Archive for May, 2009
Ryder Leads Bruins to Victory
Posted by: | CommentsWith a goal and an assist, Michael Ryder helped the Bruins to victory with a 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.
With the victory the Bruins are now 5-0 in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, silencing some of the critics who thought that 9-day layoff would have hurt the team. Ryder continues to improve throughout the playoffs as well, showing why he was one of the anchors on the Boston squad.
Clarenville Caribous – An Organization to be Admired
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The Clarenville Caribous are an organization to be admired when it comes to how they run a hockey organization.
With their return to senior hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador, many had questioned if the Caribous would survive a season or fall wayside like the Bay of Island Bruins. Here was an organization that seen an opportunity to return to hockey, but not in the east coast which would have been much easier logistically and financially, but in the West Coast Senior Hockey League.
Anyone who is a fan of West Coast Senior Hockey knows that this league is competitive, it is serious and it doesn’t take kindly to change. Having the Clarenville Caribous in the mix upset many people in the “old boys” club, and added a few challenges in scheduling, travel and added expenses. However, what many already in the league forgot to realize was this organization had their backs to the wall.
With Corner Brook, Deer Lake and Grand Falls-Windsor would see their travel costs increase only a small amount with the addition of a road trip to Clarenville. However, with the geographical location of the Caribous, the travel expenses for this organization was going to be much larger and getting the players to the other venues much more challenging.
However, the Clarenville Caribous organization built a strong executive and management team, acquired great local talent and relied heavily on a group of dedicated volunteers to do what many thought was the impossible.
The Clarenville Caribous came into the league and competed hard from day one, and while they had their critics and those that wanted to see this organization fail, the Caribous showed they were for real. With the best transitional game and fasted team in the league, the players lived up to expectations that many who truly loved the game recognized early on about the team.
With their first Herder Memorial Championship under their belts in 2008-2009, the Caribous have silenced the critics. They have become an organization to be admired and copied in the Newfoundland hockey arena.
Corner Brook Designated West Coast Hockey Location for Herder Memorial Games
Posted by: | CommentsNewfoundland Hockey Talk has been hearing that fans have spoken and apparently several teams and the President of the West Coast Senior Hockey League have listened. In the upcoming annual general meeting for the league, a motion will be tabled to designate Corner Brook and the Pepsi Centre as the official location for all Herder Memorial Championship games for the West Coast league.
How will this sit with the current reigning Herder Memorial Champs, the Clarenville Caribous? Well, one can only guess that this will cause a major ripple through that organization and throughout the league if this rumour proves to be true. However, it is the Caribous decision to play their Herder games at Mile One in St. John’s that has led to the controversy and backlash that is occurring right now.
One hockey fan has written Newfoundland Hockey Talk and stated:
I’ve been watching Herder Games for the last 25 years. This year I never got to see one game. It’s a west coast league and if they (the teams) can’t accept that, they should go elsewhere to play. It’s ridiculous that the league has allowed this to occur. I won’t support them next year if it continues.
Will Corner Brook and the Pepsi Centre be designated as the West Coast location for the Herder Memorial Games? Newfoundland Hockey Talk thinks that this will be a battle that will not be settled just yet. The Clarenville Caribous will be dead-set against moving the Herder games to Corner Brook. The Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts will probably be against this move. The Deer Lake Red Wings and the Corner Brook Royals will probably be supportive. Any vote on the issue is likely to be a tie.
That leaves Gary Gale, President of the West Coast Senior Hockey League to cast the deciding vote. Given the pressure that has been levied in his direction by the fans and the criticism in the media, and his past desire to avoid making the “tough” decision, who knows what he will do. Newfoundland Hockey Talk is also hearing that Deer Lake and Corner Brook are going to push the issue. These teams want the games on the West Coast.
It will be a showdown and look at this changing the landscape of the league for sometime to come.