Friday, April 30, 1999

Halifax wins 2000 Memorial Cup bid
Fan support integral in securing CHL's crown jewel
By Gordie Sutherland / Herald Sports
The Halifax Mooseheads are going to the Memorial Cup.
And they won't have to go far to get there.
A successful five-year history and a knockout bid were rewarded Thursday as the Mooseheads landed the prestigious Canadian Hockey League tournament, less than three hours after making their final pitch to the Quebec league's selection committee in Longueuil, Que.
"I think it's a tribute to the Halifax fans," said Mooseheads governor Joe Richard. "It belongs to them.
"The committee worked hard, but the choice of having Halifax as the host for the Memorial Cup is for the Halifax Mooseheads fans."
Next year will mark the first time the Memorial Cup will take place in the Atlantic region.
To get the tournament, the Mooseheads had to beat out another league heavyweight in the Quebec Remparts, who had hockey icon Jean Beliveau on hand for their presentation.
It was widely thought the league would be reluctant to award such a major event to a team outside the province of Quebec, but the Mooseheads put their faith in the independent selection committee of Quebec lawyers Jacques Letellier, Claude Belanger and Bernard Roy.
Halifax, which began play in 1994, was the first Maritime team to join the league, which now also includes the Bathurst Titan, Moncton Wildcats and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
"A lot of people think because it's the Quebec hockey league, we're always left behind, but I think people will have to change their minds today," Richard said.
The selection committee members turned down interview requests and won't be commenting publicly on their choice.
League president Gilles Courteau wouldn't get into specifics either, but sounded genuinely pleased.
"It wasn't an easy decision to make, but going to Halifax is going to be a big boost for Halifax, the Atlantic territory and the CHL as well," Courteau said.
"They've done very well for the last five years with attendance. They're good with marketing, they're good with organization and they have good hockey people."
Remparts owner Jacques Tanguay, the main man behind Quebec's bid, was quick to congratulate the Mooseheads.
"Halifax is a major city in Canada - as important as Quebec," Tanguay told The Canadian Press. "They put in a great bid and I congratulate them."
Attendance records and the quality and proximity of facilities worked in Halifax's favour.
But fan support was clearly the centrepiece of the bid. The Mooseheads promised to sell out the Memorial Cup, which will be held May 20-28 next year.
Halifax led the CHL in average attendance this season, drawing 7,862 per game and selling out the 9,815-seat Metro Centre seven times. Community support was evident even during Halifax's presentation. "We had over 8,100 people following along when we launched the presentation live on the Internet," said business director Matt McKnight, who was able to forward the number to the committee. "That just blew their minds." Premier Russell MacLellan is already talking about his tickets. "If I'm available, I'll be there," he said. Getting the tournament "is a major, major achievement. We've seen what the CIAU Final Eight does for Halifax and this is going to be the same sort of thing." The Metro Centre is no stranger to big events, having hosted the world figure skating championships and the Brier, but this will be its first top-flight junior hockey tournament. "We've already gotten calls to the box office," said Scott Ferguson, general manager of the Metro Centre. "I'm thrilled to death. It's a crowning-achievement event that caps off five very successful years for the Mooseheads. "The fans deserve it, the building deserves it and the team deserves it."
Copyright � 1999 The Halifax Herald Limited

Bidders 'ecstatic', guarantee game sellouts
Halifax's winning bid to host the 2000 Memorial Cup produced a lot of happy faces when the news was announced Thursday..
"We were just ecstatic," said Murray Souter, chairman of Halifax's bid committee, after getting the decision at a Longueuil, Que., hotel.
"It was a very hard-fought battle. Quebec was a formidable foe." The Memorial Cup is the Canadian major junior hockey championship, featuring the champions of the Western, Ontario and Quebec leagues and the host team. An independent trio of Quebec lawyers on Thursday awarded Halifax the tournament over Quebec City. Ken Mounce, president of the host Halifax Mooseheads, said he wants to ensure the championship, the first played in Atlantic Canada, is the best ever. "We are guaranteeing sellouts," Mr. Mounce said.
"We are guaranteeing 10,000 seats every night. So we're confident." The event will run May 20-28 at Metro Centre, considered one of the finest facilities in the Quebec league. Mr. Mounce said tickets will go on sale in the next couple of weeks, with Mooseheads season ticket holders getting first crack at them. Mr. Souter estimated the economic impact of the event would be between $7 million and $10 million. He based that number on economic studies of past events in Halifax, and a study of the Memorial Cup that Saint Mary's University undertook last year.
It won't take long for that money to start trickling in, Mr. Souter noted. For example, Quebec league marketing officials will visit Halifax in June, spending money in hotels and restaurants. "That has an economic impact in Halifax right off the bat and it'll climb as the year goes on," he said. Mr. Souter said a festival of events surrounding the championship will include golf tournaments, pancake breakfasts, an NHL road show of hockey history, interactive games and in-line hockey tournaments.
The Mooseheads have drawn large crowds since beginning play in 1994. This season, they led the Canadian Hockey League with an average attendance of 7,862. Halifax hosted the world figure skating championships in 1990, the Labatt Brier in 1995, the 1992 Scott Tournament of Hearts and has been the home of the CIAU men's basketball tournament since 1984. That track record likely helped the city come out on top, said Halifax Deputy Mayor Larry Uteck.
"(Committee members) must have had a lot of political pressure to choose a team from within the province of Quebec, and it was great they saw fit to choose Halifax," he said. Premier Russell MacLellan said the announcement is great for the province. "There has been great support for this hockey team and I think this is a wonderful tribute," the premier said.
It's the second time in five years that Halifax has bumped Quebec City out of the spotlight. In 1994, Halifax was picked to host the 1995 G-7 summit. "I guess we should go against them for the Olympics," Mr. Uteck joked. - David Jackson, Staff Reporter with files from Gordie Sutherland, Herald Sports
Copyright � 1999 The Halifax Herald Limited

