Nanaimo Timbermen Senior B Lacrosse Club Press Releases

DBL T-Men forced to reschedule
Nanaimo Daily News • May 8, 2008

There will be no game on Saturday, no default win and no financial compensation for the Nanaimo DBL Timbermen.

The T-Men were scheduled to play the Tri-City Bandits in a West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association regular season game on Saturday at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.

The game was scrapped to allow the Bandits to participate in a Saturday fundraiser for Lower Mainland lacrosse icon George Goodrich.

On Tuesday night, DBL T-Men president Pat O'Dwyer got official word from WCSLA commissioner Iris Parkyn that his team would not be declared winners by forfeit and the game would have to be rescheduled in Nanaimo at a later date.

The WCSLA schedule was approved by the league's governors three months ago. O'Dwyer says the Bandits informed him they wouldn't be coming three weeks ago.

Nanaimo parks and recreation has allowed the T-Men to cancel Saturday's arena booking without penalty, but says it will be nearly impossible to reschedule Saturday floor time at NIC.

"It's impossible for us to get. As it is now, we will have to play our playoff games at Frank Crane (Arena) because they'll be bringing the ice in early (at NIC)," he said. "If (Tri-City) is willing to come over and play on a weekday night like Tuesday, then maybe we can arrange something with the city. But it will never happen, the Mainland teams never come over on a week night."

The T-Men, the only Island club in the seven-team WCSLA, play the majority of their road games on weeknights to accommodate Mainland teams' schedules.

"We always go," said O'Dwyer.

He believes Parkyn's decision to force the T-Men to reschedule their home date with the Bandits reeks of bias.

"It was a Mainland decision by a Mainland commissioner in a Mainland league," O'Dwyer said.

The T-Men are appealing Parkyn's decision to the B.C. Lacrosse Association.

"The BCLA has the power to overturn any league commissioner's decision," said O'Dwyer. "I'm fighting this thing. I'll take it to the Canadian Lacrosse Association if I have to."