Breaking NORPAC/AWHL News

When I spoke of Eugene a couple days ago I mentioned a few different items. First off was their release about their expectations of the team/league going T3A. At least the release said the the move to T3A was in the application stage (eventually). However, when one examines their tryout camp brochure, one finds the following: Starting in the 2007-08 season, the Eugene Generals and the Northern Pacific Hockey League (NOR PAC) will compete as a Tier III Junior A league. Are you sure you don't want to hedge that just a little bit, guys, or is a little deception okay so long as you hope and pray you get approved? Anyway, that's not the big story, because I bet if I looked I could find another half dozen examples of teams jumping the gun on their status for next season. It's also not the big news of the night, because what's really important is the NORPAC conference call underway this evening. As most people know, the Rocky Mountain Division has planned to split off from the NORPAC, add a couple new markets, and reform the AWHL. That plan seems to be in danger as the remaining NORPAC teams are trying to hold on to as many eastern teams as possible. The first indication of this we saw was that Eugene release, which mentioned Missoula and Great Falls as going NORPAC, not AWHL. As it turns out, Great Falls isn't ready to return to the hockey ranks yet (cue the Annie soundtrack folks, as it seems they're always a year away), but it appears that not only has Missoula been convinced to go NORPAC, but Butte and perhaps even Coeur d'Alene have been secured to stay in the old league. The loss of these three markets puts a serious dent in the chances the AWHL can get off the ground this season. Tonight's conference call should shed some light on who is in and who is out, and I hope to have some news on the proceedings tomorrow morning (but probably not in my normal 6 AM posting).