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This is the last Bulldog newsletter for the 07-08 season and possibly the last
Newsletter in Junior A Bulldog history. Tuesday February 26 with be the
completion of its 40th year of operation and arguably one of the worst years.
Interestingly enough the Bulldogs are still for sale and currently the only
interested party is not in one of the Maritime Provinces. Permission will
be required from the three Maritime Hockey Branches in order for them to play.
The interest is from a town called New Richmond, which is just north of
Campbellton in Quebec. After securing permission from the MJAHL, approval of its
arena and an agreement with the Restigouche Tigers allowing their entry, the
Bulldog Franchise could be move to New Richmond.
At this time the Dogs would like to thank those loyal fans who have seen
the highs and lows of the Dogs over the last number of years here in the MJAHL.
Interesting enough from 1993 to 2001 the Dogs were
literally the envy of the League, winning 3 championships and losing a 4th
in the 7th
game of a 7 game series against Charlottetown; in that particular year the Dogs
did advance to the Fred Page Cup which was hosted in Charlottetown.
However, those were the glory days; those were the
days when there were sellouts here at the Antigonish arena, when the
average crowd was about 1,000 people per game and with crowds in excess of at
2,400.
Those were the years when success was an absolute given.
At that time the Dogs won more than any other organization including the Halifax
organization; but things have taken a turn with the building of the KMC and the
lack of funds to support a Junior A Program and the Dogs are obviously up for
sale for arguably their last time.
There are 12 teams in the MJAHL.
There are 8 teams that run full-time programs:
full-time front office staff dedicated as their sole employment, coaches,
general manager, marketing people, etc.
The other 4 Clubs are also for sale, the Moncton
Beavers have recently advertised the sale of their franchise, the Bulldogs
and the Charlottetown Abbies and the Halifax Wolverines are rumored to be for
sale as well.
Those 4 programs are run by volunteers and part-time front
office staff who find their major employment in other fields. It has always been
said by General Manager Danny Berry that Junior A Hockey is a fragile business,
one would like to hope and think that not only the Bulldogs but the other
organizations as well will prevail, as has been the case over the years, time
will certainly play out on that one. With the MJAHL expanding it has become big
business, with budgets averaging probably in the range of $400,000 it has become
a multi-million dollar business when you take into consideration all the teams.
So on behalf of the Bulldog Organization, its players and coaching staff
we thank you the loyal fan for being with us during the good times and the bad.
A note worth stating, the dedication of one fan, John MacPherson, who sits in
the green section across from the Bulldog bench, he has not missed a single game
of Junior A Bulldog Hockey in the Arena. Since the Dogs moved to Junior A
in 85-86 John MacPherson has attended every single game – to you John we tip our
hat, just a prime example of “Bulldog Pride. |
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