The Ontario Hockey League is poised to return to North Bay for the 2013-14 season, a rare second chance for a small-market city.
It won’t be the first time that the OHL has returned to a town that it had previously vacated.
The OHL has left and returned to Guelph and St. Catharines and had numerous failed flings with Hamilton and Niagara Falls.
But not only is North Bay’s population of 60,000 smaller than the others but its geographic location was seen as a big reason why the OHL was unlikely to return to the Gateway City.
To be sure, the chances of North Bay returning to the OHL as an expansion franchise were virtually non-existent. And when a North Bay group featuring ex-National Hockey Leaguer Moe Mantha Jr. tried to buy the Mississauga IceDogs a few years back the OHL instead opted to relocate to St. Catharines where the Niagara IceDogs were born.
But in a clear sign that the OHL’s 15-year experiment in Brampton has been an utter failure, Battalion owner Scott Abbott finally had enough and reached the recent agreement in principle to move his franchise to North Bay effective next season.
While downright giddy over its seemingly-imminent return to the OHL, North Bay surely must improve on its previous performance which ended in 2002 when the Centennials were sold and moved to Saginaw, Michigan where the Spirit was born.
Because while it’s fine and well that aging North Bay Memorial Gardens is being brought up to standard with millions of dollars in renovations, the Centennials were barely averaging 2,000 fans per game in their later seasons and those numbers in today’s high-priced, high-stakes OHL are probably not going to be good for the bottom line.
North Bay, though, did have some good days in the 20 years that the Centennials were part of the OHL.
Success was mostly with the legendary Bert Templeton at the helm as coach-general manager under the ownership of John C. Hopper. It was when Templeton was allowed to leave in 1994 that the Centennials went into a nosedive and the franchise was never really the same.
In fact, Templeton-coached teams had only three losing records in 12 seasons and won an OHL title under his watch. Six times in 12 years, Templeton-coached teams won 40 or more games.
It was after Templeton left that the Centennials ended their run in North Bay with just two winning seasons in eight, including three straight years when they won a paltry 15 games or less under the direction of the forgettable Shane Parker.
Coaching should not be a problem in North Bay’s scheduled return to the OHL with Stan Butler in charge. Butler will make the move from Brampton to North Bay as the only coach – and a winning one at that – in the 15-year history of the Battalion.
A downer in the return of the OHL to North Bay is the effect it could have on the Trappers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
The Trappers could opt to relocate from North Bay after this season, one in which they were selected to play host to next spring’s Dudley Hewitt Cup, Central Canada junior playdowns.
Or perhaps the Trappers will remain in North Bay and move from Memorial Gardens to smaller West Ferris Arena, perhaps at a fraction of the rent they are paying now.
One would think the City of North Bay might owe the Trappers some consideration after both sides agreed to a three-year contract to play out of Memorial Gardens just this past spring.
Especially if the City was, at the same time, negotiating for the return of the OHL.
Will the Trappers stay in North Bay or will they pull up stakes and move on?
Time will answer that question.
Categories: General
RR. In it’s final 5 seasons, the Cents averaged 2300 fans per game who were subjected to complete ownership/management/coaching incompetence. That is 500-600 more fans than Brampton has averaged over the past 5 years (in which they made the playoffs each year). Add to that the fact that Brampton has had superb ownership/management/coaching.
I think the Trappers will be able to remain in North Bay and of course their support will go down. They will be a nice feeder for the Battalion who in turn can feed the Lakers. I would think a move to West Ferris is in order and should be done with a huge discount on ice from the City. Chris Dawson has done an excellent job with this team and I can’t see them moving at this point (at least I hope not). I look forward to following both the Battalion and the Trappers (for some unknown reason, I never did get too interested in the Lakers).
Keep up the great writing RR. ‘Go Trappers’ and ‘Lets Go Troops’!
BayBruiser,
Good points, good post.
