Avalon East is golden
League begins celebrating 50th anniversary tonight at season-opener in Torbay
The Avalon East Senior Hockey League’s geography has expanded over the years, so much so that it is now really an Avalon Peninsula league, with teams in St. John’s, Bell Island, Torbay, Conception Bay North and Southern Shore. However, especially as it prepares to celebrate its 50th season, the league is mindful of its roots as a circuit based in the region made up by communities north of St. John’s.
Tonight, to help celebrate the AESHL’s golden anniversary, the Tapper’s Northeast Eagles will pay tribute to the original six teams that helped form the league in 1967-68 with a special ceremony ahead of their season-opening contest against the Bell Island Blues at the Jack Byrne Arena in Torbay.
Legends scheduled to represent their respective 1967 teams during the opening ceremonies are the Flatrock Flyers’ Neil Maynard, the Pouch Cove Satellites’ Frank Murray, Bobby Gallop of the Portugal Cove Legionnaires, the Outer Cover Marines’ Gerry Cadigan, Cyril Power of the Torbay Royals and the Bauline Liners’ Marvin Whelan.
The official puck drop will be conducted by former Flatrock player-coach Peter Clark, who led the Flyers to the league’s first-ever championship in the inaugural season.
Fifteen different teams — from Torbay, Flatrock, Southern Shore, Bauline, Portugal Cove, St. Phillip’s, Pouch Cove, Outer Cove, C.B.N., Bell Island, St. John’s, Mount Pearl, Northeast, Conception Bay Central and Conception Bay South — have been part of the league since 1967, with the Flyers, Southern Shore Breakers and C.B.N. CeeBee Stars winning Herder Memorial provincial senior championships as league representatives.
Tonight’s contest, with an 8 p.m. start, is the first of a schedule that will see each team playing 24 games leading to a four-team playoff season. The eventual champion will advance the best-of-seven 2017 Herder series against the winner of the Central-West Senior Hockey League.
The defending Avalon East champion St. John’s Green Sleeves Caps — who were swept by the Grand FallsWindsor Cataracts in the 2016 Herder final — play there first game 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Harbour Grace, where they take on the Harbour Grace Ocean Enterprise CeeBees in the new Danny Cleary Community Centre. Also Saturday, the Eagles, who finished first in the 2015-16 regular-season and Blues will play the back end of a home-andhome series with a 7 p.m. game at Msgr. Bartlett Arena on Bell Island.
The Southern Shore Pugliesvich Breakers see their first action 8 p.m. Sunday, when they host the CeeBees in Mobile.