|
|
Post by ysj28 on Feb 9, 2020 18:32:40 GMT -4
SAINT JOHN • Saint John Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie says he warned the Halifax Mooseheads days before Friday night's cancelled game they should travel to the city on Thursday to avoid cancellation.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game between the two teams was cancelled Friday on a night where TD Bank had paid for hip-hop artist Classified to perform during both intermissions.
The game had received an extensive marketing campaign, and team officials say ticket sales were indicating the game would have been the largest crowd of the year, trending to a near-sellout.
But after the game was initially postponed for an hour due to bus delays, the Mooseheads sent out a Tweet just before 7 p.m. saying they were in Moncton and were not coming to the game because of deteriorating road conditions.
With fans continuing to pour into the arena, an official announcement wouldn't come for another 30 minutes. With more than 3,000 fans already inside, Classified saved the night by choosing to play a longer 35-minute set before the Sea Dogs took the ice for a scrimmage and shoot-out.
Georgie, who was visibly upset outside the Sea Dogs locker room on Friday, said he was nervous about the weather forecast on Wednesday and called the Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell to stress the importance of the game.
"Typically, you leave the day before, you stay overnight, and you ensure that you are there for that game," he said. "I could tell by our conversation that night that they were trying to set it up to not play three games in three nights."
The Mooseheads were scheduled to play back-to-back home games in Halifax over the weekend, after returning from the game in Saint John on Friday.
Georgie said he offered to connect the Mooseheads with its hotel partner, the Delta Saint John, who were able to accommodate the team.
On Thursday, Georgie said he called league officials and told them "I am concerned Halifax is going to try to blame the weather as to why they're not coming tomorrow."
He said "the league assured me that I was paranoid."
On Friday morning, Georgie claims the Mooseheads cancelled their regular bus charter that was supposed to leave at 9 a.m., and were instead practising on their practice facility in Halifax. He said they then told league officials it was the charter company that cancelled on them due to "poor weather conditions."
"They told the transport company they weren't coming, as opposed to the other way around, and were practising at 10:15 at their facility. If you actually intended to play in this hockey game, how do you already have a practice lined up within an hour?"
Georgie said the league, after finding out the charter company still deemed the roads okay to drive, ordered the Mooseheads to travel so long as it was safe.
They left Halifax around 1 p.m., he said, but encountered bus troubles approaching Moncton. By the time a new bus was arranged, the weather to travel to Saint John from Moncton made travel too dangerous.
"I would never want players to be on the road if the experts deemed the roads unsafe," said Georgie. "But that's not the issue here. The root of the problem is Halifax knew Wednesday this was going to happen."
In a league that stretches from western Quebec to Nova Scotia, Georgie said organizations are extremely battle-tested on how to make bus schedules work as safely as possible to ensure that games are played on schedule.
He said he expects the league to "step up and show this manipulation of the rules is unacceptable."
As a baseline, Georgie is asking for the Sea Dogs to be given the two points for a forfeited game, and for the Mooseheads to cover all the expenses incurred by the team, which he said is in the "tens of thousands."
All tickets sold for the game are now redeemable for any remaining Sea Dogs home game.
QMJHL spokesperson Karl Jahnke confirmed the league contacted the Mooseheads on Thursday to ensure they left early on Friday morning.
Georgie said he is submitting a written timeline of the events to the league on Monday.
