The Hockey Craze

New Faces of the AAHL Working to Make a Change

2010-03-12T06:44:00.001-08:00

Chris Ingellis

The Hockey Craze

With 20 games left to go, the league is staring at the finish line of a season no one on the outside thought would be completed. After all the adversity from team troubles (Detroit, and Madison) to front office problems the new faces of the AAHL are looking to change all that.

Ryan Harrison, the AAHL's League Administrator says the AAHL is strong. "All the owners in the league know what it takes to make this league successful and are all working together to make sure that happens."

This starts but does not end with new Commisioner Rod Davidson and the number of staff changes that have occurred. These changes don't only reflect in the league's front office but also stretches to teams themselves.

"The AAHL looks to make many new strides towards professionalism and credibility in the pro hockey relm with all the right people behind the scenes" stated Mr. Harrison.

According to him, this is the strongest time for the All American Hockey League and will only get stronger from here.

At the end of the season, look for many promising announcements. As of right now Mr. Harrison could not release any information on possible new teams but there is interest out there. There are arenas, cities and teams interested which has changed from months prior when it was reported to me, that parties looking to jump on board were quickly jumping ship. Expect to see at least two more teams for next season.

On the other end of the spectrum, the leagues front office is looking at more affiliations with not only other pro leagues but also national governing bodies. "We are looking into league wide sponsorship for many different aspects in the AAHL. I believe by sticking around for longer than two years as a single "A" league says a lot on it's own these days with leagues coming and going every year" said Mr. Harrison.

This is something the new faces of the league are not looking to have happen.

Ice Rays Help Raise Over $54,000 to Fight Cancer Pink in the Rink Night Donates to American Cancer Society

2010-03-12T06:33:00.000-08:00

The Corpus Christi IceRays held their second annual Pink in the Rink Night, presented by Andrews Distributing and Radiology & Imaging in mid-February to help the fight against breast cancer, and raised more than $54,000 for the American Cancer Society in the event. The donations were raised as part of the IceRays 5-2 win over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs at the American Bank Center on Saturday night (2/13/10). A season-high 5,958 fans attended the game, which helped raise nearly $20,000 more than last year.

In their second annual Pink in the Rink Night, the IceRays used pink sticks, wore pink jerseys, and auctioned them off to fans. The total amount raised on Saturday was $54,010 which will go to Corpus Christis local chapter of the American Cancer Society. IceRays General Manager, Pat Dunn said that he was overwhelmed and thrilled by the communitys response to Pink in the Rink Night.

It was absolutely incredible, said Dunn. This is a cause that is very personal to me, and so many people in the community. To see everyone rally together, to see a packed American Bank Center for something like this, and to be able to give that kind of money to the American Cancer Society is just incredible. I cant thank our fans and sponsors enough for what we were able to do on Saturday. Lindsey Johnson, Community Manager of Corpus Christis chapter of the American Cancer Society echoed Dunns sentiments.

Saturdays event was amazing to be a part of. It was such an inspirational night for anyone whos been touched by this disease, said Johnson. With the economy the way it is, and for people to be so generous, we were extremely floored and grateful. There arent enough words to express our gratitude to this community. On behalf of all the patients and survivors that his money will help, I wish I could thank everybody personally. Im not sure everybody realizes just how much a difference they can make.

The money raised from Saturday will help numerous cancer patients and survivors receive treatment, wigs and scarves, breast prosthesis, and transportation to and from medical centers all free of charge. For more information on the local fight against cancer and all the services that the American Cancer Society provides, please call them at 361.857.0136 or visit www.cancer.org.

Professional Hockey Not Leaving Muskegon

2010-03-11T09:30:00.001-08:00

from aahlhockey.com

The West Michigan Blizzard intend to keep playing professional hockey in Muskegon for the 2010-2011 All American Hockey League Season

For the past two months rumors and articles have been released about how Muskegon will no longer have professional hockey after 50 consecutive years. The West Michigan Blizzard will continue the long tradition of professional hockey that extends back to the Muskegon Sailors from the 1930s and has continued this season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks and starting on December 31, 2009, the West Michigan Blizzard. The owner felt like Muskegon was a perfect match for the team since Muskegon has over fifty years of a rich, vast history in professional hockey.

Sandra Hunnewell-Vitale bought the ailing Detroit Hitmen and moved the team to Muskegon during the middle of the season to complete its season. She hired players from two other failing teams, the Chicago Blaze and Madison Ice Muskies because we felt it necessary to keep these professional athletes on the ice. After a 3-3-0 start to the season she and the General Manager, Billy Vitale, shook up the ranks by replacing the coach with a well known Muskegon player and Olympic Gold Medal winner for the Soviet Union, Sergei Kharin. After losing the first 3 games as he transitioned the team to the new style, their record has improved to 11-8-1.

The West Michigan Blizzard is part of the All American Hockey League. The AAHL recently appointed Rod Davidson, who has a long history in minor league hockey, as their commissioner and he is working on some possible expansion teams for the upcoming season. With the planned expansion of the AAHL and the changes that have been implemented in the staff and team, This combined with the overall spirit of the coaching staff and our players, allows for us to push forward keeping the team together for next year and professional hockey in Muskegon according to the team owner.

# # #

For more information about this topic or to schedule an interview contact the West Michigan Blizzard at info@wmblizzard.com

Pink in the Rink, Umbrella Giveaway Highlight Weekend of Hockey

2010-03-10T17:37:00.001-08:00

BILOXI, MS - With three home games approaching on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the Mississippi Surge have two big events that highlight the weekends' games.

On Friday, when the Surge face off against the Fayetteville FireAntz at 7:30 p.m., the first 2,000 adults through the gate will receive umbrellas courtesy of Mississippi Blood Services and WLOX Weather.

The Surge's first-ever Pink In The Rink event will take place this weekend, with the players wearing special pink jerseys on Saturday when they battle the Huntsville Havoc on 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday when they face the Louisiana Ice Gators.

Sunday's game will feature a special 3:00 p.m. start time. The Memorial Hospital Foundation will be on hand, selling Surge Pink In The Rink t-shirts. The team will also recognize both survivors of breast cancer and other cancers, and Deanna Favre, wife of Minnesota Vikings quarterback and Kiln, Miss.-native Brett Favre, will drop the first puck.

Following the game, a special after-party will be held at Hard Rock Live at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Biloxi. Fans who buy a gold-level ticket for $15 will also receive a ticket to the party. The party will feature complimentary food and a cash bar. Approximately 90 minutes after the game, the players will arrive for the live auction of the Pink In The Rink jerseys, with the auction's proceeds benefitting the Favre 4 Hope Foundation and the Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Tickets for these and all Surge home games start at just $8 and can be purchased by calling (228) 287-PUCK

Ice Flyers Partner with Aerotek, Inc. to Rasie Support for the Boys and Girls Club

2010-03-10T17:36:00.001-08:00

The Pensacola Ice Flyers and Aerotek took an opportunity to benefit the local community this coming Friday, February 26th. The team partnered with Staffing and Recruiting Firm, Aerotek to raise needed funds for the Boys and Girls Club of Escambia County. At this Friday's home game, a check of over $1,500 will be presented to the organization.

Chad Wegeman, Director of Business Operations for the local Aerotek office, along with his entire staff have been working with the kids at the Club for a few months now tutoring them in their studies twice a week. The idea for the fundraiser started with Aerotek and the Ice Flyers coming together with an idea to raise funds for the Boys and Girls Club as well as give them the experience of a Flyers game. "When the Ice Flyers agreed to the 50 tickets for the kids, the plan worked out perfectly." The staff at Aerotek has been selling tickets to the game for a few weeks now to friends, family, and clients and the response has been overwhelming. Chad said that "Friends, family, and clients have reached deep into their pockets for a great cause! The Ice Flyers offered us this chance, and the ability to bring the kids to the game for free, and it has turned out to be a tremendous experience. Not only have we got to experience their growth and success academically, but we have had an opportunity to impact their life and give them chances to experience things that they may have never gotten to without some help." In addition to the local support, Chad was able to leverage support from the Aerotek home office in Baltimore, who has agreed to match funds raised by the program. Aaron Epstein, Marketing and Promotions Manager for the Ice Flyers assisted in putting this event together and said "It was a real chance for us to leverage the support and connections of a well established, well respected company in the area to combine with our venue to present this opportunity. It has turned out better than we could have ever imagined."

The Ice Flyers have made a conscientious effort to give back to the community this year and partnerships with local companies like Aerotek make it a reality. If you are looking for an excellent way to raise funds for your organization or to help a charitable cause, contact a member of the Ice Flyers Staff for more information.

Ice Flyers tickets are very affordable starting at just $10 for individuals, and as low as $8 for groups of ten or more. To take advantage of group pricing, call the Ice Flyers at (850) 466-3111. Individual tickets can be purchased online via ticketmaster.com, or in person at the Civic Center Box Office, located at 201 East Gregory Street in Pensacola.

Finalists for Major CHL Awards Announced

2010-03-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

Central Hockey League Award Finalists Announced

The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced today the five finalists for each of the four significant CHL awards, selected by the CHL front office following nominations from member clubs. Balloting will take place among CHL Head Coaches, team Communications Departments and selected media members in CHL markets to determine the recipients of the CHLs Most Valuable Player, Most Outstanding Goaltender, Most Outstanding Defenseman and Rookie of the Year awards.

2009-2010 CHL Most Valuable Player candidates include the defending CHL Most Valuable Player, Odessas Sebastien Thinel, along with Allens Bruce Graham, Colorados Kevin Ulanski, Corpus Christis Chad Woollard and Rapid Citys Les Reaney.

The finalists for the Most Outstanding Goaltender include three rookies in Chris Whitley of Allen, Charlie Effinger of Missouri and Danny Battochio of Rapid City. They are joined by Joel Martin of Odessa and Brett Jaeger of Texas.

The selected finalists to receive Most Outstanding Defenseman consideration include the reigning winner of the award in Aaron Schneekloth of Colorado. The other candidates are Bossier-Shreveports Simon Mangos, Rapid Citys Jamie VanderVeeken, Odessas Alex Dunn and Tulsas Derek Eastman.

Rookie of the Year honors will be determined amongst Allens Chris Whitley, Corpus Christis Ryan Garbutt, Missouris Nick Sirota, Rapid Citys Danny Battochio and Texas Joe Palmer.

Additional awards to be determined include Coach of the Year, Equipment Manager of the Year and Athletic Trainer of the Year, as determined by their CHL peers, along with six member All-CHL and All-Rookie teams (voted on by CHL Head Coaches). The CHLs regular season point leader will receive the Joe Burton Scoring Champion award, while the CHL front office will determine the recipients of both the Man of the Year Award (for outstanding leadership and contributions to the community) and Rick Kozuback Award (perseverance, determination and commitment to hockey) based on nominations and supporting material from CHL member teams.

NHL Trade Deadline Coverage

2010-03-10T17:31:00.000-08:00

The National Hockey League's trade deadline was 3:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 3, and many moves made at the NHL level are sure to be felt by American Hockey League clubs as they prepare for the stretch run towards the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Here's a look at the deals made leading up to this year's NHL trade deadline that will affect AHL rosters:

Mar. 3 - Flames pick up Delmore for Armstrong

The Calgary Flames (Abbotsford) announced the acquisition of D Andy Delmore from the Detroit Red Wings (Grand Rapids) in exchange for F Riley Armstrong.

Mar. 3 - Picard to Phoenix, Kolarik to Columbus

The Columbus Blue Jackets (Syracuse) have acquired F Chad Kolarik from the Phoenix Coyotes (San Antonio) in exchange for F Alexandre Picard.

Mar. 3 - Reed, McNicoll in Avs-Canes swap

The Colorado Avalanche (Lake Erie) have acquired F Stephane Yelle and F Harrison Reed from the Carolina Hurricanes (Albany) in exchange for F Cedric McNicoll and a sixth-round draft pick in 2010.

Mar. 3 - Coyotes acquire Wiikman, send Eriksson to Rangers

The New York Rangers (Hartford) have acquired D Anders Eriksson from the Phoenix Coyotes (San Antonio) in exchange for G Miika Wiikman and a 2011 seventh-round draft pick.

Mar. 3 - Panthers add defenseman Roy

The Florida Panthers (Rochester) have acquired D Mathieu Roy from the Columbus Blue Jackets (Syracuse) in exchange for the rights to F Matt Rust.

Mar. 3 - Hurricanes trade for Osala, Pothier, pick

The Carolina Hurricanes (Albany) have acquired F Oskar Osala, D Brian Pothier and a 2011 second-round draft pick from the Washington Capitals (Hershey) in exchange for D Joe Corvo.

Mar. 3 - Ducks acquire MacDonald from Toronto

The Anaheim Ducks have acquired G Joey MacDonald from the Toronto Maple Leafs (Toronto) in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Mar. 3 - Canucks get Zimmerman for M. Schneider

The Vancouver Canucks (Manitoba) have acquired D Sean Zimmerman and a conditional draft pick from the Phoenix Coyotes (San Antonio) in exchange for D Mathieu Schneider.

Mar. 3 - Red Wings, Rangers exchange AHL'ers

The Detroit Red Wings (Grand Rapids) have acquired F Jordan Owens from the New York Rangers (Hartford) in exchange for F Kris Newbury.

Mar. 3 - Avalanche acquire young forwards

The Colorado Avalanche (Lake Erie) have acquired F Kevin Porter and F Peter Mueller from the Phoenix Coyotes (San Antonio) in exchange for F Wojtek Wolski.

Mar. 3 - Canucks, Blues swap prospects

The Vancouver Canucks (Manitoba) have acquired F Yan Stastny from the St. Louis Blues (Peoria) in exchange for F Pierre-Cedric Labrie.

Mar. 3 - Weller to Florida in Seidenberg deal

The Florida Panthers (Rochester) have acquired F Byron Bitz and F Craig Weller and a 2010 second-round pick from the Boston Bruins (Providence) in exchange for D Dennis Seidenberg and the rights to D Matt Bartkowski.

Mar. 3 - Hurricanes acquire Pogge from Ducks

The Carolina Hurricanes (Albany) have acquired G Justin Pogge and a fourth-round draft pick from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for D Aaron Ward.

Mar. 2 - Canadiens get Palushaj from Blues

The St. Louis Blues (Peoria) have acquired F Matt D'Agostini from the Montreal Canadiens (Hamilton) in exchange for F Aaron Palushaj.

Mar. 2 - Maple Leafs acquire Caputi from Penguins

The Toronto Maple Leafs (Toronto) have obtained F Luca Caputi and D Martin Skoula from Pittsburgh (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) in exchange for forward Alexei Ponikarovsky.

Mar. 2 - IceHogs add Boynton after NHL trade

The Chicago Blackhawks (Rockford) have acquired D Nick Boynton from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for future considerations and have assigned him to the AHLs Rockford IceHogs.

Mar. 2 - Bruins get Providence native Wild

The Boston Bruins (Providence) have acquired D Cody Wild from the Edmonton Oilers (Springfield) in exchange for F Matt Marquardt.

Mar. 2 - San Jose adds B. Westgarth

The San Jose Sharks (Worcester) have acquired D Brett Westgarth from the New York Islanders (Bridgeport) in exchange for future considerations.

Mar. 2 - Sound Tigers pick up Radja

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have acquired F Mike Radja from the Syracuse Crunch.

Mar. 1 - Ducks acquire Oystrick

The Anaheim Ducks have acquired D Nathan Oystrick and a conditional selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft from the Atlanta Thrashers (Chicago) in exchange for RW Evgeny Artyukhin.

Mar. 1 - Blue Jackets, Islanders complete trade

The New York Islanders (Bridgeport) acquired D Dylan Reese from the Columbus Blue Jackets (Syracuse) in exchange for C Greg Moore.

Mar. 1 - Blackhawks, Blues announce trade

The St. Louis Blues (Peoria) acquired G Joe Fallon from the Chicago Blackhawks (Rockford) in exchange for G Hannu Toivonen and D Danny Richmond. In addition, Peoria has acquired D Daryl Boyle from Rockford for future considerations.

"Thunder's Easy Being Green"

2010-03-10T17:29:00.001-08:00

from echl.com

STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder, a two-time recipient of the ECHL "Award of Excellence," announced the second annual "Easy Being Green" event is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Mar. 5-6 at Stockton Arena for both games against the Victoria Salmon Kings, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The Thunder's "Easy Being Green" event is presented by California Water Service Company and co-sponsored by Port of Stockton California and The Surtec System. Last year's inaugural event drew over 14,000 fans to the annual event for two games (Mar. 6-7) and over $13,000 was raised in charitable efforts.

The event, for the second straight year, unites hockey and community involvement with an eco-friendly theme for both games.

The first 2,000 family households in attendance will receive complimentary Thunder eco-friendly tote bags, including environmental activity books to the first 1,000 kids (ages 12 and under) in attendance.

Before and during both games, the Stockton Arena's concourse will be transformed into a "Green Fair" beginning at 6:30 p.m. Fans are invited to visit booths hosted by local environmentally friendly organizations, ranging in categories including recycling, anti-pollution, clean air, water, renewable energy sources, eco-friendly agriculture and more.

An e-waste collection site outside Stockton Arena from 5-8:00 p.m., hosted by Onsite Electronics Recycling, is inviting all fans to ramp up the cleanliness of the Central Valley by bringing electronic items that will be recycled upon drop-off, helping prevent the creation of methane gas by recycling these items.

Among the acceptable used electronic items for fans to drop off, free of charge include:

* Television sets

* Computer monitors

* Laptops

* DVD players

* Printers

* VCR players

* Old stereos and radio walkman devices

* Household telephones

* Cell phones

* Video game consoles

* Microwaves

On the way out, each family household will take home: a choice of free tree sapling or plant, specially grown by San Joaquin Delta College Horticulture Program, a water conservation garden nozzle and shower head courtesy of California Water Service Company and a CFL "energy efficient" light bulb courtesy of PG&E.

Also during the game, local business, Premier Finishing will be presented as winner of this year's "Thunder's Easy Being Green" award and a check of event proceeds will be forwarded on behalf of Premier Finishing to benefit of Child Abuse Prevention Council of San Joaquin County and Way of Compassion.

Tickets for both Friday and Saturday's games are on sale beginning at $7 and can be purchased by calling (209) 373-1700 or by visiting www.StocktonTickets.com.

The proud ECHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League and Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League, the Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine, has led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and drew 223,854 fans to Stockton Arena in 2008-09. Season tickets for 2009-10 are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit http://www.stocktonthunder.com

Team launched at press conference at A`nowara`ko:wa Arena

2010-03-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

Today at the A`nowara`ko:wa Arena in Akwesasne, Ontario, the Akwesasne Warriors officially launched their franchise with the official signing of league documents and their lease agreement.

Basem Awwad, the Warriors Team President announced that the club would be playing in the inaugural season for the Federal Hockey League (www.thefederalhockeyleague.com) which starts play in November of 2010.

At the press conference the team announced the name (Warriors), colors (red, black and white), and unveiled the team logo. In addition, also announced were the team Ownership Group and the Director of Hockey Operations Pat Post.

The team received community messages of support from the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, and the A`nowara`ko:wa Arena

Grand Chief Mike Mitchell said. "It's nice to hear some good news, and this is good news for (the community). I know that when we've had good lacrosse teams, the arena is full.''

Also announced was that fans who sign up with the team for season tickets before 4/31/10 will lock in their rate ($240) for the lifetime of their season tickets.

To take advantage of this and other promotions, fans can check out more news from the Warriors at www.akwesasnewarriors.com or call in at 613-851-7394

The Warriors will take part in the inaugural season of the Class A Professional Federal Hockey League which drops the puck in November of 2010. The team will play a 60 game schedule with opponents Danbury, Thousand Islands, and Rome, New York.

The A`nowara`ko:wa Arena is located on 36 arena rd, Akwesasne, Ontario.

For further information, contact Pat Post at 613-851-7394 or email ppost@akwesasnewarriors.com

Weekly Craze Mailbag: Sunday Edition 2/20

2010-03-07T19:33:00.001-08:00

Q>Who do you pick to win the '10 Hockey Craze Logo Playoffs?

~Jacob NY

Jacob, I think there are a lot of good logos, some great ones and some pretty bad ones. I can't say who would win out of the 100+ that are set to go for this year, but I'll break down my favorite and least favorite per league

NHL: I like the classics, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, Montreal, NY Rangers, Toronto. They have that vintage feel that has stood the test of time against other logos. Least favorite: Buffalo, Atlanta, Anaheim

AHL: There's only a couple in the A I like. Bridgeport, Hartford, Hershey, Lake Erie (weird), Peoria and Toronto. Least favorite: Milwaukee and Lowell

ECHL: I think this year the winner may come out of the ECHL. I like Alaska, Charlotte, Elimira, Gwinnett, Stockton and Toledo. Logos like Victoria and Trenton are my least favorite

CHL: There's only 2 in the CHL that I like; Allen and Odessa. Least favorite: Missouri!

IHL: I like the Quad City and Muskegon logos, Fort Wayne is a classic although I doubt it goes far. Least favorite: Dayton and Bloomington

SPHL: They have some good looking logos. Huntsville is good as well as Mississippi. Least favorite: Columbus and Pensacola

AAHL: Now I wouldn't be surprised to see one of these go a distance. BC and Chi-Town have very nice looking logos. Least favorite: WM Blizzard

So there you have it, I can't say who will win this year based on the many good logos but don't be surprised if it comes from the ECHL or AHL. However maybe we'll see the IHL, SPHL, or AAHL pull out a big one.

AAHL Announces the Rod Davidson Cup

2010-03-06T11:27:00.001-08:00

From aahlhockey.com

Battle Creek, MI The All American Hockey League (AAHL) today announces the name for the new AAHL Championship Trophy is the Davidson Cup.

The name was selected to honour our new commissioner Rod Davidson. Rod has been an instrumental part of the All American Hockey League through coaching and management. Rod was the head coach of the Madison Ice Muskies before their demise and although the team was struggling off the ice Rod to time and effort to try and make the Ice Muskies a success not only on the ice but off. He made several attempts to find sponsorship and new owners when the teams owners couldnt meet the financial obligations to the city and players.

Not only does Rod have experience in the AAHL he also has experience in many other leagues in minor pro hockey. A well respected man in the pro hockey world that any league would be honoured to name their championship trophy after him.

Rod now in his new position will look to make great strides in bringing the AAHL to new heights in the minor professional hockey world and the AAHL owners believe he will do a great job.

The name was voted on by all the owners in the All American Hockey League and the league would like to congratulate Rod on this honour.

Steelheads Head Toward Playoffs with Third Kelly Cup Championship in Mind

2010-03-06T08:38:00.001-08:00

from echl.com

With only five weeks remaining in the 2009-10 regular season, teams are starting their final push to the Kelly Cup Playoffs which begin in April.

While no team has officially earned a playoff berth just yet, a few of the teams are within striking distance, including the Idaho Steelheads.

Idaho is leading the National Conference with a 37-12-5 record and 79 points and could potentially become the first team to clinch a spot in the 2010 Kelly Cup Playoffs. They are only nine points away from a playoff berth and could clinch the first spot on March 12 by winning at least four of their five games between now and then and earning at least one more point in the fifth game.

The Steelheads have hoisted the Kelly Cup twice in its history. The team won the Cup during their inaugural season in the ECHL in 2004 and celebrated a second ECHL championship in 2007 after five games against the Dayton Bombers.

It took three years for Idaho to repeat as Kelly Cup Champions and it has been three years since they last won the Kelly Cup. The Steelheads are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games and are poised to make a strong push toward a third Kelly Cup championship run.

