Roaming The Rinks

We see a lot of different and cool things through our travels to arenas each year.  There are the typical between period contests such as tricycle races, the typical fan shot from center ice, the occasional weiner dog race, and we even took part in the world record attempt at setting off the most whoopie cushions at once at an Albany RiverRats game a few years ago.  Sometimes you get to see something that seems completely typical on the surface, such as zamboni rides, but turns out to be uniquely cool once it takes place.

My visit to Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo had zamboni rides, not unlike many arenas we have seen.  What was inspiring, and hit special place in the heart of hockey fans, is the fact that K-Wings fan Mary Ellen Burdick was taking a zamboni ride to celebrate her 80th birthday!  Mary Ellen was likely attending hockey games in the days of Gump Worsley and Rocket Richard, but for one night she got to wave excitedly to fans from atop the ice resurfacer.  Her joy and smile was clear from the top row.   Go Mary Ellen.  Glad to have seen it and best wishes (albeit a bit late).   

Labor Day Weekend is here.  Preseason hockey is already underway in many of Canada's Junior Leagues, and the rest of the hockey world will be back in action within about a month.  For Roaming The Roaming Rinks this weekend also starts the hockey season, at the Elmira Jackals Pro Placement Camp.  This event with 2 days of scrimmages usually kicks off our hockey for the year, and gives that first hockey fix after a long summer.

Sure this camp is essentially a pay-to-play event where players spend a few hundred bucks in hopes to be one of the very few who get invited to training camp for the Jackals, or picked up by a Federal League squad.  The talent level runs the gamut from guys with legit minor league experience, to guys who got overlooked out of junior or college, and even a handful of guys who are barely able to hang with the rest of the guys in their men's league.  Nonetheless these guys hit the ice and play hard and give it their best efforts in chase of a dream.  Throw in a few inevitable scraps and the tryout camp is a great way to start off the season for the hundred or so fans who show up to watch these guys play. 

It is old news by now, but most of you have probably already heard that the powers that be in Devils land have pulled the plug on their ECHL affiliate in Trenton.  At Roaming the Rinks we are fortunate enough to see a wide variety of hockey played in lots of different markets, in various leagues.  There are loads of successful organizations who do things right and keep fans interested.  There are also those teams that once you leave the arena, you figure the team may be on borrowed time due to its limited fan support.  RTR has seen a lot of weak, unentertaining, lackluster organizational performances, but 2 that come to mind are the Lowell Devils, and sure enough, the Trenton Devils.

That's not to say the players were not hustling and giving it their all, but after my visit to both arenas in 2009 I came away with 2 distinct similarities:  A severe lack of attendance and fan interest, and an overwhelming feeling that the red, black and white Devils logo was being shoved down the fans' throat. Its as if the Devils came into an area and simply hung their name over the door where the once loyal fans of the prior teams would enter and said "you now have a team owned by an NHL club and you will like it"  and no further effort was done to attract, or even keep, people in the seats.   Although the Lowell Lock Monsters were never near the top of the AHL attendance board, they did develop a bit of a following.  The trouble was that one of the few things more boring than the trap is the way the Devils handled their minor league affiliates which they themselves owned.

Trenton, although having an arena located in an area where most folks don't want to hang around just for the fun of it, supported the ECHL's Titans with a loyal fanbase and had good attendance and successful teams.  Enter the Devils organization and you have a recipe for a mass fan exodus away from Sovereign Bank arena (or whatever you want to call it these days).  Some blame it on having Devils red in an area only 45 minutes from the Flyers home.  It seems to me it was apathy of the Devils organization which drove away the fans by putting a weak product on the ice, and didn't give the fans a reason to spend their hard earned bucks on the team anymore.  The photos above show empty barns in both cities, and frankly that is a shame.  This post is not meant to attack the fans of these 2 cities, but when I was looking back through our photo archive it became painfully obvious that the empty seats made these moves unavoidable, and both Lowell and Trenton were operated in nearly identical fashion despite having excellent buildings for hockey.   Hopefully Trenton gets another team, and it is a shame for the fans of Lowell and Trenton that they now no longer have a team to root for.  With the Albany Devils last in the AHL standings and attendance column last season could this be another doomed Devils project?  We'll find out, but unfortunately the well has been poisoned by the Devils twice already.   

