Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs Make Tough Decision

Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs General Manager Scott Chartrand made a tough decision today when he sent NCHL President Jerry Muise the news that the Chiefs would be shutting down their operations for this season. This news comes after the team iced 11 skaters in their first game of the season in Morinville, followed by a cancellation of their home opener against Westlock due to their roster being overtaken by the flu bug.  Their game last weekend against the Red Deer Rustlers again saw them show up with 11 skaters, and by the sounds of it they were again going to be severely short handed again this weekend.

Part of Scott's letter states "it is not fair to all the other teams in the league to be coming into their barns with 11 players and not being competitive.  13-2 and 16-1 scores are not conducive to running a good program".  Scott added "there has been various reasons but it simply comes down to player's commitment".  

This message is one that no hockey club wants to sent out.  I can tell you that it's not at all fun as I've had my share of having to forfeit games.

It's the league's hope that the Chiefs can reassemble and come back to the table for our spring annual meeting. 

Going forward, games that were scheduled against the Chiefs will now all become a forfeit with teams getting the 2 points. The stats from the 2 games played will stand