All-Star Richard Bachman and Rejean Beauchemin lead the Steelheads with their strong goaltending. Bachman is 15-5-3 with two shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.26 and a save percentage of .911 in 24 appearances for the Steelheads. He has also appeared in six games for the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League going 3-3-0 with a shutout, a 2.07 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.

Beauchemin has appeared in 31 games for the Steelheads posting a record of 21-7-2 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.72 and a save percentage of .890. He has also appeared in two games for the Manitoba Moose of the AHL

Offensively, the Steelheads are lead by Mark Derlago, whose 61 points (27g-34a) not only leads Idaho but ranks him fifth among league skaters. This season, Derlago has been named ECHL Player of the Week twice and was named ECHL Player of the Month for January.

Rookie All-Star forward Evan Barlow has been one of the Steelheads most productive players this season. Barlow is first among ECHL rookies 13 power-play goals, second with 22 power-play assists and third with 52 points (26g-26a).

Defenseman Aaron Dawson joined Idaho on Feb. 23 and has appeared in three games for the Steelheads while registering six penalty minutes. Dawson is the grandson of ECHL Hall of Famer, Bud Gingher, who was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame during the 2010 ECHL All-Star Weekend in Ontario, Calif.

The Steelheads are on a three-game win streak that started on Feb. 13 and they will look to continue that streak this week with three games against Bakersfield on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Eagles Clinch Playoff Berth

2010-03-06T08:19:00.001-08:00

Despite Loss to Rush, Eagles Punch Ticket to Post-Season

The Colorado Eagles have made it to their seventh consecutive post-season despite Sunday's loss to Rapid City. The Eagles clinched their spot earlier in the day thanks to the Mudbugs victory in Tulsa. Colorado has made it to the Ray Miron President's Cup Finals in each of the last three seasons.

Big Crowds Take in Weekends Games

2010-03-06T08:17:00.002-08:00

The action on the ice has been fast and furious as the teams of the CHL make their final pushes for the post-season and the fans in all CHL venues have responded. On Friday and Saturday night, the CHL welcomed 64,647 fans to its 14 games (an average of more than 4,600 people).

The venues combined were at 70% capacity with two sellouts in Missouri, one sellout in Texas, one sellout in Rio Grande Valley, one sellout in Colorado and a sellout in Rapid City. In all, six games were played in front of sold out crowds and Saturdays game in Odessa missed by just a few hundred.

There are still four games to be played on Saturday with Tulsa and Wichita expecting large turnouts and Colorado and Texas both expecting sellout or near-sellout crowds.

On the ice, there are competitive races for conference crowns as well as for positioning in the post-season.

Akwesasne Schedules Inaugural Press Conference

2010-03-06T08:17:00.001-08:00

From thefederalhockeyleague.com

The 4th franchise unveiling of the newly formed Federal Hockey League will take place this Thursday March 4th when the league officially welcomes the Akwesasne entry into the FHL (www.thefederalhockeyleague.com). The Press Conference will take place at the A'Nowara'Ko:wa Arena. All members of the media, area politicians and future fans are invited to attend.

Anticipated presenters are Owner/President Basem Awwad, Akwesasne's Grand Chief and District Chiefs as well as FHL Commissioner Don Kirnan. Introductory material will be presented, including the franchise's Logo and identity, terms of rink agreement, information on ticket plans and corporate sponsorship opportunities. Various FHL Officials and the Franchise's owner will be on hand to answer any questions.

Akwesasne borders the countries of Canada and the United States of America; the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec; and the USA State of New York.

The A'Nowara'Ko:wa Arena is located on the Akwesasne Indian Reservation. From Hwy 401 Take exit 789 "Brookdale Avenue" and head toward Cornwall City Centre. Follow Brookdale Ave South to "Bridge to US" and cross the International Bridge. Go past the Toll Booth ($3) straight to Four Corners and take a left. Approximately 1/2 kilometer take left on "Phillip Hopps Memorial Rd" and follow signs to the arena.

For additional information contact Basem at basem_awwad@hotmail.com

Hope to see you at the rink.

IHL Weekly Honors for Week 19

2010-03-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

ROCHESTER, MI--- The International Hockey League (IHL) announced Monday that Flint forward John Mori has been named the IHL Player of the Week, Port Huron forward Brandon Naurato has been named the IHL Rookie of the Week and Quad City goaltender Kyle Jones has been named the IHL Goaltender of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 22nd, 2010.

Mori had a stellar week for the Generals, scoring four goals and dishing out three assists for a total of seven points over three games played. The rookie forward had his highest scoring night of the season Saturday in Flints 5-4 win over Muskegon. He netted his first pro hat trick, scoring one even-strength, one power play and one shorthanded tally. During that game, he scored the game-winner with 1:08 left in the game to propel the Generals to the win over the first-place Lumberjacks. The 23-year-old Westport, Connecticut native is currently second on the Generals roster in scoring with 38 points (19 goals, 19 assists). He also leads the IHL in shorthanded goals with five.

Other players nominated for the IHL Player of the Week include: Bloomington forward Zach Pearson, Dayton forward Tim Hartung, Fort Wayne center Colin Chaulk, Muskegon right wing Michel Beausoliel, Port Huron left wing Tab Lardner and Quad City left wing Juris Stals.

Naurato completed the week scoring two goals and one assist for three points and a plus-three rating in three games played. He scored both goals Saturday in the Icehawks 4-1 win in Bloomington, including the first and third goals for Port Huron. He recently had his three-game point streak snapped after he was held scoreless Sunday in the Icehawks 3-2 shootout win over Quad City. He had scored two goals and two assists during the streak. The 25-year-old Livonia, Michigan native currently is tied for fifth among IHL rookies in scoring with 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists). His 15 goals also rank him fourth among rookies in goals scored.

Other players nominated for the IHL Rookie of the Week include: Bloomington defenseman Nick Elligsen, Dayton forward Tim Hartung, Flint forward John Mori, Fort Wayne right wing Sean OConnor, Muskegon defenseman Nick Schneider and Quad City Brandon Marino.

Jones had another great week between the pipes for the Mallards, earning his team four points with a 1-0-0-2 record. He turned aside all 34 shots he faced from the first-place Lumberjacks Friday to earn his first shutout of his professional career. He finished the week with a 1.59 goals against average and a .949 save percentage. He made a total of 97 saves, only allowing five goals against in three games played. The 26-year-old North Delta, British Columbia native is currently tied for fifth among IHL goaltenders in minutes played (1630:45) and saves (769). He also leads in shootout wins with five.

Other goaltenders nominated for the IHL Goaltender of the Week include: Bloomingtons Sebastian Dahm, Dayton Derek MacIntyre, Flints Rob Nolan, Fort Wayne Tim Haun, Muskegon Matt Lundin and Port Hurons Adam Russo.

Canadian Businessman Brad Rowbotham Signs Asset Purchase Agreement of Stockton Thunder

2010-03-03T17:58:00.000-08:00

STOCKTON, Calif. - SC Hockey Franchise Corporation, led by Brad Rowbotham, signed an asset purchase agreement of the ECHL's Stockton Thunder on Monday morning and was introduced at a Monday press conference at Stockton Arena.

The purchase agreement, from Stockton Hockey Franchise Group, Inc., led by Michael Reinsdorf, is subject to final approval by the ECHL Board of Governors and the City of Stockton.

"First and foremost, I want to thank Michael for providing the opportunity to take the lead of one of the model franchises in professional hockey - a dream come true for passionate hockey people in myself and family," said Rowbotham. "Making it clear, we're taking advantage of a long-term plan and build on a wildly successful five years in Stockton by making it even better by taking it to the next level."

Rowbotham continued, "When I first set foot in Stockton, I instantly grew a passion for this city, the fans and the hockey team. The aura and atmosphere that Thunder fans create each and every game is strikingly similar to our NHL affiliate in the Edmonton Oilers. What makes sense is that we take our business model and make no sweeping changes. I am committing a plan to our fanbase and community that continues the success we have here and gives it even more stability in this city for decades to come."

Rowbotham, a native of Red Deer, Alberta, currently has shareholding interest and is general manager of Roll'n Oilfield Industries, Ltd, a corporation founded by his father 33 years ago that spans operations globally in the United States, Canada and in the past, Russia, Africa and South America.

In the last decade, Roll'n Oilfield has been named recipient of the Canadian Association of Oil Well Drilling Contractors (CAODC) "Safest Service Rig Company" Award four times and was named "Business of the Year" by the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce in 2005.

Brad and his wife, Dawn, currently reside in Red Deer and have four children (Kelsey, Cole, Ben and Austin). A noted hockey enthusiast with his family, his sons Cole and Austin has been involved in youth hockey for eight years.

Reinsdorf who is the principal owner of Minor League Baseball's Harrisburg Senators, a class-AA affiliate of the Washington Nationals, continues to serve the NBA's Chicago Bulls as Alternate Governor and is with the Children's Memorial Hospital Foundation, serving on the Board of Directors.

He headed the Stockton Hockey Franchise Group, Inc. purchase in January, 2005 of the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies from Atlantic City Hockey, LLC, has enjoyed numerous highlights during his tenure as Thunder owner/governor.

"I have nothing but a great feeling at how beneficial Brad's leadership and vision will be for the Stockton Thunder for years to come," said Reinsdorf. "It's a deal that makes the most sense and will be great for the city, fans and hockey club. I've thoroughly enjoyed the five years with the Thunder, and I'm confident that it's being left in great hands to build on the success in this budding hockey community. That was our goal through this whole process.

Under Reinsdorf's guidance and naming of Dan Chapman as Thunder president/alternate governor, the Thunder has been twice named recipient of the ECHL's "Award of Excellence" (2006-07 and 2008-09), has led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons since beginning play in the league in 2005-06, has drawn 13 sellouts to the 9,737-seat Stockton Arena and has advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs in the last three straight seasons.

In 2007-08, the Thunder hosted the 2008 ECHL All-Star Game, where a crowd of 7,455 marked the fifth-highest attended contest in ECHL All-Star Game history with NHL Network television coverage and NHL Radio coverage provided spotlight to the game during the league's 20th Anniversary season.

During the 2006-07 campaign, the Thunder drew record crowds with a total attendance figure of 244,085 (ECHL's highest since 2001-02 - Florida) over 36 home games, an average of 6,780 fans per contest, including three capacity crowds.

2009-10 Top Prospects Card Set Unveiled

2010-03-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

From theahl.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. The American Hockey League and the Professional Hockey Players Association today unveiled the 2009-10 AHL Top Prospects trading card set, featuring 50 of the outstanding young players in the AHL.

The set, manufactured by Choice SportsCards of Aston, Pa., features action photos and career statistics of rising stars from all 29 AHL teams. The cards are available for purchase online at ahlstore.com and in select AHL arenas. Included in the set are:

Mikael Backlund

Keith Seabrook

Andreas Nodl

Marc-Andre Bourdon

Drayson Bowman

Zach Boychuk

Derek Smith

Dustin Kohn

Arturs Kulda

Riley Holzapfel

Jakub Kindl

Cory Emmerton

Ben Maxwell

P.K. Subban

Bobby Sanguinetti

Evgeny Grachev

John Carlson

Michal Neuvirth

Colton Gillies

Ryan Stoa

Vladimir Zharkov

Matthew Corrente

Oscar Moller

Thomas Hickey

Sergei Shirokov

Cory Schneider

Jonathon Blum

Nick Spaling

Ty Wishart

Dustin Tokarski

Lars Eller

Tyler Ennis

Jhonas Enroth

Mikko Lehtonen

Zach Hamill

Keaton Ellerby

Alexander Salak

Akim Aliu

Simon Danis-Pepin

Kyle Turris

Mikkel Boedker

Alex Plante

Maksim Mayorov

Ivan Vishnevskiy

Raymond Sawada

Christian Hanson

Viktor Stalberg

Dustin Jeffrey

Logan Couture

Nick Petrecki

Norfolk's Johnson Promoted to Tampa Bay

2010-03-03T17:55:00.001-08:00

From theahl.com

The Tampa Bay Lightning have named Jim Johnson to the position of assistant coach today, executive vice president and general manager Brian Lawton announced. Johnson joins the Lightning from the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League where he had served as head coach.

Jim has done whatever the Lightning organization has asked of him and excelled in those roles, even as his responsibilities have increased, whether it be in player development, as an associate in Norfolk or in the head position for the Admirals, Lawton said. And now we are excited about adding him to an already strong coaching staff as an assistant coach for the Lightning.

A native of New Hope, Minn., Johnson was named head coach of the Admirals on Jan., 16, 2010, after beginning the season as the teams associate coach. Once taking the reins of the Admirals, Johnson gave the team a newfound fire and direction, leading them to a 13-2-1-1 record during his 17 games behind the bench. The Admirals improved from 17-23-2-0 and seventh in the AHLs East Division to 30-25-3-1 and third place in the East Division, firmly entrenched in the playoff race, with Johnson serving as head coach.

As associate coach, Johnson was responsible for working with the organizations defensive corps and for the teams penalty killing. This season the Admirals penalty killing unit is ranked first in the league on the road (88.7 percent) and third overall (87.1 percent).

In 2008-09, Johnson served as the Lightnings player development coach, working with the organizations most highly-touted prospects and draft picks, and he was instrumental in the planning of the teams conditioning, rookie and young guns camps.

Johnson had a lengthy NHL career as a defenseman, playing 829 games with 29 goals and 166 assists with stops in Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Dallas, Washington and Phoenix. He also represented the United States in international competition on seven occasions including the 1991 Canada Cup.

Following his retirement, Johnson spent four years with the Phoenix Coyotes as a consultant to the general manager, broadcast analyst and an assistant coach. He has also served as a U.S. National Junior Team Assistant Coach at the IIHF World Junior Championships on three occasions. Johnson has been involved with USA Hockey development programs at the state, regional and national levels as a coach, evaluator and presenter. He was named 2006 USA Hockey Volunteer Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the United States Olympic Committee Coach of the Year.

Can the FHL Pull it Off? / Taking A Step, A Good Step

2010-03-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

Chris Ingellis

The Hockey Craze

Many of you ask, what is going on with the FHL? Where are the 4 teams? How about the other expansion teams we were to expect? Add those simple questions up with the more difficult ones Stephen Heisler attempted to have answered on American Pro Hockey (and was shot down) and we now have BIG questions on this league.

The only answer I can give you: The Danbury Whalers are rolling along.

The FHL had been involved in talks with Hyannis, now a change in Ottawa ( (not officialy announced by the league as of yet) to Cornwall, and ongoing talks with Jamestown and other cities not mentioned. However besides these recent negotiations fans would have no idea anything is happening unless your a Danbury Whaler fan. Or you can scoure the internet and find some stories.

The FHL is staring at a league-imposed March 15th deadline stated by Andy Richards in an article by MIKE MASTOVICH of "The Tribune Demoract" that is now 19 days away. When you read that article he states the league has 4 teams , with Cornwall noted. Yet the league website shows no mention of Cornwall as replacing Ottawa. Nor any mention made about the league-imposed deadline.

I was told announcements would be made in 30 days. That is now 45 days and counting. Now there are talks with Johnstown (see article above, will be losing the ECHL Chiefs) and other potential cities.

Here's a potentially big problem; well actually I have 2. One is the possible league map if say Johnstown joins the league with Cornwall and no other parties join in. The distances for Danbury and Johnstown trump the other 3 teams. Another big problem is the suppossed budget. The numbers do not add up. If the budget were to work, Rome and Thousand Islands are dead in their tracks. Danbury and Johnstown realistically could survive. I can't comment on Cornwall as I have not really looked into the potential scenario of the franchise. Again Stephen tried to have that answered but the league refused to go into any details; partically commissioner Don Kirnan.

Now why is the league saying nothing about teams in a relatively closer vicinity to Danbury? I cannot see this league lasting without teams closer to Danbury (even Poughkeepsie NY as a possibility) or possibily Johnstown (if they pull that off) in viable facilities. I do believe the league knows this and is working on this: hopefully working on this.

However, until March 15th, we probably will have no answers and maybe the league makes a splash by then. If not, I don't know how they expect to develop a strong fan-base; unless your Danbury who I think is doing a good job of that right now.

--------

Chris Ingellis

The Hockey Craze

Funny how this work in coincidence. Here I am saying the league is giving us nothing "publicly" towards progress on the state of the FHL and the next day a "weekly newsletter" comes out. I know the FHL has been working behind the scenes but it is nice to see something coming out for everyone to see.

You can read SLAPSHOTS! The Federal Hockey League Newsletter here

I was hoping to put my foot in my mouth. However,

the newsletter dosen't give much that is not already known. Don Kirnan does reiterate official announcements coming in the next few weeks. That would take us right to the self-imposed deadline of March 15th.

Now if someone from the league's front office can explain how Thousand Islands and Rome will fit into the FHL budget then I will give a thumps up. A clearing of the air that past members of the AAHL are going to be inloved would also be nice.

For now, at least we have something and it is a start.

Rapid City Causes Shake-Up at the Top of the Yellowbook CHL Coaches Poll

2010-02-28T18:53:00.001-08:00

It took more than four months and more than 350 league games but finally a team other than the Odessa Jackalopes has been voted the #1 team on the Yellowbook CHL Coaches Poll and that team is the Northern Conference leading Rapid City Rush. In what was the closest poll of the 2009-10 season, the Rush earned one more point than the Jackalopes and two more first place votes coming just days after beating the Jackalopes this past weekend in back-to-back games. Odessa has been voted the best all year long earning the #1 spot in each of the first seven polls of the season. The Rush are a league-best 17-2-3 since Christmas and currently have a four-point lead over the #3 team in the poll, the Colorado Eagles, for first place in the North. The expansion Allen Americans remain the #4 team sitting just one point behind the Eagles in the most recent poll.

The results for the #5-#7 spots is remarkably tight as just one point separates each slot furthering showing the competitive balance in the league this season. The defending CHL Champion Texas Brahmas received 75 points, good for the #5 spot, followed by Bossier-Shreveport (#6 with 74 points) and Laredo (#7 with 73 points). The Mississippi RiverKings dropped one spot to #8 and as was the case in the last poll, the Corpus Christi IceRays and Tulsa Oilers round out the top 10. No team rose or fell more than one spot in the poll.

The Rush received eight of the possible 15 first place votes followed by Odessa who garnered six first place mentions and the Colorado Eagles who received one vote for the top spot (teams are unable to vote for themselves).

View the entire Yellowbook CHL Coaches Poll at www.centralhockeyleague.com.

The CHL Top 10 Coaches Poll will be released on or near the beginning and middle of each month through the regular season. Each first place vote receives ten points, second place votes earn nine points, etc.

AAHL Davidson Cup Logo Contest on PuckDrawn.com

2010-02-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

From aahlhockey.com

Battle Creek, MI The All American Hockey League (AAHL) along with PuckDrawn.com is excited to announce a contest to be featured on PuckDrawn.com. The contest will allow fans and hockey enthusiasts a chance to create a logo for the 2010 Davidson Cup playoffs.

By visiting www.puckdrawn.com you can send your logo in for a chance to become the AAHLs official logo and media designer. Other prizes include $250.00 cash prize and Davidson Cup logoed merchandise.

We are really excited to team up with John Griswold of PuckDrawn.com to help promote our league and his website stated AAHL League Administrator Ryan Harrison.

The contest will run until March 24th 2010 and the winner will be picked March 29th 2010.

Visit www.puckdrawn.com for full contest details.

Good Luck!

WESCO and Danbury Whalers Pond Hockey

2010-02-26T08:21:00.001-08:00

Today at the Danbury Ice Arena in Danbury, Connecticut, Danbury Whalers CEO / Managing General Partner, Herm Sorcher and WESCO Sports Center Owner/President Doug Mathews announced that during selected days of December 2010 and January 2011, the Danbury Whalers hockey team will travel throughout the state to take on challengers in Pond Hockey.

The Whalers will take on teams of all ages, but due to the limited time frame, we ask that potential opponents submit to us their town, team name, their players, the pond that they would like to play us on, and why we should play them. Danbury Whalers Head Coach Chris Firriolo commented The first hockey most kids play is in a setting like this. We thought it would be great to give back to the community with a special kind of unique experience like this.

WESCO Sports Center, located on 270 Federal Road in Brookfield, is one of the Northeasts premier hockey shops, owned and operated by the Mathews family, serving the community since 1971.

Mathews stated, We are looking forward to working with the Danbury Whalers on this promotion. Pond Hockey is where it all gets started. We are happy to be a part of this program.

As the Federal Hockey League schedule has yet to be formulated, the dates for this promotion are still to be determined. Sorcher added, We will target dates when kids are off from school and people are home for the holidays. Well make an event out of it with hockey followed by lunch.

The concept of playing on local ponds was developed by Danbury Whalers Manager, Player Relations, John Krupinsky. When asked about the promotion, Krupinsky said These are the type events and promotions that years from now, the people who participate will always remember and talk about. We are going to make it a special day.

To participate in the Danbury Whalers Pond Hockey Challenge send your information to danburywhalers@aol.com. Dates will be limited so attach to your team information a few lines and unique reasons on why the Danbury Whalers should travel to your pond to play.

For further information, contact Herm Sorcher at 973-713-7547 or email hsorcher@danburywhalers.com.

AAHL Announces Davidson as new Leader

2010-02-26T06:33:00.000-08:00

Battle Creek, MI--- The All American Hockey League (AAHL) announced Tuesday that Rod Davidson has been named Commissioner of the league. He will begin his duties as Commissioner on Monday, March 1st 2010.

We are very pleased to have Rod Davidson as the Commissioner of the All American Hockey League, stated Rick Williams, Battle Creek Revolution Owner. He brings tremendous experience and integrity to the league. We feel he will be a key part of the continued growth of the AAHL.

Rod has seen many professional circuits over his long history in minor professional hockey including championship season as the assistant coach of the Brantford Smoke of the Colonial Hockey League in the 1999-2000 season, as scout of the Utah Grizzles of the International Hockey League in the 1995-1996 season and, as head coach of the Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League in the 1999-2000 season.

Rods tremendous experience in minor professional hockey will help to bring our league (the AAHL) to the next level added Williams.

Rods duties will span from future expansion to suspensions, he will also look after day to day operations of the league.

For more information on the hiring of Rod Davidson as AAHL Commissioner or to schedule an interview, please contact Ryan Harrison, AAHL League Administrator via email, rharrison@aahlhockey.com.

Record Crowd on Historic Day in Syracuse

2010-02-24T13:01:00.002-08:00

SYRACUSE, N.Y. A crowd of 21,508 fans the largest gathering ever in the 74-year history of the American Hockey League packed the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse on Saturday afternoon for the Mirabito Outdoor Classic, and watched the hometown Syracuse Crunch hold on for a 2-1 victory over the Binghamton Senators in the AHLs first outdoor game.

It was a party atmosphere at the Fairgrounds from the time the gates opened at 8:30 a.m., and continued until the on-ice festivities officially got underway at 1:00 p.m. Mercury recording artist Jessie James sang the U.S. national anthem while a pair of jets from the 174th Fighter Wing performed a flyover. Skydiver Ray Maynard dropped in with the puck for the ceremonial opening faceoff, landing in the center-ice faceoff circle from an altitude of 1,500 feet.

The weather saw temperatures in the mid-30s Fahrenheit with some flurries and a steady breeze throughout the afternoon.

David Liffitons goal with 11.7 seconds remaining in the second period stood up as the game-winner for Syracuse. Alexandre Picard scored the first goal of the game, Michael Blunden recorded two assists and Kevin Lalande stopped 36 of 37 shots for the Crunch.

Josh Hennessy scored shorthanded for the Senators lone goal.

In addition to the record crowd in attendance, the game was televised live across the United States and Canada on NHL Network, as well as locally on Time Warner Cable Sports.

