Official NEHL news thread

[BCRantzilla]

Here's the latest from the NEHL website:

PRO HOCKEY TEAM PICKS FINDLAY

By JOHN GRABER

STAFF WRITER (for The Courier in Findlay, Ohio.)

9/22/06 - Professional hockey may be coming to Findlay after all.

Mayor Tony Iriti announced Thursday, during the grand re-opening of the CUBE (formerly known as the Hancock Recreational Center) that Findlay will be home to the "Findlay Freedom," a "A" level professional team associated with the North Eastern Hockey League.

Team owners Mike DeLong and Matt Crawford of Fort Wayne felt the name would be appropriate because Findlay is known as Flag City.

"The flag is the symbol of the freedom we've been given," DeLong said.

They have signed a one-year contract with the city for $6,000 worth of ice time, with an additional $4,000 refundable security deposit. The money has been paid.

However, Findlay has heard promises of a junior "A" hockey team before.

In 2004, Paul Contreras entered into negotiations with the city to book ice time for a "Findlay Wolfpack" team. He wound up walking away before the first puck ever hit the ice because the league he was involved with, the Continental Elite Hockey League, went bankrupt.

That left the city scrambling at the last minute to find users who would rent time on the ice.

A professional basketball team was promised at about the same time, but didn't happen, either.

Dean Schoenwald announced he was going to locate an Ohio Professional Basketball League team in Findlay. The basketball league charged $50 per person to participate in tryouts across the state, but the league never got off the ground or put on a single game.

DeLong, who also will be the Findlay Freedom's general manager, and Crawford, director of hockey operations, said they are aware of the situation with the Wolfpack and are very sensitive to the bad taste it left in people's mouths.

"Let's put it this way, we're signing a contract with the city and we're putting the money down up front," Crawford said Thursday.

"We went that way to ensure that they are successful and that our community embraces pro hockey," Findlay Recreation Department Superintendent Lu Draper said Thursday. "We're hoping to have a long lasting relationship, but unlike last time when a hockey team tried to come here and defaulted, we are trying to take it easy and make sure it is a good situation for the CUBE and the hockey team."

The professional team will play a 20-game schedule (though it's not clear how many would be home games) during a season running from early November through mid-April. The following season would have more games.

The team will hold tryouts at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at the CUBE, 3430 N. Main St.

DeLong and Crawford hope to have a Web site (www.findlayfreedom.com) and phone number (877-270-7825) up and running soon.

The North Eastern Hockey League began play in 2003 and currently has four teams. It is adding teams this year in Danville, Ill.; Danbury, Conn.; and Findlay.

Contact staff writer John Graber at: (419) 427-8417 johngraber@thecourier.com

This is easily the most interesting development the NEHL has seen thus far. If I could give the staff writer, John any advice it would be to not get into past leagues' going out of business and the arena's problems holding down a tennant. It isn't something that needs to be discussed, focus on the positives.

The statement that the arena is paid for lock stock and barrel is encouraging but as the local media in Utica showed us, the press releases have been jumping the gun in regards to what a done deal is. (The rink operator at the Aud has stated that there is no deal in place in Utica dispite the NEHL stating that they had a signed lease there.)

Hard to say if this is going to work out but I still don't believe that a floating league is going to cut it. If there are set teams in set cities, there is some hope but nothing else will work.

[BCRantzilla]

Danbury lands pro hockey team
New England Stars to play at Ice Arena
By Doris Yon
THE NEWS-TIMES DANBURY --

9/27/06 - Apparently there won't be much of a hiatus in professional hockey for Danbury.
The New England Stars were accepted into the North Eastern Hockey League on Tuesday and the franchise will begin playing in the 2006-07 season.

"It's expected to fill the hockey void for the people in the city of Danbury," said Stephan Seeger, the Stars' general manager.

Much of that void was created after the Danbury Trashers suspended operations in June after just two seasons in the United Hockey League.

Local interest in professional hockey was evident Tuesday as 1,127 fans watched the American Hockey League's Bridgeport Sound Tigers beat the Hartford Wolf Pack 4-3 in overtime in an exhibition game at the Danbury Ice Arena. Even a "Let's Go Trashers!" chant broke out midway through the third period.

Seeger, who declined to name the Stars' owners, said the management group is based out of the Stamford, Greenwich and New Canaan area.

Seeger said the group was looking to bring another professional hockey team to Connecticut and Danbury became the logical town after the Trashers ceased operations.

James Galante, who is facing federal racketeering charges, owned the Trashers, but the franchise cited difficulties in maintaining a team since the nearby Adirondack team in New York also folded.

