SE eT wags ee pent Ne SFO a SE pee eee + om ie & Monts, Can the AHL work in Abbotsford? By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor he Calgary Flames are actively seeking to relocate their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, Illinois-based Quad City Flames, to Abbotsford. Needless to say, this situation has a whole host of positives and negatives that come with it, but overall, another high- level professional hockey club in BC can only be a good thing. The city of Abbotsford is just now putting the finishing touches on a brand-new, 7,018-seat, taxpayer-funded multipurpose sports arena and Ken King, president of the Flames, is reported to be in the midst of negotiating a ten-year agreement between Calgary’s AHL affiliate and Abbotsford. Aside from providing a solid, long- term tenant for the new facility, an AHL club in Abbotsford from a fan perspective is a great idea as well. For starters, hockey fans in the Fraser Valley would be able to see a game without a marathon commute to GM Place in the heart of downtown Vancouver. Not to mention, tickets to an AHL game are much more. affordable than their NHL counterparts. For example, the Canucks’ AHL farm club, the Manitoba Moose, charge $34 per game for a center ice seat (which falls to $26 per game with a season ticket package) and an average, lower-bowl ticket runs for approximately $28 per game ($20 with a season ticket). Compared to the Canucks, where you can’t get into the building for less than $100 and every game is sold out, tickets to Moose games are a bargain. The American Hockey League is the top feeder circuit for the NHL, and the level of play is still extremely high. On a regular basis, B.C. fans would be able to see firsthand the top prospects of not just the Calgary Flames but other squads as well. Travel would be an issue though. Currently, the AHL has 29 teams, and to say that the minor league teams are centered in the East is a bit of an understatement. Considering that the Western Conference of the AHL has four teams from Illinois, two from New York, two from Ontario and one in both Iowa and Michigan, getting from one place to another becomes a bit of a problem. If Abbotsford were to become home to a Calgary farm club, their closest competition would be the Moose in Manitoba, and even that’s a long ways away. Plus, they’d have to make it down to Texas for games with San Antonio and Houston. Remember, most of the travel in the AHL is conducted by bus. However, despite this, investors in the prospective Abbotsford team have said that they will put up money to ease the cost of high travel bills for other AHL teams. So getting around the league would be a significant issue for any team based so far west. Still though, AHL hockey so close to home is an exciting possibility. While there has been some concern that the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins would suffer due to a loss of their Abbotsford fan base, those worries are unfounded. The Bruins’ season ticket base has only 300 customers from Abbotsford and while an AHL club certainly wouldn’t help the Bruins, it wouldn’t be a death knell either. Plus, a top ticket to a Chilliwack game costs just $18 and they have a loyal fan base out at the Prospera Center. Right now, Calgary’s top farm club is based out of Quad City, but they’ ve been facing hardships lately. Back-to-back years of over a million dollars in losses coupled with the hard competition for sports dollars in a state that has an NFL team, an NBA squad, two MLB clubs, eight minor league baseball teams and a horde of lower-tier hockey clubs as well, and that’s not even to mention the wildly popular college and university sports scene. Without a doubt, moving the American Hockey League into Abbotsford is a gamble and has issues that need to be worked out. But the potential to see great hockey at a very reasonable price so close should be even more enticing to BC hockey fans. Andy Wong and Daniel Leung, Ball Hockey MVPs Intramurals a hit at Douglas By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor his past Friday Douglas College saw the 2009 version of its annual Sports Day, where a variety of intramural sports took place from 9 a.m. to noon. The day kicked off from 9a.m. with an hour of ball hockey championships before 20 progressing to basketball, badminton and indoor soccer. Intramurals are finally making a strong comeback at Douglas College. Just a few years ago, they didn’t even exist, but now students have a wide selection of sports to choose from, including floor hockey, basketball, badminton, volleyball, dodgeball, soccer, table tennis and more. The intramurals are held in the big gym on the first floor and they run every Friday from noon through 4 p.m. and usually see a similar cast of students show up each week. It isn’t that important if you don’t exactly have NHL-level skill either. Intramurals are meant to appeal to all students, and everyone is welcome. There are organized teams which students can join. For example, there are a number of dodgeball squads that compete in 15-minute matches from 12-2 p.m. on Fridays. Intramural basketball is the most popular of the available sports. Routinely there is a large crowd watching from the bleachers when the games begin. Warm-ups start at 1 p.m. and the first game, which takes place on a full court, at 2 p.m. Badminton is another consistent option for students. On Sports Day, a full badminton tournament took place after ball hockey finished. Indoor soccer and table tennis weren’t on during sports day, but regular league games and friendly tournaments are held. All of the above events take place at Douglas’ New Westminster location, but the David Lam campus is now beginning to see intramurals start up there as well. Intramural games are held weekly on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and happen at gym three in the Pinetree Community Center. The indoor games include basketball, soccer and badminton. However, when the weather permits there are also outdoor games of Ultimate Frisbee, soccer and football. There are plenty of ways for Douglas College students to stay in shape and have some fun at the same time. Douglas provides some great intramural opportunities that not enough students are taking advantage of.