The Royals were suppose to close out the regular season at home with two games against the Clarenville Caribous over the weekend, but that series, along with the Flyers wrapping up the season at home to the Cataracts, were cancelled after most of the province was hit by a major storm that left upwards of 40 centimetres of snow in some parts.
The Caribous had made a gallant effort to make it across the province last Saturday but had to pull the plug on the road trip after reaching central Newfoundland and discovering that the highway was closed from Gander to Lewisporte Junction.
“There’s really nothing else anyone could have done about it because the playoffs start this weekend,” Coates said. “There’s not one weekend available where we could play those games and get them in.”
The playoff round will get underway this weekend with best-of-seven semifinal series. The Flyers and Cats will entertain a 2-2-1-1-1 playoff format because of the close proximity between the two clubs, while the Royals and Caribous will play a 2-3-2 series to cut down on travel costs.
Even with the league starting the regular season two weeks earlier this year there wasn’t enough room to accommodate the possibility of a storm wreaking havoc on the schedule. Coates said Newfoundland winters are certainly unpredictable, but he was quick to point out he has only seen two weekends where games were cancelled because of inclement weather in his six years of being involved in the league.
Safety was foremost on the mind when the decision was made to cancel the weekend action.
“The reality is nobody wants to risk their life for a game of hockey,” he said. “It is only senior hockey at the end of the day and these guys all work for a living. You don’t want to put anyone at risk because of the weather and trying to get a game of hockey in.”
The Royals host the Caribous in the opening game of the series Saturday 8 p.m. at the civic centre. Game 2 of the series is Sunday 2 p.m. at the civic centre, while Games 3-5 are scheduled for the following weekend at the Clarenville Events Centre.
Coates believes fans will be in for exciting run in the playoffs because he believes the title is up for grabs with every team capable of beating the others after some competitive hockey in the regular campaign.
“The parity is a lot closer than the standings actually show,” he said.
