QUEBEC CITY, Que. – The North American Hockey League (LNAH) has set a deadline of Monday afternoon for any options to save Cornwall River Kings.
The league posted a brief statement late Wednesday night after meeting at a hotel to talk about the future of the hockey team – one of eight and the only Ontario franchise in the league.
The board also explored the possibilities if there are only seven teams, in order to be ready to make a decision either way next week, LNAH Communications Vice President Denis Boisvert wrote.
A crowd funding campaign, led by Rodney Rivette, is trying to get 1,000 fans to make a $500 a year commitment over the next five years and have those people be shareholders in the team.
Rivette told Cornwall Newswatch Wednesday morning they had already had $60,000 pledged following a community meeting Tuesday night.
Here is the LNAH statement in its entirety:
Réunis dans un hôtel de Québec, les gouvereurs de la Ligue nord-américaine de hockey ont décidé d’une date butoir dans le dossier du retrait des River Kings de Cornwall: lundi le 29 août 16h00. Ceci afin de terminer d’explorer toutes les options actuellement possibles pour conserver huit équipes.
Devant l’urgence de la situation, toutes les formules potentielles ont également été analysées dans le but d’une saison à sept équipes et ainsi être fin prêt à passer à l’action dès la semaine prochaine peu importe le dénouement.