This offseason seems to have a lot of twists and turns, even moreso than normal.  There is turmoil in the Central Hockey League. There are rumors of new Federal League teams popping up in unlikely places.  Sadly though it has been confirmed that one of my favorite teams is officially done.  The Lewsiton MAINEiacs of the QMJHL have been acquired by the league and have been dissolved.  Just like that there are no more MAINEiacs and the Q has gone back to an all Canadian league.  I am glad I got the chance to take in a couple of games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee and experience the magic that was MAINEiacs hockey.  The MAINEiacs had one of the most unique experiences in all of hockey for the fans, and here is why I will miss them:  They were able to bring the experience of attending hockey in Quebec to the states.  From the arena being named the Colisee, to the PA announcer's perfect pronunciation of the French players' names, to the techno music played in warmups, attending a game in Lewiston could easily be mistaken for attending a game in Shawinigan, except you could buy a $3 soda and be given paper money back instead of a $2 coin.  The team also had possibly the coolest theme and logo in all of hockey, incorporating the "L" of Lewiston and the "M" of MAINEiacs into a bad ass looking logo.   The Colisee also had it charm, although it had very few creature comforts, no luxury suites, and a small capacity.  It is closer to an arena out of the moive Slapshot than a modern cookie-cutter arena.  The fans in Lewiston were loud and passionate, and were rewarded with a QMJHL Championship in 2007.

I took the above photo after the MAINEiacs got swept out of the playoffs in the first round by Drummondville in 2009, only a couple days after it was announced that they would stay in Lewiston despite rumors of a move the suburban Montreal.  The players saluted their fans at center ice, and everyone stuck around to show their appreciation for the team despite getting blown out.   It appears that the attendance never recovered after that as moves to St John's, Summerside PEI and others were constant and made the fans of Lewiston feel they were on borrowed time.  Still a MAINEiacs game would be a fun place to go and watch amazing talent skate with passion.  Oddly the franchise was moved to Lewiston in 2003 from Sherbrooke, and per the Q website a new team will be awarded in Sherbrooke in 2012.  So although the team has officially been dissolved and records of the franchise will stop the team is essentially going full circle and ending up back in Sherbrooke.  Either way U.S. and New England fans are missing out by no longer having a QMJHL team stateside.  Thankfully I captured a piece of the MAINEiacs experience on Roaming the Rinks http://www.roamingtherinks.com/androscogginbankcolise.htm  and I will gladly sport my MAINEiacs jersey for years to come.  So this time I salute the MAINEiacs and their fans. 

I am a very lucky hockey fan to live in the Elmira area.  It is home to the Elmira Jackals, known for a few years as one of the tougher teams in minor league hockey.  The team in fact led the ECHL in fights last season.  This year when it was announced that enforcer Brett Gallant was returning I figured we were in for another fun year.  Sadly the "new NHL" mentality has invaded Elmira with the arrival of our new coach Malcolm Cameron.  The net result has seen our tough guy sitting in the stands more often than not, stricken with the label of a healthy scratch.  Gallant played just 13 games before the New Year when a blockbuster announcement was made and "Nasty" Jon Mirasty was being reassigned from Syracuse to the Jackals.  I won't get into the politics of the transaction as this move had Syracuse fans fuming.  Having Mirasty on our roster now immediately resulted in Cameron releasing Gallant.  So rather than have what could have been the modern day equivalent of the Bruise Brothers, in Probert/Kocur style, we were left with just Mirasty.