The Stars are scheduled to play a shortened 10-game home schedule at the Danbury Ice Arena for the 2006-07 season, which runs November through April. After the league re-evaluates the franchise at the end of the season, a full schedule of home games likely will be played for the 2007-08 season.

"It's nice to see us going in a direction pursuing high level of hockey to be in the building," said Mike Bonelli, the arena's hockey director. "With all the renovations and all the work that Jim did to upgrade the building, it would be a shame not to showcase some higher-level talent here."

Even though Western Connecticut State University and some junior-level teams will play games at the Danbury Ice Arena, fans are happy to hear professional hockey is returning to the area.

"We need something like this in this area," Danbury resident Glenn Lake said of the Stars. "A lot of people like myself are great fans.

"There's basically a sold-out arena every time the Trashers played."

The Trashers, who advanced to the Colonial Cup finals in May, averaged about 2,500 fans in the 3,000-seat capacity Danbury Ice Arena last season.

Some fans, however, are a little doubtful about the longevity of the newly formed four-team NEHL.

"A lot of the fans that I've talked to are very skeptical about this new league," said Danbury resident Peter Valenzon, who regularly attended Trashers games the past two seasons. "It seems a little unstable, but I'll come to check it out when they come here."

The Stars may not be the only means for area fans to watch professional hockey.

The Sound Tigers are considering playing an exhibition game at the Danbury Ice Arena on an annual basis. Bridgeport played an exhibition game at the Ice Arena three years ago, but the addition of the Trashers created schedule conflicts and prevented the Sound Tigers from playing preseason games at the venue.

"Now that we can, we're embracing the opportunity to work with the organization, with the Sound Tigers, and make this an annual event for the people that live close to the facility," said Bob Garcia, an assistant general manager at the Ice Arena.

No contract has been signed, but both parties seem optimistic about the Sound Tigers continuing their relationship with the Ice Arena and with the Danbury area.

"We want to increase our radius," Sound Tigers president Howard Saffan said. "The Trashers, to their credit, showed that Danbury is a strong hockey town and we want to take advantage of that."

And fans showed Tuesday they are eager for professional hockey to return on a regular basis.

"It was kind of an empty feeling of not having (the Trashers) coming back," Valenzon said.

Interesting stuff here. I think that it is looking like Cashman has finally wolken up and realized that a "floating league" has massive failure written all over it. I also noticed that there is a newly added Teams section to the website. I get VERY skeptical when I see recycled names and logos. I know Jim likes the name Ice Cats but at some point he has to realize what a PR boondoggle this is to keep the name and logo. Not to mention the return of the Pittsburgh Pounders name and logo with a different color. I REALLY hope that if this thing does fly that the name Stampede or Comets do not see the light of day.

Going into cities that lost a team is always a good idea to try but it can be a double edged sword because you are talking about places that were burned before. Cashman has a very poor track record so he has to understand that he has to REALLY stand out in the market if he is going to draw. Plus, he must prove to the public that these teams are there for the long haul. If he doesn't, well, we know the result the last few times don't we?

[BCRantzilla]

Another thing to keep in mind, yet another rink and team announced WITHOUT A CONTRACT SIGNED. While these press releases and articles sound very positive, no contract at THIS point can only mean that the NEHL doesn't have the money or has been scrambling to find a place to take them.

If there are no contracts by mid October I predict that the NEHL will be dead before December because most of the leagues will have finished their cuts and be playing by that point and any hope of patching teams together on no notice will be dead.

[nksports]

Findley couldn't support NCAA D-I hockey. Pro hockey?

[BCRantzilla]

I don't know much about Findlay so it is hard for me to judge. The only thing I can think of with the NCAA thing is people wanting something more than college but I am willing to bet dollars to donuts that even the worst NCAA D-1 programs could beat A-Puck teams.

A team will have to stand out and Cashman is yet to prove he can make his product stand out in the marketplaces over the years. Stay tuned.

[BCRantzilla]

With the stream of info stalling momentarily I thought I would post some thoughts on the NEHL thus far:

There are now 4 teams all seemingly run by 4 different groups. However, only 2 arenas are confirmed as done deals as far as I know. We do know that the Aud is NOT a done deal for Cashman's Mohawk Valley Ice Cats club dispite what the website says.

With 4 teams with different contact info up for each team that is a good thing. However, the problem now is that it is October and there is STILL no schedule. It is likely that the NEHL scrambled to secure the 4 cities they have this season but if this league is to begin play in November how is it possible to sell season tickets?

I also have to question the concept of some teams having longer schedules than others. It just doesn't look good to outsiders or to potential fans.

