HockeyNL president says it will support Corner Brook Minor Hockey to get through its financial issue

CORNER BROOK, N.L. — Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador president Jack Lee says his organization will be there to offer guidance to the Corner Brook Minor Hockey Association as it sorts out its financial issues.

Lee was in Corner Brook last week to take in a minor hockey tournament and did meet with the local executive to discuss the financial irregularities the association has reported.

No one from the Corner Brook executive has returned requests for an interview on the situation, but a letter sent to the local hockey community confirmed an internal audit is being conducted on the organization’s financial activities.

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The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has confirmed it has an investigation file opened on the matter. The City of Corner Brook has said the issue is a substantial one, at least in terms of ice time not being paid for at the city’s civic centre.

Lee said it’s not his place to comment on the details, especially since it’s a Corner Brook issue and any investigations are still in their early stages, but said the provincial body is being kept abreast of what is happening.

“It’s a ball of questions now, more so than answers,” Lee said in a phone interview Thursday. “They don’t really know where it is yet until they go through everything, like with any audit. Hopefully, it will turn out better than worse when they get it all finalized.”

He said HockeyNL will be here to support the association and offer advice when asked.

“Between us and Hockey Canada, this is not the first time something like this has happened in Canada or in Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Lee. “It is usually dealt with swiftly.”

Lee fully expects the Corner Brook Minor Hockey Association will issue some sort of public statement when it is ready to do so and has a clearer picture of what’s going on.

The provincial president was glad to see the City of Corner Brook and its civic centre do what they could to ensure there was no interruption in minor hockey for the rest of this season.

“It’s nice to see everyone working together to resolve an issue nobody certainly wanted,” said Lee.