2,300 fans, while 500-600 more than the Battalion has averaged, is still not that good, though the ownership/management incompetence of the Centennial group that allowed the franchise to go to Saginaw cannot be overlooked, you are right.
I was in North Bay many times during the Templeton glory years. In fact, I watched Game 6 of the Super Series between the Centennials and Oshawa in 1987 when the Generals rode the superb goaltending of Sean Evoy to tie the series. Oshawa then won Game 7 at home (3-0 was the score, I think) to advance to the Memorial Cup.
At any rate, my point is, crowds of 3,000+ were the norm in North Bay in the good old days of coach Bert Templeton.
I wish North Bay well with its new OHL venture. I just hope the Trappers and the NOJHL are not forgotten or cast aside. The Trappers deserve to be treated respectfully and considerately.
Regards,
RR
I would move them to a near by town ie (Sturgeon Falls, Huntsville, Temiskaming Shores) to act as the affiliated team for the Battalion.
The Trappers definitely deserve consideration.Scott Abbott (a former sports new reporter,admitted hockey nut, successful business man) has proven himself to be an excellent team owner ,surrounding himself with top quality hockey people like Stan Butler and Mike Griffin.He has shown his loyalty by standing by these people when their on ice success were lean.Butler has been with him since the franchise,s inception and Griffin has been there for a decade or so.He has stood fast in Brampton ,where most others would have ceased hockey operations a lot sooner.
I would think the Battalions would welcome a well managed Dawson – Clayden tier 2 feeder system close by.The Trappers possibly moving to a less costly venue like West Ferris arena,will always have a hard core following of those unwilling to support a more expensive OHL entertainment or having an opinion somewhat unfavorable of OHl hockey as Randy has expressed in previous articles.The Trappers could still draw enough fans as the other now successful NOJHL teams.
The Lakers seem to be backed by Nipissing University whose financial support should be adequate and they definitely would have to remain at the Gardens.This is definitely a stronger brand of hockey than the Ohl with its allure of seeing future 16 and 17 year old NHL superstars. Ken Peroff ( a local hockey product ), a former 4 year Battalion is now in his second year playing or the University of Guelph.He was quoted on his first visit to face the Lakers here last year that he found university hockey a step up being faster and the fact that he was facing up to 25 year old men not 16 and 17 year old teenagers.University players are a combination of former CHL players who were above average, a few who were high level plus former high level tier two players.
Can North Bay support these three teams? The answer lies in people like I,who have applied for Battalion season tickets, who will continue to support the Lakers who will consistently entertain me with a better brand of hockey ( there are much fewer games than the OHL ), and who will make an attempt to watch the Trappers when they face their strongest opponents.I definitely will buy my Dudley-Hewitt package.The first Dudley-Hewitt tournament here was one of the best and competitive hockey I had seen.
Surprised not see any posts on the KL/Soo game last night. All is quiet in Goldminers land.
Hey Sigs, Winkler’s in nets and Roy on the bench tonight, what’s up with that? Does he have a rich daddy?
And while were at it Sigs, What’s going on with that Powerplay in Iglooland, 0 for 10 tonight. Funny how when you spit in the air it comes right back at you isn’t it?
And Sigs, while were at it, whats going on with that Powerplay in Iglooland. 0 for 10 tonight. lol. When you spit in the air it comes right back at you.
Hey Stick No time to Post , had to drive to Eskie Land to watch disaster strike two nights in a row….Soo does not miss to many opportunities ……..I would say in the two games …
Seems you’re at it by yourself jagr! Eskis ran into a hot goalie last night, he had an exellent game and deserve the #1 star
Was nice to see our New N.O.H.A. Representative Dean Belisle at
Eskies Game last night…Dean will no doubt do an excellent Job
representing us. Dean has always been a big supporter of the Eskies.
Hey stick maybe you and sigs_2012 need a bit of a holiday. Kind of like the one yours Eskies took on the powerplay and on the score sheet last night.
Where’s rich daddy when you need him?