Amerks Rally for 2,000th Win

2010-02-24T13:01:00.001-08:00

ROCHESTER 3, PORTLAND 2 (SO)

Mike York scored the tying goal with just 1.3 seconds left in regulation and then notched the decisive shootout goal as Rochester edged red-hot Portland by a 3-2 count on Sunday at Blue Cross Arena for its 2,000th win in franchise history.

Currently in their 54th season of play, the Americans joined the Hershey Bears as the only AHL franchises to reach 2,000 regular-season victories and snapped a four-game losing skid in the process.

The teams traded goals in the opening period. Ex-Amerk Marc-Andre Gragnani gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead just 3:26 into the contest, but Rochesters Jeff Taffe notched a power play goal at 10:47, his 20th marker of the campaign.

Felix Schutz put the Pirates back on top at 2:22 of the third period, only to watch Yorks late tally send the tilt to overtime.

Jamie Johnson and Evgeny Dadonov joined York in tallying shootout goals for the Amerks; Yorks game-winner came in the fourth round.

Rochester goaltender Alexander Salak stopped 20 shots through the first 65 minutes. He surrendered shootout goals to Drew Schiestel and Tyler Ennis in the first two rounds before stopping Portlands next three shooters.

The Pirates franchise-record 11-game winning streak came to an end, but Portland earned a point to move into sole possession of second place in the Atlantic Division.

FORMER RED WING JOE KOCUR TO APPEAR AT ICEHAWKS GAME

2010-02-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

PORT HURON, MI The Port Huron Icehawks are proud to announce that former Red Wings great Joe Kocur will attend their February 23 game against the Muskegon Lumberjacks at 7 p.m. as part of their Red Wings Legend Night series. Kocur will drop the ceremonial first puck before being available for autographs.

The autograph session takes place in the Pro Shop during the first period. Autographs are free with the purchase of any Icehawks merchandise, or $5 otherwise. All proceeds go to Kinney Charities.

Kocur was a fan-favorite in Detroit as one half of the Bruise Brothers with teammate Bob Probert. He played over 600 games with the Red Wings, including nearly 70 playoff games. Kocur also played for the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks, winning his first Stanley Cup with the Rangers in 1994. The right winger returned to the Wings for two more championships in 1997 and 1998. He also won a Stanley Cup with the team while working as video coach in 2002.

We are very proud to bring another Red Wing legend to Port Huron to meet our fans, said Icehawks Vice President and Business Manager Dave Goetze. It is great that our relationship with the Red Wings Alumni Association has allowed us to bring so many players from different eras to town, and we know that our fans have many great memories of Joe Kocur from the 1980s and 1990s.

This marks the third Red Wings Legend Night for the Icehawks. This season fans have already enjoyed the opportunity to meet Ted Lindsay and Alex Delvechhio. The remaining schedule of appearances is as follows:

Saturday, March 6: Karen Newman

Tuesday, April 6: Mickey Redmond

Single game tickets for all Icehawks home games are on sale now at the McMorran Arena Box Office, any Ticket Master location or by phone. For more information, visit www.porthuronicehawks.com or call 810-966-3800.

Bakersfield Selected to Host 2011 ECHL All-Star Game

2010-02-22T18:53:00.001-08:00

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced on Thursday that the Bakersfield Condors have been selected to host the 2011 ECHL All-Star Classic which is currently scheduled for January 26, 2011.

The 2010-2011 season will be the 13th season for the Condors, and the 16th season of professional hockey in Bakersfield. This is the first hockey all-star game to come to Bakersfield in the citys history, and believed to be the fourth overall, with the California Baseball League All-Star Game taking place in Bakersfield in 1954, 1959 and 1988.

The Condors have set a standard for minor league sports in attendance and community development, with over 2.5 million fans passing through the turnstiles and over $4 million dollars raised for local charities throughout the years. The Condors have drawn over 200,000 fans nine times in the previous 11 seasons. This season the Condors once again rank in the top 20% of minor league hockey attendance nation-wide, sitting 5th in the ECHL at 5,289 per game, and out-drawing 63 of the 77 minor league hockey teams between the AHL, ECHL, CHL, IHL and SPHL.

This past season, the Condors were represented by five individuals at the 2010 All-Star Game in Ontario, California: G Timo Pielmeier, D Sasha Pokulok, D Eric Regan and LW Shawn Weller, as well as Head Coach Marty Raymond. Two others, RW Dan Sexton and C MacGregor Sharp, were unable to attend as they had been reassigned to the NHL and AHL, respectively.

We are proud to announce the 2011 ECHL All-Star Classic has been awarded to Bakersfield, said Commissioner Brian McKenna. The Condors' strong organization, combined with an enthusiastic fan base and outstanding arena, meeting and hotel facilities make Bakersfield an ideal choice to host our annual showcase event.

This is an event 12 years in the making, said Condors President Matthew Riley. We are proud to finally bring the ECHLs best into Condorstown and to put our all-star city and all-star fans in front of the rest of the hockey and sports entertainment world. We know this great community will rise to the occasion and we have a lot of work to do to get ready for this, but were excited to get started, and honored to be the host for next years event.

The annual midseason showcase is attended by representatives from the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League and it has produced more than 64 players who have gone on to play in the NHL including 36 since 2002 when the format was changed to feature younger prospects.

The past eight ECHL All-Star Games have generated more than $1 million each for the local economy as guests, players, coaches and fans occupy hundreds of hotel rooms and spend three days in the host city.

The All-Star festivities will also include the official induction ceremony for the fourth class of the ECHL Hall of Fame.

The game was available in over 66 million households last year on multiple national and regional networks. The audio broadcast has been carried on XM Satellite Radio as well as being available in all ECHL markets.

The Stanley Cup and the Patrick J. Kelly Cup were both on display throughout the event, marking the 10th time in the last 11 years that the NHL championship trophy and the ECHL championship trophy have been displayed together at the All-Star Game.

ECHL Concludes Mid-Season Board of Governors Meeting

2010-02-22T18:49:00.000-08:00

Roster Of Teams Finalized For 2010-11 Season

PRINCETON, N.J. The Mid-Season ECHL Board of Governors Meeting was officially concluded and adjourned on Feb. 17.

The following items were approved by the Board of Governors:

Johnstowns Move to Greenville Approved

The Board unanimously approved the transfer of home territory for the Johnstown membership to Greenville, S.C. to begin play in the 2010-11.

Charlotte Checkers Move Up To AHL

The Charlotte Checkers received unanimous approval from the Board to move up to the American Hockey League for the 2010-11 season and will relinquish their membership in the ECHL at the end of the current season.

Voluntary Suspension Extended For Columbia

The Board unanimously approved the extension of the voluntary suspension for Columbia, S.C. for the 2010-11 season as the work on plans to construct a new arena in Lexington County, S.C.

--------------

With these moves, the ECHL will operate with nineteen teams in the 2010-11 season. Work is under way on the 2010-11 playing schedule.

AHL Weekly: Taking it outside

2010-02-22T18:47:00.000-08:00

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... American Hockey League history is about to be made as the Syracuse Crunch host the Mirabito Outdoor Classic on Saturday afternoon, the first outdoor game ever staged in the AHL. The game between the Crunch and the Binghamton Senators will be televised live in high definition on NHL Network in the United States and Canada as well as on Time Warner Cable Sports in central New York, with coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET.

It promises to be a memorable event both on and off the ice around the New York State Fairgrounds Grandstand, where the AHLs single-game attendance record (20,672) expects to be challenged. The Crunch organization has prepared a large number of pre-game festivities for the crowd to enjoy. The Star-Spangled Banner will be performed by Mercury recording artist Jessie James, whose self-titled debut album headlined by the hit lead single Wanted rose to the top of the iTunes pop and Amazon MP3 charts last year.

Skydiver Ray Maynard is scheduled to parachute onto center ice prior to the game and deliver a puck to United States Senator Charles E. Schumer and New York Governor David A. Paterson for the ceremonial puck drop. The special puck to be delivered is from the National Hockey Leagues first-ever outdoor game, a preseason match-up between the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers in Las Vegas on Sept. 27, 1991.

Prior to face-off, there will be a flyover by the 174th Fighter Wing, a Syracuse-based New York Air National Guard unit which previously participated in a flyover at Yankee Stadium during the 2009 World Series.

Several former stars with ties to hockey in New York are slated to participate in the pre-game activities, including ex-Buffalo Sabres forward Danny Gare, who will also serve as color commentator for the television broadcast. Also scheduled to be on hand are former Sabre Rob Ray, N.Y. Islanders legend Bobby Nystrom and former Crunch fan favorites Dan Smith and Jean-Francois Labbe.

On Saturday morning, the members of the Syracuse fire and police departments will battle Binghamton fire and police personnel in a pick-up game at the Fairgrounds, and the entire afternoon will feature on-site VIP tents, fan zones, local cheerleading teams, bands, ice sculpting and hot tubs to help provide a party-like atmosphere for fans attending this historic event.

Located just west of downtown Syracuse, the New York State Fairgrounds spans 375 acres and annually hosts the Great New York State Fair in late August and early September. In addition, the Fairgrounds provides the setting for hundreds of year-round events, drawing approximately one million visitors to an incredible variety of non-fair attractions. Beyond the pomp and circumstance, the Mirabito Outdoor Classic will be a critical meeting in the East Division playoff race. The Crunch enter the week five points out of the last playoff spot in the conference, and the Senators sit eight back.

Weekly Craze Mailbag: Week Edition 2/19

2010-02-19T05:27:00.000-08:00

I broke away from my mid-week edition to revisit a question I received a few weeks back.

The Question was asked towards the end of January:

Q> Why does your site go to thehockeycraze.blogspot.com after clicking on any of the articles on your homepage?

~ Sam L - MA

I decided to revisit this questions for a reason. I have changed the format of the site, as you can probably tell. After changing the color scheme, new logo etc... I decided to make dedicated pages for each of the leagues: AHL, ECHL, CHL, IHL, SPHL, AAHL, FHL.

From now on, I will no longer use thehockeycraze.blogspot.com when I post a NEW article. I am only going to use the blog to handle my archives. The reason why I am doing this is to streamline everything to one site, as I said I had wanted too.

So when you visit thehockeycraze.com and click on a article under "Latest News", you will be brought to a dedicated page for that league. Each page will hold probably 2 articles. Once I post a new article, I'll move the older one over to the archive on thehockeycraze.blogspot.com

If you visit thehockeycraze.blogspot.com just simply hit the "Return Home" link and it will take you to thehockeycraze.com where you can see all the up-to-date stuff on the site!

Gordon, 24 ECHL Players On 2010 Olympic Rosters

2010-02-19T05:16:00.000-08:00

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL is represented by former coach and player Scott Gordon along with 24 players in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games where the mens ice hockey competition began Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Gordon is an assistant coach for the U.S. Mens Ice Hockey Team and was also the assistant coach for the U.S. Mens National Team at the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Berne and Zurich-Kloten, Switzerland.

Gordon played for Johnstown in 1988-89 and on Jan. 30, 1990 became the first ECHL player to play in the National Hockey League when he made his debut with the Quebec Nordiques against the Buffalo Sabres. Gordon returned to the ECHL with Nashville in 1992-93 and Knoxville in 1993-94.

The 46 year old was named head coach of Roanoke in the ECHL in 1998-99. In his first season the Express finished first in the Northern Conference with a 38-22-10 record, advancing to the Kelly Cup Playoffs where they lost in the conference finals. In his second season Roanoke went 44-20-6 and set team records for wins (44) and points (94) while finishing atop the Northeast Division standings and again advancing to the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Nine of the 12 teams have an ECHL player led by Latvia which has six former ECHL players followed by Germany with five former players. Belarus has three former ECHL players, while Norway, Slovakia and the United States each have two players and the Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland each have one player.

Jonathan Quick, who suited up for the Reading Royals during the 2007-08 season, will be the backup goaltender behind Ryan Miller and another former ECHL player, Tim Thomas , for the United States. Vladimir Denisov of Belarus and Ervins Mustukovs of Latvia also saw action during the 2007-08 season with the Johnstown Chiefs and Elmira Jackals, respectively.

_____

ECHL Players in 2010 Winter Olympic Games -

Belarus - Vladimir Denisov (Johnstown, 2007-09), Andrei Mezin (Roanoke, 1993-94) and Konstantin Zakharov (Alaska, 2005-06).

Czech Republic Tomas Vokoun (Wheeling, 1995-96).

Germany Thomas Greiss (Fresno, 2006-07), Jakub Ficenec (Johnstown, 1998-99), Dmitri Patzold (Johnstown, 2003-04 and Fresno, 2006-07), Chris Schmidt (Mississippi, 1996-97 and 1998-99) and John Tripp (Roanoke, 1997-98; Johnstown, 1998-99 and 1999-00; and Pensacola, 2000-01 and 2001-02).

Latvia Armands Berzins (Louisiana, 2003-04 and Wheeling, 2004-05), Rodrigo Lavins (Raleigh, 1994-95 and Tallahassee, 1994-97), Ervins Mustukovs (Toledo, 2006-07 and Elmira, 2007-08), Sergei Naumov (Greensboro, 2000-01), Arvids Rekis (Peoria, 2000-03) and Herbert Vasiljevs (Knoxville, 1996-97).

Norway - Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (Dayton, 2004-05) and Marius Holtet (Louisiana, 2004-05).

Slovakia Jaroslav Halak (Long Beach, 2005-06) and Rastislav Stana (Richmond, 2000-02).

Sweden - Stefan Liv (Toledo, 2006-07).

Switzerland - Raffaele Sannitz (Dayton, 2004-05) and Mark Streit (Tallahassee, 1999-2000).

United States - Assistant coach Scott Gordon (Johnstown, 1988-89; Nashville, 1992-93; Knoxville, 1993-94; and Roanoke, 1998-2000), Jonathan Quick (Reading, 2007-08) and Tim Thomas (Birmingham, 1997-98).

The New Logo is in!

2010-02-15T17:58:00.001-08:00

Tonight I am extremely excited to present to everyone the new Hockey Craze logo:

After waiting for what felt like ages with anticipation at what this would eventually look like, I can say I am blown away. In case you did not catch the article I wrote about the artist Osiris Orion, here it is again:

From Saturday January 30th 2010

Breaking away from the hockey scene, I thought I would give an introduction to my artist brother "Osiris Orion"

Heres a little bio from his website here

OsirisOrion is a self taught artist born and raised in Queens, NY and currently residing in Southington, CT. Osiris began creating creating terrifying images of monsters at a very early age, so terrifying that nuns and priests thought he was possessed by demons. Some people even believe that Osiris was bitten by a pack of rabid bunnies and hasn't been quite right since. Well niether is true...or is it?

OsirisOrion doesn't know where the ideas for the images he creates comes from, but knows that he enjoys creating them and sharing his creations with the world. Osiris draws influence from almost every art form, ranging from abstract, horror, cartoons, graffiti, and bio mechanics. Osiris pulls all these influences and they can be seen in his work, whether it's created on canvas, paper, digitally, sculpted or on vinyl toys.

Osiris's work has been featured on Toycyte,Tomopop, Vinyl Requiem, Custom Toy Lab,SpankyStokesand Albotas. OsirisOrion has also proudly exhibited his works at APW Gallery NYC,LiFT , and Monkey House Toys and Art Gallery

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Osiris began work on this logo having never done a piece like this. He masterfully created one of his signature monster styles into a hockey logo that I think can say should blow anyone away. Wether you have followed Osiris' work before you have never seen something like this!

Take a minute to shoot over to his website or blog and check out his other awesome, amazing and simply jaw dropping creations.

Weekly Craze Mailbag: Sunday Edition 2/14

2010-02-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

This week I lumped pretty much the same question into 1 that I received from 6 people. If you read my article regarding the voting form you would have seen the decision I made regarding the leagues involved in this years playoffs.

Here's pretty much the question...

Why is the FHL not being included in this years logo playoffs? Why is the AAHL in?

Simply put the FHL is not fully established yet, and I'm not so sure if it will be complete by March. Right now the league is looking like a 1 team pony the Danbury Whalers. I highly doubt this is going to change any time soon so I made the decision.

The AAHL however is going to be around through the rest of this season wether or not there is an actual product on the ice...... Right now the jury is still out even though its not looking good. I haven't made a full decision yet and I am not sure if it really matters. Does not seem like anyone is really paying attention (note the Future Stars game) etc...

So before March 26th, I'll make a decision on the AAHL.

Puska on Pucks features the Lake Erie Monsters and the Muskegon Lumberjacks

2010-02-13T18:19:00.000-08:00

The following article is from Denis J. Puska (Puska on Pucks) The Original Internet Hockey Show. You can visit his site by following the link in this article. There you can catch some great stories and reports from Denis.

By Denis J. Puska

CLEVELAND, OH – One of the hottest news stories of the week in professional hockey is profiled on the all new edition of Puska on Pucks, The Original Internet Hockey Show.

Join host Denis J. Puska as he speaks with Tim Taylor of the Muskegon Lumberjacks regarding the team’s announcement that they are changing from professional to junior hockey next season. Ron Rop of the Muskegon Chronicle will also talk about the issue, and Blake Sebring of the Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel will provide insight on what direction is next for the IHL.

There will also be a feature on the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters with Head Coach David Quinn who has fans in Cleveland talking the possibility of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

A new segment begins on the program this week called ‘The Geek Show’ where companies that help fans stay in close contact with the favorite hockey teams. This week the B2-Networks and Vice President Bruce Levine talks about their fast growing company.

The latest edition of Puska on Pucks can be found at www.puskaonpucks.com or at www.oursportscentral.com under the OSC Radio link section. Several other fan websites also carry links for the show.

Puska on Pucks is brought to you by Puska Media Services for more information contact Denis J. Puska at puskamediasvc@gmail.com

Puska on Pucks to attend the Mirabito AHL Outdoor Classic next weekend

2010-02-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

By Denis J. Puska

CLEVELAND, OH – Puska on Pucks, The Original Internet Hockey Show announced today (Saturday) that they will be attending the Mirabito AHL Outdoor Classic next weekend in Syracuse, NY.

The Outdoor Classic is the first game of its kind at the minor professional level and will feature the Syracuse Crunch and the Binghamton Senators.

“This is a great opportunity for our show to attend this unique event,” said host Denis J. Puska. “We are going to do our best to bring our fans inside this outstanding outdoor hockey game with interviews with the officials, players and coaches.”

Puska on Pucks, The Original Internet Hockey Show will air a special power play broadcast next weekend. In the first hour, fans will get the regularly scheduled episode that will include an interview with Chuck Weber of the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones and Gregg Sayer from Pointstreak. The special on the Mirabito AHL Outdoor Classic will follow immediately after on location from Syracuse NY.

The Puska on Pucks Xtra from the AHL Outdoor Classic is made possible by Protech Dent, a company that produces a unique scientifically tested mouth guard. Fans can check out www.protechguard.com to get more information regarding this unique product.

Puska on Pucks can be found at www.puskaonpucks.com or at www.oursportscentral.com under the OSC Radio link section. Several other fan websites also carry links for the show.

Puska on Pucks is brought to you by Puska Media Services for more information contact Denis J. Puska at puskamediasvc@gmail.com

Voting Form Completed for '10 Hockey Craze Logo Playoffs

2010-02-13T08:56:00.000-08:00

With 41 days to go until the Pool Rosters are released for the 2010 Hockey Craze Logo Playoffs, the voting form fans will use to cast their votes is complete.

If you haven't had the chance to check out the POOL A preview, go to the Logo Central page of the site, and click on "POOL A". From there you will see the general layout of the pool page (will be the same for all).

Each pool page will have a listed roster of each team on the left side, a gallery with all the logos, Links to get to the other pools, and the GO VOTE heading. From there you can access the voting form (which is now up for viewing).

Once in the Voters Booth, you will see a contact form asking for your name, email (must be valid) confirming email and your votes. ALL pool votes will be included on this one form. There is no need to complete this form more than once. To the left of the form you will see a sample text of how the form should look. To the right of the form will be a a text listing of all the 4 pool rosters. After submitting your vote, you will see a message "Your email was sent successfully!"

Now I'll break down the voting rules. This is posted under the sample voting form.

Rules for voting in Pool Round:

Only a form submitted with a valid email will count

Fans can submit 1 voting form per day (14 total)

Include all votes for Pools A-D on 1 form

Multiple forms from the same email will not be accepted

You must be 13 or older and have parental consent to participate

That is it for the voting rules!

Now onto the leagues and number of logos in this years playoffs

The following leagues: NHL, AHL, ECHL, CHL, IHL, SPHL, AAHL are in this years playoffs

The FHL will not be included this year

There are 112 logos in this years playoffs; 28 per pool roster

The top 10 from each pool will move on to the elimination rounds!

Don't forget to check back on March 26th, when the Pool Rosters are officially announced

Voting begins April 10th!

Clune Becomes 435th ECHL Player To Reach NHL

2010-02-13T08:35:00.001-08:00

PRINCETON, N.J. – Former Idaho Steelheads forwardRichard Clune became the 435th player to play in the National Hockey League after the ECHL when he made his debut with the Los Angeles Kings in a 3-2 shooutout loss against Edmonton on Thursday.

The 22 year old registered one shot in 11:09 minutes of ice time for the Kings whose lineup also had former ECHL players Raitis Ivanans and Scott Parse. Former ECHL goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers was in net for the Oilers while the referees were former ECHL officials Wes McCauley and Kevin Pollock.

The Ontario Reign are the ECHL affiliate of the Kings of the NHL and Manchester of the American Hockey League.

Selected in the third round (71st overall) by the Dallas Stars in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and acquired by the Kings on July 26, 2008, Clune playd for Idaho in 2007-08 season and tallied 10 points (1g-9a) and 41 penalty minutes in 19 games while also playing in the AHL where he had eight points (3g-5a) and 137 penalty minutes in 38 games for Iowa. He has played in the AHL the last two years and has 21 points (6g-15a) and 206 penalty minutes in 76 games for Manchester.

Twenty-seven ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Charlotte Checkers and Reading Royals defenseman Dean Arsene (Edmonton on Nov. 16), former Augusta, Greenville, Pensacola and Toledo goaltender Mike Brodeur(Ottawa on Dec. 19), former Wheeling Nailers left wing Luca Caputi (Pittsburgh on Jan. 5), former Idaho Steelheads left wing Richard Clune (Los Angeles on Feb. 11), former Gwinnett Gladiators and 2006 ECHL All-Star right wing Guillaume Desbiens(Vancouver on Oct. 11), former Cincinnati Cyclones center and 2008 ECHL Most Valuable Player David Desharnais (Montreal on Nov. 25), former Stockton Thunder and 2007 ECHL All-Star goaltender Devin Dubnyk (Edmonton on Nov. 28), former Las Vegas Wranglers, Reading Royals and South Carolina Stingrays defensemanDeryk Engelland (Pittsburgh on Nov. 10), former Louisiana IceGators defenseman Maxime Fortunus (Dallas on Dec. 19), former Idaho Steelheads center Aaron Gagnon (Dallas on Oct. 16), former Victoria Salmon Kings defenseman Shaun Heshka (Phoenix on Nov. 7), former Wheeling Nailers right wing Nick Johnson(Pittsburgh on Jan. 21), former Florida Everblades and Texas Wildcatters goaltenderAnton Khudobin (Minnesota on Feb. 4), former Wheeling Nailers right wing David Laliberte (Philadelphia on Oct. 31), former Wheeling Nailers center Mark Letestu(Pittsburgh on Nov. 14), former Stockton Thunder right wing Colin McDonald(Edmonton on Nov. 27), former Stockton Thunder center Ryan O’Marra (Edmonton on Nov. 10), former Reading Royals right wing Scott Parse (Los Angeles on Oct. 24), former Florida Everblades and 2008 ECHL All-Star goaltender Justin Peters (Carolina on Feb. 6), former Charlotte Checkers center Tom Pyatt (Montreal on Nov. 5), former Johnstown Chiefs defenseman Jay Rosehill (Toronto on Oct. 1), former Bakersfield Condors right wing Dan Sexton (Anaheim on Dec. 4), former Bakersfield Condors center MacGregor Sharp (Anaheim on Nov. 19), former Idaho Steelheads left wing Francis Wathier (Dallas on Oct. 21), former South Carolina Stingrays center Kyle Wilson (Washington on Dec. 15) and former Cincinnati Cyclones right wing J.T. Wyman (Montreal on Nov. 24) and former Charlotte Checkers and Idaho Steelheads goaltender Matt Zaba (New York Rangers on Jan. 23).