Big Ticket
Halifax will host first Maritime Memorial Cup
By JODY JEWERS - The Daily News with CP
The first Memorial Cup in the new millennium will be played east of Quebec for the first time. Halifax was awarded the right to host the Canadian major junior hockey championship in 2000 yesterday at a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League board of governors meeting in Longueuil, Que. The four-team tournament, which includes representatives from the Western, Ontario, and Quebec leagues and the host Halifax Mooseheads, will be held from May 20 to 28. `Very impartial and very fair' "Our faith in the process was justified," said Mooseheads business and administrative director Matt McKnight, a member of the Halifax bid committee. "The process of going through an independent (selection) committee was very important. They were all very impartial and very fair." Yesterday's news erases the bad memory of 1997, when Quebec league president Gilles Courteau and four members of the league's board of governors recommended awarding the tournament to Hull instead of Halifax and Chicoutimi. Rumours of a pro-Quebec bias prompted the league to change the process, so an independent selection committee made up of three Quebec-based lawyers was formed. "The process topped anything we could have hoped for," said Courteau. "It was not only professional, but we also witnessed high-class presentations and we could see the time, efforts and determination put in their candidacy." Halifax's bid beat out Quebec City, which hosted the tournament in 1991. The Memorial Cup rotates between the three leagues annually. This year's tournament will be held in Ottawa next month. "Halifax is a major city in Canada - as important as Quebec," said Quebec Remparts president Jacques Tanguay, whose club plans to bid for the Cup in 2003. "They put in a great bid and I congratulate them. "We will double our efforts to make sure we get it next time." Both cities made their final pitch to the selection committee yesterday. Mooseheads' fans were able to show their support during Halifax's presentation by logging on to their Web site. During the hour-long session, the Web site received 8,123 hits. More than 81,000 hits were recorded in the week leading up to the presentation. The board ratified the selection committee's recommendation and immediately made its way to a news conference to announce the decision, so no one else had any indication as to the successful bid. Work continues today "I felt very good after the presentation," said Mooseheads president Ken Mounce. "But we waited right up to the last minute. The selection committee said we had a good presentation, but they also said Quebec City had a good presentation, too. They told us we had earned it." The Halifax bid committee celebrated the decision last night in Longueuil, and heads home today to continue work, including fielding demand for tickets. In its proposal, Halifax allocated 5,000 ticket packages to Mooseheads' season-ticket holders, 2,000 to corporate sponsors, and 3,000 to the general public. According to Halifax bid committee chairman Murray Souter, more than 2,500 season tickets have already been scooped up for next year. "There's nine games in a package, including a tiebreaker if necessary," said Souter. "And for the season-ticket holders, that will cost $150. The corporate packages, which will have VIP passes and tickets to other events, are $250. The general-public packages will be $175. "Because of the demand, we're going to be selling packages only. There may be single-game tickets, and they'll probably be in the $20 to $25 range. We haven't set those prices yet because we don't know how many of the 1,100 seats we have to set aside for VIP's and other teams will be turned back in and turned in to single-game tickets."