Lol listen to jagr or maybe dont! Teams needs two goalies to play. Not sure how ur relating the two. New goalie played well. Actually the Eskis played a good game outshooting the Tbirds and getting quality goaltending!
This was certainly not a 4-0 game and really had our d not deflected the first one in his net this was a 1-0 game midway point of the third! Im sure Winkler would like that second goal back, small blemish on a very good game! Eskis took the game to the soo, won many board battles and foot races but didnt quite have the same quality scoring chances that the Soo produced.
Soo goalie was excellent and that was the most impressive goaltending performance ive seen all year!
Too me this was a awfull game. The soo goalie got 2 % quality shots , Eskie Goalie got 30% quality shots , he is all over the place won’t be a good goalie, that’s why he was playing jr b at 20. Eskies need 3 top 3 d-man , 1 kid that can be top 4, rest are all 6-7-8 d-man , if they dont fix that problem they will stay at the bottom the rest of the year , it dont matter what goalies you bring in. They’ve got a goalie from ejhl south that came in last night , ejhl south is = to major midget. Etienne is a fine goalie , bring in d-man goalies will look good.
HardRockMiners, KL FAN , or jagr_68,
Whatever one and the same you prefer calling yourself,
Perhaps try getting that chip off your shoulder
And being a bit more creative in your out-downs.
Your entertainment value is negligible.
Soo, as Eskis and Miners found out, are a powerful club with aspirations
Of repeating an appearance at the DHC and beyond. They could be the bane of this years DHC hosts, and today’s game could legitimize that.
I wasn’t surprised the Eskis lost last night but expected them to pot a goal or two and they certainly had their opportunities, but kudos to Soo D which played very well, their goalie shone when needed and luck played a part too. As observed, score not indicative of the play, Eskis played well IMO but the better team won. Should be an entertaining contest in NB.
Oh, and HardRockMiners, KL FAN , or jagr_68, whomever, there’s a bit of difference between the Birds and Cats.
*put-downs, not “out downs”
Lol
Eskisfan, I totally agree with you. I was just relating to an earlier post Sigs made about KL starting Audet against Elliot Lake and taking a shot at their powerplay. The Soo are an verry nice team to watch indeed.
Sigs, I don’t have 3 names, just one. Yes their is a difference between the cats and the birds but any team can have an off night in any sports. If I remeber well, the game at the sportsplex It’s the special teams and Komma that made the difference that night. KL came out on top. Not sure why you’d come out the next week and take a swipe at KL’s power play when your’s isn’t any better.
I believe that we can put our differences aside, as today is a sad day in Eskis-land. It was learned that long-serving trainer for the Eskimos, Bruce Renwick, passed away peacefully this morning. “Brucey”, as he was affectionately named by staff, was with the team for many years and left his personal stamp on the dressing room and many other service areas of the club’s facilities at the Jus Jordan.
Bruce was honored with the accolades of being named NOJHL Second All Star Team trainer (2003-04), and NOJHL First All Star Team trainer (2005-06).
Bruce is survived by his kids Kevin & Kim and adoring grand-kids.
He will be sorely missed, and fondly remembered.
sigs_2012
I am shocked and sadden to learn about Bruce Renwick’s passing in this way, as I was one that did respect and liked him no matter whom else did or not. Please let me know by Facebook email (hint as to who I am) when his funeral will be. I do have a busy schedule this week but will move many mountains to attend it.
Thanks.
I would like to send my condolences to the fine people of Iroquois Falls. Bruce was a great guy. I got to know Bruce very well through hockey way back when I was playing for the Timmins Golden Bears and our team got moved to Iroquois Fall and were named the Jr Eskies. Bruce’s hard work and dedication will be big shoes to fill. To find a guy that had Brucey’s sense of humour and his commitment will surely be missed by all. Rest in Peace Brucey. Thank you for all your time you gave to Hockey!