The Telegraph-Journal has reached out to the Mooseheads multiple times since Friday night's game, but has yet to receive a response.
|
|
|
|
Post by shanewinnie on Feb 9, 2020 22:12:26 GMT -4
So what exactly does this mean? If the league says they intentionally missed the game is it a 1-0 forfeit?
|
|
|
|
Post by j3e4 on Feb 9, 2020 22:26:57 GMT -4
So what exactly does this mean? If the league says they intentionally missed the game is it a 1-0 forfeit? I'm not sure that's automatic but that's part of what Georgie is hoping for but I'm not entirely sure why. How will season ticket holders be compensated if that's the case? Will they get a free playoff game? |
|
|
|
Post by scotiahockey on Feb 9, 2020 23:46:20 GMT -4
So what exactly does this mean? If the league says they intentionally missed the game is it a 1-0 forfeit? I'm not sure that's automatic but that's part of what Georgie is hoping for but I'm not entirely sure why. How will season ticket holders be compensated if that's the case? Will they get a free playoff game? I’m guessing season ticket holders won’t be compensated or they’ll allow you to use the ticket as a flex for any of the remaining games? That would be my best guess if they did receive a forfeit win. |
|
|
|
Post by j3e4 on Feb 10, 2020 0:36:36 GMT -4
I'm not sure that's automatic but that's part of what Georgie is hoping for but I'm not entirely sure why. How will season ticket holders be compensated if that's the case? Will they get a free playoff game? I’m guessing season ticket holders won’t be compensated or they’ll allow you to use the ticket as a flex for any of the remaining games? That would be my best guess if they did receive a forfeit win. And for most season ticket holders I'm sure that will be fine. I'm sure they enjoy bringing someone new now and then. But there's always those few who are all about themselves (which is fair enough) and/or who always look for reasons to complain. I noticed a few already on the Sea Dogs Facebook page voicing this concern. |
|
|
|
Post by Slap Shooter on Feb 10, 2020 8:19:28 GMT -4
I can't see the league ruling in the Sea Dogs favor for this. There will be another game. If Halifax didn't attempt to drive to Saint John then maybe they would have a case but why travel all the way to Moncton and then spend the night in Moncton.
I agree that they should have left on Thursday but who am I to say. I'm not responsible for transporting a bunch of kids in a storm.
|
|
|
|
Post by pinkbeaver on Feb 10, 2020 8:50:02 GMT -4
I can't see the league ruling in the Sea Dogs favor for this. There will be another game. If Halifax didn't attempt to drive to Saint John then maybe they would have a case but why travel all the way to Moncton and then spend the night in Moncton. I agree that they should have left on Thursday but who am I to say. I'm not responsible for transporting a bunch of kids in a storm. Re-read the article. It states they cancelled their bus and had no intention of traveling friday morning. They only began to travel towards SJ when the charter bus company remained open and the roads were not yet that bad. I'd say Halifax was expecting the storm to be bad earlier in the day and shot themselves in the foot by traveling and getting caught halfway. Good on Georgie for not taking the high road, and placing blame where it belongs. IMO, his emotion shows how much he cares for the organization, lost revenue, and anyone that had tickets bought for the game. Classified playing was a big deal to many. He told them to get to SJ the night before and they didn't. I don't think the 2pts are very important in this, but the lost revenue, an exciting product, and i'm sure many hours into marketing and preparing for the game is huge. You probably still have to pay your staff regardless at that point. Has anything like this ever happened before? Could Halifax be fined by the league? |
|
|
|
Post by yesisaiditfirst on Feb 10, 2020 9:22:52 GMT -4
Has anything like this ever happened before? Could Halifax be fined by the league?
-----------------
The league can do whatever it wants. It's an exclusive group of closed member teams that agree to have a President that determines if rules are violated and is the judge and jury in all events.
They dont want bad PR. So they would likely not want to do much in case it looks like the league was advising Halufax to do something unsafe. In PR facts really dont matter as much as the way bystanders will perceive it. Conflict damages the brand. Saint John getting this in the hands of the local press is them putting their spin out there or otherwise league sweeps it under a rug. The league needs ir to look like its member teams are responsible and looking out always for best interests of players and duty of fair play. They need control of the narrative.
Saint John has many reasons to make it a big deal. They had costs but were willing to pay all those costs to make a marketing splash. It's like when you plan an outdoor concert and it rains. People dont go home saying it was as great as if it were nice weather. So risk exists every time.