Of the 4 cities involved, the only two winners I see in terms of solid hockey markets that could support A-Puck are Utica and Danbury. However, I question weather or not Cashman has the means to make Utica work regardless of how strong the hockey community there is. If he failed in his home town, how will he do in Utica a second time around? (Mohawk Valley/Utica was in the original NEHL of 2003-04.)

The positives thus far:

-Four groups running the teams and not everyone but one team run by Cashman again.

-EVERYONE is accessable this time via email or phone.

-This league has some sponsorship deals. Even if they are a drop in the bucket, they are light years ahead of what this league had a year ago as the CPHL.

Now for the negatives:

-The league has little credibility at best due to Jim Cashman's less than stellar track record with 4 leagues going bust and only one even having a post season.

-Cashman's lack of cash, no pun intended and no arena deal in Utica cripples the Ice Cats' chances of lasting a month even in the other rink listed on the site.

-The website is still devoid of ANY stats.

-No schedule in October with the season slated to start in about 6-7 weeks.

-Lack of regular website updates or league press releases.

The odds are clearly stacked against the NEHL 2.0 but they are far better off this year than in seasons' past.

[BCRantzilla]

POUNDERS HOPE TO ADD TRADITION

BY MARVIN HOLMAN

10/07/06 - DANVILLE — Hockey is coming back to Danville and everything associated with it will be fast.

The Danville Pounders will start play on Nov. 4 and general manager Cameron Estes said the team will bring back the memories of some former Danville teams.

“What we are going to revive in Danville is the days of the Saints and the Dashers. Everyone remembers those days,” Estes said. “There were tons of people in the stands, enjoyable hockey, and good physical style of play. That is what we are bringing back to Danville are I think they will enjoy it.”

The Pounders will be a test market team for the North Eastern Hockey League and will have a 10-game home schedule this season with the possibility of more next year.

“After the season ends, we will evaluate how things went this year and hopefully move forward with next season,” NEHL president Jim Cashman said. “We are not looking at this as a one-time thing; we hope to be here for a long time. … It would be a waste of time for us to be here for one season.

David S. Palmer Arena general manager Peter Blackmon said that it was the end to a tough search.

“We have been hit up by numerous hockey franchises and they wanted us to say yes. It was probably a half-dozen teams since the Wings left,” Blackmon said. “We have been accused of turning them away. In reality, we have not trusted anyone until now, when we felt this was a league worth getting involved in.

“Once again we are at little risk in this financially. For us, these guys were the best scenario and it was a higher level of hockey in terms of age and caliber than we did in the past.”

For the nickname, Estes said that it was a dedications for the people of Danville.

“There is a blue-collar background in the Danville community — a lot of construction, factory and railroad workers. They pound the clock on a daily basis to bring home a paycheck,” Estes said. “Also, I think it fits real well and I think the people will like it as much as Jim does and as much as me. … This is a test market team, but this is Danville’s team.”

A local owner has not been named, but Cashman will own the team for the time being and will be the main force in trying to get some players for the team.

“We have two franchises that are owned by individuals and two that are league-owned, so I am doing most of the scouting for those teams. I’m heading up to Toledo this weekend. Twenty players will be released from that camp, so there is a good chance we could have a full team in Danville within the next two weeks,

Single game tickets for the season will be $8 for adults and $6 for children. Season tickets are $69 for adults and $49.

“The nice part about the NEHL is that it is affordable for not only the fans, but for potential owners. They are a lot of variables that go into it,” Estes said. “We could get by on minimal attendance, which is around 500, but that is not our goal. Once people see the product, we hope we get to appoint that people are turned away because we ran out of tickets.

“Caliber of play will be a higher level than the Wings. We are going to have a very skilled team, but we are also going to be a physical team and be more aggressive.”

“I took a AA team’s budget and I chopped it up for cities like Danville,” Cashman said. “You don’t need 3-4,000 fans a game, and fans don’t have to worry if their teams will leave after the season.”

Cashman is getting the league back to full strength after a short hiatus in the 2004-2005 season and hopes to expand for the years ahead.

“I had a guy that offered to help with expansion fees and to make a long story short, he went to prison,” Cashman said. “I had to regroup and thought of everything that had to be tweaked and came back at it for this year. I told Peter this is how it is and what we are going to do. I don’t believe in using smokescreens or facades.

“One of the cities around here that are interested is Evansville, Ind. I also had people from Louisville and Lexington. Indianapolis would be a great place to get into but they have the junior league team there.”

The NEHL is in deals to be a feeder system for higher level teams from the East Coast Hockey League. The league has deals with the Dayton Bombers (Columbus Blue Jackets affiliate), Toledo (Chicago Blackhawks, and Red Wings) Reading Royals (Los Angeles Kings) Johnstown Chiefs(Tampa Bay Lightning). Players in the NEHL will be paid $50-100 depending on experience and skill.

