Canadian Game
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Anyone know what's going on with Tomasek? Scratched in game 2 and doesn't look to be in the warmup tonight. I hope it is injury related rather than a regular scratch.
Belleville Bulls 2014-15 Season Thread (Part 2)
- Thread starter PhlyerPhanatic31
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The pre-game show on Monday mentioned Tommy had strep-throat and they didn't want him travelling on the bus to give it to other players.
Canadian Game
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Oh ok, good to know. With game 4 being tomorrow, the chances are probably slim we see him before Saturday (if we game it to game 5).
First period was a bit tough to watch. Many chances and nearly as many missed opportunities/shots. I'm curious if nerves have got to them. Bulls also need to be much more careful of not taking dumb pennies (Harper at the end of the 1st). Last game in Barrie should have been a great learning experience with the Colt's dangerous powerplay.
First period was a bit tough to watch. Many chances and nearly as many missed opportunities/shots. I'm curious if nerves have got to them. Bulls also need to be much more careful of not taking dumb pennies (Harper at the end of the 1st). Last game in Barrie should have been a great learning experience with the Colt's dangerous powerplay.
Far too many crappy penalty calls last night. Let the teams play for crying out loud. It's the playoffs. Another example of OHL over-officiating ruining games.
agreed 150%. for a league that likes to brag about how good they are and superior to other leagues, the officiating sure leaves a lot to be desired.
Hopefully tonite will be a more entertaining match.
Canadian Game
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Saw Tomasek a few minutes ago. I'd assume he's playing then? Really didn't expect it since strep throat isn't something that gets better overnight.
I just wanted to come on here one last time and wish everyone all the best, I have really enjoyed reading all the informed opinions and information that has been offered here. I'm even going to miss the uninformed opinions as well for that matter. Now that the Bulls season has come to an end, I just don't have the heart to come back and read a thread titled Hamilton Bulldogs off season thread. I have been a huge fan of the OHL and junior hockey for years but with all the bitterness and bad taste left from what went down a few weeks ago I just don't have it in me to follow the league anymore. Maybe someday when the bitterness wears off that will change but I just can't see it in the foreseeable future. All the best to the remaining fans and good luck to the kids in their future in Hamilton.
What a sad day for Belleville. I really hope the team survives in Hamilton. All the best to the boys, they've bee great. Thanks for the great conversations on here. I heard the announcers talking about a five minute penalty to the Bulls at the end of the game that carries into the next season but I couldn't hear exactly what they said. What happened?
Great atmosphere at the Yatdmen tonight. Packed and loud, as it always should have been. Good luck in Hamilton, boys. Go Bulls go.
Very emotional night for me tonight, proud of the boys and their effort this season. Very classy move by Adam Bignell taking off his jersey and placing it at center ice, patting the Bulls crest. Wow i won't lie, i had a tear or two. Its been an honor to be a Bulls fan and season ticket holder for the last 30 years, i will miss all of my friends and follow fans, thanks for the memories
It's still hard to accept that we won't have a Belleville Thread to actively write about next year.
Caught a bit of the game on the radio and it sounded like an emotional night.
Also saw the story in the Intelligencer that the Bulls name, logo *and* history is being kept in trust for a potential return of the OHL to Belleville. I think that's the best way to do it (a la Cleveland Browns, Montreal Alouettes etc.) since the old players, records, OHL Championship and Memorial Cups mean nothing to Hamilton fans, so treat the Bulldogs as a clean slate and then hopefully the Bulls 2.0 will come back to renew the rivalry with the Fronts, 67s and the rest of the OHL.
Good luck Belleville!
Also saw the story in the Intelligencer that the Bulls name, logo *and* history is being kept in trust for a potential return of the OHL to Belleville. I think that's the best way to do it (a la Cleveland Browns, Montreal Alouettes etc.) since the old players, records, OHL Championship and Memorial Cups mean nothing to Hamilton fans, so treat the Bulldogs as a clean slate and then hopefully the Bulls 2.0 will come back to renew the rivalry with the Fronts, 67s and the rest of the OHL.
