For the first time since 2019, the best of the east will face the best of the west for provincial senior hockey’s top prize.
Beginning April 14, the champion of the Avalon East Senior Hockey League will face-off against the champion of the West Coast Senior Hockey League in a seven-game series for the Herder Memorial Championship.
The first two games will be played on the west coast before the series shifts back to the Avalon for games three, four and five (if necessary). If a game six or seven is needed, those games will be played on the west coast.
Hockey NL has not held a provincial championship since the Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts won in 2019. The Herder was not played for in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last season, Hockey NL awarded the Herder to the Avalon East League Champion, the Southern Shore Breakers.
Senior and Adult Recreation Council Chair with Hockey NL, Gary Gale, says the winning team from the West Coast Senior Hockey League will be allowed to bolster their roster by adding some players.
He says under the new senior hockey model, as they did in 2015 when the Avalon East League was considered a “B” league, the West will be allowed a number of strengthening players. Details are still being worked out.
The energy is already growing, explains Gale.
He says people are absolutely elated and he’s been flooded with calls and emails since the announcement. Stadiums in Corner Brook, Deer Lake and Port Aux Basques are already seeing capacity crowds and now the excitement is building with the chance of competing for the Herder.
The Avalon East Senior Hockey League currently has six teams competing: the Clarenville Caribous, Conception Bay Blues, Conception Bay Cee Bees, Outer Cove Marines, St. John’s Caps and Southern Shore Breakers.
The West Coast Senior Hockey League returned to competition in January, and currently has three teams: the Corner Brook Royals, Deer Lake Red Wings and Port aux Basques Mariners.
More information on schedules, ticket sales and broadcasting will be released in the coming weeks.
