Nice Tight Race

[Nezzer1]

What a great time of year, tight race to see who makes it to the A division. Going in to games tonight we ( the express ) are tied with Ingersoll Masters. We win a hard fought game with Windham and then come home to see a forfeit win for Ingersoll over Oxford Centre who we now have to play as part of a double header on Thursday. Whats going on here.

[a fan]

has oxford center forfiet there final games what's going on with them? I hope the playoff seeds arn't determinded because a team forfiets.

[Moneymaker]

im not sure whats going on there but its something that should be brought up at the next meeting or a future meeting because there has to be a justifiable reason for it.

[a fan]

just wondering does oxford center have to pay for every forfiet. how many games do they have left? are they all forfiets.

[bulls19]

we have a game to play with them still it was suppose to be played in May, it was cancelled twice because they didn't have enough guys and now it might not get in, if you don't get all your games in apparently you don't get the points, i don't think this rule should apply in cases like this

[hastiej]

well the reason why we have forfited some games is because we have 12 guys.. 4 injured, one with a broken foot, one with his elbow the size of a softball, one guy with 5 stiches on with index finger of his throwing hand (the underside), whether your not you feel that is justifiable or not is your opinion... and we have had just some bad luck with guys showing up.

we can show up, play with 6 guys and 2 coaches.. and get destroyed, basically like we had our last three games. And we're not forfieting because we want to, we have no choice, we can't cancel because of where we are in the season, and we want to play in the playoffs.

as far as i know, our two team reps are going to the meeting on monday to propose a plan, and if the league accepts it, then fine, if not.. well we might have to fold this season and fold completely out of the league.

Yes we have to pay fines for our forfeited games, how much is unknown at this time. I apologize if the situtation with our team effects any other teams in the league, we do not want that, and we're trying to figure out a way to finish the season.

[a fan]

are your remaining games forfeits?I think the forfeits are 75 dollars a game.

[Barron]

If Oxford Centre's intention is to forfeit the remainder of the 2006 season and fold the team, what does it matter if forfeits are $75/game? I fully understand why the fine has been put in place, however, will this not just hinder a team trying to survive and return next season?

It is unfortunate that some of the league standings may be directly affected by Oxford Centre's circumstances, and the standings won't be based on games actually played on the field.

[hastiej]

that is not our intention... maybe you just just wait and see after the monday meeting, i never said out intention was to forfiet the rest of the season and fold the team. i said if our proposal is rejected by the league, then we might have to.. you miss interpeted what i wrote..

[hastiej]

really, we are going to the meeting on monday looking for our options from the league, and also going in knowing what we want to do. We have a game tomorrow night againt Woodstock. we'll just have to wait and see what happens

[Russ00]

Just throwing my hat into the ring. Fining Oxford Centre out of existence is bad for the league as well as the game. Cut them some slack let them regroup and return. I could see if OC had a history of this but they don't!
As young a team they hold the future for the league. Consider this if the NHL didn't support it's struggling teams bye bye Senators, Oilers , Flames, Sabres etc...

[Bassman]

If a rule is in place to fine a team for forfeits, allowing them some slack because of hardships with injuries would be going against the constitution. If this happens then it opens up grey areas for other teams to take advantages of the rule because "it was okay for Oxford Centre".

This is probably a moot point, but did Oxford Centre take advantage of replacing up to three injured players on their roster (I'm assuming this rule is still in the constitution). You may not be able to aquire the best quality players at this stage of the game, but they are players allowing you to field a team properly whether they be midget players or men's level.

In Oxford Centre's defense, I'm quite positive they didn't start the year thinking they would be forfeiting games at the end of the season. But since it is happening, I would only think the league has to count them in the standings and deal with the fines accordingly. Having a team with only 12 players on a roster is shooting yourself in the foot. Hopefully next season, they will be able to aquire more depth to be effective to the very end.

When league rules are compromised then the league is compromised. Rules can be changed at season's end but shouldn't be bent during the season.

[smorris]

The league removed the injury replacement clause in the constitution before the beginning of the year, therefore OC was unable to add additional players when injuries became an issue.

There have been a few substitutions in the past that have caused some contention between teams, so the teams & league executives felt that removal of the clause was appropriate.

[Bassman]

I see. Thanks for the rule clarification.