Archive for AESHL
Caribous Hunting for New Head Coach
Posted by: | CommentsJust a mere few weeks after the Newfoundland and Labrador big game licenses are issued, the Clarenville Caribous find themselves hunting, but this time it’s for a new head coach.
As previously stated here on Newfoundland Hockey Talk about Coach Pearcey leaving the Caribous organization, I guess the many Caribous fans, executive members and supporters who have denied these persistent rumours are now silenced. In a devastating blow to the Caribous organization, both Coach Pearcey and leading scorer Andrew Pearcey announced they are headed to Mount Pearl for the upcoming hockey season, leaving the team that has brought them back-to-back Herder Memorial Trophies.
Sources have indicated that differences arising after the Allan Cup in the spring. Coach Pearcey and star goalie Jason Churchill had words during the tournament, words that have contributed to this split. Differences in the dressing room between players have apparently also added to the rift that sees star player Andrew Pearcey leaving to follow his father to the AESHL.
Who will the Caribous appoint as their new head coach? Time will tell.
Ray Dalton Says Bye-Bye to Wings
Posted by: | CommentsDeer Lake will be short Ray Dalton in the upcoming WCSHL season. Dalton is sticking closer to home to help with his new born baby.
The Deer Lake Red Wings loss is a gain for Southern Shore, as Dalton will lace them up there this season. If things work out as both teams want it, Dalton may once again skate in the west again, but this time when battling for the Herder.
This is shaping up to be one strange season in Newfoundland Senior Hockey.
Cee Bees and Blades Want into WCSHL
Posted by: | CommentsWell, it looks like the WCSHL may be about to receive two additional teams as Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador has been asked for a ruling as to whether these teams will be allowed to play in the Western league.
There’s no secret that the players in the West are compensated for their play, some of them quite lucratively. Now the players in the AESHL want in on the action and want to come to the west, not only for the money but because the west is the league where all the action is.
Teams from the west have constantly gone looking for high calibre players, offering them positions on their rosters, paid for their travel, compensated them for their time and up untiil now, many of the eastern players stayed in the AESHL. Things are changing and this change can probably be attributed to the success of the Clarenville Caribous in the WCSHL. In fact, it is the Caribous entry into the west league that has probably made it possible for other teams to make the leap.
If the Cee Bees and Blades come into the Western league, it allows for two divisions, one that would probably include the Caribous, Cee Bees and Blades. The other would include the Cataracts, Wings and Royals. The bulk of the games would be played in your own division with some limted East vs West games througout the season. It also allows for the league to address what many fans seen as an injustice from last season’s Herder Championship where all the games were played in Mile One.
Newfoundland Hockey Talk has learned that should the Cee Bees and Blades come into the WCSHL, it will probably mean that the Herder Championship will be the league championship, with Corner Brook’s Pepsi Centre the west coast location for games and the Mile One Stadium the east coast location for the games. Playoffs would see an east and west championship, with the winners of each division playing for the Herder.
Sounds reasonable.
However, there appears to be some fight left in the AESHL executive. This league isn’t going away just yet and they are lobbying HNL to block the move of the Blades and the Cee Bees.
Interesting times are about to happen in provincial senior hockey.
Inter-League Games on the Agenda
Posted by: | CommentsNewfoundland Hockey Talk has learned that inter-league games between the AESHL and the WCSHL are on the agenda for the upcoming meetings at both leagues. While talked about many times in the past and actually asked for by the fans on many occassions on the Newfoundland Hockey Talk Discussion Forum, these never materialize.
Is this another rumour or is this topic finally going to receive serious recognition.
Maybe not everyone can recall, there was an attempt to bridge the action a few years back with a WCSHL All-Star / Skills Competition. It never really produced the fan support or garnered much player support. However, inter-league play could be a different story.
Both fans and players alike get an opportunity to see what the other league has to offer prior to the Herder Memorial Championship.
Let’s hope that is “agenda item” is a reality.