Usually the risk is that Team X travels all the way and then game is canceled due to weather. And they incur travel and hotel costs. That happens all the time. And the last couple of years we have seen more incidences of games cancelled because Team X was not able to travel due to weather.
It's not the hill that the league wants to be accused on so this probably is settled behind closed doors. It is very possible the public statements made by Georgie and spilling this all to media what the league said these conversations that are internal could also be reprimanded.
|
|
|
|
Post by Slap Shooter on Feb 10, 2020 9:24:03 GMT -4
I can't see the league ruling in the Sea Dogs favor for this. There will be another game. If Halifax didn't attempt to drive to Saint John then maybe they would have a case but why travel all the way to Moncton and then spend the night in Moncton. I agree that they should have left on Thursday but who am I to say. I'm not responsible for transporting a bunch of kids in a storm. Re-read the article. It states they cancelled their bus and had no intention of traveling friday morning. They only began to travel towards SJ when the charter bus company remained open and the roads were not yet that bad. I'd say Halifax was expecting the storm to be bad earlier in the day and shot themselves in the foot by traveling and getting caught halfway. Good on Georgie for not taking the high road, and placing blame where it belongs. IMO, his emotion shows how much he cares for the organization, lost revenue, and anyone that had tickets bought for the game. Classified playing was a big deal to many. He told them to get to SJ the night before and they didn't. I don't think the 2pts are very important in this, but the lost revenue, an exciting product, and i'm sure many hours into marketing and preparing for the game is huge. You probably still have to pay your staff regardless at that point. Has anything like this ever happened before? Could Halifax be fined by the league? I agree that this is all on the Mooseheads and they should have been able to make it to Saint John saometime between Thursday morning and Friday evening but I have a hard time believing the League will rule against them since they did attempt to make it after stopping in Moncton. I also agree that this game meant more than two points to the the Dogs and Georgie cares alot about this organization. Can you imagine the public relations and out cry if they rule against the Mooseheads. Trying to make them travel on bad roads in the dark with teenagers. |
|
|
|
Post by SteveUL on Feb 10, 2020 9:26:17 GMT -4
I can't see the league ruling in the Sea Dogs favor for this. There will be another game. If Halifax didn't attempt to drive to Saint John then maybe they would have a case but why travel all the way to Moncton and then spend the night in Moncton. I agree that they should have left on Thursday but who am I to say. I'm not responsible for transporting a bunch of kids in a storm. Re-read the article. It states they cancelled their bus and had no intention of traveling friday morning. They only began to travel towards SJ when the charter bus company remained open and the roads were not yet that bad. I'd say Halifax was expecting the storm to be bad earlier in the day and shot themselves in the foot by traveling and getting caught halfway. Good on Georgie for not taking the high road, and placing blame where it belongs. IMO, his emotion shows how much he cares for the organization, lost revenue, and anyone that had tickets bought for the game. Classified playing was a big deal to many. He told them to get to SJ the night before and they didn't. I don't think the 2pts are very important in this, but the lost revenue, an exciting product, and i'm sure many hours into marketing and preparing for the game is huge. You probably still have to pay your staff regardless at that point. Has anything like this ever happened before? Could Halifax be fined by the league? The article suggests that Georgie had an inkling this was going to happen, and so he called the league to get ahead of it. If that's all true then Halifax should be stripped of draft picks they received in trades over Christmas, and those picks sent back to the original owners ...  |
|
|
|
Post by SteveUL on Feb 10, 2020 9:32:31 GMT -4
The real problem for Georgie is that 2 other games were also cancelled/postponed on the same night. I'd rather drive in a snow storm than in freezing rain, which is what Halifax would have had to drive through. But, all the more reason to drive up Thursday evening, before the storm hit. The storm that we all knew was coming for about 5 days.