Estes, who lives in Danville, is also the GM and coach of the Eastern Illinois Hockey team and has been involved in youth hockey for a few years as well.

“It feels great and this is a step up the ladder. This is what I want to do. Hopefully we can be positive and make this thing work,” Estes said. “Hockey is a great sport, unfortunately not many people know about the sport. This gives them a new opportunity to learn and enjoy a nice physical game.”

At the end of the season in March, the four teams will be seeded for the playoffs in April.

With a month to go before the season begins, the top players in bringing hockey back to Danville are optimistic that this will be the beginning of a long run.

“It’s going to be an exciting season and it will bring back the old time hockey and we want to bring that back to the city,” Estes said. “We want to do this right from the beginning. We want to be serious about this.”

“We have been looking at Danville since the Wings left and we have been looking at it as a possible this season,” Cashman said. “We are going to test the market to see how it is received and to show the fans that we have a good product and hopefully it is something we can keep for some more years.”

Tickets will be on sale starting Saturday at the Palmer Arena box office. For information, call the box office at 431-2424 or contact Estes at 431-8349.

I'll address the four items I put in boldface before I get into my latest rant:

1 & 2. Remember when I stated that I did NOT want to see more recycled names. Pounders was a dumb name to begin with and it is a bad omen that the name is back now. What's worse is the claim that they gave the team the name Pounders as a tribute to the community. This is an outright lie as the Pounders played in Pittsburgh in the CPHL last season.

3. Cashman will own this team as well as the club in Utica. I clearly spoke too soon when I stated that there would be 4 teams owned by 4 people. This is not going to happen now and it is a very bad thing. Jim has never shown that he has the money to operate one team let alone two and I am not convinced anything has changed now.

4. WTF??? Last time I checked Joe, (former Rantzilla Lahey of the Month,) Kolodziej went down in 2004 and the fiasco between Cashman and Joe K, was during the 2003-04 offseason. Basically this implies that the 2005-06 season never happened. This is a nasty habit of the NEHL lately.

While I don't doubt the praise showered on the community of Danville is warented, I do doubt weather Cashman has the means to make this happen. He has a LOT to prove after last year and he has to know that there is a lot of pressure on him to succeed or at least prove one of his leagues can finish a season. If not, he is quickly becoming hockey's Joe Newman. Be careful Jim and listen to the people around you and you should be all right. Jump off a cliff and you can guess what will happen then.

[BCRantzilla]

A couple of interesting articles about the NEHL in Danbury have come out recently. One was a blog article, (take it for what it's worth,) and a followup article in the local papers. Here's the blog article:

Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Shady Hockey Returns To Danbury


Danbury Ice Arena

The Danbury Ice Arena, the former home of the UHL's Danbury Trashers (and if you don't know what happened to them, you can click here and start reading), may be back in the pro hockey business this season-- albeit with a team in the semi-pro North Eastern Hockey League, a shady league with a dubious track record.

From today's Danbury News-Times:

Apparently there won't be much of a hiatus in professional hockey for Danbury.

The New England Stars were accepted into the North Eastern Hockey League on Tuesday and the franchise will begin playing in the 2006-07 season.

"It's expected to fill the hockey void for the people in the city of Danbury," said Stephan Seeger, the Stars' general manager.

Much of that void was created after the Danbury Trashers suspended operations in June after just two seasons in the United Hockey League.

Seeger, who declined to name the Stars' owners, said the management group is based out of the Stamford, Greenwich and New Canaan area.

Seeger said the group was looking to bring another professional hockey team to Connecticut and Danbury became the logical town after the Trashers ceased operations.

The Stars are scheduled to play a shortened 10-game home schedule at the Danbury Ice Arena for the 2006-07 season, which runs November through April. After the league re-evaluates the franchise at the end of the season, a full schedule of home games likely will be played for the 2007-08 season.

Some fans, however, are a little doubtful about the longevity of the newly formed four-team NEHL.

"A lot of the fans that I've talked to are very skeptical about this new league," said Danbury resident Peter Valenzon, who regularly attended Trashers games the past two seasons. "It seems a little unstable, but I'll come to check it out when they come here."

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the North Eastern Hockey League (which I suppose is just about everybody), the league was founded by would-be hockey player and entrepreneur Jim Cashman. Cashman, who has played in a handful of games-- literally seven or eight-- in various low-level minor pro leagues like the WPHL and CHL back in the 90's, not only runs the NEHL but is also the coach and team captain of one of its teams.

