The 2018 Herder Memorial Championships will open up this year in the home rink of the Central West League champion on Saturday, April 7th and Sunday, April 8th for games one and two. The series will then revert back to the East Coast League for games three, four and five (if necessary) on April 13, 14 and 15th. If needed, games six and seven will be played back in Central West on April 21 and 22nd.
Hockey NL event chair, Joe Maynard, believes the series returning to a best four out of seven will add more intensity to the competition. “We are into our third year with an East vs Central West. The first year was a learning experience and last year the series went the distance. Now with an interlocking regular season and no imports from outside the province,–with the exception of a goaltender–we expect fans will want to see more hockey come April.”
The newly formed East Coast League championship team will be allowed to add three strengthening players from teams within their league when they meet up in the Herder Series. This was determined last week after delegates had the opportunity to consider the rosters and interlocking competition to date.
The Central West League Teams consists of the first place Gander Flyers, Clarenville Caribous, (last season league champion) and, the Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts, defending Allan Cup National Senior AAA Champion. These teams will play their games in their community home rink when Herder time rolls around.
Neil Norcott is the long-standing President of the League and he hopes the Herder will get fans back in the barns.
“The herder is the pinnacle of Senior Hockey in NL, players work all year to get the opportunity to participate in the Herder Championships. This year is no exception and anticipation for this event is ramping up as we get closer to our league playoffs. We are excited to be able to plan a 4 out of 7 event this year and feel that fans should be in for a great entertaining series of hockey. Mark your calendars, you won’t want to miss this year’s Herder”, remarked Norcott.
“The East Coast Senior Hockey League is looking forward to the upcoming Herder Memorial Championship. This will be the third season that our teams have had the opportunity to play for the Herder, and with this season’s interlocking play we continue to learn how to compete at the provincial level”, said Jack Casey, President of the League.
Casey also advises that the East Coast League Champion will play their home games in a yet to be decided rink, however, it will be one of the home rinks of the teams participating in the league. The venue selection will be based on the hope to allow as many fans as possible to enjoy the series. The league plans on making that decision and announcement in the coming weeks.
Currently the St. John’s Caps hold down first place in the league followed by the Southern Shore Breakers, Northeast Eagles and Conception Bay Blues.
