Press releases: I.1 (USA)

The Doppelgangers General Manager, Dan Sanders has not been seen at the team's headquarters for some time. Players and staff alike have noticed his absence. Many are starting to get concerned.

"Prior to his absence, he hadn't ever missed a game that I can remember... not once in the 15 seasons I've been here," said Captain Ted Keenan. "We haven't seen him for several weeks now though. Not since the holidays. I think some of the guys are getting complacent. Our game performance has definitely suffered a bit."

The Assistant General Manager, Chester Mott has been running things in GM's absence, but other staff members have commented that he's seemingly struggled to fill Sanders' shoes.

"We haven't really had organized management while [Sanders] has been away," noted head coach, Curtis Salas. "Dan was always very hands on with game and tactics planning. He had an eye for that kind of stuff. He would normally advise me on what tactics he thought our opponents were likely to use when we'd meet before each game. With Chester running things, I've been doing everything on my own. It sort of feels like flying blind."

Sporting Director Danny Lam also noted that Sanders hadn't been by to see any developing prospects for several weeks.

"Normally he'd come through here at least once or twice a week, just to see if we had any new kids ready to make the jump to the the big-time," he said. "But yeah, I haven't seen him since maybe... mid December? I remember he was talking about doing christmas shopping, so it's definitely been a while."

When we visited Assistant General Manager Mott to discuss matters, he was frantically looking around his disorganized office for financial paperwork that the accounting department needed.

"His background is in medicine, so he's a bit out of his element managing everything," whispered his secretary as she escorted us into his office. "He's done a really good job keeping everyone healthy and in shape while the boss has been away, but the accountants say our spending has gone through the roof."

"I'll get everything figured out one of these days..." Mott chimed from across the room. "I just need to find my rhythm. I'm getting there."

Finding the right rhythm was a common theme we heard from many of the organizations members. And with the Doppelgangers heading into the softer part of their schedule, they should have every opportunity to be able to do so.

"None of our opponents in the next 7 games are above 0.500," commented goalie John Field. "It'll be a great time to get things back together, and start building momentum for the coming playoff season. Whether Mr. Sanders is here or not, tomorrow keeps coming, so we'll keep training, preparing, and working."

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