The ECHL had a record 78 players on NHL opening-day rosters, surpassing the 71 from a year ago and marking the seventh year in a row that there have been over 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters. Every ECHL team has an affiliationwith an NHL team and the league has affiliations with 28 of the 30 NHL teams, marking the 13th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 435 players who have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including a record 52 who made their debut in 2008-09. The ECHL has had 243 players reach the NHL since 2002-03 when it changed its focus to become the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. The ECHL had 97 players reach the NHL in its first 10 seasons and 215 in the first 15 years. There have been 179 ECHL players who have played their first game in the last five seasons for an average of more than 35 per year.

There are 29 coaches with an ECHL background are working behind the benches of teams in the NHL including Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau, New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon, Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette, Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Claude Noel and St. Louis Blues interim head coach Davis Payne while former ECHL player Dan Bylsma is head coach of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. It is the fifth consecutive season that there have been 11 or more coaches with an ECHL background working in the NHL. Boudreau, who coached Mississippi for three seasons winning the Kelly Cup championship in 1999, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2007-08 becoming the first former ECHL coach to receive the award.

There are 20 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2009-10 with referees David Banfield, Francis Charron, Chris Ciamaga,Ghislain Herbert, Marc Joannette, Mike Leggo, Wes McCauley, Dean Morton, Dan O’Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Justin St. Pierre and Ian Walsh, and linesmen Steve Barton, Bryan Pancich, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers.

There were nine players who played in the ECHL and the NHL in 2008-09 with goaltenders Matt Climie (Idaho and Dallas), Riku Helenius (Elmira, Mississippi and Tampa Bay), Chris Holt (Alaska and St. Louis), Michal Neuvirth (South Carolina and Washington) and Marek Schwarz (Alaska and St. Louis), defensemen Wes O'Neill(Johnstown and Colorado), Raymond Macias (Johnstown and Colorado) and Kevin Quick (Augusta, Elmira and Tampa Bay) and right wing Joel Rechlicz (Utah and New York Islanders).

The ECHL was represented for the ninth year in a row on the Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, player Ruslan Fedotenko, equipment managers Dana Heinze and Dave Zeigler, athletic trainers Chris Stewartand Scott Adams and scout Derek Clancey.

Former ECHL and current Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was the recipient of the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL and was also presented theWilliam Jennings Trophy with teammate Manny Fernandez as the goaltenders finishing the season having surrendered the fewest goals. Thomas was also namedFirst Team All-NHL after registering a career-high 36 wins while leading the NHL with a goals-against average of 2.10 and a save percentage of .933 to help the Bruins finish with the most wins (53) and points (116) since 1971-72.

The first ECHL player to play in the NHL was Johnstown Chiefs goaltender and current New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon, who played his first game with the Quebec Nordiques against Buffalo on Jan. 30, 1990. The 100th player honor is shared by Jean Sebastien Aubin and Manny Legace, who both made their debut on Oct. 21, 1998 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. The 200th player was Brett McLean with the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 10, 2002 while the 300th was David Liffiton with the New York Rangers on Apr. 11, 2006 and the 400th was Phil Oreskovic on Mar. 9, 2009 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Former ECHL broadcasters working in the National Hockey League include John Ahlers and Steve Carroll of the Anaheim Ducks, Tom Callahan of the Nashville Predators, Dave Goucher of the Boston Bruins, Chris Kerber of the St. Louis Blues,Dave Mishkin of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bob McElligott and John Michael of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Rob Simpson, who is a producer/host for The NHL Network.

Ryan Stanzel and Jeremy Zager, who were both recipients of the ECHL Media Relations Director of the Year award, are working in the communications department for the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. Former ECHL assistant director of communications Joe Siville and Kelly Murray are now with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals, respectively, while former ECHL director of communications Jason Rothwell is the creative director for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

2010-02-11T05:31:00.000-08:00

While there is only 1 day to go before the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, hockey fans are anticipating the arrival of their countrymen next week. Game 1 will kick off on February 16th with the U.S. taking on the Swiss and from there the preliminary round will extend to February 21st. For a full breakdown of games according to Groups A,B, etc... read below.

Preliminary Round

Group A

2/16 USA vs. Switzerland

2/16 Canada vs. Norway

2/18 USA vs. Norway

2/18 Canada vs. Switzerland

2/20 Norway vs. Switzerland

2/21 Canada vs. USA

Group B

2/16 Russia vs. Latvia

2/17 Czech Republic vs. Slovakia

2/18 Slovakia vs. Russia

2/19 Czech Republic vs. Latvia

2/20 Latvia vs. Slovakia

2/21 Russia vs. Czech Republic

Group C

2/17 Finland vs. Belarus

2/17 Sweden vs. Germany

2/19 Belarus vs. Sweden

2/19 Finland vs. Germany

2/20 Germany vs. Belarus

2/21 Sweden vs. Finland

Playoff information

Upon completion of the preliminary round, teams will be ranked 1D through 12D. The top four ranked teams (1D though 4D) will receive byes to the quarter-final round. The remaining eight teams will compete for the remaining four quarter-final positions.

Charlotte added to AHL for 2010-11

2010-02-10T12:25:00.000-08:00

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today that the league’s Board of Governors has approved the sale of the franchise owned by Capital District Sports Inc. to Michael Kahn, and the relocation of the franchise from Albany, N.Y., to Charlotte, N.C., to begin play there in the fall of 2010.

In addition, the franchise has signed a new affiliation agreement with the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes.

The Charlotte Checkers will begin play with the 2010-11 AHL season at the Time Warner Cable Arena, the region’s premier sports and entertainment venue located in the heart of the city’s Uptown area.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 84 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 6.5 million fans per season have attended AHL games across North America since 2001.

Steelheads, St. Luke’s Raise Prostate Cancer Awareness

2010-02-10T12:20:00.000-08:00

BOISE, Idaho - The Idaho Steelheads and St. Luke’s Health System announced that they have partnered for the Prostate Cancer Awareness jersey auction.

The Steelheads will wear special light-blue jerseys that will be auctioned during the team’s games against Utah on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday with the proceeds benefiting St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute.

The Steelheads are the ECHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League and the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League. Matt Climie, BJ Crombeen, Dan Ellis, Aaron Gagnon, Tom Wandell and Francis Wathier each played for the Steelheads and went on to play for Dallas.

Former ECHL coach Charlie Huddy is an assistant coach for Dallas while former ECHL goaltender Mike Valley is the Stars goaltending coach.

Weekly Craze Mailbag: Mid-Week Edition 2/10

2010-02-10T11:58:00.000-08:00

This week features a questions from Mark in Michigan

Q> Do you think the AAHL is going to repair it's image or is the league basically on life-support?

~Mark MI

Mark I think we all know the AAHL is in pretty bad shape. With all the problems that they have had, the quick re-organizations, and 3 teams folding during this year alone. They did manage to scramble the West Michigan Blizzard into the picture for this season but much remains.

Evansville is on the path towards the IHL (according to their semi-annual meeting and previous knowledge) which would have the league losing another franchise. Are the Blizzard a viable franchise? No, I read somewhere they are getting less than 250 fans a game at best. I'll try and dig that story up. This leaves you with the Chi-Town Shooters and BC Revolution.

So right off the bat, franchises are a huge issue for the league, and with the expected clubs that were looking to join shying away. I'm not too sure what I see on the horizon.

On it's own the IHL is having it's problems, and the AAHL is faring worse. I don't think the FHL / AAHL merger has any merit anymore and was just a fantasy the AAHL was looking at.

The AAHL has alot to work out before anyone can speculate on wether it will be around. If I had to right now, I stick to my guns and say this league is gone at the end of the year unless I'm proved otherwise.

IHL Semi Annual Meeting Update

2010-02-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

DETROIT, MI— The International Hockey League (IHL) concluded its two- day Semi-Annual Meeting yesterday in Detroit, Michigan with several topics being discussed, including future competition committee reviews, league-wide equipment relationships for 2010-2011 season, updates on current league memberships and finally future league’s expansion requests.

A number of game play changes were discussed and will be reviewed for the upcoming season by the team governors. The competition committee will take time to review the veteran rules information specifically and all competition changes will be voted upon when the meeting concludes via tele-conference or at the IHL Annual Meetings scheduled for June.

The Board of Governors was also provided presentations from companies that are looking at league-wide sponsorships with the IHL. The IHL welcomed most notably the following companies Sher-Wood, Reebok, H2 Overdrive and Cascade Sports to offer presentations on the potential for pro-active participation with the IHL for 2010-2011.

Members/ownership groups from Evansville and Chicago were both present at the meeting, giving the Board of Governors a presentation on each team’s positive future with the IHL. The IHL was pleased to see great progress being made by both markets in regard to their respective ownership group’s planned entrance into the IHL.

The Muskegon Lumberjacks ownership informed the IHL Board of Governors of their inability to continue to operate in the IHL as a good standing member professional hockey organization for the 2010-2011 season and as a result have decided to not bring back professional hockey after a storied 50-year tradition in the community.

“The IHL is thankful that the owners in Muskegon have done all they could to the best of their abilities to keep professional hockey in Muskegon, but unfortunately they decided not to continue with the professional game after this season and we wish them the best of luck moving forward,” stated Dennis Hextall, IHL President/Commissioner. “We are very excited about our growth opportunities with Chicago and Evansville and look forward to our bright future.”

The IHL Board of Governors voted to continue the semi-annual meeting via teleconference at a later date after the information presented could be reviewed by the entire league.

The IHL’s Annual Meetings will be held June 21^st-24^th in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the meeting, the 2010-2011 IHL schedule will be constructed with an anticipated release around July 1^s

BC Revolution 70's & Moustache Night, Feb. 20th

2010-02-09T18:29:00.002-08:00

The 2nd place, 15-10-4, Battle Creek Revolution Professional Hockey Club, is at home on Saturday night, February 20th, 2010, @ Revolution Arena (The Rink), vs. the Chi-Town Shooters. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 20th, is 70's night and Moustache Night. Wear your favorite 70's clothes or moustache to this game. Receive $1.00 discount off an adult ticket purchase. There will be promotions throughout the game night by the Battle Creek Metropolitan Area Moustache Society.

There is a post game skate with the Revolution players on Saturday for $2. If you need skates to rent, additional $2.

Individual game tickets are $7.00 Adults, $6.00 Seniors, $5 Students with IDs, and $4.00 Youth hockey players with jersey on.

Get your tickets early for this special night of hockey @ Revolution Arena (The Rink) by calling the Revolution ticket office @ 269-832-8172 or stop down to purchase your tickets in person today or Saturday at the team's ticket office at Revolution Arena (The Rink)

Interns Wanted for Championship Run

2010-02-09T18:29:00.001-08:00

Are you looking to get your foot in the door with the hottest professional sports team & sports arena in the Cereal City? Then keep reading.

The Battle Creek Revolution Professional Hockey Club is looking for some interns for game night operations to help in the following departments for the remaining 2010 season @ Revolution Arena (The Rink):

Media Relations/Broadcasting
Tickets
Game Night Promotions
Facility Operations
Merchandise
Concessions

If interested, please send your resume toddarkey@bcrevolutionhockey.com

or call 269-832-8172

Oklahoma City Joining AHL in 2010-2011

2010-02-09T18:26:00.000-08:00

The American Hockey League has made it official on the announcement of Oklahoma City joining the league next year. Read the release below

from theahl.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today that the league’s Board of Governors has approved the relocation of the AHL franchise owned by the Edmonton Oilers from Edmonton, Alta., to Oklahoma City, Okla., to begin play there in the fall of 2010.

The Oklahoma City club will hit the ice for the 2010-11 season as the Oilers’ top development team and will play their home games at the newly renovated Cox Convention Center. Renovations such as a state-of-the-art scoreboard and sound system will complement other improvements including terrace suites, exclusive lounge areas and new locker room and workout areas at the downtown arena.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 84 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 6.5 million fans per season have attended AHL games across North America since 2001.

______

Currently more info is on this website here

IHL Weekly Honors for Week 17

2010-02-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

OCHESTER, MI--- The International Hockey League (IHL) announced Monday that Bloomington left wing Craig Macdonald has been named the IHL Player of the Week, Flint center John Mori has been named the IHL Rookie of the Week and Quad City goaltender Kyle Jones has been named the IHL Goaltender of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 7th, 2010.

Macdonald finished the week posting seven points in three games played. He scored four goals and added three helpers to his season totals. He registered points in two of the three games played with both games being multi-point contests. Macdonald was one of two members of the PrairieThunder to record their first hat tricks this season Wednesday. He and teammate Matt Spiller notched in three goals each in the 7-5 win over Flint. The 27-year-old Milton, Ontario native is currently tied for third in the IHL in scoring with 55 points (26 goals, 29 assists) in 45 games played.

Other players nominated for the IHL Player of the Week include: Dayton forward Mike Olynyk, Flint center Nathan Ward, Fort Wayne left wing Konstantin Shafranov, Muskegon right wing Robin Bouchard, Port Huron defenseman Daniel Tetrault and Quad City right wing Chris Lipsett.

After being held scoreless last week, Mori wrapped up Week 17 of his rookie season scoring two goals and two assists and a plus-four rating in three games played. He notched in back-to-back shorthanded goals, one in Wednesday’s 7-5 loss to Bloomington and one in the 2-1 win over Dayton. The shorthanded tallies bring his season total to four, which leads all rookies and the IHL. The 23-year-old Westport, Connecticut native is fourth among rookies in scoring with 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists) in 43 games played.

Other players nominated for the IHL Rookie of the Week include: Bloomington center Matt McIlvane, Dayton forward Jonathan Ornelas, Fort Wayne defenseman Frankie DeAngelis, Muskegon right wing Matt Robertson, Port Huron left wing Mickael Bedard and Quad City center Justin White.

Jones earns his first weekly honor this season after recording a win in his only start this week. He made 38 saves in Quad City’s 3-1 win over the third place Komets. The 38 saves marked a personal high in saves in one game for the rookie netminder. The game was also his first appearance since January 24th. He finished the week with a 1.00 goals against average and a .974 save percentage. After 23 games played this season, Jones has a 3.40 goals against average and a .890 save percentage. The 26-year-old North Delta, British Columbia native leads IHL goaltenders in shootout wins (5) and is tied for first in shootout save percentage (.750).

Other goaltenders nominated for the IHL Goaltender of the Week include: Bloomington’s Sebastian Dahm, Dayton’s Derek MacIntyre, Flint’s Rob Nolan, Fort Wayne’s Nick Boucher, Muskegon’s Sebastien Centomo and Port Huron’s Adam Russo.

Peters Becomes 434th ECHL Player To Reach NHL

2010-02-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

PRINCETON, N.J. – Former Florida Everblades and 2008 ECHL All-Stargoaltender Justin Peters became the 434th player to play in the National Hockey League after the ECHL when he made 34 saves for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 3-1 road win against the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Peters was named the game’s ‘First Star’ while former Gwinnett Gladiators right wingPat Dwyer was selected the ‘Second Star’. The Hurricanes lineup also had former ECHL player Steven Goertzen and Joe Corvowhile the Islanders had former ECHL player Mark Streit on the ice. The head coach of the Islanders is former ECHL player and coach Scott Gordon while the assistant coaches are former ECHL player and coach Scott Allen and former ECHL player Mike Dunham. Former ECHL referee Justin St. Pierre worked the game.

Selected in the second round (38th overall) by Carolina in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the 23 year old was 18-10-2 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.57 and a save percentage of .922 in 31 games for the Everblades in 2007-08. He also played in the AHL and was 7-3-0 with a goals-against average of 2.70 and a save percentage of .904 in 11 games for Albany. He was 18-13-2 with a 2.55 goals-against average in 34 games for Albany before being called up to Carolina.

Twenty-six ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Charlotte Checkers and Reading Royals defenseman Dean Arsene (Edmonton on Nov. 16), former Augusta, Greenville, Pensacola and Toledo goaltender Mike Brodeur (Ottawa on Dec. 19), former Wheeling Nailers left wing Luca Caputi (Pittsburgh on Jan. 5), former Gwinnett Gladiators and 2006 ECHL All-Star right wing Guillaume Desbiens(Vancouver on Oct. 11), former Cincinnati Cyclones center and 2008 ECHL Most Valuable Player David Desharnais (Montreal on Nov. 25), former Stockton Thunder and 2007 ECHL All-Star goaltender Devin Dubnyk (Edmonton on Nov. 28), former Las Vegas Wranglers, Reading Royals and South Carolina Stingrays defensemanDeryk Engelland (Pittsburgh on Nov. 10), former Louisiana IceGators defenseman Maxime Fortunus (Dallas on Dec. 19), former Idaho Steelheads center Aaron Gagnon (Dallas on Oct. 16), former Victoria Salmon Kings defenseman Shaun Heshka (Phoenix on Nov. 7), former Wheeling Nailers right wing Nick Johnson(Pittsburgh on Jan. 21), former Florida Everblades and Texas Wildcatters goaltenderAnton Khudobin (Minnesota on Feb. 4), former Wheeling Nailers right wing David Laliberte (Philadelphia on Oct. 31), former Wheeling Nailers center Mark Letestu(Pittsburgh on Nov. 14), former Stockton Thunder right wing Colin McDonald(Edmonton on Nov. 27), former Stockton Thunder center Ryan O’Marra (Edmonton on Nov. 10), former Reading Royals right wing Scott Parse (Los Angeles on Oct. 24), former Florida Everblades and 2008 ECHL All-Star goaltender Justin Peters (Carolina on Feb. 6), former Charlotte Checkers center Tom Pyatt (Montreal on Nov. 5), former Johnstown Chiefs defenseman Jay Rosehill (Toronto on Oct. 1), former Bakersfield Condors right wing Dan Sexton (Anaheim on Dec. 4), former Bakersfield Condors center MacGregor Sharp (Anaheim on Nov. 19), former Idaho Steelheads left wing Francis Wathier (Dallas on Oct. 21), former South Carolina Stingrays center Kyle Wilson (Washington on Dec. 15) and former Cincinnati Cyclones right wing J.T. Wyman (Montreal on Nov. 24) and former Charlotte Checkers and Idaho Steelheads goaltender Matt Zaba (New York Rangers on Jan. 23).

The ECHL had a record 78 players on NHL opening-day rosters, surpassing the 71 from a year ago and marking the seventh year in a row that there have been over 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters. Every ECHL team has an affiliationwith an NHL team and the league has affiliations with 28 of the 30 NHL teams, marking the 13th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 434 players who have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including a record 52 who made their debut in 2008-09. The ECHL has had 242 players reach the NHL since 2002-03 when it changed its focus to become the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. The ECHL had 97 players reach the NHL in its first 10 seasons and 215 in the first 15 years. There have been 178 ECHL players who have played their first game in the last five seasons for an average of more than 35 per year.

There are 29 coaches with an ECHL background are working behind the benches of teams in the NHL including Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau, New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon, Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette, Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Claude Noel and St. Louis Blues interim head coach Davis Payne while former ECHL player Dan Bylsma is head coach of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. It is the fifth consecutive season that there have been 11 or more coaches with an ECHL background working in the NHL. Boudreau, who coached Mississippi for three seasons winning the Kelly Cup championship in 1999, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2007-08 becoming the first former ECHL coach to receive the award.

There are 20 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2009-10 with referees David Banfield, Francis Charron, Chris Ciamaga,Ghislain Herbert, Marc Joannette, Mike Leggo, Wes McCauley, Dean Morton, Dan O’Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Justin St. Pierre and Ian Walsh, and linesmen Steve Barton, Bryan Pancich, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers.

There were nine players who played in the ECHL and the NHL in 2008-09 with goaltenders Matt Climie (Idaho and Dallas), Riku Helenius (Elmira, Mississippi and Tampa Bay), Chris Holt (Alaska and St. Louis), Michal Neuvirth (South Carolina and Washington) and Marek Schwarz (Alaska and St. Louis), defensemen Wes O'Neill(Johnstown and Colorado), Raymond Macias (Johnstown and Colorado) and Kevin Quick (Augusta, Elmira and Tampa Bay) and right wing Joel Rechlicz (Utah and New York Islanders).

The ECHL was represented for the ninth year in a row on the Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, player Ruslan Fedotenko, equipment managers Dana Heinze and Dave Zeigler, athletic trainers Chris Stewartand Scott Adams and scout Derek Clancey.

Former ECHL and current Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was the recipient of the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL and was also presented theWilliam Jennings Trophy with teammate Manny Fernandez as the goaltenders finishing the season having surrendered the fewest goals. Thomas was also namedFirst Team All-NHL after registering a career-high 36 wins while leading the NHL with a goals-against average of 2.10 and a save percentage of .933 to help the Bruins finish with the most wins (53) and points (116) since 1971-72.

The first ECHL player to play in the NHL was Johnstown Chiefs goaltender and current New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon, who played his first game with the Quebec Nordiques against Buffalo on Jan. 30, 1990. The 100th player honor is shared by Jean Sebastien Aubin and Manny Legace, who both made their debut on Oct. 21, 1998 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. The 200th player was Brett McLean with the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 10, 2002 while the 300th was David Liffiton with the New York Rangers on Apr. 11, 2006 and the 400th was Phil Oreskovic on Mar. 9, 2009 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Former ECHL broadcasters working in the National Hockey League include John Ahlers and Steve Carroll of the Anaheim Ducks, Tom Callahan of the Nashville Predators, Dave Goucher of the Boston Bruins, Chris Kerber of the St. Louis Blues,Dave Mishkin of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bob McElligott and John Michael of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Rob Simpson, who is a producer/host for The NHL Network.

Ryan Stanzel and Jeremy Zager, who were both recipients of the ECHL Media Relations Director of the Year award, are working in the communications department for the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. Former ECHL assistant director of communications Joe Siville and Kelly Murray are now with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals, respectively, while former ECHL director of communications Jason Rothwell is the creative director for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

From mlive.com : It's official: Lumberjacks hockey team folds

2010-02-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

from mlive.com

You can read the entire article regarding the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the IHL. The team is folding at the end of this season.

For more click here

Now the interesting thing will be what happens with the Quad City Mallards and the IHL

DETROIT RED WINGS ALUMNI TO PLAY PORT HURON PRO ALUMNI

2010-02-05T05:51:00.000-08:00

McMorran Arena will host a day of old school hockey on Saturday, March 6 when the Detroit Red Wings Alumni take on Port Huron Professional Hockey Alumni in a charity game at 4 p.m. The hockey action continues at 7:30 p.m. when the Port Huron Icehawks host the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

The alumni game is your chance to watch some former Red Wing greats and former Port Huron players in action for the low ticket price of just $5. Red Wings Alumni slated to appear include Darren McCarty, Dennis Hextall, Mickey Redmond, Joe Kocur, John Orgodnick and more. All players appearances are scheduled to change.

