The saga between the NEAJBHL and the Saddle Lake Warriors has finally drawn to a close.
Last week league President Mark Hines confirmed to the Journal that the “suspension was upheld and the Saddle Lake Warriors are suspended for the remainder of the season.”
The Warriors and the league were working to see if the club had a chance to come back into the league after the team’s second suspension of the year.
Jan. 10 was the final day to overturn the suspension, as the teams cut their rosters down to 23 players. The deadline passed, and the suspension has been upheld.
The reason for the suspension was the team’s violation of the league rules pertaining to “Starting Lineup Rosters,” which requires each team to have 10 players and a goalie on the ice and bench prior to the opening face off of each game.
If a team fails to do so, they are allowed a maximum of five strikes. The Warriors hit its fifth strike on Dec. 9, leading to the first suspension of the season.
Hines said an emergency league meeting was held three days later and the teams voted Saddle Lake back into the league. However, the comeback was brief.
“On Dec. 23, (in a game against the St. Paul Canadiens) they broke the (starting lineup) rule again so the league took action, resulting in Saddle Lake being suspended for the remainder of the season,” said Hines.
The 28 games the Warriors played this season will be erased from the records.
“All games, points and player stats have been erased. The reasoning is because not all the teams played Saddle Lake the same amount (of games),” Hines concluded.
With the loss of the Warriors, the league drops from 11 teams to 10.
The St. Paul Canadiens recorded three wins off the Warriors, and the team’s record as of Jan. 11 stands at 12-10-1-1 in 24 games played.
Saddle Lake finished the 2017-18 season without a single win in 28 games.