The NEHL has already sputtered through one financially troubled season, in '03-'04, then remained dormant in '04-'05 before attempting to regroup for the '05-'06 season as the Continental Professional Hockey League, to no avail (the season was cancelled after 6 games).

Although the league promotes itself as "A-level minor league hockey", it's really a semi-pro, "weekend only" league, featuring 16-man rosters stocked with marginal players. I followed the league for a little bit during their first season, mostly because the league had a team from Connecticut (in name only, it turned out), and the game scores were typically of the 13-9, 11-10, double-digit variety.

Here's how the NEHL describes itself on its own web site:

The North Eastern Hockey League is a high scoring, fast paced league using NHL rules with a few variations. In the first season, games averaged 15 goals per game between both teams. The NEHL is based on affordability for both the owner and the fans.

Players in the NEHL make between $30 and $100 per game depending on the team/market/owner. A great benefit to the NEHL for players is that they can work on their day-to-day jobs and still spend quality time with their family. With games on weekends only, players have plenty of time with family and their non-hockey jobs.

The "League Mission", as stated on their web site, is to provide "high quality entertainment that is very family affordable for the fans of each city. With ticket prices between $8 and $12 we feel this is very inexpensive and affordable to any family." With college and high school hockey available around the state, providing more-interesting hockey for much less, or even free, what's the point?

Here's how one commenter on the Danbury News-Times web site described the league (completely unverified, of course, but still funny):

This league is a joke, and the owner of the league is a crook. He has had 2 other leagues that folded, and owes money to former players. Let me ask you this: whatever happened to the Connecticut Cougars of this league? You might also ask him what happened to his Gulf Coast Hockey League.

One obvious question that comes to mind after reading the News-Times article is, why would the New England Stars GM decline to name who the team's owners are?

"We're here to provide fun, safe, affordable entertainment for the families in Danbury, and we hope that they'll come out with their kids to the games and support us."

"Who do you work for?"

"Um, I'd rather not say."

Good luck, Danbury.

He's got a point about the nameless owner thing. It isn't a full fledged news source but it gives us a bird's eye view of what people are thinking in Danbury. Here's the followup article in the local papers after the big announcement. The Danbury News Times on 9/28/06:

There are questions whether the NEHL will play in the 2007-08 season, given its history.

The NEHL, which has its headquarters in Fort Erie, Ontario, held its first season in 2003-04 but was unable to continue the next season because of financial issues. The league attempted to restart for the 2005-06 season as the Continental Professional Hockey League, but the schedule was canceled just six games into the season.

"There's things that happened," Cashman said. "A guy that got involved, he wasn't so honest, and he messed things up. We played one season and now we're kind of reforming."

"This is going to be a one-year deal," said Jim Cashman (about the Danbury/New England Stars). "After this year, if things go half as well as we expect them to, we'll be looking long-term. If they get 1,000 fans, then they will have a team there.

"This year is more of a get out there and let the people see what we have, let them know that it's really good hockey," Cashman said. "It's not quite the Trashers, but they won't notice a difference."

(Stars' GM) Seeger declined to reveal any potential players for the Stars but he said hopeful the team will be competitive immediately.

"The players, some will be recognized from playing in the area, including the Trashers," Seeger said. "They come from mostly local groups and a couple of them coached in the youth hockey organizations and have played before. One is anticipated to come from as far away as Canada."

I can understand Seeger not discussing potential players since at the A-Puck level you have to wait for all of the higher leagues to shake down with their cuts before signing guys. Nobody is going to sign with a lower league for less money until they are sure they are not starting the season on a AAA or AA level club.

Cashman's constant "it was everyone's fault but mine" banter got old 3 years ago. Eventually the buck stops somewhere and Jim is the boss and at some point he needs to say "hey, I screwed up last year". We went through this in 2003-04, the 2004 summer of Kolodziej, (to be fair it WAS Joe's fault that year,) 2005-06 as well.

At the same time, everyone has the right to be skeptical about this thing. What has to happen is for the NEHL to show they are serious and in it for the long haul. Unfortunately Cashman's tone in this most recent article implies that there is no next year forthcoming. Not a good way to inspire people to get behind you. I hope things go well but Jim needs to promote this league, show he can afford to keep it afloat and sustain early losses to show that this league will last more than a couple of weeks like last time.

Stay tuned boppers...

[nksports]

I don't know much about Findlay so it is hard for me to judge. The only thing I can think of with the NCAA thing is people wanting something more than college but I am willing to bet dollars to donuts that even the worst NCAA D-1 programs could beat A-Puck teams.

A team will have to stand out and Cashman is yet to prove he can make his product stand out in the marketplaces over the years. Stay tuned.

