SPORTS Rogers Transfers to Douglas College Source: www.douglas.bc.ca/athletics The Douglas College men’s basketball coach, Jamie Oei, is pleased to announce the transfer of former UPEI Panther Andrew Rogers to Douglas College. The six-foot guard from Kentville, Nova Scotia, joins the Royals after one year at the University of Prince Edward Island. “We're very excited to have Andrew join the team for the upcoming season,” said Oei. “We think he’ll add leadership and versatility to our backcourt. Hopefully, Andrew learned a lot from his CIS experience and can pass some of that knowledge and experience on to our younger players.” Rogers is a former member of Nova Scotia’s Under-16 team, and played high-school basketball at Horton High School in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. At Horton, he average 28 points per game and six assists per game. As a freshman at UPEI, Rogers started 17 out of the Panther’s 29 games, averaging 21.1 minutes per game. UPEI lost in the first round of the Atlantic University Sport playoffs. Rogers finished the year with an aver- age of 5.9 points and 2.1 assists per game. Royals Ground Eagles But hit rough waters with Cascades } Brian McLennon, OP Contributor The Douglas College Royals soccer teams played their season home opener this weekend at Town Centre Stadium in Coquitlam. In Saturday’s games, both the Douglas women’s and men’s teams defeated the Kwantlen Eagles by scores of 4—1, and 3-1, respectively. On Sunday, the Cascades of UCFV proved to be a tougher opponent for both squads. The women, who led for much of the game, suddenly found themselves behind after two quick goals by the Cascades. The Royals were able to find the equalizer late in the game, which resulted in a 3-3 tie. The goal scorers for the Royals were Meaghan Tidy, Karley Scrigner, and Candis Copeland. The men’s team hosted the new and improved UCFV Cascades, who are pteparing for a jump to the CIS in the 06-07 season. After being dead- locked for much the game, the Royals struck first with a goal by Adam Wilson. However, the Royals lead was short-lived, as the Cascades were able to score the tying goal soon afterwards. With the momentum in their favour, the Cascades were able to capitalize on a corner kick, scoring what ultimately proved to be the winning goal. The New-look NHL? Matt Ventresca, The Varsity (University of Toronto) TORONTO (CUP)—In 1919, a severe case of Spanish Influenza ravaged the Pacific Northwest, rendering the Seattle Metropolitans physically unable to com- plete their championship series versus Montreal-leaving Lord Stanley’s mug without a winner. In 2004-05, in lieu of the Spanish Flu that prevented the crowning of a Cup champ almost 90 years ago, an unhealthy dose of contract negotiations and some serious collective bargaining resulted in the cancellation of the entire NHL season. There is no question that the relief over cost certainty that the owners felt in the wake of the new collective bargain- ing agreement has now been replaced by the great uncertainty of how fans will react to the beginning of a new era of NHL hockey. Feelings of excitement and promise will most certainly be offset by feelings of betrayal and sheer indiffer- ence. The NHL has taken strides to pre- vent the latter feelings from emerging in hockey fans across the globe, with the most obvious of these changes being modifications to the game itself. Whether it’s through the addition of a shootout to break ties or smaller equip- ment for goalies, the recent rule changes clearly illustrate the NHL’s desire to increase goal scoring in regular season games. However, these misguided changes have drawn an unfounded conclusion, equating goal scoring with overall excite- ment. The occasional 9—5 shootout is certainly a welcomed outburst of scoring for most hockey fans, but I’m sure most would agree that the thrill of a fast- paced, end-to-end 3—2 game breeds more excitement than the arcade-style shooting galleries the NHL is now striv- ing for. Goal scoring does not necessarily lead to a more exciting product, but rather scoring chances do. A flurry of shots around a team’s net or a nice pass- ing play is exciting regardless of whether of not a goal is actually scored. The chances don’t all need to be converted— they just need to be a regular part of the game play. The NHL has recently taken positive strides in this direction, most notably the removal of the red line and a commit- ment to cracking down on neutral-zone obstruction; but, unfortunately for hock- ey fans, defensive-minded coaches have spent all summer concocting ways of cir- cumventing these rules in order to con- tinue their dreary style of play, clearly illustrating that there is more work to be done in changing the game for the bet- ter. This season will definitely be a tell- tale campaign for the NHL, as it is no secret that the league has gone to great pains in order to win back the affection of its devoted fans. But if the NHL higher-ups continue to believe that more goals equals more gains, the “coolest game on Earth” may soon be on thin ice.