Players will sign autographs during intermission for $5. All proceeds benefit local charities.

Detroit Red Wings anthem singer Karen Newman will sing the national anthem during the alumni game and stay to sing at the Icehawks game. Newman will also drop the ceremonial first puck during the Icehawks game and sign autographs during first intermission.

“We are proud to once again bring the Detroit Red Wings Alumni to Port Huron,” said Alumni Operations Manager and Port Huron Icehawks VP/Business Manager Dave Goetze. “Our games offer fans a unique opportunity to watch some of their favorite former players strap on the skates once again. The alumni players put on a great show and do it all for a great cause.”

The game is sponsored by Datapak Services Corporation, Carhartt and TCF Bank.

TCF Bank and the Red Wings Alumni are also teaming up to present the SONS Talented Tenth, a leadership development program for St. Clair County High School students. Students will be nominated by their school and interviewed by a panel of local professionals. Those students selected will be recognized during an intermission at the alumni game.

Tickets for the alumni game are available at the McMorran Arena Box Office, located at 701 McMorran Blvd. in downtown Port Huron. For more information, call 810-985-6166.

The Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association plays an average of 25 charity games each season to raise money for charitable organizations. Each year the Red Wings Alumni donates in excess of $40,000 to various charities in Michigan and Ontario. To learn more visit www.redwingalumni.com.

Ice Flyers Raising Awareness For Down Syndrome

2010-02-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

from thesphl.com

The Pensacola Ice Flyers are partnering with Pensacola's Upside2Downs to raise awareness and funds for Down syndrome. Upside2Downs and their supporters are selling tickets to the March 25 Ice Flyers game with part of the proceeds going directly to families affected by Down syndrome. The goal is to sell 2,000 tickets, thereby raising $10,000 for families in need.

Fred Gilliard, the director of Upside2Downs, knows that the money will directly change people's lives. "We want to provide for families in the community that are struggling with a child that has Down syndrome. The money we raise will go directly to those families who are really in need. Normally when you see a child you think that they're happy, they're smiling; and they are. But at the same time there are medical conditions you have to deal with. There are therapies you have to deal with. There's the cost of transportation to go from hospital to hospital."

The community is already offering support. Linda "Sonshine" Moorer, the Midday Diva on Magic 106.1 is spreading the word. "I'm asking everybody to help out. I've got a link to the program on our website. If we come together we can make a difference."

Tony Sikes, a DJ on Cat Country 98.7 is equally optimistic. "When you look at what Upside2Downs and the Ice Flyers are trying to do for these people in need, it's a great thing. Every ticket makes a difference, and it directly benefits families in need."

To purchase the special fundraising tickets, call Fred or Ailyne Gillard at (850) 293-1367, or email Fred at upside2downs@gmail.com.

Upside2Downs is an organization that works to include people with Down syndrome into everyday American life. By equipping families with knowledge and support, Upside2Downs helps children with Down syndrome experience the same opportunities as other children their age. To learn more about the organization, please visit www.upside2downs.org.

Ice Flyers games are always a great time out. The next game is Kids Night on February 4: the first 2,000 kids in attendance for the 7:05 game will receive free Ice Flyers trading cards courtesy of Pen Air Federal Credit Union. Ice Flyers tickets are very affordable starting at just $10 for individuals, and as low as $8 for groups of ten or more. To take advantage of group pricing, call the Ice Flyers at (850) 466-3111 or email jeff@pensacolaiceflyers.com. Individual tickets can be purchased online via ticketmaster.com, or in person at the Civic Center Box Office, located at 201 East Gregory Street in Pensacola

Hockey Returning To Augusta, GA In 2010

2010-02-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

from thesphl.com

CHARLOTTE, NC (February 3, 2010) - The Southern Professional Hockey League today announced that hockey will return to Augusta's James Brown Arena in the fall of 2010.

A press conference has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 9 at 10:00 a.m. at James Brown Arena. In addition to local dignitaries, attending will be SPHL Commissioner Jim Combs, who will introduce the team's new general manager and ownership group. The team will also be taking season ticket deposits at the event and invites the public to attend.

The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), now in its sixth season of play, is comprised of seven teams:

The two-time defending President's Cup Champion Knoxville (TN) Ice Bears, Columbus (GA) Cottonmouths, Fayetteville (NC) FireAntz, Huntsville (AL) Havoc; (Lafayette) Louisiana IceGators; (Biloxi) Mississippi Surge and Pensacola (FL) Ice Flyers.

For more information on the Southern Professional Hockey League, check out our website at www.thesphl.com

Columbus names Noel head coach

2010-02-03T15:23:00.001-08:00

from theahl.com

The Columbus Blue Jackets have relieved head coach Ken Hitchcock of his duties behind the bench and named former Calder Cup champion Claude Noel as the club's interim head coach, club general manager Scott Howson announced today.

Noel, 54, joined the Blue Jackets as an assistant coach on June 28, 2007 after spending four seasons as the head coach of the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals. During that time, he led the club to a 183-94-12-31 regular season record, three 100-point seasons and two West Division titles.

He also compiled a 33-21 record in the Calder Cup Playoffs, including two appearances in the Finals (2004, 2006). During the 2003-04 season, the club compiled a 46-24-7-3 record and went 16-6 in the playoffs en route to capturing the organization's first Calder Cup championship. That year, Noel earned the Louis A.R. Pieri Award as the AHL's Coach of the Year.

Noel becomes the 23rd current NHL head coach who previously directed a bench in the American Hockey League, and the seventh who won a Calder Cup as an AHL head coach, joining Atlanta’s John Anderson, Nashville’s Barry Trotz, the N.Y. Rangers’ John Tortorella, Philadelphia’s Peter Laviolette, San Jose’s Todd McLellan and Washington’s Bruce Boudreau.

"Claude Noel is a good hockey coach with a proven track record in the American Hockey League," said Howson. "He knows our team and is deserving of this opportunity."

Noel spent most of his playing career in the AHL and IHL, winning the 1980 Calder Cup as a member of the Hershey Bears.

Noel was born on Oct. 31, 1955 in Kirkland, Ontario. He and his wife, Linda, are the parents of sons, Christopher and Sheldo

Odessa Unanimous #1 on Yellowbook CHL Coaches Poll

2010-02-03T15:17:00.000-08:00

Jacks Keep Hold of Top Spot in the Poll

from centralhockeyleague.com

Keeping their hold on the #1 spot in the Yellowbook CHL Coaches Poll, the Odessa Jackalopes (35-6-4) earned all 14 first place votes they could receive maintaining their position as the top team in the CHL. Thus far, the Jacks have been the #1 team in the league on each poll. Odessa has a 23 point lead over the new #2 team, the Rapid City Rush (28-10-3), who moves up from the #3 spot. The Jacks have not lost a game in regulation since January 8 and are 10-0-1 since that date.

Once again, the tightest race is between the #2 and #4 seeds with the Rush earning 117 points, the #3 seeded Colorado Eagles (27-9-5) earning 114 points and the #4 seeded Allen Americans (29-10-3) garnering 112 points.

Two new teams moved into the top 10 with the Corpus Christi IceRays (18-19-6) making their first appearance on the poll sitting in the #9 spot and the Tulsa Oilers (20-19-2) moving back into the poll after a brief absence. Dropping out was the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and the Missouri Mavericks.

Bossier-Shreveport and Texas flipped position for the #5 and #6 spots and Mississippi and Laredo flipped the #7 and #8 spots.

The Jacks received all 14 first place votes that were possible to them and the Colorado Eagles earned the other first place nod (teams are unable to vote for themselves).

View the entire Yellowbook CHL Coaches Poll at CLICK HERE.

JARROD MOSES JOINS DANBURY OWNERSHIP

2010-02-03T15:13:00.001-08:00

Today at the Danbury Ice Arena in Danbury, Connecticut, Danbury Whalers CEO / Managing General Partner, Herm Sorcher announced that Branded Entertainment Pioneer, Jarrod Moses has joined the team ownership group as Partner – Chief Marketing Officer.

Moses is the Founder and CEO of the United Entertainment Group (www.uentgroup.com). UEG creates and executes marketing programs through partnerships to the entertainment world. UEG’s team has crafted deals which have exceeded over 1 billion dollars.

Some of Jarrod’s most recent projects include the creation of the hit show America’s Next Top Model, Domino’s NFL Half Time Report, the launching of the WB Network, Will Ferrell’s Talladega Night’s Film deal, a co-Founding Producer of the New York City Comedy Festival, and is also a Board Member of the Hamptons International Film Festival.

Other clients include Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola Company, MTV Networks, Seventh Generation, Queen Latifah, CoverGirl Cosmetics, Wal-Mart, Rihanna, A&E Television Networks, Ellen DeGeneres, NBC Universal, Warner Bros., LG Electronics, Hugo Boss, and many others.

Jarrod has appeared on NBC’s The Apprentice, CNN, ABC, Bloomberg Television, MSNBC and in many international publications as an expert on Branded Entertainment.

Sorcher commented, “Having Jarrod as part of the Danbury Whalers organization is something that I think sends a strong message to the our fans and the fans of the Federal Hockey League as to how strong a product this is going to be.”

The Danbury Whalers are members of the Class A Professional - Federal Hockey League which will start it’s first season of play in November 2010. The team will play its 60 game season with their 30 home games at the Danbury Ice Arena.

For further information, contact Herm Sorcher at 973-713-7547 or email hsorcher@danburywhalers.com,

MEIJER IHL MONTHLY HONORS FOR JANUARY

2010-02-03T15:11:00.001-08:00

The International Hockey League (IHL) announced Tuesday that Bloomington center Jon Booras has been named the Meijer IHL Player of the Month, Port Huron left wing Mickael Bedard has been named the Meijer IHL Rookie of the Month and Fort Wayne goaltender Nick Boucher has been named the Meijer IHL Goaltender of the Month for the month of January.

Booras finished the month of January with 21 points (7 goals, 14 assists) and a plus-seven rating in 14 games played. He scored points in 10 of the 14 contests, with seven of those being multi-point games. Booras recorded his first hat trick of the season in the 7-3 win over Quad City on January 19th. The hat trick was the second for the PrairieThunder this season and the fifth overall in their franchise history. He recently had his seven-game point streak snapped this past Sunday. During the streak, Booras recorded three goals and dished out 13 assists (16 points). The 27-year-old Billings, Montana native currently leads the PrairieThunder in scoring with 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists). His 49 points rank him third in the IHL in scoring and he is also tied for second in assists (32).

Other players nominated for the Meijer IHL Player of the Month include: Dayton forward John Snowden, Flint right wing John Ronan, Fort Wayne center Colin Chaulk, Muskegon right wing Robin Bouchard, Port Huron forward Derek Patrosso and Quad City right wing Chris Lipsett.

Bedard completed his third full month of his rookie campaign with the Icehawks scoring 11 goals and dishing out eight assists for 19 points in 14 games played. He wrapped up the month with a stellar plus-15 rating, which boosted his league-leading plus/minus rating to plus-27. He scored his 19 points in nine of the 14 games played, with five of those nine being multi-point games. He recorded his second hat trick of the season on January 2nd in Port Huron’s 7-2 win over Muskegon, where he produced a total of five points (3 goals, 2 assists). The 22-year-old Montreal, Quebec native currently leads all rookies in goals (26), assists (23), power play goals (9), shooting percentage (.205), plus/minus (plus-27) and is tied for first in power play assists (8) and game-winning goals (7).

Other players nominated for the Meijer IHL Rookie of the Month include: Bloomington defenseman Cole Ruwe, Dayton forward Mike Vaskivou, Flint forward Matt Moffat, Fort Wayne forward Kaleigh Schrock, Muskegon defenseman Matt Krug and Quad City right wing Brandon Marino.

Boucher completed the month posting a 3-1-0-0 record in six games played. He finished the month on a two-game win streak and has appeared in the Komets last four straight games. Boucher made a total of 163 saves, giving him a .953 save percentage and a 1.71 goals against average. In all six appearances, he never allowed more than two goals to hit the back of the net, only allowing eight goals against for the month of January. The 29-year-old Cobble Hill, British Columbia native is currently third among IHL goaltenders in save percentage with .920, just .01 percent behind the two netminders tied for first. He is also fourth in goals against average with 2.55.

Other goaltenders nominated for the Meijer IHL Goaltender of the Month include: Bloomington’s Sebastian Dahm, Dayton’s Ryan Mior, Flint’s Nick Niedert, Muskegon’s Sebastien Centomo, Port Huron’s Adam Russo and Quad City’s Jerad Kaufmann.

IHL Weekly Honors for Week 16

2010-02-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

The International Hockey League (IHL) announced Monday that Bloomington left wing Craig Macdonald has been named the IHL Player of the Week, Port Huron left wing Mickael Bedard has been named the IHL Rookie of the Week and Quad City goaltender Jerad Kaufmann has been named the IHL Goaltender of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 31st, 2010.

Macdonald finished the week scoring one goal and dishing out five assists for six points. His lone goal this week sealed the win over Dayton Friday, adding the fourth goal in a 4-2 win over the Gems. Macdonald was a part of six of the PrairieThunder’s 10 total goals scored last week. He recently had his nine-game point streak snapped in Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Quad City. During the nine-game streak, Macdonald registered 14 points (five goals, nine assists). The 27-year-old Milton, Ontario native currently has 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points in 42 games played. He is ranked third in goals scored and is fifth in overall points in the IHL.

Other players nominated for the IHL Player of the Week include: Dayton forward Matt Auffrey, Flint left wing Rick Smith, Fort Wayne center Leo Thomas, Muskegon center Brian Bicek, Port Huron forward Brandon Kaleniecki and Quad City right wing Chris Lipsett.

Bedard remains on fire as a rookie, notching in two goals and had two assists during Week 16. He was plus-three in four games played, bringing his season total to a league-leading plus-27. All four of his points were tallied in Port Huron’s 6-1 win over Fort Wayne Tuesday. He scored the first goal of the game for the Icehawks and added the fifth goal later in the contest. The 22-year-old Montreal, Quebec native currently leads all rookies in goals (26), assists (23), power play goals (9), shooting percentage (.205), plus/minus (plus-27) and is tied for first in power play assists (8) and game-winning goals (7).

Other players nominated for the IHL Rookie of the Week include: Bloomington defenseman Cole Ruwe, Dayton forward Jonathon Ornelas, Flint forward Matt Moffat, Fort Wayne forward Kaleigh Schrock, Muskegon defenseman Matt Krug and Quad City right wing Brandon Marino.

Kaufmann had another solid week between the pipes for the Mallards, earning his second weekly honor in less than two months with the team. He posted a 3-1-0-0 record, finishing the week allowing seven goals, having a 1.76 goals against average and a .945 save percentage. The rookie netminder earned his second shutout of the season, and second of his pro career, turning aside all 21 shots he faced from Bloomington Sunday. The 25-year-old Roseville, Minnesota native is currently is tied for first in save percentage with Port Huron’s Larry Sterling with a .921 percentage. Kaufmann has started the in 17 of the Mallards last 26 games, including the last eight straight.

Other goaltenders nominated for the IHL Goaltender of the Week include: Bloomington’s Sebastian Dahm, Dayton’s Ryan Mior, Flint’s Nick Niedert, Fort Wayne’s Nick Boucher, Muskegon’s Sebastien Centomo and Port Huron’s Adam Russo.

The Hockey Craze Presents: Osiris Orion

2010-01-30T07:40:00.000-08:00

Breaking away from the hockey scene, I thought I would give an introduction to my artist brother "Osiris Orion"

Heres a little bio from his website here

OsirisOrion is a self taught artist born and raised in Queens, NY and currently residing in Southington, CT. Osiris began creating creating terrifying images of monsters at a very early age, so terrifying that nuns and priests thought he was possessed by demons. Some people even believe that Osiris was bitten by a pack of rabid bunnies and hasn't been quite right since. Well niether is true...or is it?

OsirisOrion doesn't know where the ideas for the images he creates comes from, but knows that he enjoys creating them and sharing his creations with the world. Osiris draws influence from almost every art form, ranging from abstract, horror, cartoons, graffiti, and bio mechanics. Osiris pulls all these influences and they can be seen in his work, whether it's created on canvas, paper, digitally, sculpted or on vinyl toys.

Osiris's work has been featured on Toycyte, Tomopop, Vinyl Requiem, Custom Toy Lab, SpankyStokesand Albotas. OsirisOrion has also proudly exhibited his works at APW Gallery NYC, LiFT , and Monkey House Toys and Art Gallery

Osiris Orion - Domestic Disturbances from David Ruzicka on Vimeo.

Show Info

Domestic Disturbances
Debut show of Osiris Orion. Custom Paintings and Toys at the
David Apuzzo Photography & Art Gallery
4133 Whitney Ave Hamden, CT
This show runs until the end of March. Come see the exhibit!

Now you may be wondering why have I shown this on a hockey website? Currently Osiris Orion is working on my new logo which we plan to unveil before the release of the 2010 Hockey Craze Logo Playoffs Pool Rosters on March 26th.

So until then, visit his site, check out his awesome custom vinyl toys, insane paintings and if you have the opportunity go to Dave Appuzo's gallery above to check out his solo show!

Hockey Weekend Across America, presented by Reebok, Set For This Week

2010-01-27T12:39:00.001-08:00

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The third annualHockey Weekend Across America, presented by Reebok, begins Friday (Jan. 29) and runs through Sunday (Jan. 31).

Hockey Weekend Across America was started by USA Hockeyin 2008 to provide a framework for the hockey community to celebrate the game at all levels, while also exposing the sport to new audiences.

"There are tremendous things happening in our sport in all parts of the nation," said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, "and it's only appropriate that we utilize Hockey Weekend Across America to celebrate those accomplishments."

Each of the three days of Hockey Weekend Across America has a theme, including:

Friday (Jan. 29) – Wear Your Favorite Hockey Jersey, sponsored byShopUSAHockey.com
Saturday (Jan. 30) – Bring a Friend to the Rink, sponsored by the NHL
Sunday (Jan. 31) – Celebrate Local Hockey Heroes, sponsored by the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program

For the past two months, USA Hockey and Reebok have conducted a "Why Hockey Rocks" video contest as part of Hockey Weekend Across America. Fans were asked to submit one-minute videos explaining why hockey is the best sport in the world. Following a voting process that began on Jan. 1, a total of 16 winners received a voucher for $300 worth of Reebok Hockey gear and had their videos entered into a tournament-style competition for the chance to win up to $2,500 in Reebok Hockey merchandise. The final round of voting is currently taking place at HockeyWeekendAcrossAmerica.com, and the winner will be announced Sunday (Jan. 31).

USA Hockey is also conducting a best Hockey Weekend Across America programming contest for its local associations across the country, with the grand-prize winner receiving a voucher for $5,000 of Reebok Hockey gear. Additionally, five runners-up will receive $1,000 of Reebok Hockey goods. The entry form can be obtained atHockeyWeekendAcrossAmerica.com.

NOTES: USA Hockey will stage media conference calls as part of Hockey Weekend Across America with members of the gold medal-winning 1960 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team on Wednesday (Jan. 27); members of the gold medal-winning 1998 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team on Thursday (Jan. 28); and members of the gold medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team on Friday (Jan. 29) …Hockey Day in Michigan is slated for Jan. 30 as part of Hockey Weekend Across America ... A total of 135 rinks in 33 states will participate in USA Hockey's Try Hockey for Freeinitiative on Saturday (Jan. 30) as part of Hockey Weekend Across America. The 135 rinks will provide those new to hockey an opportunity to try it without cost ... From Jan. 29-31, disabled hockey players from all four disciplines (sled, deaf/hard of hearing, standing amputee and special hockey) will visit all 54 rinks in the state of New Jersey in conjunction with Hockey Weekend Across America. Their goal will be to raise awareness for disabled hockey among disabled athletes and encourage rinks to support new or existing disabled hockey programs. The event will officially kick off Friday (Jan. 29) at a special event at the NHL Powered by Reebok Store in New York City. Bill Daly, deputy commissioner of the National Hockey League, will be on hand to help launch the"Everybody Skates New Jersey" program beginning at 10 a.m. EST. ... Saturday (Jan. 30), the 2010 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team will take part in four Try Hockey for Free clinics as part of Hockey Weekend Across America. Two U.S. players will be at each of the following locations: World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. (12-1 p.m.), Pueblo Plaza Ice Arena in Pueblo, Colo. (9-10 a.m.), Family Sports Center Ice Arena in Centennial, Colo. (9-10 a.m.) and Edge Ice Arena in Littleton, Colo. (9:30-10:30 a.m.) ... Beginning with its home game against the New York Rangers on Saturday (Jan. 30) at 6 p.m. MT, the Phoenix Coyotes are sponsoring "24 Hours of Hockey" as part of Hockey Weekend Across America. The event continues throughout the night and into Sunday with a total of 15 consecutive youth and adult hockey games. All age groups will be represented at the event, which will end with a game featuring Coyotes and NHL alumni at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

West Michigan hire Sergei Kharin as new Head Coach

2010-01-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

Muskegon, MI - The Blizzard have hired former Winnipeg Jets NHL Draft, Sergei Kharin to be the Head Coach for the remainder of the Blizzard season. "This was an obvious selection, as I could not stay in Muskegon to be the Head Coach, as my duties in Elmira, I could not do both. Sergei is a great person, as well as being a very defined player and he also knows the game on and off the ice. We are proud to have him and he is well known and respected in the Muskegon Community, not to mention he has the most experience playing Pro in the AAHL", stated Coach Simmons. "I am very excited to be a part of the Blizzard Organization as they have brought in credible players and you need to have 'Hockey People' in place to run a Pro Team and I have seen the changes that were made in the last four weeks. With the new additions, the team has already had two players move up in less than four weeks", stated Coach Kharin.

ECHL Mourns Loss Of Former ECHL Owner Papista

2010-01-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL and its member teams mourn the loss and express their condolences to the family and friends of former ECHL owner Manuel (Mike) Papista, who died on Saturday at the age of 79.

Papista was part of Dayton Bombers ownership group from 2004-09 when the team ceased operations. A Detroit native, Mr. Papista was a respected lawyer and businessman in the Detroit area.

He is survived by his wife, Louise, his daughter, Anthy, son, Costa, daughter-in-law Lisa, and granddaughter, Eva, as well as his sister, Theano Johnson, brother-in-law, George Johnson, and sister, Alexandria Mallos.

Visitation will be Tuesday from 5-9 p.m. and Wednesday from 1-8 p.m. with Trisagion at 7 p.m. at Chas Verheyden Funeral Homes in Grosse Pointe, Mich. Services will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in St. Clair Shores, Mich.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a memorial contribution be made to the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church 21800 Marter Rd., St. Clair Shores, MI 48080.

AHL Outdoor Classic

2010-01-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Syracuse Crunch hosts the Binghamton Senators on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 1 p.m. in the first-ever AHL outdoor game, the Mirabito Outdoor Classic, at the New York State Fairgrounds.

The Mirabito Outdoor Classic will make history as the first minor league outdoor hockey game ever played. Outdoor hockey games, which honor the heritage and roots of the sport being played by children on frozen lakes and ponds growing up, have been a proven success at the collegiate level as well as the National Hockey League level, with the NHL’s Winter Classic now becoming a yearly event every New Year’s Day.

The Mirabito Outdoor Classic will feature the hometown Syracuse Crunch (AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets), the AHL’s sixth-longest tenured franchise (16 years-tied) and longest-running independently owned team, against their Interstate-81 rivals, the Binghamton Senators (AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators)

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Ticket Info

Tickets are on sale now for the Mirabito Outdoor Classic and going fast! Individual tickets can be purchased for $30 or $40 each. Groups of 20 people or more receive a discount offer (call the Crunch office).

