The NorPac junior hockey league suffered a major
shakeup last week when four of the 12 teams were suspended for the upcoming
season. The Missoula Maulers, Bozeman Icedogs, Helena Bighorns and the Billings
Bulls have each been banned from play for the upcoming season, the league
reports.
The decision leaves the league with only two teams
in Montana, the Butte Roughriders and the upstart Glacier Nationals in
Whitefish. The other six teams are in Seattle, Bremerton, Wash., Vancouver,
Wash., Eugene, Ore., Medford, Ore., and Cody, Wyo. Great Falls was slated to
join the league this winter but the NorPac website makes no mention of the
team.
The four suspended clubs were in negotiations with
NorPac to start and join another league in the region, according to Nationals
owner Butch Kowalka. USA Hockey shot down the idea because they have a
moratorium on starting any new leagues. The idea was tabled until 2012-2013 and
the four teams were under contact to not pursue the new league until then.
“Those four teams went for it anyway,”Kowalka
said.
That’s when NorPac suspended them from playing this
coming winter.
Kowalka says those teams are not only putting their
own players at risk of not playing any hockey this year, but they’re also
causing financial strife for the rest of the NorPac.
“There are going to be some significant travel
expenses,” he said.
The eight teams moving forward will play a full
cross schedule. Glacier will play all of the teams at home three times, then
three more times away.
Kowalka was never approached by any of the owners of
the four suspended teams about joining the new league.
“It’s not like we chose the NorPac,”Kowalka said.
“They left us out deliberately. They have not approached me one single bit.”
He said there are a lot of teams talking about
leaving USA Hockey, partly due to insurance reasons. Still, he doesn’t
understand why the four suspended teams didn’t wait out the one-year moratorium
so they could legally pursue starting another league.
He suspects the teams will join a U-18 league this
winter. NorPac is for players 16-20 years old.
Despite the league shake up, the Nationals franchise
is nearly a done deal except for a final stamp of approval from USA Hockey. The
team’s first player is expected to sign as early as this week and Jason Quinn
was hired as the head coach.
Quinn has worked with the TriCity Americans,
Vancouver Giants and Portland WinterHawks. He coached in the NorPac with the
Butte Rough Riders and was a scout for the Helena Big Horns.
The Nationals team bus has been purchased, a website
was launched, and a hockey and lacrosse gear shop is slated to open in the
Stumptown Ice Den’s warming hut.
Grouse Mountain Lodge is penciled in to have their
logo at center ice as a major sponsor. The logo sale was split with the City of
Whitefish and will bring in $16,000 to the Parks Department.
The visitor locker room expansion won’t happen this
season due to a lack of funding. The team will use the Saddle Club as a
secondary locker room instead.
“It’s not a perfect situation,” Kowalka said, “but
it’s better than not having a team.”
By MATT BALDWIN Whitefish
Pilot.
shakeup last week when four of the 12 teams were suspended for the upcoming
season. The Missoula Maulers, Bozeman Icedogs, Helena Bighorns and the Billings
Bulls have each been banned from play for the upcoming season, the league
reports.
The decision leaves the league with only two teams
in Montana, the Butte Roughriders and the upstart Glacier Nationals in
Whitefish. The other six teams are in Seattle, Bremerton, Wash., Vancouver,
Wash., Eugene, Ore., Medford, Ore., and Cody, Wyo. Great Falls was slated to
join the league this winter but the NorPac website makes no mention of the
team.
The four suspended clubs were in negotiations with
NorPac to start and join another league in the region, according to Nationals
owner Butch Kowalka. USA Hockey shot down the idea because they have a
moratorium on starting any new leagues. The idea was tabled until 2012-2013 and
the four teams were under contact to not pursue the new league until then.
“Those four teams went for it anyway,”Kowalka
said.
That’s when NorPac suspended them from playing this
coming winter.
Kowalka says those teams are not only putting their
own players at risk of not playing any hockey this year, but they’re also
causing financial strife for the rest of the NorPac.
“There are going to be some significant travel
expenses,” he said.
The eight teams moving forward will play a full
cross schedule. Glacier will play all of the teams at home three times, then
three more times away.
Kowalka was never approached by any of the owners of
the four suspended teams about joining the new league.
“It’s not like we chose the NorPac,”Kowalka said.
“They left us out deliberately. They have not approached me one single bit.”
He said there are a lot of teams talking about
leaving USA Hockey, partly due to insurance reasons. Still, he doesn’t
understand why the four suspended teams didn’t wait out the one-year moratorium
so they could legally pursue starting another league.
He suspects the teams will join a U-18 league this
winter. NorPac is for players 16-20 years old.
Despite the league shake up, the Nationals franchise
is nearly a done deal except for a final stamp of approval from USA Hockey. The
team’s first player is expected to sign as early as this week and Jason Quinn
was hired as the head coach.
Quinn has worked with the TriCity Americans,
Vancouver Giants and Portland WinterHawks. He coached in the NorPac with the
Butte Rough Riders and was a scout for the Helena Big Horns.
The Nationals team bus has been purchased, a website
was launched, and a hockey and lacrosse gear shop is slated to open in the
Stumptown Ice Den’s warming hut.
Grouse Mountain Lodge is penciled in to have their
logo at center ice as a major sponsor. The logo sale was split with the City of
Whitefish and will bring in $16,000 to the Parks Department.
The visitor locker room expansion won’t happen this
season due to a lack of funding. The team will use the Saddle Club as a
secondary locker room instead.
“It’s not a perfect situation,” Kowalka said, “but
it’s better than not having a team.”
By MATT BALDWIN Whitefish
Pilot.
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