Sure enough Mirasty's place on the bench became a place in the stands and the Jackals continued to play with little toughness.  How in the world do you sit 2 entertaining, hard nosed guys in the stands in favor of a marginal fourth liner who might get a point every 4 or 5 games?  You got me on that one, but nonetheless both Mirasty and Gallant would have their revenge after being relegated to the stands.  Mirasty only ended up with 8 games on the Jackals and not a single fight as it appears coach's orders to keep the gloves on were in full effect.  Ultimately Mirasty has been reassigned to a more appreciative Fort Wayne Komets of the CHL.  How does one team pass on 2 players who not only can protect their teammates but also can sell tickets with their dynamic fights?  It doesn't really matter now as both players have had their revenge.    

                                           

Mirasty was able to throw down with Garrett Klotz in his first appearance in Fort Wayne and is now in a better place.   He can now fight in front of 8,000 or more happy fans every night and not have to linger in the purple plastic seats of First Arena in Elmira.

                                           

As for Gallant, he is still a kid at 22, and has a good career ahead of him.  He ended up getting picked up by the Jackals' arch rival the Reading Royals after getting waived, and has picked up 5 fights and 3 points in a dozen games for the Royals.  Better yet he got a well deserved call up to Bridgeport of the AHL where he has been up for 5 games and has shown he is willing to take on the heavies of the AHL.  This toe-to-toe war with former Q rival Joel Rechlicz may end up as fight of the year. 

So next time you see a tough guy sitting in the stands at your local arena let them know there is hope for revenge, and a great comeback.  For you fans that still have the opportunity to see rough and tough hockey in your town- don't miss out, buy a ticket and get ready to cheer, you never know how quickly your town can be turned into a Euro-hockey ghost town.  For now I will still go to the games as I already paid for the season tickets, but I will have to check YouTube in the morning to get my hockey fight fill.   I am hoping that just as quickly that the Jackals toughness has deteriorated that it can be restored next year with the same vigor.  I have come to appreciate how lucky I was the last couple years to see guys willing to lay it on the line every night for their team.  Don't worry about Gallant or Mirasty though, what they do is too valuable to be in the stands for long.        

You know what the best thing about college hockey is?  The atmosphere at so many of the arenas the teams call home.  Rowdy student sections, organized heckles, and diehard fans who support their teams to the end make a night at a NCAA game about more than just the action on the ice.  One such place that must be hard for opponents to play in is the Frank Ritter Memorial Arena on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology.  Sure there are plenty of schools with organized cheering sections and healthy crowds, but RIT's Corner Crew takes things up a notch.  From cheers as warmups are about to start, to the mastery of the word "Suck" the orange and black clad corner crew dishes out plenty of support to their Tiger hockey team, and plenty of punishment to opposing players.  They do all this at a high volume in a small barn that crams about 2100 hockey fans into its confines each game.  I don't usually take video when going to games, but the Corner Crew is part of the excitement at an RIT contest, so I had to switch the camera to a different mode to capture the fun.

                                          

You don't find an atmosphere like this at your average minor league game.  Only a college hockey crowd can provide such fun times, win or lose.  There was no pep band on hand for the New Year's Day game against Merrimack, but the Corner Crew was still out in full force, acting as a sixth skater for the Tigers, and cheering the team to the end despite a tough loss.   Their rousing renditions of both the Canadian and U.S. National Anthems as sung by the Crew, as well as their timely chants all just seem to make Ritter Arena the place to be.  Catch a game there, or else as the Corner Crew would say "You Suck." 

Eleven games.  Eleven home games that is.  That's how long the Broome County Barons of the Federal Hockey League lasted before they pulled the plug and folded.  Of course the official word came just after I posted my review of the Chenango Ice Rink, the small barn that the Barons called home.  I am bummed that the team did not make it, especially since they are only an hour and a half from home.  I was even planning to take in their Christmas Eve afternoon game (that's today), but will not be able to catch the Barons anymore.  I hope the Federal League can survive, but one has to hope the owners have deep pockets trying to play in a startup league in small arenas which don't hold more that 1500.  I am very glad I was able to catch a game there as the hockey was intense, the arena rather unique, and the price very affordable.

