After two weeks of uncertainty, the U18 AA Jr. Greyhounds suddenly announced on social media Friday night that their forfeited championship game is now set for Sunday
This story gets more messy by the day.
A local rep hockey team that was forced to forfeit a championship game because of an allegedly messy dressing room appears to have been granted a second chance.
Last night, the U18 AA Soo Jr. Greyhounds added a new post to the team’s Instagram page: “HERE WE GO!!!! A GAME 3 IN SUDBURY THIS SUNDAY, DO OR DIE. GO HOUNDS GO!!!”
The post says the decisive Game 3 against the Copper Cliff Reds is now scheduled for April 12 at 7 p.m. at Sudbury’s McClelland Arena.
The sudden announcement raises way more questions than it answers. Did Hockey Canada intervene? Did the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) walk back from its initial ruling? Did cooler heads prevail?
SooToday is trying to track down some answers, and we’ll update this story when we get some.
In the meantime, game on? Sure looks that way.
The U18 AA Soo Jr. Greyhounds posted a game announcement to the team’s Instagram page on Friday night. Screenshot
If you don’t know all the messy details, here’s a quick recap.
On March 28, the Greyhounds and the Reds played the first two games of a best-of-three series for a berth in the provincial championships. The games were held at the Blind River arena, a neutral location.
The teams split the Saturday doubleheader, with Game 3 set for the following morning, March 29. That’s when things went off the rails, according to the Jr. Greyhounds.
In a lengthy news release issued on April 5, the team said they received an email from NOHA after the doubleheader saying the third game was postponed “due to the unkept state” of the Hounds’ dressing room. They later received another email saying the series finale was forfeited.
Although the team has declined to publicly release photographs of the dressing room’s condition, they admit “it did not meet the standard expected of the players, coaches or program.”
“While the room was untidy with water bottles, a towel and some hockey tape – it was not damaged or vandalized,” the news release said. “A simple phone call could have resulted in the players returning immediately (or arriving early the next morning) to clean the room in minutes. Yet the team was never contacted.”
A formal appeal was submitted to Hockey Canada but it’s not clear if it was heard. Jason Marchand, NOHA’s executive director, declined to comment when contacted earlier this week by SooToday.
The Jr. Greyhounds say their team leadership wrote a letter of apology to the Town of Blind River, and it was accepted.
“This is not about avoiding responsibility,” said the team news release. “It’s about ensuring that consequences are fair, and that young athletes are given the opportunity to learn, respond, and compete. A championship should be decided on the ice. Let the kids play.”
It appears they will.