Diesels drop out of SIJHL

The Schreiber Diesels have folded from the Superior International Junior Hockey League—leaving the league to scramble to reassemble the rest of the season with the loss of the defending champs.
“It’s not something that I have any choice in, and I’m not very happy,” said SIJHL chairman Ron Whitehead.
“It appears that Bill MacLaurin, the owner, is at the end of his rope, so to speak, spending his time and money on a championship team and he’s not receiving the return back from the town,” Whitehead added.
A teleconference meeting between Whitehead and the six remaining team owners could take place as early as tonight to discuss how the SIJHL can best operate without Schreiber.
While specifics have yet to be discussed, and the impact on the Fort Frances Jr. Sabres is still to be felt, at the very least the Sabres’ first game of the new year on Friday, Jan. 4 will not be held—at least not as planned.
Whitehead said while changes definitely will need to be made, he’s hoping the schedule could be rearranged with as little disruption as possible.
“There’s commitments made to communities and season ticket-holders that we’ll be playing ‘X’ number of games,” he noted. “We’d like to [keep the same game dates].
“It may not be that simple, though.”
A major change also might be made to wipe points earned in games against the Diesels off the books.
“Let’s just assume that Schreiber never existed this year, is how you’d attack that,” Whitehead remarked.
The Sabres sported a 2-2-1-0 record against the Diesels.
The Diesels’ departure marks the first time an SIJHL team has shut down since the local Borderland Thunder packed up in 2005—and the first time a squad has folded in mid-season.
MacLaurin declined to comment today, saying he had “nothing to say” and would not be speaking to the media about the matter.
Sabres’ ownership also was not available for comment at press time today but had updated the team’s website to reflect the news.