014: Guelph 6 – Windsor 4
March 7, 2014: Owen Sound 6 – Guelph 2
March 14, 2014: Guelph 13 – Sarnia 1
March 22, 2014: Guelph 3 – Plymouth 0
April 4, 2014: Guelph 6 – London 4
April 6, 2014: London 7 – Guelph 2
April 11, 2014: Guelph 5 – London 4
April 17, 2014: Guelph 5 – Erie 4
April 18, 2014: Guelph 7 – Erie 2
April 25, 2014: Guelph 5 – Erie 0
May 1, 2014: Guelph 3 – North Bay 2 OT
May 2, 2014: North Bay 4 – Guelph 3 OT
May 9, 2014: Guelph 4 – North Bay 3

2014-15

September 1, 2014: Mississauga 5 – Guelph 4 SO
September 26, 2014: Belleville 6 – Guelph 0
October 3, 2014: Guelph 4 – Plymouth 2
October 10, 2014: Guelph 3 – North Bay 2 OT
October 17, 2014: Guelph 3 – Niagara 2
October 19, 2014: Guelph 5 – Saginaw 3
October 24, 2014: Guelph 5 – Windsor 2
October 26, 2014: London 7 – Guelph 1
November 2, 2014: Ottawa 3 – Guelph 2
November 9, 2014: Guelph 9 – London 4
December 5, 2014: Guelph 5 – Peterborough 3
December 12, 2014: Guelph 4 – Owen Sound 3 SO
December 14, 2014: Oshawa 3 – Guelph 2
December 18, 2014: Sault Ste. Marie 3 – Guelph 2 OT
December 20, 2014: Guelph 4 – Erie 3 OT
December 28, 2014: Barrie 3 – Guelph 0
January 9, 2015: Mississauga 2 – Guelph 1 OT
January 23, 2015: Erie 3 – Guelph 2
January 25, 2015: Sault Ste. Marie 6 – Guelph 5 SO
January 30, 2015: Guelph 8 – London 5
February 6, 2015: Sudbury 4 – Guelph 3
February 13, 2015: Guelph 4 – Sarnia 3 SO
February 16, 2015: Guelph 5 – Windsor 4 OT
March 1, 2015: Guelph 3 – Kitchener 1
March 6, 2015: Guelph 3 – Owen Sound 1
March 17, 2015: Guelph 3 – Kitchener 2
March 20, 2015: Owen Sound 4 – Guelph 3
March 22, 2015: Guelph 6 – Sarnia 2
March 27, 2015: Owen Sound 6 – Guelph 1
March 29, 2015: Guelph 5 – Owen Sound 4 OT
April 4, 2015: Guelph 2 – Owen Sound 1
April 12, 2015: Sault Ste. Marie 6 – Guelph 1
April 14, 2015: Sault Ste. Marie 3 – Guelph 2

2015-16

September 7, 2015: Mississauga 4 – Guelph 2
September 25, 2015: Oshawa 3 – Guelph 0
October 2, 2015: Sault Ste. Marie 8 – Guelph 4
October 9, 2015: Guelph 3 – Owen Sound 1
October 18, 2015: Kitchener 2 – Guelph 0
October 25, 2015: Kingston 3 – Guelph 2
November 8, 2015: Windsor 4 – Guelph 0
November 20, 2015: Flint 5 – Guelph 2
November 21, 2015: Kitchener 5 – Guelph 1
December 4, 2015: Hamilton 7 – Guelph 4
December 6, 2015: London 5 – Guelph 2
December 11, 2015: Saginaw 4 – Guelph 1
December 13, 2015: Sudbury 4 – Guelph 2
December 19, 2015: Guelph 4 – Mississauga 3 SO
December 29, 2015: Erie 2 – Guelph 1 OT
January 3, 2016: Guelph 7 – Kitchener 3
January 8, 2016: Guelph 5 – Barrie 2
January 17, 2016: Peterborough 4 – Guelph 3 SO
January 29, 2016: North Bay 4 – Guelph 0
February 12, 2016: Sarnia 6 – Guelph 2
February 15, 2016: Erie 6 – Guelph 1
March 4, 2016: Ottawa 6 – Guelph 2
March 6, 2016: Sault Ste. Marie 5 – Guelph 4
March 18, 2016: Owen Sound 5 – Guelph 2