Good luck Belleville!
Bulls 2.0
Don't worry, Belleville will have another team in the near future. It is a viable market with passionate fans. Town council will hopefully make the right decision to renovate Yardman arena with boxes etc... Or build new.
They did it in North Bay and it will happen in Belleville.
Don't worry, Belleville will have another team in the near future. It is a viable market with passionate fans. Town council will hopefully make the right decision to renovate Yardman arena with boxes etc... Or build new.
They did it in North Bay and it will happen in Belleville.
Sorry, this won't happen. Why would the city spend millions it doesn't have to upgrade a structure for no tenant? If they were going to do it, they would have already done it by now. Unless a wealthy person comes in and relocates a team and pays for part of the costs, this will never happen.
I'm afraid we've seen the last of the OHL in Belleville and it breaks my heart. Tier II? No thanks. Senior A? No thanks. Belleville has lost their identity now. Many are at fault but it doesn't really matter. The Bulls are gone and they'll never be back.
I'll bet you money they are back one day. This is an OHL city. The OHL was built on small cities like Belleville, and they have enough support. Once the do renovations or build a new rink, they'll get a team pretty quickly.
I have to agree, they will be back at some point, only way will be a move of another franchise here ie. Missy? There are names being talked about at the rink in the past few weeks that are putting together a new ownership group to try and bring another team here in the next 5 years, will they reno the yardmen? Or build? This group is serious about it. One is a local corporation
Yeah hard to imagine Taso will let council spend money on renovating the Yardmen. He told council that belleville has to "suck it up". He's partly at fault and no doubt bitter at the league. Also this town isn't doing very well economically and has to focus on it's dying downtown and weak infrastructure. Unless someone steps up to bring a team back and fund a lot, we won't see a team here for a long time. Other than die hard fans there wasn't a lot of support for the team as far as tickets, they couldn't sell out an arena with less seats than league average attendance, not much incentive for future businessmen.
I'll believe it when I see it. All rumours and hearsay. Again, council won't spend millions they don't have for the chance at getting a team back.
A big FU to Gord Simmonds one final time.
Hammer9001
Registered User
A Hamiltonian's Perspect
Hi guys
As you can probably guess from my avatar I am a native Hamiltonian and a current AHL Bulldogs fan, so I thought I'd weigh in on the relocation, dispel some of the myths, confirm some of the stances and most importantly express my condolences regarding the loss of the team in Belleville.
First and foremost, it royally sucks that we are getting a team at Belleville's expense. Having experienced relocation threats and a harsh stadium debate here in Hamilton with the building of Tim Hortons Field, I can tell you there is plenty of blame to go around on this one. I'm skeptical that either the current ownership or the city itself is entirely blameless on this one. I was hoping given the lawsuit in Erie and the relocation in Plymouth that one of the US OHL teams was coming to Hamilton to replace the AHL Bulldogs, but I suppose that is not to be. I sincerely hope one day you get the Bulls back in one form or another, which will no doubt involve having to do something with your existing arena.
Now, that said, I for one hope that the OHL succeeds in Hamilton permanently. For the most part, the AHL Bulldogs still draw on average around 4,200 on bad years and 5,200 on good ones, which is still slightly above the OHL average and around the AHL average. Should it be higher? Yes. Are there people who are in the NHL or nothing mindset in this city? Yes (although after getting burned during the Coyotes debacle, that pursuit is far less impassioned). That said, do the Bulldogs as is, have a solid core fanbase? That too is a yes, and nearly all of them will come over to the OHL team.
For being the Habs affiliate in the heart of Leaf's territory that is pretty good in my eyes. The team typically draws between 8-10 thousand when the Marlies come to town, which hopefully with Mississauga, Guelph and Niagara close by, will continue to be the case. Despite the arena being far too large for the level of hockey that is played there, Hamilton still has decent attendance numbers and that the general feeling I get from people here is now with the Habs affiliation gone, there is more interest in support a team.
