After a messy locker room abruptly ended their season, the U18 AA Jr. Greyhounds suddenly announced last night that their forfeited championship is now set for Sunday
Game on.
A local rep hockey team that was forced to forfeit a championship game because of an allegedly messy dressing room has 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 — with a berth in the provincial finals on the line — is now scheduled for tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Sudbury’s McClelland Arena.
The sudden announcement raised way more questions than it answered. Did Hockey Canada intervene? Did the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) walk back from its initial ruling? Did cooler heads prevail?
SooToday has some answers (but not all of them).
Lindsay Fera, the team’s manager, said in an email this morning that Hockey Canada “thoroughly reviewed” the Jr. Greyhounds’ appeal but ultimately denied it.
“However, all governing bodies involved were in favour of the game being played,” she wrote. “We are grateful to NOHA for reviewing everything again and working with our coaching staff and the staff from Copper Cliff Reds to make this game happen.”
Fera said the Hounds “have had great games against the Reds for the past 5 years and we look forward to competing one more time” on Sunday night.
“Our players are extremely thankful to have the opportunity to finish or extend their season with this final game, and to represent themselves and the game of hockey with integrity,” she wrote.
Contacted this morning, Jason Marchand, NOHA’s executive director, told SooToday “it has always been our desire to see the game being played.” He also reiterated that Hockey Canada denied the team’s appeal.
“While we will provide the facts around this situation at a later date, I will state that it has always been our desire to see the game being played and we are appreciative of the [Ontario Hockey Federation] and the U18 AA host committee in Kitchener for providing an extension to declare a winner,” he wrote.
The Ontario Hockey Federation, a regional branch of Hockey Canada, was involved in discussions leading up to the game being rescheduled. The federation has yet to respond to a request for comment from SooToday.
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.”
They will, it turns out.
— with files from Brandon Walker and Brad Coccimiglio