Monday, March 19, 2012

MUSKIES & STARS TO MERGE

Press Release

Today, East Division rivals, the Peterborough Stars and Lindsay Muskies, proudly announced they have agreed to combine operations as part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s (OJHL) decommissioning program, reducing OJHL membership to twenty-three clubs.

Two seasons ago, the league reduced its membership by five to thirty-one member clubs. Last season, the league was successful in reducing that number by four to twenty-seven clubs. This year’s process, which is ongoing, has allowed the league to further contract from 27 to 23 teams.

The combined club will continue to play out of Lindsay and to be known as the Muskies. Both organizations, who have played significant roles, both on and off the ice, within the “New OJHL”, which continues to take sizeable steps aimed at becoming the top Junior ‘A’ hockey “League of Choice” in Canada.

“It is with mixed emotions, after owning the Liftlock Stars for the past six years, that this merger opportunity is the best situation due to the increasing costs of owning and operating a team,” stated Peterborough Stars Owner and Governor Bryan Cathcart. “Lindsay is a great organization and with its close proximity to Peterborough it will make it logistically easier for Peterborough players to continue playing Junior ‘A’ hockey close to home.”

Cathcart looked back on his time with the Stars, “Over the years of owning the team (six seasons) we had the greatest bunch of volunteers that anyone could ask for and I somewhat feel that I am letting this group down by not being able to continue operating the team. However, the financial demands remain too significant for just one person. I look forward to working with Dave Knapp and his staff, as well as any of our volunteers that would like to continue their junior hockey association. The combined resources of the two clubs will no doubt provide many exciting and competitive seasons to come.”

“The Lindsay Muskies are very excited to announce the merger of the Peterborough Stars with the Lindsay Muskies. It has been a busy two months while the deal came together, however, we feel that this merger will create a powerhouse team in the Eastern Division,” stated Muskies Owner and Governor David Knapp. “It was a difficult decision for both teams and I know that Mr. Cathcart struggled with the decision to either wind-up the Stars organization or merge.”

Knapp continued by saying, “Both Bryan and I are of the belief that the days of the single owner are nearing an end, as the financial commitment in this league continues to rise. I know that Bryan felt a huge sense of commitment to his franchise staying in Peterborough, as did I to Lindsay, as well as to our volunteers, which are some of the best in the league. We look forward to moving forward in a constructive manner, and putting the very best product on the ice.”

“Further to our recent decommissioning of three member clubs, the combining of operations between the Lindsay Muskies and Peterborough Stars will only serve to strengthen the Ontario Junior Hockey League that much more,” stated Commissioner Marty Savoy. “On behalf of the OJHL Board of Governors, I would like to personally thank both Bryan Cathcart and David Knapp for their commitment to the process, as well as the City of Peterborough and its fans for their support of the Stars through the years.”

Savoy continued by discussing the league’s future, “Now that we have reached our number one strategic objective of reducing membership to a more competitive number, the league can move forward on a number of operational issues that will not only strengthen the on-ice product, but improve the off-ice quality and professionalism of the entire OJHL. The next step in driving the overall improvement of the OJHL is at the operations level of the league and our member teams. We are currently in the development stages of a league-wide Operations Manual that will assist our member teams with all operations in running a successful Junior ‘A’ hockey team.”

The OJHL has now finalized our very aggressive and extensive decommissioning program,” stated OJHL Chairman Scott McCrory. “I would like to personally thank the entire Board of Governors, Board of Directors and Commissioner for their tireless efforts in seeing this through to fruition. The work completed over the past three years will not only strengthen our league today, but position it for growth in the future.”

The league is currently in the process of finalizing the re-alignment for the 2012-13 OJHL season and it will be released at a later date.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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