That said, the arena is too large and the OHL has failed in the city before. I completely get it, few cities can ever expect a team from the same league continue to knock at the door after leaving town so many times. To that I can only say, there is talk that Andleaur is committed local owner who lives 20 minutes from the arena in Burlington. You don't hold an outdoor game at Ivor Wynne (god I miss that place) or stick with the market for 7+ years, or buy an OHL franchise to replace your lost franchise without being committed. I'm to understand he is looking for a two year lease (he has one year after this season already) and the rumour is he may be talking with McMaster University about building a rink on campus for a CIS program and his team, but that is just rumours.
Once again, I'm sorry that us getting a team is coming at your city's expense, and I'll be especially sorry if the team ends up relocating again after three years. However, I can tell you, I'm going to be buying season ticket next year for the new team and this fan for one plans on doing as much as he can to ensure the team succeeds in Hamilton.
I hope this post has provided some form of insight if anything and doesn't come across as uncalled for so close after the relocation announcement. Take care guys.
Hi guys
As you can probably guess from my avatar I am a native Hamiltonian and a current AHL Bulldogs fan, so I thought I'd weigh in on the relocation, dispel some of the myths, confirm some of the stances and most importantly express my condolences regarding the loss of the team in Belleville.
First and foremost, it royally sucks that we are getting a team at Belleville's expense. Having experienced relocation threats and a harsh stadium debate here in Hamilton with the building of Tim Hortons Field, I can tell you there is plenty of blame to go around on this one. I'm skeptical that either the current ownership or the city itself is entirely blameless on this one. I was hoping given the lawsuit in Erie and the relocation in Plymouth that one of the US OHL teams was coming to Hamilton to replace the AHL Bulldogs, but I suppose that is not to be. I sincerely hope one day you get the Bulls back in one form or another, which will no doubt involve having to do something with your existing arena.
Now, that said, I for one hope that the OHL succeeds in Hamilton permanently. For the most part, the AHL Bulldogs still draw on average around 4,200 on bad years and 5,200 on good ones, which is still slightly above the OHL average and around the AHL average. Should it be higher? Yes. Are there people who are in the NHL or nothing mindset in this city? Yes (although after getting burned during the Coyotes debacle, that pursuit is far less impassioned). That said, do the Bulldogs as is, have a solid core fanbase? That too is a yes, and nearly all of them will come over to the OHL team.
For being the Habs affiliate in the heart of Leaf's territory that is pretty good in my eyes. The team typically draws between 8-10 thousand when the Marlies come to town, which hopefully with Mississauga, Guelph and Niagara close by, will continue to be the case. Despite the arena being far too large for the level of hockey that is played there, Hamilton still has decent attendance numbers and that the general feeling I get from people here is now with the Habs affiliation gone, there is more interest in support a team.
That said, the arena is too large and the OHL has failed in the city before. I completely get it, few cities can ever expect a team from the same league continue to knock at the door after leaving town so many times. To that I can only say, there is talk that Andleaur is committed local owner who lives 20 minutes from the arena in Burlington. You don't hold an outdoor game at Ivor Wynne (god I miss that place) or stick with the market for 7+ years, or buy an OHL franchise to replace your lost franchise without being committed. I'm to understand he is looking for a two year lease (he has one year after this season already) and the rumour is he may be talking with McMaster University about building a rink on campus for a CIS program and his team, but that is just rumours.
Once again, I'm sorry that us getting a team is coming at your city's expense, and I'll be especially sorry if the team ends up relocating again after three years. However, I can tell you, I'm going to be buying season ticket next year for the new team and this fan for one plans on doing as much as he can to ensure the team succeeds in Hamilton.
I hope this post has provided some form of insight if anything and doesn't come across as uncalled for so close after the relocation announcement. Take care guys.
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