Posts Tagged ‘Charlottetown’

Storm Will Continue To Call Summerside Home

Posted: May 16, 2012 in Uncategorized
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A media conference today at the Credit Union Place was the site of thunderous applause when it was announced that the Storm would return to Summerside for the 2012-2013 NBL season.

Duncan Shaw and Darren MacKay confirmed the signing with the Credit Union Place for next year just after 1:30pm in front of the Storm Center.

The day kicked off with a parade of young children marching into the building led by Summerside native Ken Trenholm who was the man behind the petition to keep the Storm in Summerside which obtained nearly 700 electronic signatures.

Bill Schurman opened the press conference by speaking about the community aspect of the team.  ”Sarah Fraser from CBC asked me Duncan and Darren what our record was last season and none of us had any idea, and I’m proud of that.  This year we weren’t focused on wins and losses but building a relationship with the community, and I think we’ve done that quite well.”

Ken Trenholm then spoke about the value this team has to the community and his family.  Trenholm said that he considers Storm games as family time between him, his wife, and his kids which was why he fought so hard to keep them in Summerside.

Mayor Basil Stewart opened his speech by congratulation the team on their early success and finally signing a deal with the arena.  He then proceeded by thanking Duncan and Darren for having the patience and confidence to re-sign with the city for another year.  ”I’ve met with representatives from other cities that have NBL teams and they’ve all agreed that the Storm are lucky to have a building as refreshing as the Credit Union Place.”

Duncan Shaw finished the conference off by explaining all of the fan support they’ve received not only from Summerside but all of West Prince was a driving force in getting a deal signed.  ”I’ve talked to people from every corner of the Island and they all agreed that Summerside is where this team belongs.”

In an interview with the Journal Pioneer Shaw said; “you can’t put a dollar figure on the fan support.  Could you build it somewhere else? Maybe.  But you have it, and it’s such a huge thing to have that you don’t want to mess with it unless you have to.”

Where Should The Storm Play Next Season?

Posted: March 22, 2012 in Uncategorized
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It’s being reported that the Storm are considering a move out of the immaculate Credit Union Place to play next season in the 22 year old Charlottetown Civic Centre, what do you think about the possible move?  Make sure to vote and leave a comment.

Summerside Storm Impact

Posted: March 8, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Over the past week I’ve been shooting video with the intention to find how the Summerside Storm have impacted the community.

Interviews with Summerside Mayor Basil Stewart, Storm Co-Owner Duncan Shaw and footage of the final seconds of the Storm’s heartbreaking loss at home to the Oshawa Power.

Below is a link to the YouTube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miHmMMZecxQ

Interview With Co-Owner Darren MacKay

Posted: December 11, 2011 in Uncategorized
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Before Thursday’s game against the Halifax Rainmen I sat down with Storm Co-Owner Darren MacKay for an interview.

Brett Poirier:  Why bring professional basketball to Canada’s smallest Province?

Darren MacKay:  It really started with Duncan Shaw (Co-Owner) who was in Halifax at the time and met Andre Levingston (Rainmen Owner).  Andre was interested in starting a professional league in Canada.  Coincidentally me and Duncan sold a software company around that time and had some disposable income.  We both love basketball and we saw this as a great opportunity to give back to the community.

BP:  How did Summerside get this team over Charlottetown?

DM:  When we first started we were trying to make this team Island wide, where we would play in both Charlottetown and Summerside,  however there were a couple of reasons we didn’t go with the capital city.  First and foremost they didn’t have a court and the Credit Union Place is also newer and more advanced than the Civic Centre.

BP:  Are you and Duncan responsible for signing, releasing and trading players?

DM:  Quite honestly we have nothing to do with it, we left it all up to coach Joe Salerno and he’s doing a great job with it.

BP:  What players have been the most surprising to you this season?

DM:  Coming into the season I had expectations for Mike Williams, Al Stewart, Julian Allen ect. and they have proven themselves so far this season.  As far as surprising I would have to say Chris Cayole, he’s been fantastic for us.

BP:  When you were at the NBL draft in Toronto this past summer with Duncan and Bill Schurman (Management Consultant) what urged you to select Justin Garris with your second overall pick?

DM:  Looking at what there was to offer he was one of the young top talents; and along with mentoring from coach Salerno we were confident we would be able to pick up other key players later on that night.  Justin is still very young and I believe he isn’t near his full potential yet.

BP:  Why is it so important for the team to reach out to members of the community?

DM:  It’s really a league wide initiative to connect with the fans the best that we can.  We as a team are trying to have our face as many places as possible to build a better relationship with the fans.

BP:  Can the Storm make the Playoffs?

DM:  Absolutely, the last few games have been tough but if you look back to how we started the season it’s pretty easy to see that there’s lots of potential.

BP:  Can you see this team in Summerside 3-5 years from now?

DM:  I think so, we’ve had our challenges but we have a great fans base already.  If the fan totals started to decrease over time we would likely move elsewhere but as it stands the Storm are here to stay.

Storm Start The Season On A High Note

Posted: November 3, 2011 in Uncategorized
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It was a jam-packed evening of entertainment in the Eastlink Arena at the Credit Union Place tonight.  The undefeated Quebec Kebs were in town for the Storm’s season opener.  The night started by a pre game performance by “The Storm Chasers” the team’s new dance team.  Immediately following was the College of Piping leading in Mayor Basil Stewart, MLA Gerard Greenan, the Storm’s management and others for a pre game ceremony.  Finally there was a short two minute video that played footage of real storm’s from around North America, which tied in t0 the game.

Game time!

Tip-off was just after 7:30

Starters: Dwight Brewington, Mike Williams, Al Stewart, Julian Allen, Jessan Gray

Julian Allen scores first with a drive through the paint.

First Quarter:  It was really Summerside from the get-go; Jessan Gray started hot by sinking a couple 3′s, and Mike Williams put up a solid rebounding total by the end of the first.  The Storm finished the first on a run to give them a 29-19 lead.

Second Quarter:  In the second Quebec battled back to make it a competitive game led by Rick Bodiford with 12.  The Storm were sluggish most of the second, they missed the majority of their shots and weren’t as active on defence.  The score was 47-45 for Quebec.

Halftime:  The College of Piping Drumming School performed.

Third Quarter:  Scratch what took place in the second because the Storm came out blazing!  They went on several runs throughout the quarter led by Julian Allen and Dwight Brewington, they managed to create an 18 point lead going into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter:   Fair to say this was the best quarter, for several reasons.  Firstly Summerside stayed hot and continued to pile on the points; then Dwight Brewington and other players on the bench started a defence chant,  which led into the final seconds of the fourth where Summerside got to see the Island boy Doug McKinney check in and finish out the game.  The Storm went on to win the game 120-105.

Analysis: 

This is the best outing the Storm have had this year.  They were hitting on all cylinders, making the majority of their shots, running back on D and cashing in on the line.  The Kebs are one of the better teams in the league, so for the Storm to have control over them for most of the game was really impressive to me.  This was a great all around team effort that coach Joe Salerno will surely use as a reference later on this year.

Stats:

Top scorer was Julian Allen with 23.  Top rebounder was Mike Williams with 22!  And the high assist man was a tie between Mike Williams and Al Stewart with six.

Notes:

Technical foul to Quebec bench in the second for what they believed was a bad “no call”.

Attendance was 2238.

Players did a meet and greet session in the main lobby after the game.

Next game tomorrow night at 7:30pm in the Eastlink Arena.

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