University of Findlay is a small, chruch-related school that plays NCAA D-II athletics. They built their own arena (it didn't seat more than around 1,000 to 1,500). NCAA D-II hockey teams are automatically moved up to D-I status (The NCAA only offers D-I and D-III in hockey).
I'm sure the thinking was looking at the success of programs at Bowling Green, just up the road; Ohio State and Miami of Ohio, which all draw very well.
A new president came in and shut the program down after the 2004 season.
Most fans in smaller college towns (especially east and north, but Alabama-Huntsville also fits this pattern) will support the college team over the pro team. Kalamazoo has supported both college and pro pretty well in the past (haven't kept up there lately). It would be suicide to try and put pro hockey against schools like Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State, Minnesota State, North Dakota State, Colorado College or Farris State.

[BCRantzilla]

University of Findlay is a small, chruch-related school that plays NCAA D-II athletics. They built their own arena (it didn't seat more than around 1,000 to 1,500). NCAA D-II hockey teams are automatically moved up to D-I status (The NCAA only offers D-I and D-III in hockey).
I'm sure the thinking was looking at the success of programs at Bowling Green, just up the road; Ohio State and Miami of Ohio, which all draw very well.
A new president came in and shut the program down after the 2004 season.
Most fans in smaller college towns (especially east and north, but Alabama-Huntsville also fits this pattern) will support the college team over the pro team. Kalamazoo has supported both college and pro pretty well in the past (haven't kept up there lately). It would be suicide to try and put pro hockey against schools like Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State, Minnesota State, North Dakota State, Colorado College or Farris State.

I think A-Puck could very well have a niche in that area but again, it would have to be marketed well, be around for a number of years to establish itself and have some good local talent. (Allumni from said schools.) To pull a cut and run under the guise of "trial period" is suicide though.

[nksports]

The biggest problem in a lot of those small college markets is going to be getting decent dates. Most of those buildings are owned by the colleges (or cities) and when the college team isn't playing, the college women's team, college club team, local high school teams or junior teams are. Now Troy, about 60-70 miles south of Findlay, has a 4,500-seat barn that's hosted minor league before (IHL in 50s, the old Continental League in the 80s and 90s). They do have a high school team there.
Marion, Ohio, used to have a small arena that you could play hockey at (it was used for GLIFL last season and a lot of post-season high school basketball used to be played there, but it's been a while since I've been in that building).
You kind of have to be creative in your thinking to make it work. The town has to be big enough to support pro sports, but not over saturated. The building has to be big enough so that you don't lose money even when selling it out. Well-financed, local ownership always help. And promote the heck out of it.
If you wanted to be kinky and had $10- to 15-million burning a hole in your pocket to build your own barn, try Muncie or Richmond, Ind., Springfield, Ohio, Hamilton-Middletown, Ohio, Lancaster, Ohio, Xenia, Ohio -- all with city populations of 50,000 or more and county populations all over 100,000, but no arena that I know of.

[BCRantzilla]

I hear you. If one could get some decent dates though, you could carve a bit of a niche. At the same time you are right, MONEY is the most important thing.

[BCRantzilla]

FINDLAY FREEDOM TO HOST FREE AGENT CAMP

10/17/06 - The Findlay Freedom is an expansion team for the 2006-07 North Eastern Hockey League. The NEHL is a Class "A" professional hockey league. Most players will come from college, Jr. A, Canadian Jr. B., and/or already have a professional hockey background. The NEHL does have working agreements with ECHL hockey clubs. The tryouts will be held at the Sky Bank Arena @ The Cube beginning Oct 21 at 4:30 pm and Oct 22 at 10:00 am in Findlay, Ohio. The cost of the tryouts is $50. Interested players can pre-register by contacting the Findlay Freedom office at 877-720-PUCK (7825) and or email their resume to info@findlayfreedom.com.

This is a minor story as open tryouts are pretty common in the minors but the BIG story here is the club's website which is now live at http://www.findlayfreedom.com . This is easily the most professional and high quality website from ANY club in any of Cashman's leagues. In fact it is the first time since the 2003-04 NEHL that any of the teams have an independant website from the league site. The difference is that this is a team NOT owned by Jim Cashman. What's even bigger is that the club has their entire schedule up on the site.

The site is clearly a work in progress as they don't have any players of note signed and they have yet to have their tryouts. However, the really important stuff is up. Contact info, who's in charge, the schedule, the location of the rink, rink info, there is room for stats on this site, etc. I will say that this site is 1000 times better than the NEHL official site.

This doesn't make a league but it is certainly very promicing to see one of the 4 teams ahead of the game with a quality website.