Tickets can be purchased in a number of different ways...

1) Syracuse Crunch Office on the second floor of the War Memorial on the Montgomery Street side of the arena
2) Any area Ticketmaster outlet, including the Oncenter Box Office on the first floor of the War Memorial on the State Street side of the arena
3) Ticketmaster online
4) Over the phone by calling the Syracuse Crunch at 315-473-4444
5) Binghamton area - visit the Binghamton Senators office at Broome County Arena
6) Various Central New York Quickway and Mirabito store locations (quanities and seating selection is limited)

AHL players featured in Heroes & Prospects set

2010-01-27T12:32:00.000-08:00

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that it is prominently featured in the 2009-10 Heroes & Prospects trading card set, manufactured by In The Game, Inc.

The set, which pays tribute to the past while celebrating hockey’s future, was released today and can be purchased in the official on-line store of the AHL, ahlstore.com.

The 150-card base set features many of the most promising young stars in the AHL today, including Cory Schneider,Nathan Gerbe, Bobby Sanguinetti, Jonathan Bernier, Kyle Turris, P.K. Subban, Tyler Ennis and Lars Eller.

Insert sets include a 20-card collection of AHL All-Star Legends such as Mike Cammalleri, Zach Parise, Eric Staal, Jason Spezza, Patrice Bergeron and Miikka Kiprusoff. There is also an 18-card Calder Cup Champions insert set, commemorating the 2009 AHL champion Hershey Bears and including players such as Alexandre Giroux, Keith Aucoin, Chris Bourque, Karl Alzner, John Carlson and Michal Neuvirth.

The Heroes and Prospects set also includes autograph cards as well as game-used memorabilia cards.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 84 percent of today’s NHL players are graduates of the American Hockey League, and more than 6 million fans attend AHL games across North America every season.

IHL Weekly Honors for Week 15

2010-01-27T12:31:00.000-08:00

ROCHESTER, MI--- The International Hockey League (IHL) announced Monday that Bloomington center Jon Booras has been named the IHL Player of the Week, Dayton forward Tim Hartung has been named the IHL Rookie of the Week and Port Huron goaltender Larry Sterling has been named the IHL Goaltender of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 24th, 2010.

Booras finished the week scoring three goals and five assists for eight points in three games played. He also capped off the week with a plus-five rating. He recorded his first hat trick of the season Tuesday in Bloomington’s 7-3 win over Quad City. Booras scored two even-strength goals and one shorthanded tally, also adding an assist to the night giving him his first four-point night of the season. The 27-year-old Billings, Montana native is currently riding a four-game point streak, scoring three goals and eight assists during that span. Booras has notched in 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) so far this season, which leads the PrairieThunder and is good for fourth in the IHL.

Other players nominated for the IHL Player of the Week include: Dayton forward John Snowden, Flint forward Matt Moffat, Fort Wayne left wing P.C. Drouin, Muskegon center Damian Surma, Port Huron forward Derek Patrosso and Quad City center Joel Gasper.

Hartung wrapped up Week 15 of his rookie scoring one goal and dishing out five assists and a plus-three rating for his most productive week so far. He scored his first power play goal of the season Wednesday in Dayton’s 4-1 loss in Port Huron. Hartung had his fourth multi-point night of the season Sunday in the Gems 7-4 win over Quad City where he assisted on five of the seven goals scored. The five point night tied a league-high with four other players. Since joining the Gems in late November, the 25-year-old St. Paul, Minnesota native has recorded 20 points (6 goals, 14 assists) in 25 games, which ties him for ninth among IHL rookies.

Other players nominated for the IHL Rookie of the Week include: Bloomington center Chase Watson, Flint forward John Mori, Fort Wayne defenseman Bobby Phillips, Muskegon defenseman Matt Krug, Port Huron left wing Mickael Bedard and Quad City left wing Obi Aduba.

Sterling earns his second goaltender of the week honor this season after earning the win in his only start this past week. He posted a .971 save percentage and a 1.00 goals against average in the one game. He stopped 34 of 35 shots he faced, giving up the lone goal to Dayton with just under four minutes to play in the game. The 27-year old Lake Orion, Michigan native is current second among IHL goaltenders in goals against average (2.39) and save percentage (.920). Sterling is unbeaten in regulation in his last 12 starts. He has not lost in regulation since December 4th when the Icehawks were shutout by Muskegon.

Other goaltenders nominated for the IHL Goaltender of the Week include: Bloomington’s Sebastian Dahm, Dayton’s Ryan Mior, Flint’s Rob Nolan, Fort Wayne’s Nick Boucher and Muskegon’s Sebastien Centomo.

SPHL Board of Governors Meeting Concludes

2010-01-27T12:30:00.000-08:00

CHARLOTTE, NC - The mid-winter meeting of the Southern Professional Hockey League Board of Governors concluded yesterday in Concord, NC with several topics being discussed, including expansion and finalization of the 2010 playoff format.

2010 Playoff Format:

The top six (6) finishers in the league standings will make the playoffs:

ROUND 1

Series A - #1 Seed will play #6 Seed in a best-of-five series with the #1 Seed hosting Games 1, 3 and 5 (if necessary)

Series B - #2 Seed will play #5 Seed in a best-of-three series with the #2 Seed hosting Games 1 and 3 (if necessary)

Series C - #3 Seed will play #4 Seed in a best-of-three series with the #3 Seed hosting Games 1 and 3 (if necessary).

ROUND 2

Winner of Series A gets a bye to Championship Round

Winner of Series B plays winner of Series C in a best-of-three series with the highest-seeded team hosting Games 1 and 3 (if necessary)

PRESIDENT'S CUP FINALS

The highest remaining seed will host Games 1, 3 and 5 (if necessary) in the best-of-five Championship.

Expansion

Representatives for an ownership group seeking an expansion team for the 2010-2011 season made a presentation to the Board of Governors.

In addition, topics such as officiating and league-wide marketing initiatives were discussed and several equipment manufacturers made presentations to the Board.

Weekly Craze Mailbag: Mid-Week Edition 1/27

2010-01-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

For the mid-week trip to the mailbag, I received a quick question from Sam, and one from Cory. Thanks to both for the questions and for contributing to this new segment on the site.

Q> Why does your site go to thehockeycraze.blogspot.com after clicking on any of the articles on your homepage?

~ Sam L - MA

Currently my website editor (wix.com) does not have blog capabilities. I like using the blog to easily sort articles depending on the league and keep an archive on all articles posted. It also gives an opportunity for viewers to leave comments and such.

If an when (supposedly in the works) Wix comes out with a blog feature than I expect to streamline everything to www.thehockeycraze.com

Q> A few articles back you posted information about a league Joe K may be starting. I was wondering why you posted it and how come lately you are posting a lot of rumors.

~ Cory F - MI

To be completely honest, I received the information from a credible source. This source has pinpointed to me things happening in the AAHL well before it becomes apparent, is made official by the league, or other main-stream media makes the story public (Refer to the Madison article). Therefore when I was given this information, it could potentially make sense so I went ahead and posted it.

Now I didn't have any or make any details regarding this possible league. I simply said the possibility is out there and I would try and confirm wether this was in the works. Joe K was kind enough to contact me and tell me it was absolutely false, which I then stated on my site after the fact.

Regarding other rumors that are on my site. Many of these, if not most are nothing new. Anything and everything out there can start out as a rumor. The FHL / AAHL merger is a rumor which I don't believe will happen but the possibility DOES exist. However remote I personally feel it is. My sources say otherwise. Therefore I feel it justice to say something about it. You can say I don't want to miss out, but I also want to have a reason for fans to come on my site. I can't just post only articles pre-written from any league and expect anyone to care about my site. To me I would be just wasting space at that point.

I try to be un-biased and confirm as much as possible about anything that comes my way. In many times, it's hard to do or if it's false then so be it. That's what happens in this day and age. Things are said on TV, radio, blogs and message boards concerning everyday life which may not always be true. I do try my best to confirm anything I receive, however sometimes I make mistakes (Joe K): but that's how I will make the site better in the long run.

Some of the rumors I receive and many times see are completely ridiculous. The other day I received an email from someone saying the AAHL would be absorbed by the ECHL. Now ask yourself, why in the world would the ECHL do this? Is there any benefit to them? NO, so I leave it alone.

Another big rumor has been forever (since they left) about the NHL coming back to Hartford. I got this in an email stating: it's why the NHL legal department is looking into the matter concerning the Danbury Whalers.

Really? Does that make any sense? Maybe,

but look at this: The city of Hartford nor the state can embrace an AHL franchise that has won a championship (the 1st pro championship in any sport for the state) and consistently excels each and every season since their existence ('97). Now you can say it's not an NHL club and I say fine; but how do you expect to attract a legitimate NHL franchise when the affiliate of an original 6 club that is less than 3 hrs away cannot draw a decent crowd on most nights. Even many playoff nights! Especially with the caliber of teams the Rangers have had in Hartford.

So hopefully you understand I don't purposely throw any rumor I see on my site and try to make a story of it. There are other sites for that. Anyone can go on a message board and post whatever they wish and make rumors all day: GREAT go ahead. It gets people talking.

I thank you for coming on my site and allowing me to get that out there. I've been receiving a lot of compliments on the site and some suggestions, which I truly appreciate.

Weekly Craze Mailbag: Sunday Edition 1/24

2010-01-24T18:46:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

for Sundays edition I have a question pertaining to the FHL and one concerning the ECHL / AHL.

I also have roughly 5 more questions that I will be getting out during this week and next. Thank you to Adam and Mike for your questions.

Q> Why do you say the Aviators will not be in the FHL next year? and we aren't hearing much of anything going on?

~Adam F - NY

Adam my main reason in believing the Aviators will not be in the FHL next year is because members from the league's front office told me so. It is pretty much as simple as that. From the sound of things the league wasn't too thrilled with the Aviator group. I can't really go into details but don't expect the Aviators or Storm in the FHL next year. If they do then I suspect the league is in trouble lining up teams.

To answer your second question, right now the happenings are most likely behind the scenes. The only team making news is the Danbury Whalers right now while the league is making moves to line up more teams. There is possible talk with Hyannis (doubtful) and Cornwall (again doubtful) but I've been told and have seen franchises talked about in Philadelphia, Jamestown NY, and somewhere in the Cape (Hyannis). Whatever the case, there needs to be teams closer to Danbury if this league is going to work.

Other than that, the league has been pretty quiet and that has some people worried. I've gotten numerous emails expressing concern that the league is seeming like the EPHL/NEPHL. I'm not about that go there yet; give it a couple more months before you break out the pitchforks. I don't "think" we have to worry.

On another note:

I have been catching a lot of slack for my talk on the possible FHL / AAHL merger. I didn't say it was going to happen, I personally don't believe it but I would not be surprised.

Q> What is happening with all the AHL teams possibly moving? Will Charlotte lose their ECHL team?

~ Mike S - NJ

Mike there are quite a few happenings in the AHL considering teams moving around. These have been floating around on the internet for a while. Oklahoma City will be up and running next year with Edmonton moving their affiliate there from Springfield. I expect a new AHL team to pop up in Springfield. There is no way the league allows Springfield to go dormant.

Ottawa supposedly wants out of Binghamton and is looking at Cornwall to replace the B-Sens. Carolina is moving the Albany affiliate to Charlotte. There is also a statement out there, that the NY Rangers are looking to pull Hartford out and go back to Binghamton (relocated from there to Hartford in '97)

Peoria is staying in the AHL, while Rockford is likely to fall back to the IHL. I don't think we'll know about this until late in the season.

If everything is to happen the biggest shuffling would involve the NY Rangers. It would look like this:

Rangers relocates: Hartford to Binghamton or Albany

Rangers relocates : Charlotte (ECHL) to Albany or Binghamton

Edmonton relocates: Springfield to Oklahoma City

Carolina relocates: Albany to Charlotte

Peoria: Stays in the AHL

Rockford: Drops to IHL

I'm waiting to hear any more information on this, but this was sent to me and I have seen this all over hockey forums, other blogs and other sites (recently as well)

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That's all I have for this week, check back on Wednesday for the Mid-Week Edition!

Danbury Whalers on the Right Path

2010-01-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

First it began with the Inaugural Press Conference and the return of the Whale to Ct. Not only did it mark the return of the Whale as a professional hockey team since the Hartford Whalers departed for Carolina in 1997, but it also marks the 4th attempt to keep a team in Danbury. The latter of the 2 teams (Stars, Mad Hatters) had no success lasting only 1 season each.

However, the Trashers of the UHL (now IHL) were a success and drew roughly 2,000 fans to each game. If the Whalers can match the Trashers, this team will be a solid franchise. At this point, there are off to a strong start.

The Whalers brought in President of the Hartford Whalers Booster Club Al Victor, who gave his best wishes and promise of support for the franchise. They created a unique promotion for fans to lock in their season ticket prices for LIFE $300. On the first day of this awesome promotion 50 season ticket holders pledged their pride for the green and blue.

Continuing the path towards building a strong fan base, the Whalers announced an open invitation to TK's American Cafe to take place on January 13th. Fans were able to meet Whaler brass, check out merchandise and submit deposits for season tickets. The event went off with a bang.

The Whalers introduced their first line of merchandise on January 9th, with new shirts on January 14th. Now on February 11th, the 2nd team event will take place at Two Steps Downtown Grille (Danbury). You can read the article on the event below.

To send off, the Whalers are going down the right path. They are building a fan base by tying in old tradition with the start of a new one. It may not be the NHL, but it's the first professional organization in the state to bear the Whalers name (minus the Junior CT Whalers) and should prove in time to be a success.

With roughly 10 months to go, The Whalers can do so much to ensure a strong fan base, with Danbury hungry for good professional hockey. The fans, and the city of Danbury deserve it after the past two debacles.

Now in June we'll see if the Whalers can assemble a team during try-out camp and have a great start to the inaugural season in November.

There does seem to be one question that still sits large with many people. Will the FHL be successful? That is still to be seen, but Danbury is a major part of that.

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From danburywhalers.com

The Danbury Whalers are proud to announce the next event on the Danbury Whalers Fan Caravan will be held at Two Steps Downtown Grille on 5 Ives Street in Danbury. The event will be held on Thursday, February 11^th at 7 – 9 pm.

Fans should come hungry as they will be treated to complimentary menu items throughout the evening. In addition, the Whalers will buy you your first beverage of choice. The event is open to all Whalers fans, but space is limited to the first 100 fans, please RSVP to danburywhalers@aol.com to confirm your spot.

Scheduled to appear at the event include Danbury Whalers Chairman Lawrence Sorcher and team President Alan Friedman. "I can't wait to meet the fans of Danbury. This is going to be a great night. Get ready for some fun!!!" commented Friedman.

Head Coach / Director of Hockey Operations – Chris Firriolo will also be in attendance as well as members of the Danbury Whalers front office staff. New merchandise will be on sale and it is an opportunity to drop off your season ticket deposit and get your name on the Priority Seating List.

Tom Devine, the owner of Two Steps Downtown Grille, stated “Come down to meet the Whalers and have a great night. We look forward to hosting this event and being part of the return of professional hockey to the Danbury community.”

The team officially launched on December 29, 2009 in a press conference at the arena. Danbury fans can lock in an annual $300 (discounted from $350) season ticket price for life. All the team is requiring is a $50 REFUNDABLE deposit per seat and a commitment by 1/31/10.

Actual seat selections will take place at the Danbury Whalers tryout camp in June. Fans are currently being placed into a selection priority order list.

For further information, contact Herm Sorcher at 973-713-7547 or email the team at danburywhalers@aol.com.

Rivermen Sign Five-Year Lease With Peoria Civic Center

2010-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

from rivermen.net

The Peoria Rivermen, in partnership with the Peoria Civic Center, announced today that they have reached an agreement for the Rivermen to continue to play their home games at the Civic Center through the 2014-15 season.

The five-year lease was finalized earlier today by Peter McLoughlin, CEO of St. Louis Blues Enterprises, and Debbie Ritschel, SMG General Manager of the Peoria Civic Center. As is club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are very excited to have come to an agreement with the Civic Center on an extension of our rental agreement,” said Peter McLoughlin, CEO St. Louis Blues Enterprises. “We have always believed that Peoria should be the home of the Rivermen and this agreement allows us to continue to deepen our relationship with the city, the local business community and our fans – whom we truly believe are the best in the AHL.”

Peoria Civic Center Authority Chairman Peter Couri stated “The signing of this next five years with the Blues organization and the AHL Rivermen continues a proud tradition of professional hockey at the Peoria Civic Center. We encourage other business owners and citizens to consider purchasing season tickets or becoming sponsors and joining us in supporting high level hockey in Peoria.”

SMG General Manager Debbie Ritschel noted that Peoria Civic Center staff members are pleased that the long term partnerships with not only the Rivermen staff but the Rivermen fans will continue for at least five more years. “Cities need exciting activities to attract and retain people from all walks of life. Rivermen hockey games offer top notch sports entertainment to the entire Peoria metro area. We are excited about the Blues involvement with the Rivermen and appreciate the opportunity to seal the next five years contract agreement several months early.”

Built in 1982, the Peoria Civic Center has been home to a professional hockey team 28 years. The Peoria Prancers began play during the 1982-83 season in the International Hockey League before changing their name to the Rivermen in 1984. After 12 seasons in the IHL, the Rivermen joined the East Coast Hockey League in 1996 and ultimately became part of the American Hockey League prior to the 2005-06 season.

On July 3, 2008 SCP Worldwide, principal owner and operator of the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues, finalized the purchase of the Peoria Rivermen.

The Peoria Civic Center is an SMG managed facility. It recently completed a $55 million expansion and upgrade, which made the Peoria Civic Center the largest convention facility in downstate Illinois. The project included a new total exhibit hall space of 110,000 sq. ft., a new total meeting space of 45,000 sq. ft., over 100 new restroom facilities, a new box office and Rivermen team store, new pre-function space, and a 65-foot-high Great Hall atrium.

League-wide quake relief effort announced

2010-01-23T07:58:00.001-08:00

from theahl.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced a league-wide initiative designed to raise funds and awareness in the wake of the devastating earthquake and aftershocks that have struck Haiti.

At games throughout the AHL for the rest of the month, the league’s head coaches will be calling on fans through video board messages to make donations to help the relief efforts via the American and Canadian Red Cross’ text-to-donate campaigns, as well as individual team fundraisers.

“Our head coaches have come together from across the league to take on this important initiative,” said AHL President and CEO David Andrews. “With more than 400,000 fans expected to be in attendance at games over the next two weeks, we have a terrific opportunity to make a much-needed contribution to the cause.”

You can help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, as well as other crises around the world, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund or theCanadian Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Fund, which provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. For more information on the American Red Cross, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit www.redcross.org. For more information on the Canadian Red Cross, call 1-800-418-1111 or visit www.redcross.ca.

In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 84 percent of NHL players this season are AHL graduates, and more than 6 million fans attend AHL games across North America each year.

Can the FHL Land in the Cape?

2010-01-22T06:42:00.000-08:00

An article was written back on January 16,2010 by Amanda Comak of the Cape Cod Times regarding the FHL looking to set up shop at the Hyannis Youth & Community Center. You can read the entire article below.

But you have to ask yourself, can the league set up shop? Amanda explains, there may be no room for an FHL team with the Center filled with tenants. However according to Michael Mullaney with the FHL "We are currently in discussions with the Hyannis Community Center & the town of Barnstable. The Community Center hosts a 2200 seat arean and it is brand new. The Cape has a very strong hockey community and I look forward to help bringing together the town, our investment group, and The Federal Hockey League". This post was made on Wednesday Jan 20th via Facebook.

Now the HYCC is a beautiful brand new 105,000 sq. foot facility, which replaced the The Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Skating Rink after 52 years of service (demolished for more parking). To top it off the arena is in a terrific location. Surrounded by resturants, hotels, attractions and more the HYCC is in the heart of Cape Cod's commercial hub. You can get all the information and story on the HYCC by visiting their website.

Does the FHL want to be there? You would be crazy to pass up on this. Is there room for them? That is the obvious critical question. With IJHL Cape Cod Cubs and the many ice programs at the Center it may be impossible to fit another tenant. I would hope to think the FHL and HYCC can figure something out soon. It looks iffy but anything can happen; I say we'll know in the next couple of weeks.

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From Cape Cod TImes

By AMANDA COMAK

acomak@capecodonline.com

January 16, 2010

HYANNIS — A new upstart professional hockey organization, the Federal Hockey League, has looked into placing a team on Cape Cod with designs on the Hyannis Youth & Community Center ice.

A member of the league's front office confirmed Thursday that the league, which already has teams committed in Rome, N.Y., Danbury, Conn., Thousand Islands, N.Y., and Ottawa, has explored bringing a team to the Cape as part of what the league hopes will ultimately be a 60-game, eight-team format.

"We are interested in Cape Cod and the region," said Mark Richards, new team business acquisitions manager for the league. "We've tried to do a little bit of preliminary background and made some calls to see if there was any mutual interest from the facility, but the best thing I can say is we'd love to explore the opportunity to put a member team in Cape Cod. (The Hyannis Youth & Community Center) is the place we'd have to go into if we were to go to the Cape."

But there may not be any place for them, as the Hyannis Youth & Community Center is already filled with tenants and, though nothing is official for the 2010-11 season yet, expects all current residents to return.

"We're talking to our present users and trying to commit to those respective groups," said Barnstable Recreation Director David Curley, adding that he hasn't yet been contacted by the Federal Hockey League.

"We don't have (the current tenants) committed (for 2010-11) yet, but I think it looks promising they will return ... We're filled up at this time so to try to put more into this facility would be difficult but I'd be willing to carry on that discussion."

The Hyannis Youth & Community Center's tenants already include the Barnstable High School boys and girls hockey teams, Barnstable Youth Hockey, Mashpee/Upper Cape's boys hockey team and the Cape Cod Cubs of the IJHL.

The Cubs, who play in the Super Elite division of the IJHL, are also planning to unveil a new select division version for high school-age players with a schedule of games running from August to November, on the Community Center's ice.

Team President Scott MacPherson said the Cubs will be exercising their option to come back next season and already have roughly 20 players committed to the roster.

Richards said the Federal Hockey League hopes to have teams in place roughly eight months before training camps open Oct. 24, meaning if they were to find an ownership group willing to bring a team to the Cape they'd need to move relatively quickly over the next few weeks.

American Conference Wins All-Star Game 10-9 In Shootout

2010-01-22T06:18:00.000-08:00

ONTARIO, Calif. – It was a night to remember at the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented byReebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyotaand the City of Ontario as a shootout became the deciding factor for the first time in ECHL history as the American Conference defeated the National Conference, 10-9 in front of 7,615 at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

The scoring went back and forth in the first period as the two conferences traded goals against starting goaltenders David Shantz of Victoria and Todd Ford of South Carolina.

Ford stole a breakaway goal from Greg Hogeboom of Ontario, but defenseman Sam Roberts of Gwinnett scored first for the American Conference on a pass from starting forward Jacob Micflikier of Florida.

Judd Blackwater of Stockton answered for the National Conference, but Matt Schepke from the Charlotte Checkers scored to take back the lead before Nick Mazzolini of Alaska tied the game at two. Johnstown’s Connor Shields would give the American Conference a 3-2 lead going into the first intermission with a goal assisted by Maxime Gratchev of Elmira and Matt Pierce of Cincinnati.

Shantz kept the National Conference from having a larger deficit going into the break with a save on Schepke.

The second period of play started off with a bang for the National Conference with three goals in the first five minutes.