2016-17

September 23, 2016: Guelph 5 – Saginaw 1
September 30, 2016: Hamilton 6 – Guelph 3
October 7, 2016: Windsor 5 – Guelph 4
October 14, 2016: Erie 4 – Guelph 3 SO
October 16, 2016: Kitchener 3 – Guelph 2
October 21, 2016: Guelph 5 – North Bay 2
October 30, 2016: Sault Ste. Marie 5 – Guelph 2
November 11, 2016: Ottawa 3 – Guelph 2
November 18, 2016: Guelph 7 – Mississauga 3
November 25, 2016: Guelph 2 – Peterborough 1
November 26, 2016: London 5 – Guelph 3
December 2, 2016: Guelph 3 – Erie 1
December 9, 2016: Owen Sound 8 – Guelph 1
December 11, 2016: Guelph 4 – Kingston 3 OT
December 17, 2016: Guelph 5 – Kitchener 2
December 28, 2016: Guelph 4 – Sarnia 3 OT
January 3, 2017: Kitchener 5 – Guelph 2
January 6, 2017: Windsor 5 – Guelph 2
January 8, 2017: Sudbury 4 – Guelph 1
January 13, 2017: Owen Sound 7 – Guelph 3
January 17, 2017: Guelph 5 – Niagara 1
January 27, 2017: Oshawa 6 – Guelph 2
February 3, 2017: Flint 4 – Guelph 3 OT
February 17, 2017: Guelph 6 – Barrie 2
February 20, 2017: Flint 5 – Guelph 1
February 24, 2017: Guelph 4 – Erie 2
March 3, 2017: Sault Ste. Marie 6 – Guelph 0
March 10, 2017: Saginaw 3 – Guelph 2
March 12, 2017: London 6 – Guelph 2
March 14, 2017: Kitchener 6 – Guelph 5 OT
March 19, 2017: Owen Sound 8 – Guelph 5

2017-18

September 4, 2017: Guelph 5 – Mississauga 4 SO
September 14, 2017: Hamilton 3 – Guelph 2
September 22, 2017: Sarnia 4 – Guelph 3 SO
October 6, 2017: Windsor 2 – Guelph 1
October 7, 2017: Guelph 5 – Kitchener 2
October 20, 2017: Guelph 2 – Hamilton 1
October 27, 2017: Guelph 4 – Erie 3 SO
November 10, 2017: Guelph 6 – North Bay 2
November 24, 2017: Guelph 5 – Barrie 4 OT
November 26, 2017: London 5 – Guelph 1
December 1, 2017: Guelph 5 – Erie 4 OT
December 10, 2017: Kitchener 10 – Guelph 3
December 15, 2017: Guelph 5 – Kingston 4
December 28, 2017: Guelph 3 – Peterborough 1
January 5, 2018: Guelph 4 – Owen Sound 1
January 7, 2018: Sault Ste. Marie 7 – Guelph 3
January 19, 2018: Guelph 3 – Windsor 1
January 25, 2018: Team Cherry 7 – Team Orr 4
January 26, 2018: Guelph 5 – Flint 3
February 2, 2018: Owen Sound 6 – Guelph 4
February 16, 2018: Ottawa 2 – Guelph 1 SO
February 19, 2018: Erie 4 – Guelph 0
February 23, 2018: Owen Sound 7 – Guelph 6 OT
February 25, 2018: Mississauga 5 – Guelph 2
March 2, 2018: Flint 6 – Guelph 5 OT
March 9, 2018: Saginaw 3 – Guelph 0
March 13, 2018: Guelph 4 – Kitchener 3 OT
March 27, 2018: Guelph 7 – Kitchener 5
March 28, 2018: Guelph 6 – Kitchener 4
April 1, 2018: Kitchener 5 – Guelph 2