[BCRantzilla]

The news is coming in fast and furious, the latest is that the NEHL website is live now: http://northeasternhockeyleague.com

More or less a carbon copy of the Freedom's site but light years ahead of the old site and on par with the SPHL's official site. There are still a couple of dead links on there but the single most important thing is up and that is the FULL league schedule.

If the league can live up to it's website, they may have a chance. If not well, we all know the result...

[BCRantzilla]

Here's a new article from the New England Stars' official site:

http://www.newenglandstarshockey.com/news/index.html?article_id=10

Radio Show Provides a Glimpse into Stars Team & Ownership*****GM to Release 5 Rostered Player Names on Monday, October 23, 2006. First 10 to Guess this Player will Win Tickets to Opening Night. Respond to talktothestars@newenglandstars.com. Winners will be notified by Email.
10/19/2006 1:43 PM

Kidden Me



Star Staff Writers: Friday October 20, 2006

GREENWICH CONNECTICUT. Stephan Seeger, General Manager of the New England Stars Professional Hockey Team, along with two professional players who will only be identified as Dave L., and Clark J., prior to their signing announcements next week, came together today over the air waves to greet and inform the public about the team’s upcoming trek into Danbury to fill the hockey void created by the recently folded Danbury Trashers of the UHL. Five Player names will be released to the Public on Monday October, 23, 2006. "The fans will recognize some of the names, and as next week draws to an end, they will have a pretty good idea of the team's profile," said Seegeer .

Descrbing a "grass roots" effort resulting in the team’s association with the NEHL, Stars General Manger Stephan Seeger disclosed that the team is owned by a consortium of local small business people and individuals, all of whom are interrelated through youth hockey at one level or another. Seeger revealed that he is one of several team owners, including Russell Luery (Stamford small business owner), and Ray Pacioretty (Marketing Consultant from New Canaan).

In what was hailed by the hosts as a recipe for success in a start-up team situation, Seeger described an organizational model which incorporates reciprocal decision making between Management and Players. "They learn a great deal about the business of hockey, and management learns and becomes more sensitive to player issues," said Seeger. "These guys all have University Degrees, they’re educated; as a group, it was decided that this player-management synergy is something that was perfectly suited to this year’s situation with the shortened season, and a time crunch." Allowing players to become acquainted with both sides of hockey produces more well rounded hockey people; "the players have great representation on the Board, and we welcome that" Seeger said. When host Allison Stadtler indicated this level of "free speech" is not typical in corporate structures, Seeger indicated that his group would continue this "unorthodox, yet innovative" strategy, because it has proved to be a very constructive catalyst for this project. As Dave L. suggested, hockey players are used to performing as "part of a team." Co-host Ryan Young agreed, stating that the team mentality is an ingrained attribute that has intrinsic value.

What about the Calender? Host Allison Stadtler says to Seeger: "Hockey players are notoriously known for being hunky and good looking . . . there's a lot of ways to parlay that, they get on calenders, and do all sorts of other things . . . are you considering any of this to pick your players?" Player Clark J., who was first more interested in describing player/management relations, but who immediately remembered yet other reasons for turning pro, replied: "say no more, as a team we do whatever it takes, and if the fans want a calender, we’ll just have to give them one." Clark is ready to do whatever it takes, he's just that kind of team guy, always interested in innovative, yet unorthodox, business models!!! What? Accordingly, the fans in Danbury should monitor Clark closely this season.

The Stars are set for an open practice on Halloween night, where some players who are still competing for spots will be showcased in a scrimmage followed by an open skate. Halloween fare will be available, and the team welcomes everyone to stop by and skate with the stars. For full coverage of the interview, please go to the radio's website at http://www.warpradio.com/single.asp?id=1675&page=stream


This is the first time ANY owners have been mentioned. The possibility of a radio show is promicing as well. A team calender isn't as much of a first as they make it out to be but it could work if the team's overall marketing is strong. It looks like a few players have been selected but they have a long way to go before they ice a full team.

Interesting newsbit.

[BCRantzilla]

The latest from northeasthockeyleague.com:

New England Stars released names of three players,

DANBURY, CONNECTICUT: The New England Stars released the names of three players fans are likely to see in the starting line-up this year. Ex Danbury Trasher Eric Lind, drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1997, brings 6 years of professional hockey experience to the team, and was the Stars’ first priority among commitments. Clark Jones and Dave LoPresti, also bring pro experience and depth to the Stars.