Sorry to bring this up once again, but I’m really hoping to find out if the Nickel Barons, Bobcats, or Gold Miners charge players fees. Can somebody please help me out?
some do some dont
My two month hunting season over took in my first Trapper game tonight.Excellent game,two well matched teams.If first impressions are true seems like two well disciplined teams showing good skills.Solid goaltending at both ends.Trappers took more penalties ( well deserved ),no penalties called on both side were of the stupid chippy kind,referee let them play the game.Hockey being a game of inches both teams had numerous chances.
,
McFly: You must be watching games from a bad internet feed or doing too much socializing during the game. My first comment would be about your perception of “quality shots”. Dombrow made numerous outstanding saves, and his positioning was impeccable all night. Tbirds managed to shut down the big line which does no happen often. As for your dumping on the Eskis D……again, and trashing the new kid – your starting to sound like a disgruntled “Goalie Dad”. Their top D 4 are as good as any I’ve seen in the league. RIP Mr. Renwick – you will be missed.
If you can’t see that theres a problem with the D, u must not know hockey .It’s a simple game. Everyone will have different opinion, but in march i will be telling you the same thing, i am telling you now.D Suck and no Goalies will look good because of it,Etienne is doing a good job for what he as in front of him. and yes you will still be in bottom 3. but thats ok good luck the rest of season.
Ok lets see , let’s all pick , top 4 that you would take on your team.Eskies- Desrosier,Kerr,Walker,Dubbledam. Blind River -Verreault,Cassavia,Newkirk,Lavigne. Elliot Lake-Waghorn,Grove,Lacroix,Blanchard.Kirkland Lake-Fiset,Chambers,Blenckenship,Sherer. North bay- Carter,Klippenstein,Martin,Echelmeier. Soo-Pymaki,Kapcheck,Turner,Jones. Suds-Chretien,Dusick,Punkari,Bell. none of them are in order , might of miss a few players.pick what set of dman u would take in what order.
I’ll agree we’re missing a better positional shutdown D man and an offensive PP shooter D, fair enough! I’m just glad your not saying KL’s D is great. KL has one D in particular that i like and would trade for. I haven’t seen Blankenship play so it’s not fair to comment, but he is listed as D and forward. For the rest, i wouldn’t say any is better or worse than ours.
Roy is “OK”, good back-up. Not the starter you need to push deep. he’s inconsistent and sloppy but once he gets comfortable he does fine. Unfortanately, there a has been situations where it’s been too late and too deep for the eskis to save the gam. I do hope he sticks.
As for Winkler or the new guys, that’s not fair MA and you know it! Roy came from jr b as well. Winkler played a good game. All over? maybe but he worked hard and showed good second effort which is lacking now in the world of technical goalies. He’ll get burned on some of that for sure but give credit where it’s due, he made 2 monsters saves and i think the whole rink thought the Birds had scored on both! In the end he gave the Eskis a chance to win the game and that’s job. In the end, he may or may not be able to hold that together. I think he deserves the same shot some your lesser or long shot kids were/are offered.
Eskis need 2 forwards and 2 D before they can consider thgemselves a threat. All need to be of top 4 quality.
IMO, the Eskis will catch the Wolves.
I find your retort extremely humourous given the fact that according to you – the requirements for a goalie to “look good” is the defence – What would the rquirement for defence to look good?. I have no issues with the way Mr. Roy has played, and to his credit he has shown the ability to bounce back after shakey outings. There’s no secret that JP Fecteau isn’t in the line up – he had the ability to win a game on his own when the rest had an off night. This has not happened this season. So the record is where it is, and those with a penchant to find fault at all cost will continue to do so…… especially those with a self serving agenda (as with your case McFly).
J_P Fecteau 887 sp <Big offense only reason eskies won
I’d like to comment on McFly’s latest post – clearly an attempt to discredit the efforts of 16 – 20 year old kids. Putting names out there like that is unacceptable – and just plain ignorace. What is wrong with you? Do you really feel you are a hockey agent – someone who has kids best interest at heart? Good luck with your dream, and more importantly, life in general.
