Any hope of senior hockey being played in central Newfoundland was officially dashed Monday.
The Gander Flyers announced via its Facebook group the 12-game series scheduled between themselves and the Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts — the other team in the league, would not be going ahead as planned.
The season was intended to start Feb. 1 in Gander, followed by a Feb. 2 game in Grand Falls-Windsor. However, a lack of players for the Flyers forced a cancellation.
With prospects slim to field a full complement of players for games this coming weekend, Gander decided it was better to refocus on the start of the 2020-2021 season.
“Although we were able to establish a roster, we have been unable to secure a game day roster from our active player list for the second time due to player personal and work commitments. Therefore it is in the best interest of our fans and operation to look towards next fall and next season and suspend hockey for the remainder of this season,” Flyers general manager Geoff Goldsworthy wrote in a statement on the Flyer’s Facebook account.
This isn’t the first time the league found itself shutting down for the year.
On Nov. 20, 2019, both the Cataracts and the Flyers announced on social media no hockey would be played without a third team from either the West Coast or East Coast senior hockey leagues to play interlocking games in central Newfoundland.
Just nine days later, the Flyers and Cataracts announced they would play a 12-game series in the early part of 2020 in an effort to keep senior hockey alive, while continuing their search for a third team to extend the schedule.
The third team didn’t materialize, but there was optimism about getting this year’s league off the ground. Early last month, a schedule was even announced.
“I would like to thank the fans and our sponsors for their continued support and we will be striving to hit the ice by the fall,” Goldsworthy wrote.
In a subsequent post to its own Facebook page, the Cataracts confirmed the Flyers' decision and expressed disappointment there would be no hockey this season.
"The Cataracts organization has worked tirelessly since last spring with the anticipation of playing senior hockey at the Joe Byrne (Memorial Stadium) some time this season and had everything in order and were ready to play," the statement read.
Both teams will look toward the 2020-2021 season in hopes of putting a product back on the ice.
