January
28, 3004
Kentucky cancels weekend at Duke
DURHAM, NC -- The two game series between the Duke Blue Devils
and the University of Kentucky Cool Cats that was previously
scheduled for Friday, January 30th and Saturday, January 31st
at the Triangle Sportsplex has been postponed indefinitely.
According to Kentucky General Manager Ian Ward, the Cats program
is suffering from "severe budget restrictions" that
are preventing it from funding a trip to North Carolina at this
time. The games will most likely not be made up this season.
Duke Hockey President and assistant captain Jesse Swanko
expresses the Blue Devils’ disappointment over the postponement:
“I was shocked to learn that a team like Kentucky, traditionally
one of the strongest and most well-run programs in the nation,
was experiencing such financial hardship, especially after
hosting a fan appreciation extravaganza at their home game
last weekend. Their cancellation, especially since it came
under such short notice, is extremely frustrating for myself
and the fellow Duke seniors because we do not have many home
games left and we were planning for a big crowd to witness
the storied Duke-Kentucky athletic rivalry this weekend. We
also wanted another shot at these guys after traveling to
Lexington through a driving snowstorm last year only to fall
to them in overtime.” Saturday’s game was set
to take place at 3:15 PM, Duke’s earliest home game
time of the season, and would have given many families with
younger fans their only opportunity to see the Devils skate
this year.
Said team Vice President Dave Bradley, "We made a commitment
last year to play Kentucky on their Senior Night so we went
to Lexington in a New England-style blizzard with a roster
that was severely depleted by injuries. Kentucky’s cancellation
is disheartening not only because they made a commitment to
come here but also because it shows no appreciation for our
efforts to get to their barn last year so they could have
a game on their Senior Night." The second game of the
Duke-Kentucky series in Lexington last year was scheduled
to take place in historic Rupp Arena but was cancelled due
to a severe power outage caused by the snow storm.
Duke head coach Brent Selman released a statement saying,
“We are upset with the actions of the Kentucky program,
but as a team we will move on. We have important games at
Virginia and a rematch with NC State looming and the ACCHL
title is still very much up for grabs.”
GAME NOTES
Duke Hockey would like to thank the Triangle Sportsplex, the
MAOA referees association, and the UNC Ice Hockey program
for helping schedule around this unfortunate turn of events.
|