Great game to watch yesterday afternoon at the Gardens. Easy to see why these two teams are one and two. Both teams played well and it was great to see local boy Dustin Hummel get the shut out, especially against a team like the T-Birds.
Stix
Theres people that think they know hockey ,and then there are the ones that do , u know wich class your in. The Offense era is gone. offense(2 way)Defense goalies win you game=Team .u cannot give out 5 goals every night (6years i went back)and expect to win, your best goalie was a 20 year old Davey and got a d-3 scholarship , that year you add the best defense in the league.he still add to tand on is head and thats why where able to get a scholarship for Eddy .JP was my client also and no d-3 wanted to touch him because of too many goals against. if he would of add the defense that eddy add , yes he would of got one.but he was left on is own , high scoring games dont work anymore.u need to be able to stop the scoring.Therrien(my client) great player when he left the elans. 2 way player , now he his all offense ,d-1 dont want that .wake up.d-1 went 2 way players ,no one wants 80 point player thats a minus 45 , they want the player that scores 50 points with a plus 15.anyways im done arguing on here, keep on enforcing scoring goals very exiting game, but does not make your playersready for next level.that’s what jr a is all about preparing them for the next step.Why do you think all the iroquoi boys signed with nb good luck
all the kids know what there working for ? its a blog , keep reminding it to them every day . Therrien will hve a long hockey carear caue he is a hard worker and will work even harder to fix is 2 way game to get a long hockey carear . i posted sacha name on here 4 years back , lookhe is in the echl and one of the best dmens out there . he will keep climbng and so will therrien ,.just a few bumps on the road that makes u stronger
Eskiesfan, I also agree that IF will finish ahead of Sudbury. You have a good team. So does Sudbury but I think the Eskies finish ahead of them.
Baytoday.ca reporting the board of governors has approved the move to North Bay for the Brampton Battalion. Congrats N/Bay
Mcfly -
You seem to have a big chip on your shoulder as for your posts , it`s your opinion . An opinion is just that , an opinion, it`s neither right nor wrong , it`s an opinion.
But you just lost alot of credibility on this blog.
Wake for Bruce Renwick is this Wednesday, at Abitibi Funeral Services, Cambridge Dr. in I.F., 7pm-9pm
Funeral will be on Thursday morning, 11am, at St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church, Fyfe Ave. , I.F.
Reception at the Royal Canadian Legion Br. 70 , Devonshire Ave.
If anyone wants to send flowers:
Tanny’s Flower & Gift Shop, 705-232-4044
Bloomer’s, 705 232 4646
Thats ok that is why i have clients that trust me , cause i dont hide from anything ,i say it the way i see it.im there for my clients 100% ,i work to get them what they deserve. so ask me if i care ,if everyone on here dont like what i say woot woot , dont care. like i said i say it the way i see it, i work with 90% of the top teams in north america ,schools ,pro teams etc, so ask them all about me , cause thats where it counts , they are all happy to have me on there team. Have a great day.
McFly,
To quote author Evelyn Beatrice Halll: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.
Now, it seems you have a disproportionate amount of criticism for the Eskimos, for whatever reason, justified or otherwise. I encourage you to “spread the love”; there are 7 teams in this league. Obviously you likely won’t negatively criticize the Miners, so why not be consistent about it and offer some constructive criticism for all clubs in the league?
If not refreshing, at least it should be entertaining.
I only critic what I see. all my other clients in the nojhl are happy and moving forward. suds and Br are only 2 teams with no clients.
Thanks for the info sigs, I’m thinking the Eskis will do a little something Saturday night.
i don’t think we had the best D in the league in the league that year, maybe 3rd best! Soo’s D was much better. They just didn’t have the same offence or goalie. Eskis always had the puck, three lines of near point a game players! JP Fecteau and Eddy Davey? Absolutley zero to compare with. sun and the mooon, fire and ice! They each are where they are based on ability and nothing more. JP Fecteau, although i’m sure is nice young man, was not near the goalie Eddy was, i don’t even know where to begin, not fair to start!