Ontario crowd favorite Peter Lenes tied the game less than two minutes in after a pass from Chris D'Alvise of Stockton was lost by Shawn Weller of Bakersfield. Lenes came in from behind and slapped the puck into the net. His teammates Vic Bartleyof Utah and team captain David Walker from the Ontario Reign gave the National Conference a two-goal lead, scoring just over a minute apart.

The American Conference tried to erase the deficit, but goaltender Timo Pielmeier of Bakersfield made a glove save on a shot by Jeff Prough of Trenton and Barlow made the game 6-3 with a pass around the legs of a sliding A.J. Thelen of Florida.

The home team had another chance to score when goaltender Braden Holtby of South Carolina came out of the crease to stop the puck, but when it went behind him and Holtby was out of range, a shot slid just in front of the goal line and went through the crease untouched until Holtby’s teammates took control of the puck and hurried down to the other end where Schepke scored his second goal of the game after Maxime Tanguay of Toledo passed the puck in front of Pielmeier, who was down on the ice after going side-to-side.

Drew Paris of Gwinnett used his 6-foot-4 frame to block a shot in the crease after Holtby couldn’t get up in time to reach the other side, but Pielmeier made the save of the night when Justin Donati of Elmira took a shot and Pielmeier made a backhand glove save as he was skating into the net, leaving Donati smiling in disbelief.

Rick Cleaver of Kalamazoo brought the American Conference to within one goal at 18:14 of the second period, but Miller answered with 7.6 seconds left on a pass from Bartley to make the score 7-5. The National Conference’s five goals tied the All-Star game record for most goals by one team in one period and the combined seven goals tied for the third most goals by both teams in one period.

Paris pulled the American Conference within one goal and Brandon Buck of Florida tied the game, 7-7. Barlow tallied his second goal of the game 15 seconds later, making it the third-fastest time in history that two teams have scored goals.

Idaho goaltender Richard Bachman made a save on a one timer by South Carolina defenseman Zach Tarkir, but Jeff Prough of Trenton scored his first goal of the game to make it 8-8.

Miller tallied his second goal of the game for the National Conference, but Shields took the game into overtime with his goal at 17:24. The 18 goals tied the ECHL All-Star game record for most goals by both teams in one game. Walker tried to secure the game for the National Conference with less than 30 seconds remaining, but his shot bounced off the post and for the first time in ECHL history, the All-Star game headed into overtime.

Bachman and Cincinnati’s Jeremy Smith remained in goal for overtime. Smith stopped the only shot, which sent the game into the first-ever shootout in an ECHL All-Star game.

In the shootout, Smith faced Blackwater, Bartley, Ryan Kinasewich of Utah and Barlow and went 3-for-4, while Bachman allowed goals to Micflikier, Ganzak and Donati, who tallied the decisive goal to give the American Conference the 10-9 win.

The two teams combined for 19 goals to set the record for most goals in an All-Star game. It is the second straight time the team who lost the ECHL All-Star Skills Competition the night before came back to win the ECHL All-Star Game. In 2009, the National Conference won the skills competition 9-7 while the American Conference went on to win the All-Star game 11-5. In the 11 years prior to 2009, the team that won the skills competition also won the game.

Evan Barlow of Idaho was named the 2010 ECHL All-Star MVP after scoring four points (2g-2a).

Weekly Craze Mailbag: Mid-Week Edition 1/20

2010-01-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

For this week, I received questions regarding the 2010 Hockey Craze Logo Playoffs.

Thanks to Charles and Ryan for your questions. I also have a few more questions that I received which I will answer for Sundays edition.

Q> How will the voting process work for the logo playoffs?

~ Charles M - MA

Currently that is something I am finishing up on and plan to have finalized sometime in February. Last year I used polldaddy.com which worked well; but I am forced to go another route this year for a few reasons.

Wix.com is the company I use to create this site. Currently being that it is a flash editor, it does not have the capability for HTML. This rules out my option of using polldaddy.com again. Another factor is, wix does not have a poll widget out yet. Therefore, I would have to create an external link (like my articles) in order to use a poll/polldaddy.com. This is something I am not interested in doing at this time. The main reasons I use blogspot (my articles) now is for people to be able to comment, I am able to sort according to league, and archive easily. It also allows people who have trouble viewing the flash site (via Iphone etc..)to view the articles I post. Unfortunately Wix does not have a blog feature yet but as soon as one becomes available, everything will be streamlined to www.thehockeycraze.com

To finish up your question, I'm working with a submission form. Voters will be able to submit their votes (for all 4 pools) on 1 form along with a valid email address. Only 1 submission from a VALID email will be accepted each day. A confirmation from myself will be sent and the votes will then be counted.

This format will make it easy to cast a vote on all 4 pools in one shot, instead of having a separate poll for each (like last year). It also gives me more control on preventing someone from flooding votes all day towards 1 or more teams, but allows someone to vote each day. Therefore a team can only max out with 14 votes in the pool play round from 1 voter (14 days).

You can read more about how the voting works by visiting the Logo Central page. I will also do a full in depth explanation of the vote tally and such once March 26th arrives.

Q> Which leagues are included in the logo playoffs this year?

~ Ryan S. - NY

Ryan the following leagues are currently in this years playoffs: NHL, AHL, ECHL, CHL, IHL, SPHL. The AAHL will be included if they are still operating. The FHL will be included if all their team details are released for the next season. We should all know the standings of those 2 leagues shortly. I am planning on having both in this years playoffs but I will make that official by March 26th.

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Thanks again to Charles and Ryan for those questions and I plan on posting 2 more on Sundays Edition 1/24

No Plans for a New League Next Season

2010-01-20T13:22:00.000-08:00

Just received confirmation from Joseph Kolodziej (known simply as Joe K) who was bought out of the ownership group with the BC Revolution (AAHL) regarding a league I was told he would be starting next year.

He stated via email he has no plans on starting a new hockey league next season. Contrary to my article based on a rumor I received here

Thanks to Joe K for contacting me to clarify this.

IHL FUTURE STARS GAME ON FEBRUARY 12th IN FORT WAYNE

2010-01-20T12:50:00.001-08:00

01/20/2010 1:05 PM - EVANSVILLE, IN--On Friday, February 12th, 2010, 8 p.m. EST time, the Battle Creek Revolution, single A affiliate of the IHL Muskegon Lumberjacks, and the Evansville Ice Men, single A affiliate of the IHL Ft. Wayne Komets will try and set class A professional hockey's minor league attendance record at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Ft. Wayne, Indiana (Home of the Ft. Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League) in a AAHL regular season contest.

"This is a great opportunity for our teams and our league, as a whole", IceMen GM Chip Rossetti said. "Our players are going to get a chance to showcase themselves and our organizations are getting the chance to showcase themselves to the fans and teams at a higher level. We are very grateful to the Ft. Wayne Komets and the IHL for providing this fantastic facility to play this game."

"This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for some players and fans to be a part of something spectacular. This game is good for the teams involved and for making fans outside of the AAHL to see what our league is all about." stated Bobby Clouston, BC Revolution head coach, when asked about the February 12th Future Stars of the IHL game at Fort Wayne.

Ticket prices for this contest range from $10 in the lower bowl and $5 in the upper bowl. Children tickets are $4 for any seat in the Coliseum. To order tickets or more information on this contest, please contact the Ft. Wayne Komets ticket office.

Snakes To Welcome Back 30 Former Players For Legends Weekend

2010-01-20T12:44:00.001-08:00

The Columbus Cottonmouths are excited to welcome back 30 former Snakes, including 20 league champions, for our biennial Legends Weekend, set to take place Feb. 4-6, 2010. The Snakes host the Fayetteville FireAntz Thursday, Feb. 4 and the Huntsville Havoc Saturday, Feb. 6.

Returning from the Snakes' 1997-98 CHL Levin's Cup Championship team are Eric Germain, Mick Kempffer, Ole Kjenstad, Doug Mann, Derek Marchand, Mike Martens, Frankie ‘The Wall' Ouellette, Kevin Plager, Brad Prefontaine, ‘Magic' Marcel Richard and Tom Wilson. Two other members of the championship team, Snakes head coach Jerome ‘Boom Boom' Bechard and Huntsville Havoc head coach Randy ‘Rocket' Murphy, will join in the Legends pre-game festivities before their teams go head-to-head Saturday, Feb. 6 when the Snakes host the Havoc.

Members of the 2004-2005 SPHL President's Cup Championship team returning for Legends Weekend include Ryan Aikia, Terry Friesen, Brock Johnson, Tylor Keller, Chris Rook, Ryan Rutz and Brent Toews. Other former Snakes making their way back to the Snake Pit are Derek Crimin, Barry Dreger, Jason Givens, Jimmy Kerestes, Roman Marakhovski, Darren McAusland, Mat Ponto, Andy Powers, J.A. Schneider and Rob Sinclair. A few others possibly making the trip are Bobby Marshall, Mark Prentice and Drew Schoneck.

A Legends game will take place Saturday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m., with gates opening at 5:30. The Legends will divide into two teams and play three, 15-minute periods with a running clock. Fans wanting to attend the Legends game must have a ticket to the Cottonmouths' regularly-scheduled game at 7:30. Snakes Legends will be available for autographs in the concourse during the Cottonmouths game.

In anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics, and commemoration of the 30th anniversary of USA's ‘Miracle on Ice' at the 1980 Olympics, both current Snakes and Legends will be wearing commemorative USA jerseys, similar to those worn by the 1980 Olympic Team. Legends jerseys will be sold in a silent auction during Saturday's game, while the current Snakes' jerseys will be auctioned live on the ice immediately following the game.

The Snakes host a pair of home games this week, taking on the Fayetteville FireAntz Thursday, Jan. 21 and the Pensacola Ice Flyers, Saturday, Jan. 23. Thursday is the rescheduled game from Dec. 29; season ticket holders are asked to use their Dec. 29 tickets for this game. Thursday is Dollar Days featuring $2 draft beer and $1 nachos. It's also Georgia Lottery Night; the first 500 fans, 18+, receive a scratch off ticket.

The first 1,000 fans through the gates on Saturday, Jan. 23 will receive a Ryan McCarthy bobblehead doll, courtesy of Burger King and WTVM. The Cottonmouths are asking fans to please bring school supply items to donate and help revitalize St. Patrick's School, which was severely damaged in a fire last week. Some specific items the school has asked for include paper, children's books, markers, crayons, pencils, folders, copier paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, window cleaner and surface cleaner. In addition, the Cottonmouths will donate a portion of the proceeds from the game to St. Patrick's, and The Overby Company will match that amount in an effort to help replenish the school with supplies needed.

The Cottonmouths are also preparing for our first Cool School Day game, to be played at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Over 4,200 students have committed to the game. A very limited number of upper level seats remain.

For more information on these upcoming events, contact the Cottonmouths office at 706 571 0086.

Havoc Help Raise Money for ACS

2010-01-20T12:42:00.000-08:00

from thesphl.com

HUNTSVILLE, AL - The Huntsville Havoc players spent four hours Monday night serving as waiters at Chili's with all the tips collected going to the American Cancer Society.

The players helped raise $1,923 dollars with Dennis Sicard working all four hours and raising $686 dollars alone.

"Thank you to the Huntsville Havoc and their fans for supporting us and our mission to eliminate cancer," Shannon Majers from the American Cancer Society said. "Over the past three years the Havoc family has raised close to $8,000 for ACS. Thank you for helping us FIGHT BACK against this awful disease!"

MeiGray Auctions All-Star Game-Worn Jerseys, Game-Used Pucks

2010-01-20T12:41:00.001-08:00

PRINCETON, N.J. – The ECHL in association with The MeiGray Group announced that fans will have the opportunity to purchase jerseys and pucks from the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario on Wednesday and the 2010 ECHL All-Star Skills Competition on Tuesday.

"Jerseys are the fabric of the game, and collecting jerseys gets us all closer to the game," said Barry Meisel, MeiGray's President and Chief Operating Officer. "We're so proud that we can distribute jerseys of the ECHL's brightest stars to fans across the globe."

The Ontario Reign and Citizens Business Bank Arena will host the 18th Annual ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and theCity of Ontario on Wednesday and the 13th Annual All-Star Skills Competition on Tuesday.

The Ninth Annual All-Star Game-Worn Jersey Auction will begin when the puck drops to start the game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT while the Seventh Annual All-Star Puck Auction will begin Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. ET and the Seventh Annual All-Star Game-Worn Skills Competition Jersey & Puck Auction will begin on Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. ET.

The jerseys worn by the 21 members of the American Conference and the 21 members of the National Conference during the first period of play on Jan. 20 will be auctioned live during the game simultaneously at the Citizens Business Bank Arena and online at ECHL.com, MeiGray.com and ECHLAuction.at.edeal.com/.

In addition to the jerseys, game-used and goal-scoring pucks from the All-Star Game as well as jerseys and pucks from the skills competition will also be collected and auctioned at ECHLAuction.at.edeal.com/.

Each player in the ECHL All-Star Game will wear a different jersey in each of the game’s three periods. The jerseys worn in the second period will be available to the general sports collecting public at a later date through MeiGray, a Branchburg, N.J., company that also partners with the National Hockey League in the NHL-MGG Game-Worn Jersey Authentication Program and the American Hockey League in the AHL-MGG Game-Worn Jersey Program. The players will keep the jersey that they wear during the third period.

Each ECHL team will wear one set of home and road jerseys for the first half of the season and another set for the second half. MeiGray, which offers game-worn jerseys from all ECHL teams to hockey fans and sports collectors worldwide, owns the exclusive rights to the jerseys worn during the first half of the season while the teams own the exclusive rights to jerseys worn for the second half as well as all specialty jerseys and jerseys worn during the 2010 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Fans and collectors can order the jerseys of their favorite teams at MeiGray.com or telephone MeiGray toll-free at (888) 463-4472 for more information.

The leading distributor of game-worn hockey jerseys and "Official Game-Worn Jersey Source of the ECHL," MeiGray has sold more than 4,500 game-worn ECHL jerseys since the program began in 2002-03, including nearly 1,000 each of the past four seasons.

There have been 58 players from the All-Star Game who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 33 since 2002 when the lineups began having players who coaches felt were prospects to move up to a higher level.

The third class will be inducted into the the ECHL Hall of Fame on Jan. 20, 2010 during a luncheon ceremony at the Hilton Ontario Airport, the official host hotel of the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you byToyota and the City of Ontario. The featured speaker at the ECHL Hall of Fameluncheon will be Hockey Hall of Fame member and Los Angeles Kings President of Business Operations Luc Robitaille.

The past seven ECHL All-Star Games have generated more than $1 million each for the local economy as guests, players, coaches and fans occupy hundreds of hotel rooms and spend three days in the host city.

The Stanley Cup and the Patrick J. Kelly Cup will both be on display throughout the event, marking the 10th time in the last 11 years that the NHL championship trophy and the ECHL championship trophy have been displayed together at the All-Star Game.

National Conference Wins 13th Annual ECHL All-Star Skills Competition 11-10

2010-01-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

ONTARIO, Calif. - The National Conference defeated the American Conference, 11-10, in the 13th Annual ECHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario.

The Ontario Reign and Citizens Business Bank Arena will host the 18th Annual ECHL All-Star Game Reebok Hockey and brought to you byToyota and the City of Ontario on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT.

To purchase tickets visit OntarioReign.com/team/allstar/ or telephone the Ontario Reign at (909) 941-7825.

The all-star game will be broadcast live online free of charge on B2TV.com. The video broadcast will require a high-speed internet connection and a current version of Microsoft Windows Media Player.

National Conference 11, American Conference 10

Attendance: 4,368

Sher-wood Hockey Puck Control Relay

National Conference (Evan Barlow, Idaho; Chris D'Alvise, Stockton and John Lammers, Alaska) d. American Conference (Matt Pierce, Cincinnati; Maxime Gratchev, Elmira and Justin Donati, Elmira).

Sher-wood Hockey Individual Puck Control Relay

National Conference (Peter Lenes, Ontario) d. American Conference (Jacob Micflikier, Florida).

Reebok Fastest Skater

National Conference (14.406) d. American Conference (14.462)

1. Adam Miller (Las Vegas), National Conference (14.287). 2. John Swanson(Idaho), National Conference (14.347). 3. Maxime Tanguay (Toledo), American Conference (14.47). 4. Eric Regan (Bakersfield), National Conference (14.585). 5.Brandon Buck (Florida), National Conference (14.735). 6. Nikita Kashirsky (South Carolina), American Conference (14.781).

Reebok 8.0.8 Hardest Shot

American Conference (97.9) d. National Conference (94.7)

1. A.J. Thelen (Florida), American Conference (101.9). 2. Sasha Pokulok(Bakersfield), National Conference (101.5). 3. Matt Schepke (Charlotte), American Conference (97.3). 4. Drew Paris (Gwinnett), American Conference (96.2). 5. David Walker (Ontario), National Conference (94.0). 6. J.C. Sawyer (Toledo), American Conference (93.8). 7. Brendan Milnamow (Idaho), National Conference (92.4). 8.Taylor Ellington (Victoria), National Conference (90.9).

Bull Outdoor Products Rapid Fire

American Conference (22 saves) d. National Conference (20 saves)

Braden Holtby (South Carolina), American Conference (9 saves)

Timo Pielmeier (Bakersfield), National Conference (8 saves)

Richard Bachman (Idaho), National Conference (8 saves)

Todd Ford (South Carolina), American Conference (8 saves)

Jeremy Smith (Cincinnati), American Conference (5 saves)

David Shantz (Victoria), National Conference (4 saves)

MeiGray Group Accuracy Shooting Competition

National Conference (11 targets) d. American Conference (9 targets)

Ryan Kinasewich (Utah), National Conference (4-for-4)

Ben Gordon (Reading), American Conference (4-for-5)

Zach Tarkir (South Carolina), American Conference (4-for-5)

Shawn Weller (Bakersfield), National Conference (4-for-6)

Greg Hogeboom (Ontario), National Conference (3-for-8)

Jeff Prough (Trenton), American Conference (1-for-6)

Ice Town Breakaway Relay

American Conference d. National Conference, 7-5

American Conference vs. David Shantz (Victoria), 4 saves: Nikita Kashirsky (South Carolina), miss; Drew Paris (Gwinnett), goal; Rick Cleaver (Kalamazoo), goal; Elan Duneau (amateur), miss; Matt Schepke (Charlotte), goal; A.J. Thelen (Florida), miss;Maxime Tanguay (Toledo), miss.

National Conference vs. Todd Ford (South Carolina), 5 saves; AJ Perry (Utah), miss;Nick Mazzolini (Alaska), goal; Taylor Ellington (Victoria), miss; Daniel Hines (amateur), miss; Eric Regan (Bakersfield), miss; John Swanson (Idaho), miss; David Walker (Ontario), goal.

American Conference vs. Richard Bachman (Idaho), 5 saves; Connor Shields(Johnstown), miss; Sam Roberts (Gwinnett), miss; Matt Pierce (Cincinnati), goal; Taylor Portesi (amateur), miss; Jeff Prough (Trenton), miss; Zach Tarkir (South Carolina), miss; Brandon Buck (Florida), goal.

National Conference vs. Jeremy Smith (Cincinnati), 5 saves; Adam Miller (Las Vegas), goal; Brendan Milnamow (Idaho), miss; Judd Blackwater (Stockton), goal; Scott Hansen (amateur), miss; Vic Bartley (Utah), miss; Evan Barlow (Idaho), miss;Peter Lenes (Ontario), miss.

American Conference vs. Timo Pielmeier (Bakersfield), 5 saves; Jacob Micflikier(Florida), miss; Mitch Ganzak (Wheeling), goal; Maxime Gratchev (Elmira), miss; Michael Mitchell (amateur), miss; J.C. Sawyer (Toledo), goal; Justin Donati (Elmira), miss; Ben Gordon (Reading), miss.

National Conference vs. Braden Holtby (South Carolina), 6 saves; Shawn Weller(Ontario), miss; Chris D'Alvise (Stockton), miss; John Lammers (Alaska), miss; Matt Jolliff (amateur), miss; Sasha Pokulok (Bakersfield), miss; Ryan Kinasewich (Utah), miss; Greg Hogeboom (Ontario), goal.

Outstanding Goaltender – Braden Holtby (South Carolina), American Conference (15 saves)

ECHL Skills Competition Results

2010 Skills Competition at Ontario, Calif.
National Conference 11, American Conference 10

2009 Skills Competition at Reading, Pa.
National Conference 9, American Conference 7

2008 Skills Competition at Stockton, Calif.
National Conference 19, American Conference 16

2007 Skills Competition at Boise, Idaho
American Conference 20, National Conference 11

2006 Skills Competition at Fresno, Calif.
National Conference 15, American Conference 8

2005 Skills Competition at Reading, Pa.
National Conference 10, American Conference 9

2004 Skills Competition at Peoria, Ill.
Eastern Conference 11, Western Conference 10

2003 Skills Competition at Estero, Fla.
Northern Conference 12, Southern Conference 9

2002 Skills Competition at Trenton, N.J.
Southern Conference 16, Northern Conference 8

2001 Skills Competition at North Little Rock, Ark.
Southern Conference 15, Northern Conference 5

2000 Skills Competition at Greenville, S.C.
Northern Conference 11, Southern Conference 8

1999 Skills Competition at Biloxi, Miss.
Southern Conference 13, Northern Conference 8

1998 Skills Competition at Lafayette, La.
Canada All-Stars 10, USA/World All-Stars 9

Canadians Rally Late for All Star Win

2010-01-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

PORTLAND, Maine … After an 18-12 win in Monday’s Skills Competition, the Canadian AHL All-Stars completed a sweep of the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic tonight with a come-from-behind 10-9 shootout win over PlanetUSA in the 2010 AHL All-Star Game at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Rookie Tyler Ennis of the hometown Portland Pirates was selected the game’s most valuable player, notching a goal and two assists for the Canadians.

The Canadians were down by four goals when the Worcester Sharks’ Logan Couture began the comeback at 7:48 of the third period. The Binghamton Senators’ Ryan Keller collected his second goal of the night at 12:30 and Dustin Jeffrey of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins cut the deficit to 9-8 at the 14:41 mark. Then, with their goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, the Canadian squad evened the score when reigning league MVP Alexandre Giroux of the Hershey Bears banged home a shot with 18.0 seconds remaining.

Couture and Hamilton Bulldogs rookie P.K. Subban scored in the shootout while Hamilton’sCedrick Desjardins stopped four of five PlanetUSA attempts to seal the win, establishing the largest third-period comeback in AHL All-Star Game history.

PlanetUSA’s offense was led by Brett Sterling of the Chicago Wolves, Mikko Lehtonen of the Providence Bruins and Sergei Shirokov of the Manitoba Moose with two goals apiece.

Corey Locke of the Hartford Wolf Pack picked up an assist for the Canadian side to set a league record with his ninth career All-Star point.

The road to the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs continues when the American Hockey League’s 74th season resumes on Friday.

Weekly Honors for Week 14

2010-01-18T18:34:00.001-08:00

ROCHESTER, MI--- The International Hockey League (IHL) announced Monday that Fort Wayne center Colin Chaulk has been named the IHL Player of the Week, Muskegon forward Matt Robertson has been named the IHL Rookie of the Week and Fort Wayne goaltender Tim Haun has been named the IHL Goaltender of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 17th, 2010.

Chaulk wrapped up the week scoring three goals and dishing out four assists for seven points and a plus-four rating in three games. He recorded his second four-point night of the season Sunday, scoring two goals and two assists in the Komets 5-3 win over the Quad City Mallards. One of his two goals was the game-winner, scored with just 52 seconds left in the game in a 3-3 tie with the Mallards. Chaulk scored his second goal 51 seconds later, sealing the victory for Fort Wayne. The 33-year-old Toronto, Ontario native currently leads the Komets in scoring with 39 points (12 goals, 27 assists) in 31 games played. His 39 points also ranks him fourth in the IHL in scoring.

