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\nWinnipeg Sea Bears head coach Mike Raimbault said he could sense the cancellation was coming, and understands the resulting frustration. <\/p>\n
The championship will flip to the Manitoba capital for a single, winner-take-all contest at Canada Life Centre on Saturday (3:30 p.m.).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision was made by the League in consultation with both clubs,\u201d a statement from the CEBL read. \u201cWith the best-of-three series unable to be completed within the scheduled window, a one-game championship was determined to be the fairest and most practical path to crowning a champion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked for further comment onsite, one league official said that the league\u2019s statement would be all it was willing to share at that time.<\/p>\n
The best-of-three series was to feature Game 1 in Brampton, Ont. before going to Winnipeg for Games 2 on Saturday and a deciding Game 3 on Sunday, if necessary.<\/p>\n
The Honey Badgers are one of two tenants inside the CAA Centre along with the Brampton Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League.<\/p>\n
Sources told the Free Press that the Honey Badgers practised at the Mississauga Sports and Entertainment Centre while the CAA Centre, against the wishes of the basketball team, installed ice in preparation for the Steelheads training camp and built the hardcourt on top.<\/p>\n
The arena attempted to prevent the ice from affecting the court by lowering the temperature of the building drastically, but that failed miserably.<\/p>\n
Sea Bears head coach Mike Raimbault said it was clear from the moment he stepped on the court that its condition was poor. He had a feeling this would be the outcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, there was a moment at the end of warm-up when both teams actually got together to talk about the conditions,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we were a bit concerned right from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even with that foresight, the wave of disappointment didn\u2019t soften when the game was officially cancelled. Officials delayed the nationally televised contest for several minutes before concluding the game would not continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure. I mean, obviously, there was a huge buildup, huge level of excitement about what this game was going to be like. But ultimately, it\u2019s just about player safety and what\u2019s best for everybody\u2019s health,\u201d Raimbault said. \u201cSo it\u2019s disappointing that the game couldn\u2019t get played, but it\u2019s very much out of our control.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s yet another black eye for the CEBL after its questionable handling of the fallout from a mid-game brawl that broke out during the regular-season finale between Brampton and the Scarborough Shooting Stars that led to five players being suspended and six players fined.<\/p>\n
Sea Bears chair David Asper masked his disappointment in levity.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this stage of the season, given what we\u2019ve been experiencing as a team, half of me wants to say, \u2018What\u2019s next?\u2019\u201d said Asper, whose club overcame losing three starters, including MVP front-runner Teddy Allen, before the playoffs began.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it is very disappointing, for both teams. Both teams were very pumped to get this going, and very quickly, both teams knew that that wasn\u2019t going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Sea Bears, who won their first playoff game in franchise history this post-season, are playing in their first CEBL Finals. The Honey Badgers are searching for their first championship since 2022.<\/p>\n
The league said that it would refund all tickets for Wednesday\u2019s game, but that doesn\u2019t begin to cover the expenses of the large contingent of Sea Bears fans who drove and flew to the Greater Toronto Area for the contest.<\/p>\n
Asper said he feels for the Sea Bears faithful.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had our whole office staff, our gameday staff; we had a huge contingent from Winnipeg. They were super excited,\u201d he said. \u201cI know there were people here; I talked to them, ex-Winnipeggers who were here. I talked to lots of Honey Badgers fans that were super pumped about this. So I get it. I understand why people are disappointed and mad. I\u2019d be mad too.\u201d<\/p>\n
winnipegfreepress.com\/joshuafreysam<\/p>\n
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Joshua Frey-Sam Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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