Your talking about defencemen being defencemen and then you bring up Guimond? Wow, good offensive d man for sure, beautiful skater but wasn’t tough enuf for the O and i watched him in the Q as well he was still timid but got away with in there. That game suited his style but he wasn’t a great D man, he was a 4th forward and that’s what the Q runs. speacialty guy with good range and mobility! he won’t go any farther than where he is today but i hope i’m wrong. If he toughens up maybe. Guimond reminded me of an even softer (checking and shooting) version of Alain Goulet.
MA, no one is attacking you, or what you do. not sure why you of all people find it appropriate to be throwin stones. your opinion is your opinion and usually has merit but the lines get muddy, especially when you have a vested interest! This year it’s compounded for obvious reasons. i understand why your so into it, that part is natural but i don’t think your poo poo show the Eskimo Org is warranted!
Iroquois Falls kids comment, for credibility purposes, you’ll need to try to get a better pulse on that situation, especially now that others have had a chance to inform themselves.
I can’t see the Trappers making use of the WF Arena since the ice pad there is only 80X180, which isn’t even big enough for the midget Trappers. If they can stretch it out like they’re doing at the Gardens, then maybe, but it’s another one of those old barns where you freeze your patootie trying to last through a game and the change-rooms are hopeless for jr. A.
if u look at the threads . someone ask question or tell me something. I answer with honesty. don’t ask I won’t answer.
OK folks, I’ve checked the threads, no one has asked or told McFly anything. Hope he stays true to his word……..
OK folks, I’ve checked the threads and no one has asked or told McFly anything. Let’s hope he stays true to his word……………..
i just gave my commen on the game , and then u stated this , after a plain comment like everyone else.u trash me , i will say the truth thats how i am.
Stix601 says:
November 19, 2012 at 9:27 am
McFly: You must be watching games from a bad internet feed or doing too much socializing during the game. My first comment would be about your perception of “quality shots”. Dombrow made numerous outstanding saves, and his positioning was impeccable all night. Tbirds managed to shut down the big line which does no happen often. As for your dumping on the Eskis D……again, and trashing the new kid – your starting to sound like a disgruntled “Goalie Dad”. Their top D 4 are as good as any I’ve seen in the league. RIP Mr. Renwick – you will be missed.
thats funny cant even find is own comment hahaha must be a old fart
anyways good luck to all teams im done on here waste of time, talking to a few good people and a few meatheads.Keep up the good words Randy . enjoy reading your stuff, good job.
Armand -
Agreed , I can`t see them using the West Ferris either and I can`t see them back at the Gardens either. There is already a major ice shortage in N-Bay….
As you said , if they would have some renos done to the WF maybe , it would create a better atmosphere , by saying this I mean crowd related. Guessing with the O as the major show, they would average 350 – 450 a game ? With those numbers at the Gardens , I don`t think it would create much, finacially or other wise.There best bet would be to go somewhere where they would be the major show…hoping in this league .
Eskisfan – your post clears things up for me ,,,thanks
srix601 – ditto
Your comments would hold some credibility if your discontent for the Eskis Org. wasn’t so obvious MA.
Quit pumping your own tires, Nobody cares.
DJ,MN,MA<3 are gone PPR,ER,AM,SD,RT, sorry to burst your bubble , they are my problem , im the one that braught all of them to the Eskies.Its my Job to make sure there happy.AB,RB and the trainer great people Happy to have met them. The rest was all bad vibes across the board.Soo got trashed last year , i can tell you right now , i would send all my clients there NP same with NB ,EL,KL , i dont have clients on other 2 teams so i dont know , wont talk out of my ass like other people do on here.Now i will stop pumping my tires there pretty hard
good luck to all .Just to let you know that was my final post , i have better things to do. 