Other players nominated for the IHL Player of the Week include: Bloomington forward Jamie Carroll, Dayton forward Mike Vaskivou, Flint right wing John Mori, Muskegon center Brian Bicek, Port Huron left wing Mickael Bedard and Quad City center Justin White.

Robertson completed the week with five points, scoring three goals and two assists in three games. The rookie forward recorded his first professional hat trick Sunday in Muskegon’s 8-4 win over Port Huron in their battle for sole possession of first place. He scored all three tallies even strength. The same night was also the first four-point night of Robertson’s career, where he added an assist to go along with the three goals. The 21-year-old Prince Albert, Saskatchewan native is currently tied for eleventh among IHL rookies in scoring with 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists). His 17 points also ranks him sixth among the Lumberjacks in scoring.

Other players nominated for the IHL Rookie of the Week include: Bloomington defenseman Cole Ruwe, Dayton forward Corey Couturier, Flint goaltender Nick Niedert, Fort Wayne forward Kaleigh Schrock, Port Huron forward Brandon Naurato and Quad City center Justin White.

Haun was stellar once again between the pipes for the Komets, finishing the week with a 2-0-0-0 record. The two wins extends his winning streak to five games and he is unbeaten in regulation in his last seven contests, posting a 6-0-0-1 record during that span. Haun kicked off the week earning his second straight shutout Friday against the Flint Generals to earn back-to-back shutouts, dating back to his last start last Sunday. He had a 1.50 goals against average and a .960 save percentage in his two starts, stopping 72 of 75 total shots he faced. The 29-year-old Solsgirth, Manitoba native currently leads all IHL goaltenders in goals against average (2.12) and save percentage (.924), is ranked second in wins (15), minutes played (1443:10) and its tied for second with two shutouts.

Other goaltenders nominated for the IHL Goaltender of the Week include: Bloomington’s Andrew Martin, Dayton’s Ryan Mior, Flint’s Nick Niedert, Muskegon’s Sebastien Centomo, Port Huron’s Adam Russo and Quad City’s Jerad Kaufmann.

Some Interesting Notes on the Minors

2010-01-18T18:07:00.000-08:00

I received a couple of interesting topics regarding a few of the minor leagues the other day. One of course surrounds the AAHL in regards to a potential merger.

My source is becoming insistent on an AAHL, FHL merger. I still can't get around seeing this happen although a part of me wouldn't be shocked. It has been known the AAHL wanted an East, West divisional format (with the probability of that forming next season) but with the current state of the AAHL that seemed impossible. As I mentioned in a previous article, 2 teams that were looking to join the league next year pulled out. However, as soon as we turn that page a new one begs to be written.

Now, my source says the AAHL will merge under the FHL name and thus create this two division league as stated above. How will this occur? Apparently the 4 current AAHL teams will be joined by another (possibly 2) franchises. (Louisville KY was mentioned as 1) The other division will be made up of the current FHL teams plus another 1 or 2 franchises yet to mentioned. Possibly Jamestown and Philadelphia?

The only reason I see a possibility of this happening is because my source has been dead on with EVERY piece of information sent my way. So don't be shocked if this happens; and remember you saw it on TheHockeyCraze....(just to throw that in there)

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Now onto the former member of the BC Revolution Joseph Kolodziej

He plans to try and start his own Single A league ( I am told more than likely this WILL happen). I'm just waiting on word for where the league will be located, expected teams, etc...

as soon as that comes out I'll have that up.

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The IHL and AHL

Ok, as you all should know the Flint Generals are done after this year. They only survived this year because they were fronted the money (500K from the K-Wings and some).With that being said the IHL is in a tough spot.

Not to fear though because there are potentially 2 teams waiting in the wings to enter the IHL next season. It has also been known the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL, are struggling and will not survive in their current state, so they may look to rejoin the IHL after jumping up the "A" a couple years ago.

The Peoria Rivermen are also apparently in a tight spot and may look to join the "I" as well. Although John Davidson President of the St. Louis Blues strongly denies this.

Finally a 3rd team as an expansion may join the pack. I would say the Evansville Ice Men (as it's been said all year) but if the above league merger happens, than the Ice Men will be a critical cornerstone to the vitality of the FHL.

If the IHL does not keep a 7 team league, you may see the Quad City Mallards leave.

I received 2 more questions for this week's Craze Mailbag so stay tuned for that later this week!

New Section on The Hockey Craze

2010-01-17T18:28:00.001-08:00

Hey all,

In light of me receiving many comments and questions regarding teams / leagues etc.. I decided to create a new section on the site where I will answer any question I can that is sent to me.

To start things off I would like to thank Steve of Wisconsin and Dave of Connecticut for two very good questions.

Q > Why do you feel the AAHL took so long to act on the Madison Ice Muskies when it was known the trouble they faced? ~Steve K - WI

I'm not sure as to say the league did anything with regards to the Ice Muskies situation. As you know on December 18th I had an article referring to the teams trouble. Then on January 7th WKOWTV.com published an article giving in depth details to the problems the team was facing. The owners weren't paying the players $400 a month. Players were selling cars to buy groceries and bare necessities, and the apartment complex the players were living in was forced to evict them for not receiving a single rent payment from the owners. Yet as this came out in full light, we did not see anything published from the AAHL.

I won't go as far to say the AAHL had no idea of the situation; that would be almost impossible. It is however possible but highly unlikely that the league kept a blind eye to the problem due to poor management? I would tend to lean toward the probability that the league wanted to keep this information from going public. Especially with the dire straits the league has been in the past couple months.

I highly doubt this league has any financial structure existing that would be able to have taken over this team entirely on it's own.

In the end of all this, the owners (primarily) and the league need to be held responsible. Preferably I would say the owners should be made an example of. How far can this go? I'm not entirely sure, nor do I think there's any course the players can take to claim damages against the owners.

The responsibility for preventing this from happening (again) rests solely on the leagues themselves. Hopefully this starts to mark the end of franchises burning their players, fans, and everyone who dedicates the precious time, effort, energy and money to making this work. We sure have had a TON of disappointments the past few years but we can look towards bright spots like the SPHL and hopefully the up and coming FHL.

Q > Do you think the Federal Hockey League will be a success or just another hit and run league? ~Dave R, - CT

Early planning and development was a critical step in the eyes of the front office for the league. However some skepticism is in the air with this league (which is only fair) regarding another minor pro league starting up. As you put it, many fear another hit and run league will surface in the FHL; which I don't see happening. There are also skeptics out there basing their doubts because of members who were affiliated with the EPHL.

After personally speaking with Phil DeFranco and Don Kirnan of the FHL I think the league is off to a good start. The early development steps this league is taking was a step often overlooked by other leagues (EPHL, NEPHL etc...) as well as addition of teams that are not financially sound, or a league that cannot support it's teams, players and fans. However there is question on the potential success of the 1000 Islands Privateers right now.

Do I think the FHL will be a success? In time yes, but for as much as they have accomplished to this point, much remains to be seen. I do expect some bumps in the road but overall the league is on the right path. Mr. Kirnan also told me to expect in 30 days an announcement on 2 more franchises being added to the league. To me it's very important to have a team closer to the Danbury Whalers. However, I do not expect either the Aviators or Storm (NEPHL) to be in the mix for that spot.

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To embellish a little further on the FHL there are a couple rumors currently circling around that I am aware of.

First the league's real expectation of 8-10 teams. I'm told there could be teams from the areas around Jamestown, Philadelphia, Cape Cod, Long Island, Quebec to name a few. I think we will all know in due time if this stands true or not.

Finally there is the big rumor that the AAHL wants to merge with the FHL. When asked, Mr. Kirnan quickly dismissed this but it remains hot topic in my circles. You can read more about this in my latest article regarding the AAHL coming up tomorrow night.

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I would like to thank Steve and Dave for 2 great questions. Because they have given me the opportunity to express my personal opinion on direct questions, I decided to create this new section on my site. The plan for me is to answer questions from fans of The Hockey Craze weekly. Once again as always I truly appreciate all the people who check in on this site, I have noticed a great increase in traffic over the past couple months.

Hopefully this will lead up to an exciting 2010 Hockey Craze Logo Playoffs and a jump start to a great 2nd year for the site. If you haven't had the opportunity please check out the POOL A preview for the 2010 HC Logo Playoffs available now.

13th Annual ECHL All-Star Skills Competition Lineups Announced

2010-01-15T20:51:00.000-08:00

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL All-Stars will take the ice at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. on Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT for the 13th Annual ECHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario.

The Ontario Reign and the Citizens Business Bank Arena will host the 18th Annual ECHL All-Star Game Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT.

To purchase tickets visit OntarioReign.com/team/allstar/ or telephone the Ontario Reign at (909) 941-7825.

Both events will be broadcast live online free of charge on B2TV.com. The video broadcast will require a high-speed internet connection and a current version of Microsoft Windows Media Player.

Competing in the Sher-wood Hockey Puck Control Relay will be Matt Pierce of Cincinnati, Sam Roberts of Gwinnett and Justin Donati of Elmira for the American Conference and Evan Barlow of Idaho, Chris D'Alvise of Stockton and John Lammersof Alaska for the National Conference. In the one-on-one Puck Control Relay sponsored by Sher-wood Hockey, the American Conference will be represented byJacob Micflikier of Florida and the National Conference will be represented by Peter Lenes of Ontario.

The Reebok Fastest Skater competition will feature Brandon Buck of Florida, Maxime Gratchev of Elmira and Matt Schepke of Charlotte for the American Conference against John Swanson of Idaho, Eric Regan of Bakersfield and Adam Miller of Las Vegas. The ECHL record for fastest skater is 13.395 by Jeff Lazaro in 1998.

In the Reebok 8.0.8 Hardest Shot competition, the American Conference will haveDrew Paris of Gwinnett, Matt Pierce of Cincinnati, J.C. Sawyer of Toledo and A.J. Thelen of Florida against Brendan Milnamow of Idaho, Nick Mazzolini of Alaska,Sasha Pokulok of Bakersfield and David Walker of Ontario. The record for the hardest shot is 102.2 mph by Jon Awe of Gwinnett in 2007 while the team record is 96.05 mph by the Southern Conference in 1999.

In the Bull Outdoor Products Rapid Fire competition, the American Conference will have Mitch Ganzak of Wheeling and Maxime Tanguay of Toledo shooting againstDavid Shantz of Victoria, Rick Cleaver of Kalamazoo and Connor Shields of Johnstown against Richard Bachman of Idaho and Nikita Kashirsky of South Carolina and Justin Donati of Elmira against Timo Pielmeier of Bakersfield. The National Conference will have Taylor Ellington of Victoria and Evan Barlow of Idaho shooting against Todd Ford of South Carolina, Vic Bartley of Utah and John Lammers of Alaska against Jeremy Smith of Cincinnati and Judd Blackwater of Stockton and AJ Perry of Utah against Braden Holtby of South Carolina. The individual record for most saves is 10 of 10 by Ryan MacDonald of Fresno in 2007, Dan Ellis of Idaho in 2004 and Brian Leitza of Baton Rouge while the team record is 26 of 30 by the Western Conference in 2004.

In the MeiGray Group Accuracy Shooting Competition, the shooters for the American Conference will be Ben Gordon of Reading, Jeff Prough of Trenton andZach Tarkir of South Carolina while the passers will be Jacob Micflikier of Florida andJ.C. Sawyer of Toledo. The shooters for the National Conference will be Ryan Kinasewich of Utah, Shawn Weller of Bakersfield and Greg Hogeboom of Ontario while the passers will be Chris D'Alvise of Stockton and David Walker of Ontario. The individual record for most targets hit is 4 of 4 by Wes Goldie of Victoria in 2008 while the team record is 11 of 19 by the Northern Conference in 2003.

In the Ice Town Breakaway Relay for the National Conference, David Shantz of Victoria will face Nikita Kashirsky of South Carolina, Drew Paris of Gwinnett, Rick Cleaver of Kalamazoo, amateur Elan Dunaev, Matt Schepke of Charlotte, A.J. Thelenof Florida and Maxime Tanguay of Toledo while Richard Bachman of Idaho will faceConnor Shields of Johnstown, Sam Roberts of Gwinnett, Matt Pierce of Cincinnati, amateur Taylor Portesi, Jeff Prough of Trenton, Zach Tarkir of South Carolina andBrandon Buck of Florida and Timo Pielmeier of Bakersfield will face Jacob Micflikier of Florida, Mitch Ganzak of Wheeling, Maxime Gratchev of Elmira, amateur Michael Mitchell, J.C. Sawyer of Toledo, Ben Gordon of Reading and Justin Donati of Elmira. For the American Conference, Todd Ford of South Carolina will face AJ Perry of Utah,Nick Mazzolini of Alaska, Taylor Ellington of Victoria, amateur Daniel Hines, Eric Regan of Bakersfield, John Swanson of Idaho and David Walker of Ontario whileJeremy Smith of Cincinnati will face Adam Miller of Las Vegas, Brendan Milnamow of Idaho, Judd Blackwater of Stockton, amateur Scott Hansen, Vic Bartley of Utah,Evan Barlow of Idaho and Peter Lenes of Ontario and Braden Holtby of South Carolina will face Shawn Weller of Bakersfield, Chris D'Alvise of Stockton, John Lammers of Alaska, amateur Matt Jolliff, Sasha Pokulok of Bakersfield, Ryan Kinasewich of Utah and Greg Hogeboom of Ontario. The record for most goals scored is eight by two teams, most recently by the National Conference in 2006, while the record for most team saves is 16 by the American Conference in 2007 and the record for most individual saves is 6 of 6 by six goaltenders, most recently by Kris Mayotte of Johnstown and John Murray of Ontario in 2009.

There have been 58 players from the All-Star Game who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 33 since 2002 when the lineups began having players who coaches felt were prospects to move up to a higher level.

The third class will be inducted into the the ECHL Hall of Fame on Jan. 20, 2010 during a luncheon ceremony at the Hilton Ontario Airport, the official host hotel of the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you byToyota and the City of Ontario. The featured speaker at the ECHL Hall of Fameluncheon will be Hockey Hall of Fame member and Los Angeles Kings President of Business Operations Luc Robitaille.

The past seven ECHL All-Star Games have generated more than $1 million each for the local economy as guests, players, coaches and fans occupy hundreds of hotel rooms and spend three days in the host city.

The Stanley Cup and the Patrick J. Kelly Cup will both be on display throughout the event, marking the 10th time in the last 11 years that the NHL championship trophy and the ECHL championship trophy have been displayed together at the All-Star Game.

ECHL Skills Competition Results

2009 Skills Competition at Reading, Pa.
National Conference 11, American Conference 5

2008 Skills Competition at Stockton, Calif.
National Conference 19, American Conference 16

2007 Skills Competition at Boise, Idaho
American Conference 20, National Conference 11

2006 Skills Competition at Fresno, Calif.
National Conference 15, American Conference 8

2005 Skills Competition at Reading, Pa.
National Conference 10, American Conference 9

2004 Skills Competition at Peoria, Ill.
Eastern Conference 11, Western Conference 10

2003 Skills Competition at Estero, Fla.
Northern Conference 12, Southern Conference 9

2002 Skills Competition at Trenton, N.J.
Southern Conference 16, Northern Conference 8

2001 Skills Competition at North Little Rock, Ark.
Southern Conference 15, Northern Conference 5

2000 Skills Competition at Greenville, S.C.
Northern Conference 11, Southern Conference 8

1999 Skills Competition at Biloxi, Miss.
Southern Conference 13, Northern Conference 8

1998 Skills Competition at Lafayette, La.
Canada All-Stars 10, USA/World All-Stars 9

2010 AHL All Star Classic Schedule

2010-01-15T20:46:00.001-08:00

The 2010 AHL All Star Classic event schedule is listed below

OFFICIAL EVENTS - MONDAY

2010 TIME WARNER CABLE AHL-ALL STAR CLASSIC WELCOME RECEPTION

Time 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Location Ocean Gateway Terminal

Access VIP Guests by Invitation (Public Sale $20)

The 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic Welcome Reception will take place prior to the 2010 AHL Skills Competition to host owners, governors, and special guests. Tickets to the event will be $20 to the general public. The event will be held at the new Ocean Gateway Terminal located a short distance from the Cumberland County Civic Center directly on the waterfront.

2010 DUCKS UNLIMITED AHL ALL-STAR SKILLS COMPETITION

Time 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Location Cumberland County Civic Center

This annual event of the AHL All-Star Classic will be fully coordinated and presented by the AHL/JRP Group. The event will feature events such as the fastest skater, the hardest shot, accuracy shooting, and many other entertaining and popular events.

2010 DUCKS UNLIMITED SKILLS COMPETITION AFTER PARTY

Time 10:00 pm - Midnight

Location Holiday Inn by the Bay (Ballroom)

Price VIP Guests by Invitation (Public Sale $20)

This Official 2010 AHL All-Star Classic event in the Ballroom at the Holiday Inn by the Bay will be attended by the players, coaches, and will include a performance by Bob Marley, one of Maine’s funny guys whose resume includes Comedy Central and the Late Show lineup, and a special musical act to be announced at a later date

OFFICIAL EVENTS - TUESDAY

COMMUNITY APPEARANCES

Time 10:15 am

Location Barbara Bush Children's Hospital and United Way of Greater Portland “Let’s Go!” Program

All-Star players will be reaching out to the Portland community with visits to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital and to a school in the Portland area to conduct the United Way “Let’s Go!” Program. The “Let’s Go!” Program is a program that promotes healthy lifestyle choices for children, youth, and families in the Greater Portland communities.

2010 AHL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION AND AWARDS CEREMONY, PRESENTED BY PORTLAND PRESS HERALD

Time Noon – 1:15 pm

Location Merrill Auditorium

Access VIP Guests by Invitation (Public Sale $20)

This annual All-Star Classic event will take place in historic Merrill Auditorium, New England’s finest performing arts center and home of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. The venue provides a world class environment to celebrate the achievements of some of hockey’s greats. The event will include the introduction of the players, the AHL’s new class of Hall of Fame inductees and a special hockey great to be announced at a later date. Tickets to the event for the general public are $20.

2010 AHL ALL-STAR GAME

Time 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Location Cumberland County Civic Center

2010 AHL ALL-STAR GAME "OLD PORT" PUB CRAWL

Time 9:00 pm - Closing time

Location Portland’s Downtown Old Port

What’s better than the 2010 AHL All-Star Game? The whole 2010 AHL All-Star Classic experience! With the help of Greater Portland’s Downtown District, the Portland Pirates guarantee to deliver non-stop fun off the ice when you thought everything was over after the game! The “Old Port” will take shape combining one of a kind experiences, fun, food, drinks, and music. Portland’s nightlife offers an extensive selection and is a fantastic way to wrap up this exclusive event!

All Star Community Visits Set

2010-01-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

Portland, Maine - The American Hockey League announced today two community visits that will take place as part of the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic festivities.

On Tuesday, January 19th at 10:15 a.m. select AHL All-Stars and mascots will visit the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center. Players will visit patients, sign autographs and pose for pictures during the event, which has become an anticipated part of every AHL All-Star Classic.

The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center, one of the country’s leading children’s hospitals, is committed to enhancing the lives of children through excellence in patient care, research, and education. With over 46,000 annual patient visits, the hospital is recognized for excellence in cancer treatment, cardiology, neonatal care, and numerous other pediatric specialties. From the state-of-the-art hospital equipment and specialty programs, to the spacious children’s play areas, Maine’s only certified children’s hospital is designed with children in mind.

Later in the day, Hannaford, Let’s Go!, and select AHL All-Stars and mascots will travel to Plummer-Motz Elementary School in Falmouth, Maine to promote healthy, active lifestyles. AHL All-Star players and Let’s Go! are teaming up to reinforce the Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0 messaging, which encourages children to stay active and eat healthy in and outside of school. Hannaford will provide healthy snacks for the visit and students will get the opportunity to meet and interact with 10 of the All-Star players representing both the PlanetUSA AHL All-Stars and the Canadian AHL All-Stars.

The third and fourth grader students at Plummer-Motz Elementary School are currently participating in the Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0 Challenge for Healthy Living. Let’s Go! is a community-based initiative to promote healthy lifestyle choices for children, youth, and families in 12 Greater Portland communities and throughout the State of Maine. The Let’s Go! message, 5-2-1-0, stands for 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 hours or less recreational screen time, 1 hour or more of physical activity, and 0 sugary drinks. The messages are used across multiple sectors with the intention of raising a healthier generation of children using clear and consistent messages regarding physical activity and healthy eating.

Students at Plummer-Motz have been encouraged to keep a daily log of their lifestyle throughout January and will discuss the importance of vegetables, fruit and physical activity as part of their physical education class. AHL All-Star players will remind students to stay focused on the Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0 Challenge for Healthy Living and demonstrate how staying healthy, active and educated can help them reach their goals during the visit.

Tickets for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic – which include admission to both the 2010 Ducks Unlimited AHL All-Star Skills Competition and the AHL All-Star Game as well as an official commemorative All-Star Classic event program – are $49 (rows 1-12 in all sections) and $42 (rows 13-24 in all sections). To purchase tickets call (207) 775-3458, visit the Cumberland County Civic Center Box Office or go on-line at portlandpirates.com

BC Announces Ownership Change

2010-01-15T20:37:00.001-08:00

attle Creek, MI - The Battle Creek Revolution Hockey Club, proud members of the All American Hockey League and proud affiliate of the Muskegon Lumber Jacks, would like to announce a change within the current ownership group. The Revolution Advertising, LLC the current ownership group of the Battle Creek Revolution would like to announce that managing partner Joseph Kolodziej has been bought out of the ownership group. Joseph Kolodziej was part of the ownership group when the current ownership group came into save the Revolution from extinction back in December of 2008 in the inaugural season of hockey in Battle Creek.

Joe was a big part of the organization through out the summer when he was named the General Manager of the hockey team by taking care of the of the daily operations of the club as well helping with the day to day operations of The Rink. He was also very instrumental in helping get many of the marketing partners that currently work with the hockey team at this time. Joe is also currently is the owner of his own business called Hockey Talent Management that represents players in the AAHL, SPHL, IHL, CHL, ECHL, AHL, and NHL.

Joe, who has lived in Northern Michigan has been away from his family from the entire summer and hockey season, had requested to be bought out of the ownership group to focus on his business and spend more time with his family. The Battle Creek Revolution have granted his request effective immediately so he could spend more time with his family and focus on his business. The Revolution team would like to wish Mr. Kolodziej the best of luck in future endeavors.

"Joe K was a very important part of our hockey team and was a very tough decision to buy him out. I consider him a great friend to me and everyone in the organization," stated Rick Williams, a Revolution owner. "We look forward to a start of a new era for our hockey team with some exciting marketing ideas and promotions coming up with the team."

The Revolution would also like to announce that Coach Bobby Clouston will now be running the daily operations of the hockey team. Bobby, a first year head coach, has guided the Revolution to currently in to second place just behind the Chi-Town Shooters. Bobby will be working closely with Business Operations Manager David Darkey to guide the hockey team in to the future. Also Andy Jach and Barry Smith will also lend a hand with the public relations and media for the remainder of the season as well continue to be the voices of the Revolution.

Single-game tickets for any regular season home games are now on sale at The Rink Box Office or by calling the ticket office at 1-269-832-8172. You can also watch all the hard hitting action by going towww.streamnetsports.com and purchasing the live video stream for $4.99 for all Revolution hockey games.

For more information regarding the buyout of Joseph Kolodziej, please contact Andy Jach, director of public relations and broadcaster at (269)-720-9072.