The St. John's IceCaps won't be the only team playing out of Mile One this spring.
Following a conference call with the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League's teams and executive Monday night, Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador announced it will not reverse a decision to hold the 2012 Telegram Herder Memorial Trophy championship series at Mile One Centre in St. John's and possibly the Pepsi Centre in Corner Brook.
"Sometimes your emotions have to be put aside and a business decision has to be made," HNL president Jack Lee says. "Every decision is not easy and I understand people will be frustrated and disappointed, but they should respect that we're looking at what's best for senior hockey."
Lee says HNL feels the Herder provincial senior hockey final is a "showcase" and needs to played in the province's largest hockey rinks to offer the most exposure for teams.
"We have five strong teams in five good locations and hopefully, by showcasing them in venues like Mile One and the Pepsi Centre, it's going to make the league stronger and expose the fans to a game of hockey that's different than what they see throughout the season."
If the Herder final involves two of the three teams east of Grand Falls-Windsor - the Clarenville Caribous, Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars and/or Mount Pearl Blades - the entire series will be played in St. John's.
Officials with the Grand Fall-Windsor Cataracts, vocal proponents for allowing teams to play Herder games in their home rinks, say they are disappointed with the final decision and with how the process played out Monday.
"We expected our league would have an opportunity to put forward a position based on projected revenues and expenses that were out there, (but) never got that opportunity," says Cataracts president Paul Glavine.
“If we’re fortunate enough to get to a Herder final, we’ll have to make a decision as to what we’ll do at that point.” - Paul Glavine
"We were told HNL had a decision made prior to (Monday)."
Glavine says it's the grass-root fans - kids not old enough to drive, seniors wary of highway driving and people who can't afford a trip to St. John's or Corner Brook - who are hurt the most.
"I'm really disappointed for our fans, sponsors and (the) municipality who have been so good for us for so long. To have this taken away from them is not a very good feeling."
The Cataracts don't agree with Lee's "showcase" reasoning, suggesting HNL should be more concerned about core fans who support senior hockey on a weekly basis.
"We've seen Mile One for a good many years at the Herder, but it hasn't translated to any support for Mount Pearl. We played out there Friday night and there might have been 400 or 500 people there, so I don't buy that argument one bit."
Asked if he thinks HNL was ever open to overturning the decision, Glavine says he "doesn't believe there was an open mind taken."
Now they're left to see what impact the decision will have on the team come next season.
"I think it's one that will negatively affect senior hockey. As an organization, we'll do our best to keep senior hockey here, but I believe it'll be on shaky ground for next season."
Glavine says the team's executive will meet over the coming days to decide how to proceed "and if we're fortunate enough to get to a Herder final, we'll have to make a decision as to what we'll do at that point."
koliver@thetelegram.com
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