B10

Nathan White
Telegraph-Journal

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The news that the Acadie-Bathurst Titan will stay put was welcomed around the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, especially in New Brunswick.

The Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats are among the teams relieved to hear that their rivals will remain in the province, rather than moving to St. John's, N.L.

"We're very pleased that Bathurst continues to have a team because I think we have had a great rivalry between Bathurst and Moncton over the years. I think it's great for the province to have a team up in Bathurst that we can play against," Moncton Wildcats owner Robert Irving said.

Having a team in Bathurst is an on-ice benefit for New Brunswick teams because of the close rivalries, and an off-ice benefit because of the ease and affordability of travel.

Saint John Sea Dogs president Wayne Long, who tuned in to listen to the announcement on the Internet, said he believed all along that Titan owner Leo-Guy Morrissette would find a way to keep the team in Bathurst. Morrissette moved the team from Laval, Que., in 1998 and the Titan went to the Memorial Cup in 1999 with Roberto Luongo playing goal.

"The Titan has a history and that community didn't deserve to lose that team," Long said.

"We have a great rivalry with the Titan and they're three and a half hours away."

Morrissette, 63, announced that his children, Stephane Morrissette, 39, and Annie Morrissette-Hebert, 35, will buy the team.

Leo-Guy Morrissette, who has owned the team for 25 years, will be backing them financially and retain a two-per-cent share, with Stephane and Annie equal partners.

The arrangement, which is to be in place in time for the QMJHL entry draft in June, also calls for them to set up a board of local investors.

Any move would have required approval by a two-thirds majority of league members. Long and many other team executives were concerned about the extra travel costs associated with flying to Newfoundland.

"We never thought the votes were there to allow a move to Newfoundland. Bathurst would have had to have 12 votes and I was certainly convinced that the 12 votes weren't there," Long said.

"(Leo-Guy Morrissette) is obviously a very smart businessman and I'm sure he did a bit of a straw poll himself and realized that he may not have had 12 votes. He took a step back and realized that there's a community there that deserves that team and it's great that they're going to stay put."

Long added that it would have been "ludicrous" to move a team back to St. John's after the city showed disinterest in working with the Fog Devils, which played there from 2005 to 2008 before moving to Montreal.

Prince Edward Island Rocket president Serge Savard Jr. said he has heard similar rumblings around the league.

"I've heard a few people mention that we've tried it in Newfoundland once," Savard said.

"Bathurst has the team already, they've been there. It's close, only four and a half hours away, it's a rivalry for us.

"We've played them a few times in playoffs and I'm very happy for us to have a team in Bathurst."

Gatineau Olympiques governor Charles Henry said he believed Leo-Guy Morrissette's "heart was always in trying to stay in Bathurst."

The Titan is last in the QMJHL with an average attendance of 1,705 fans, down 21.7 per cent from last season. The team has experienced three straight seasons of decline from a peak of 2,399 fans per game in 2005-06.

"I think Bathurst deserves a hockey club," Henry said.

"I just hope the people behind it are serious enough to rebuild the hockey organization."