SD and RT might be urs now but did you didnt get them here. really am trying to keep an open mind and give ya the benefit of the doubt but its hard when you keep throwing junk in (some, not all) . Sucks having to sift through it! Another example is the NB comment! I guess things have a completly changed in that situation in very short order? Should everyone disregard all your comments about TC and company or is NB only good enuf for your clients and not you know who?
In any event, i know some of kids who were here as a result of your efforts are appreciative of that! Many have great memories of being an eskimo and stayed for two or more years! I just hope you remember that part as well! The eskimos are a proud org that has developed many hockey players, almost always competitive and won a championship! The club has given out over a 100 k (still happening) in scholarships assiting thier players in getting an education and planning for the next part of thier lives! I know many have had great times here playing and learning the great game as an eskimo! many will be here in december for the alumni game!
I think I’ve had my dose of narcissism and megalomiania for a while….
I’m thinking that there will not be alot, if any renos to the WF arena at least not in the near future anyway. Big focus on Memorial Gardens and there shrinking time line. So if the Jr’s were to play out of the WF rink they may need to work within the confines of what is already there. I’m not to sure this will be the case. Moving to where the Trappers are the main show in a community seems to make the most sense.
To change the subject. The NOJHL website seems slow in updating team changes. Players coming and going from teams and nothing on the site or am I not looking in the right place. I’m sure teams are starting to get ready for the December cut off since some teams have quite a few players
hanging on.
Back to the original topic – or something close to it…..as everyone is now aware, the Battalion has been approved for their move to North Bay next season. Nobody is more pleased with this turn of events than me and my family. We committed for our season tickets the day before the campaign began. After 40 years as Jr. hockey subscribers, what else could we do, eh? A point I want to make is how great it will be to renew the old rivalry at the OHL level with Sudbury and the Soo. A special nod of thanks to the Wolves organization for their tangible support for the Bay’s bid to meet the target. Must be something we share in the Northern Ontario water – where else would a team make such an offer to one of their fiercest rivals – c’mon over and watch your soon-to-be team take on our home team, and we’ll give you an $18. ticket for just $8.! We’ll give you a $10. discount to come to our rink and cheer against us! Now that’s about as classy as hockey gets! Thank you Wolves!
As for the Trappers, I’m with Bay Bruiser – I do hope some arrangement can be made to keep the Traps in town as a ‘feeder’ for the Battalion. I certainly would continue to support them. Kudos to Chris Dawson for having assembled a top-notch organization of quality hockey people. I sincerely hope all his efforts will prove fruitful in the long term.
Thanks to you, Randy, for keeping your readers informed of these developments, and offering insightful comments for our consideration. “Go Troops” and “Go Traps”!
I noticed that Comtois was in the lineup against the Trappers last night. Did his slashing major and game misc at the end of the second period on Wed night not warrant an automatic suspension? What is the rule on that?
Great game last night Trappers! 2 straight shutouts for Hummel. Awesome stuff against 2 of the more powerful offensive teams in the league. This sure looks like a real “TEAM”.
I agree LeJib. That sure was a class act by the OHL Wolves and also a great gesture from Dave Lamothe and Carte Blanche and the committee to pony-up for the cost of the busses.
new blog just posted:
High marks for low-key NOJHL
KL put at end to the Traps shutout streak tonight and Eskis defeat Beavers by one goal again. Final goal by Poulin Roy was a lazer to the top corner that no goalie would have stopped.
there is no safe way for the traps to play out of west ferris the way the rink is set up now. at the one end it is a brick wall basically with glass on it. there will be many separated shoulders because of it,if not worse injuries. the players benches are way too small . Tim, Chris and the staff have done a great job in bringing exciting hockey to the bay over the years. all the work they did to get the dudley hewitt here and we never hear it mentioned in northbay at all. we also seem to be forgetting about the lady lakers that are coming next year and im sure they will want to be palying out of memorial gardens as well i would think. there is no way in my opinion that there is enough icetime at memorial gardens with practices and games to all be played there. try to get ice at any of the other 3 rinks and its almost impossible.lets hope for the best. cheers