|
|
|
|
Post by hfxfan09 on Feb 10, 2020 9:38:31 GMT -4
The real problem for Georgie is that 2 other games were also cancelled/postponed on the same night. I'd rather drive in a snow storm than in freezing rain, which is what Halifax would have had to drive through. But, all the more reason to drive up Thursday evening, before the storm hit. The storm that we all knew was coming for about 5 days. If I remember right, it was pretty nasty here all day Thursday too so unless they left Wed night it probably wouldn't have been pretty, I think the Sea Dogs just need to let this go. If he had an inkling this was going to happen why would we drive to Moncton and stay overnight then. |
|
|
|
Post by yesisaiditfirst on Feb 10, 2020 9:48:11 GMT -4
I think the Sea Dogs just need to let this go.
------
At some point it begins to backfire. I read through the facebook page of the Seadogs when they announced the game was canceled and all kinds of fans stated the roads were bad and even though they had tickets they werent making the drive to the rink.
To go after (publically) compensation from the team that didnt drive the rest of the way there will have adverse effect of making the Dogs look like a penny pinching organization not in control as opposed to what it would have been like with good weather, full house, game and win.
The winner in this at this point is Classified. He comes off as the hero and surely gotten more hits online than the Seadogs. They surely could just Hitch to his success and move on would save face.
|
|
|
|
Post by SteveUL on Feb 10, 2020 9:55:29 GMT -4
The real problem for Georgie is that 2 other games were also cancelled/postponed on the same night. I'd rather drive in a snow storm than in freezing rain, which is what Halifax would have had to drive through. But, all the more reason to drive up Thursday evening, before the storm hit. The storm that we all knew was coming for about 5 days. If I remember right, it was pretty nasty here all day Thursday too so unless they left Wed night it probably wouldn't have been pretty, I think the Sea Dogs just need to let this go. If he had an inkling this was going to happen why would we drive to Moncton and stay overnight then. Thursday was nothing like Friday. The major part of the storm was forecasted for Thursday overnight and all day Friday. We all knew this 5 days before, so the bus should have left on Thursday morning. Just the fact you guys had three games to play on the weekend should have been enough to want to drive up Thursday. Its pretty clear that they were trying to avoid the 3 in 3. I doubt the players were even on the bus that went to Moncton. |
|
|
|
Post by pinkbeaver on Feb 10, 2020 9:55:30 GMT -4
Has anything like this ever happened before? Could Halifax be fined by the league? ----------------- The league can do whatever it wants. It's an exclusive group of closed member teams that agree to have a President that determines if rules are violated and is the judge and jury in all events. They dont want bad PR. So they would likely not want to do much in case it looks like the league was advising Halufax to do something unsafe. In PR facts really dont matter as much as the way bystanders will perceive it. Conflict damages the brand. Saint John getting this in the hands of the local press is them putting their spin out there or otherwise league sweeps it under a rug. The league needs ir to look like its member teams are responsible and looking out always for best interests of players and duty of fair play. They need control of the narrative. Saint John has many reasons to make it a big deal. They had costs but were willing to pay all those costs to make a marketing splash. It's like when you plan an outdoor concert and it rains. People dont go home saying it was as great as if it were nice weather. So risk exists every time. Usually the risk is that Team X travels all the way and then game is canceled due to weather. And they incur travel and hotel costs. That happens all the time. And the last couple of years we have seen more incidences of games cancelled because Team X was not able to travel due to weather. It's not the hill that the league wants to be accused on so this probably is settled behind closed doors. It is very possible the public statements made by Georgie and spilling this all to media what the league said these conversations that are internal could also be reprimanded. Agree that the league won't side with SJ as it would go against player safety, regardless the opportunity to travel earlier. It would be a bad look. Not sure I get the outdoor concert comparison. Not the same situation at all. Outdoor Concerts go no matter what and tickets are all bought in advance so the risk is all on the buyer. For this game all revenue is deferred and most of the costs were still incurred. The big difference between traveling up the night before is that cost to the traveling team would be peanuts compared to the cost of the host team having to cancel. |
|