2018-19

September 15, 2018: Guelph 4 – Hamilton 1
September 28, 2018: Guelph 6 – Owen Sound 2
October 14, 2018: Guelph 3 – London 2 OT
October 21, 2018: Guelph 5 – Kitchener 2
October 26, 2018: Erie 5 – Guelph 4 OT
October 28, 2018: Guelph 4 – Sault Ste. Marie 3 OT
November 9, 2018: Guelph 4 – Barrie 3
November 16, 2018: Guelph 8 – Flint 2
November 23, 2018: Guelph 5 – Sault Ste. Marie 4 OT
November 30, 2018: Oshawa 4 – Guelph 3
December 2, 2018: Guelph 8 – Kitchener 1
December 14, 2018: Guelph 6 – Peterborough 1
December 15, 2018: Guelph 6 – Mississauga 4
December 28, 2018: Guelph 5 – Hamilton 3
January 4, 2019: Windsor 5 – Guelph 2
January 6, 2019: North Bay 5 – Guelph 2
January 13, 2019: Guelph 8 – Ottawa 4
January 18, 2019: Guelph 5 – Owen Sound 2
January 20, 2019: Niagara 4 – Guelph 3
January 25, 2019: Guelph 6 – Owen Sound 1
January 30, 2019: Guelph 8 – Saginaw 2
February 8, 2019: Sarnia 6 – Guelph 2
February 10, 2019: Guelph 9 – Kingston 0
February 15, 2019: Kitchener 5 – Guelph 2
February 18, 2019: Guelph 5 – Flint 4 OT
February 22, 2019: Guelph 4 – Erie 1
March 1, 2019: Guelph 11 – Windsor 4
March 8, 2019: Saginaw 5 – Guelph 3
March 10, 2019: Kitchener 5 – Guelph 2
March 13, 2019: Guelph 5 – London 1
March 15, 2019: Guelph 5 – Erie 2
March 22, 2019: Guelph 4 – Kitchener 2
March 24, 2019: Guelph 7 – Kitchener 0
April 8, 2019: London 7 – Guelph 4
April 10, 2019: Guelph 4 – London 3
April 13, 2019: Guelph 5 – London 3
April 22, 2019: Guelph 5 – Saginaw 2
April 24, 2019: Saginaw 4 – Guelph 1
April 28, 2019: Guelph 5 – Saginaw 1
May 6, 2019: Guelph 7 – Ottawa 2
May 8, 2019: Guelph 5 – Ottawa 4
May 12, 2019: Guelph 8 – Ottawa 3

2019-20

August 31, 2019: Flint 7 – Guelph 5
September 20, 2019: Ottawa 3 – Guelph 2 SO
September 27, 2019: Guelph 4 – Owen Sound 0
October 18, 2019: Guelph 7 – Erie 5
October 20, 2019: Sudbury 4 – Guelph 2
October 25, 2019: Guelph 9 – North Bay 3
November 9, 2019: Guelph 4 – Kingston 2
November 15, 2019: Guelph 4 – Owen Sound 3 OT
November 16, 2019: Guelph 2 – Saginaw 1
November 22, 2019: Guelph 3 – Sarnia 0
November 29, 2019: Guelph 6 – Saginaw 2
December 6, 2019: Guelph 4 – Barrie 0
December 13, 2019: Guelph 6 – Windsor 3
December 14, 2019: Kitchener 6 – Guelph 1
December 29, 2019: Hamilton 4 – Guelph 3
January 5, 2020: Kitchener 2 – Guelph 1
January 17, 2020: Owen Sound 4 – Guelph 1
January 18, 2020: Kitchener 6 – Guelph 3
January 24, 2020: Flint 7 – Guelph 5
February 5, 2020: Erie 4 – Guelph 2
February 14, 2020: Guelph 2 – Owen Sound 0
February 17, 2020: Guelph 3 – Sault Ste. Marie 2 SO
February 21, 2020: Guelph 5 – London 3
February 23, 2020: Guelph 5 – Niagara 4 OT
February 28, 2020: Guelph 5 – Erie 3
March 11, 2020: Kitchener 7 – Guelph 4

2020-21

Season Canceled due to Covid-19 Pandemic

2021-22

September 24, 2021: Guelph 6 – Niagara 4
October 1, 2021: Guelph 7 – Mississauga 4
October 9, 2021: Kitchener 5 – Guelph 4
October 15, 2021: Sault Ste. Marie 4 – Guelph 2
October 24, 2021: Guelph 4 – Kitchener 2
October 29, 2021: Guelph 9 – Owen Sound 4
November 12, 2021: Guelph 4 – Erie 3
November 19, 2021: Owen Sound 3 – Guelph 2 SO
November 20, 2021: Guelph 4 – Sarnia 3 OT
November 26, 2021: Guelph 3 – London 2
November 28, 2021: Guelph 7 – Erie 3
December 8, 2021: Sarnia 5 – Guelph 3
December 10, 2021: Guelph 5 – Saginaw 3
December 18, 2021: Guelph 4 – London 1
February 4, 2022: Owen Sound 2 – Guelph 1
February 18, 2022: Guelph 3 – Saginaw 0
February 25, 2022: Guelph 7 – Windsor 1
February 27, 2022: Guelph 7 – Kitchener 3
March 18, 2022: Guelph 4 – Sarnia 3
March 25, 2022: Kitchener 5 – Guelph 4
April 1, 2022: Guelph 6 – Owen Sound 5 OT
April 8, 2022: Windsor 7 – Guelph 1
April 16, 2022: Guelph 5 – Windsor 2
April 26, 2022: Guelph 6 – Sault Ste. Marie 3
April 28, 2022: Sault Ste. Marie 5 – Guelph 4 OT