The hockey players, who appeared larger than life to the younger fans, are no longer gearing up at the far end of the rink while fans prepare to welcome them to the ice.
To put it simply, gone are the Conception Bay North Eastlink CeeBee Stars and provincial senior hockey.
“It’s been a huge difference,” said former CeeBees forward Steven Greeley.
For the past decade, Saturday night at the stadium has been a hockey tradition.
They would fill the rink to see the likes of Keith Delaney, Terry Ryan and Darren Langdon ply their trade.
Greeley, an Upper Island Cove resident, toiled for the better part of a decade for his hometown CeeBees. Weekend hockey became a part of his weekly routine.
“It was preparing all day for the game, and then we played,” he said.
Any time the CeeBees were scheduled at home, it was a weekend commitment for the penalty killing specialist.
Saturday night games were linked with Sunday afternoon rematches. That meant not being free until Sunday evening, at the earliest.
“Now my entire weekends are free,” he said.
Greeley still plays hockey in Harbour Grace and Bay Roberts during the week, but his weekends now are spent primarily with family, namely son, Benjamin, two, and eight-month-old daughter, Anna.
Even new stadium manager Mike Adam is seeing a difference. Although he was not around when the CeeBees were using the prime time booking on Saturday nights, he has heard from others about it.
“A lot of people miss it,” said Adam, the 2006 Olympic curling gold medalist who took over managing the rink about a month ago.
Saturdays at S.W. Moores Memorial Stadium are commonplace when it comes to hockey. Those involved will tell you there is nothing quite like getting to the stadium early in the morning, when frost is still on car windshields.
Greeley said it was strange not heading to the venerable rink on a Saturday. It is something he has always done, each and every winter, ever since he was a kid.
“It goes back to minor hockey,” he said.
It was last spring when news broke the CeeBees and Mount Pearl Blades would not be a part of provincial senior hockey. The other four teams — the Clarenville Caribous, Gander Flyers, Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts and the Corner Brook Royals — were forming their own league, the Central-West Senior Hockey League.
By the end of the summer, a glimmer of hope remained there would be senior hockey in Harbour Grace this winter. The team applied for entry into the Avalon East Senior Hockey League, but by late September, the league denied that application.
CeeBees officials appealed to Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador and Hockey Canada, and fans hoped something would happen at the 11th hour to save senior hockey in Harbour Grace.
But it was not meant to be.
“It’s terrible’
Longtime fan Ford Sparkes was a fixture during home games — his son, Daniel, was a forward on the CeeBees for several years.
The elder Sparkes could be seen volunteering at one of the booths, or just enjoying some of the “tremendous hockey” that came with the provincial senior league.
“I’d look forward to going to the games,” he said.
There is other hockey on Saturday nights now but it’s not the same.
“It’s terrible,” said Sparkes. “I loved the conversation with fans.”
For $12, there was nothing quite like what was being played in Harbour Grace the past couple of seasons.
“The product on the ice was the best bang for your buck,” said Sparkes.
And it’s not only the fans who are longing for the CeeBees. Businesses around town miss the weekend home games. Gone are the full parking lots and some 500 thirsty CeeBees fans and visitors leaving the arena and heading for a bite to eat or a drink.
When the four teams in the Central West Senior Hockey League got things rolling for the 2014-2015 season, not being part of a new hockey season was something different for Greeley.
“Usually you’re wrapping up training and getting ready for the season to start,” he said.
“Now, you’re on the outside looking in. I miss it.”
The Compass