The photo above shows the Barons celebrating their first win. I am glad I was there to see it.  The arena seemed fairly full on opening night when I was there, but the word is that most of the tickets for each game were comp tickets.  It is a real shame as a few games into the season the Barons also picked up a legit tough guy in Brad Pawlowski, so fans were sure to have a show if the other teams were up to the task.  Oh well you can't really change the nature of the business.  Afterall this is minor league hockey.  Teams come and go.  That's just the way it goes.  I am just hoping to make it to as many arenas as I can in order to document a little piece of history at each stop along the way.  Oh, and also have a lot of fun while trying to see them all.    

Today is a sad day for hockey fans.  The beloved Spectrum in Philly is being demolished.  Yes, the home of the Broad Street Bullies will be no more soon.  I am fortunate to have attended a game here in November of 2008, during the final season of the Philadelphia Phantoms.  Luckily, although the building will soon be gone, I was able to capture a piece of it for Roaming The Rinks.  No, I am not a huge NHL fan, choosing rather to seek out the less travelled path of arenas, but we need to still recognize the greatness of the Spectrum as a legendary, timeless arena.  I am glad that it also became a part of minor league hockey history during the Phantoms years.

                                                

I did find a lot of irony in the rather undramatic swinging of the wrecking ball attempting its first blows to bring down the mighty Spectrum.  Trying to knock down this famous building with a crane and relatively puny wrecking ball just doesn't seem right on one hand, but on the other hand it seems like the spirit of the building was fighting back during the first couple blows.  Just like Dave "The Hammer" Schultz it will take more than one punch to knock this building out.  Sadly as the news report says this will be a four month process and the bulldozers will take over where the Bullies once ruled the hockey world. 

OK.  Roaming The Rinks has been up and running since late 2007.  We've had a lot of cool stuff like T-shirts, a new logo that came out about a year ago, and now a theme song.  No its not an original song or one that we had written for us, but it does describe what it is all about for us, and other hockey fans like us- hitting the road in search of hockey,

                                            

Yes I love the band The Zambonis, and this song will get cranked while we hit the road and put on the miles in search of that next rink on the journey.  For us hard core hockey fans the feeling of missing our favorite team while they are on the road definitely ring true as well.  So for now at least this will be the unofficial official song of Roaming The Rinks.   

Thursday I witnessed a piece of history.  My wife and I attended the first ever game for the Broome County Barons.  This was also the first ever contest in the newly formed Federal Hockey League.  I don't think I have ever attended the first game of any franchise before, let alone the first game in a league's history.  This was a fun night of old school hockey in a very small barn.  I liken it to hockey played in my living room.  The quarters are so tight you can count the teeth in the players mouths even from the last row.  A league named the Federal League has tough shoes to fill, harkening back to the movie Slapshot, but I am hoping the outcome will be good. 

The trouble is that there have been a seemingly constant stream of Single A leagues trying to take hold in the Northeast over the last 5 years, including the Mid Atlantic Hockey League, and the Eastern Pro Hockey League.  All have failed, but with the right marketing model and right style of play I am hoping this league can survive long into the future.  Although the league has only been in business for 2 days now the prospects are good, with a packed house in Danbury last night to see a game filled with 5 fights, and a good crowd of 1500 in Alexandria Bay for the opener for Thousand Islands.  Binghamton will be a tough sell as there is an AHL team already in town, and Binghamton isn't all that big.  Ten dollar tickets and cheap concessions bode well for the Barons however, and hopefully the league as a whole.  Can an arena which holds only 1200 sustain a minor league team?  That is the question and the answer will be determined in the coming weeks.  A good crowd for a thursday opener is a good start, now here's hoping Rome and Thousand Islands and the Barons sign a few tough guys to compete with Brooklyn and Danbury in that department.  Either way I experienced something neat in the opening game in league history.  How that is looked back on in 5 years will be interesting to find out.   Will it be an anecdotal piece of history buried on a Wikipedia page, or will it be remembered as the start of something great?  It will be a fun ride I am sure.