Focus shifts
Mongrain already trying to bolster team
By JODY JEWERS - The Daily News
The Halifax Mooseheads have qualified for the 2000 Memorial Cup. All they have to do now is ice a team. Halifax beat out the Quebec Remparts yesterday for the right as host to participate in the 82nd edition of Canada's major junior hockey championship, which will be held May 20 to 28. It will be the Mooseheads' first trip to the tournament, and the pressure is squarely on general manager-head coach Bob Mongrain to put together a competitive team. "Hockey is a daily business," said Mongrain. "We've already started working on next year's team, and all decisions now are going to be about reaching our objective. And now, we know what that objective is." Sophomore studs The Mooseheads have a solid foundation in place, with at least two forward lines and five defencemen figuring to return to training camp in August. Mongrain also expects the goaltending tandem of Alexei Volkov and Pascal Leclaire to remain intact. Last year's fourth line consisted of rookies Brandon Benedict and Samuel Seguin, who scored 34 goals between them, and third-year man P.J. Lynch, who missed 47 games last season because of a shoulder injury. More will be expected from third-liners Brandon Reid (32 goals in 70 games) and Marc-Andre Binette. Overagers Jason Troini (63 points in 70 games) and Billy Manley will be fighting for a spot in the lineup, as could Alexandre Mathieu if he doesn't sign with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins or make the jump to minor pro. The defensive corps could return all but Jeff Sullivan, who has no more junior eligibility. Frederic Belanger (54 games, 47 points, plus-40) and Jasmin Gelinas (59 games, 43 points, plus-44) would be the overage blueliners to complement Ali MacEachern, David McCutcheon, and Mathieu Paul. Alex Johnstone could be factored into the equation if the New Jersey Devils, with whom he signed as a free agent last year, don't have other plans for him. Losing the offensive punch of Ladislav Nagy (league-high 71 goals) and Alex Tanguay (61 points in 31 games), plus the size and toughness of Carlyle Lewis and Mauro Di Paolo, will be the biggest obstacle to overcome. "I was at the Memorial Cup twice as a player and once as a coach," said Mongrain. "You need impact players (to win), and that's what we'll be getting." Talking to expansion Rockets Mongrain figures he'll have to trade to get them, since the Mooseheads will be picking 14th overall at the midget draft in June. He spent a couple of hours Wednesday talking to the expansion Montreal Rockets, who have the No. 1 pick and are allowed five overage players next season. Halifax does not have a fourth- or a sixth-round selection. The fourth-rounder was dealt to the Drummondville Voltigeurs for overage winger Eric Perricone, who spent five weeks in a Mooseheads' uniform before being traded to the Sherbrooke Castors in January for their fifth-round choice. Halifax sent Philippe Plante and a sixth-round pick to the Bathurst Titan on draft day last year for goaltender Maxime Gingras, who wound up playing minor pro last season, but got a sixth-rounder back later in the day when it shipped goalie Martin Bilodeau to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. The Mooseheads traded that pick to Bathurst in exchange for Lewis last August.

Halifax the right choice
Moosemaniacs swayed selection trio
By CARL FLEMING - The Daily News with CP
Justice has prevailed. The Memorial Cup is coming to Halifax. Yesterday's decision regarding the site of next year's 82nd annual major junior hockey championship was the right one, regardless of the merits of a bid from Quebec City. The Halifax bid committee, led by chairman Murray Souter, Mooseheads president Ken Mounce, governor Joe Richard, administrative director Matt McKnight, general-manager coach Bob Mongrain, and others, had simply done their job too well. And there could be no denying the impact of the Moosemaniacs, whose total regular season attendance at Metro Centre this winter topped 275,000. That's 7,862 per game, best in the Canadian Hockey League. Flies in face of perceived bias The Mooseheads also averaged more than 9,000 fans in the playoffs, a number that couldn't be ignored by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's three-man selection committee or its 15-man board of governors. The vote comes as a pleasant surprise, flying in the face of perceived bias on the part of Quebec league officials toward teams in the Maritimes. More importantly, Halifax gains its best chance of winning Canada's second most important hockey championship - after the Stanley Cup. Not that our capital city teams haven't tried since the Memorial Cup was first awarded in 1919. Or has everyone forgotten the gallant bids of Halifax St. Mary's teams, coached by former NHLer Marty Barry, in the late-1940s. Prominent in their lineups were the likes of Bert Hirschfeld, Ernie Yeadon, Hugh Campbell, Bingo Earnest, and Dugger McNeil, but teams like the Montreal Royals proved to be just a little bit better. Memorial Cup fever returned in the mid-1960s with the Halifax Junior Canadians taking on the best the rest of Canada had to offer. Though their efforts fell short of the mark, players like Bob Sheehan, Errol Thompson, Roddy Bossy, Mike Hornby, Norm Guimont, and others left a lasting legacy. Halifax, along with the rest of the Maritimes, was left watching from the sidelines in 1970 when the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association mandated only teams belonging to the Ontario, Quebec, and Western Canada major junior leagues could compete for the Memorial Cup. Remaining teams were designated as junior A and a national trophy - the Centennial Cup (now known as the Royal Bank Cup) - was created for them to aspire to. It was nice, but it wasn't the same. The Memorial Cup represented the best of junior hockey, a fact not lost on anyone. Moose paved way for expansion The universe finally changed in 1994 when a Quebec league desperate for new sources of revenue and an increased talent pool accepted a Halifax expansion bid spearheaded by former Moosehead Breweries president Harold MacKay. The rest, as they say, is history. The Halifax Mooseheads were an instant hit at the turnstiles, paving the way for wholesale expansion into the region. On the ice, the team has already produced two first-round NHL draft choices - Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Alex Tanguay - and came within one game of qualifying for the 1997 Memorial Cup. Now the Mooseheads are going to the show. On paper, they have the nucleus of a good team for the 1999-2000 season, but it should be clearly understood that any Quebec league representative will have to be much better than good to beat the champions of the Ontario and Western leagues. General manager-coach Bob Mongrain knows he must improve in a number of areas. He knows, too, that he's got until the January trade deadline to make the moves he deems necessary. Even if it means mortgaging the future. Hey, it's the Memorial Cup. Come May 20 to 28 just over a year from now, nothing else will matter in Halifax.

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