Page 29 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 47

Our advertiser’s “Goal” is always to “Assist” their customers. October 2016 29

OSGA 55 plus District 8 Executive Board members

Left to Right: Geoff Johnson, Program Manager, Stanley Fraser,
Member-at-Large, Bruce Kirton, President, Graham Vickers, Past
President and Robert Peladeau, Member-at-Large from the Executive Left to Right Geoff Johnson, Program Manager OSGA with Marie
Board. Photo Submitted Beckstead, Treasurer of the District 8 Board. Photo Submitted

Sports Panel
presents

The Federal Hockey League recently granted a franchise to Cornwall entrepreneurs Rodney Rivette

and Mitch Gagne. Do you think the community will support this venture?

Gilles Gaudet - Sports Enthusiast -I believe Cornwall will support the new Nationals team; then again, I thought Brad and Angelina would be
together forever! The question is, “how much support will the new team need to be successful”? The FHL has been around for a few years now,
and they’ve had their growing pains, with a few of their franchises ceasing operations. Attendance reports reveal that the league averages about
800 fans a game, and that’s a Cornwall friendly number. If the hockey management team spends money wisely and builds a contender with some
local talent, they have a chance to be around for a while. If their business plan necessitates that attendance must be more than a thousand fans per
game, then they will suffer the same results the previous franchises did. Let’s face it; the community is becoming more diverse; live entertainment
has taken a back seat to the digital age, so there’s lots of competition for our entertainment dollar

Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach - It’s nice to see a Federal Hockey League team coming to Cornwall but commenting on how much
community support the team receives depends on how the team is presented to the community; there are obstacles whether the community supports
a team or not.
It would be foolish on the part of the League and team management to blindly expect a community to flock to the games simply based on “We’re
here, so come and support us”. Team management has a TON of work to do in order to get fans to the arena.
No one knows better than former Cornwall Colts manager & Akwesasne Warriors coach / manager Mike Piquette, how much work it takes to get a community to buy
into and support a team. During his days with the Colts, Mike took a hockey team (a group of young men) and transformed them into a team that became part of a
community. They visited schools, helped out at community events, and volunteered at numerous charity functions. People got to know the players on a personal level
and the community adopted them and supported them. While with the Warriors, Mike managed (in a very short period of time) to put a strong competitive team together
with a mix of talented local and export players and developed an identity for these players with the community; an identity the community supported. The team went
on to win the first Championship in Federal Hockey League history.
As for the Cornwall Nationals, if team management can get creative and mold the team into being part of the community, that’ll go a long way in removing the obstacles
and gaining the support, required to be successful.

Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club -Rodney Rivette and Mitch Gagne deserve credit for stepping up to fill the void left by the departure of the
River Kings. They also seem to be doing some good things by announcing affordable ticket pricing and the signing of a few locals; sniper Jeff
Legue and Lou Dickinson, a former 4th round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers. Cornwall is a tough town for a new team to build a fan base,
competing with the established Cornwall Colts who are always either at or near the top of their league in attendance. The Nationals’ home games
will be on the weekend when many area fans head up to Ottawa to see the Sens or to Montreal for a Habs game. I wish this new organization all
the best, but I am very doubtful that they will be able to draw the required numbers to make things work.

“People Pulling Together for you”

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605 Education Rd. Cornwall, ON, K6H 6C7