TIGNISH – After a successful first season of the West Prince Senior Hockey League, Ghislain Bernard says players, fans and West Prince arena boards are eager to see that momentum continue.
There is, however, a need for a commitment from a fourth team before that can happen.
The league flew out of the gate after Christmas last year, with each of the four teams playing an eight-game regular season.
Bernard, who played for the Tignish Aces last season but has shifted to a non-playing role this year as league president, said the four teams – Tignish Aces, Alberton Regals, Wellington Flyers and O’Leary Maroons – enjoyed great fan support, and the arenas they played out of benefitted from that fan interest.
Fans followed their teams not only at home, but on the road. Bernard said he has spoken to fans who attended practically all regular-season games. Teams had just one game per week, and there were few occasions when games overlapped. He’s hoping for a similar schedule this winter.
“It’s a very entertaining league,” Bernard commented, adding the short season makes it easier for players to commit.
Alberton, Wellington and O’Leary, the defending regular-season and playoff champions, have all committed to a second season. However, Bernard said Tignish still needs a few more players to join up before the Aces can commit.
“There’s not a lot of interest in a three-team league,” Bernard pointed out. “If there are players out there, tell them to give Mikey (O’Halloran) a call.”
O’Halloran is the team rep for the Aces. Other team reps are Kirk Ramsay for Alberton, Aaron Sweet for O’Leary and Jamie Caissie for Wellington.
Bernard said teams are interested in going with a shortened schedule – the same as last year – because it is difficult to get players prior to Christmas.
The new president said he hopes, going forward, to actually grow the league to include Tyne Valley. It was Tyne Valley that got the momentum going to form a league early in 2016, but was unable to ice a team last fall.
Teams have already resisted efforts to expand the league beyond West Prince
“We were clear from the start, this is a western league,” Bernard said.