Lind, who played for UNH prior to being drafted into the NHL by the Penguins, is a skilled, smooth skating defenseman, that plays with an edge. He will be sought out for his leadership skills and consistency this year, with a team that has been put together in a time crunch management says will not affect the quality of its player selection. "We joined the league unexpectedly this year, we organized under time constraints, and we have felt the pressure of arranging a roster representing a quality hockey product; nonetheless, I think the fans will be happy with what they see in the Stars organization, and what they see on the ice, " said Stars General Manager Stephan Seeger. "Lindy (referring to Eric Lind) is a great addition to this organization, he is a true professional, someone you can count on in the crunch--we will rely on his high caliber play, and knowledge of the game, both on and off the ice. He was a player-assistant coach in Europe, and he's been asked to fill the same skates with us, because we respect him both as a player and a strategist." The Elmira Jackals of the UHL picked Lind up this past summer when the Trahsers folded, however, he has yet to play with that organization, stating that he felt good about the players he expects to play with this year on the Stars. "Clarkie and I have known each other forever, and we played youth hockey in Mid Fairfield together. I never thought I'd get another chance to play with Clark, and a few of the other guys, and its one of the things that really helped me make the decision to try it out for the year."

Speaking of Lind, Jones remarked: "he was always someone that had a legit chance to go somewhere in hockey, and I think its far from over for him; he is in great shape, and I can't wait to play along side of him this year."Clark Jones, the gritty and consistent Center/Left Wing who grew up in Fairfield County and later moved to Exeter New Hampshire, played hockey at Deerfield Academy where he was twice an "All New England" selection prior to accepting a scholarship to Union College. At union he consistently improved his game, and was hailed as an impact player, finishing his final year as Captain and leading the team to its highest ever national ranking. Jones signed with the Carolina Hurricanes Organization out of College, where he first went to play with their ECHL affiliate in Greensboro North Carolina, and thereafter, with the Baton Rouge Kingfish also in the same league. Although not a regular, Jones played a couple of games for the UHL Trashers over the last two years. "Clark is an intense player who is always looking to compete; he brings us a focussed energy and he is in great playing shape right now. He will be one of our highest point tallying forewards this year without a doubt, and his tenacity will likely earn him a starting line-up spot on a regular basis," said Stephan Seeger. Jones has been involved in several Youth Hockey organizations over the last couple of years, coaching and training youth hockey players, and engaging in charity work. When asked about the time off, Jones said: "I'm feeling like I could play 80 games, and I'm ready for this year, no doubt in my mind about that, I come to play, and I'll earn my recognition through hard work and a passion for the game. Its good to be back, and I hope the fans come out to see this team--its one of the most cohesive groups I've skated with, and I got this impression over a very short period of time. I think that's a good sign."





Like Jones, LoPresti has also been off for a couple of year, and while not for the same reasons, he too has been training and coaching with several youth hockey organizations over the last couple of years. LoPresti played at Boston University and from college, he went directly to Europe where he played in the Liga Sud for Peiseenberg. Upon returning home, LoPresti's mechanical style and big hitter attitude earned him a spot on the Greensboro Generals (ECHL) and the Winston Salem T-Birds (SPHL). Like Lind, LoPresti is a hard hitting defenseman who, according to General Manager Stephan Seeger, is "able to think on his skates, and make plays that are situationally creative--this kid is a real hockey student, he loves to play, and loves to contribute, and on the ice he is a force to be reckoned with in the defensive zone." Like Jones, LoPresti has also been off for a couple of years, and while not for the same reasons, he too has been training and coaching with several youth hockey organizations over that time period. LoPresti played at Boston University and from college, he went directly to Europe where he played in the Liga Sud for Peiseenberg. Upon returning home, Lopresti's mechanical style and big hitter attitude earned him a spot on the Greensboro Generals (ECHL) and the Winston Salem T-Birds (SPHL). Like Lind, LoPresti is a hard hitting defender who, according to General Manager Stephan Seeger, is "able to think on his skates, and make plays that are situationally creative--this kid is a real hockey student, he loves to play, and loves to contribute, and on the ice he is a force to be reckoned with in the defensive zone." With two of the three being ex-Trashers, the week will be one of anticipation for Danbury fans. How much will this team look like its higher league predecessor? Seeger claims that four more experienced players will be named this week, and that by the Halloween open practice/scrimmage, the roster will be almost full, with just a couple of spots that will be competed for. In addition to Players being named, former Trasher Associate Head Coach Bob Stearns was named as Assistant Coach of the Team. In what was received as an unlikely step up, General Manager Stephan Seeger was also named as Head Coach. "I’m looking forward to working with coach Stearns, and Eric Lind (player assistant). Between the three of us, I don’t think there will be a coaching deficiency based solely upon my not having pro level experience. Everybody starts somewhere, I’m just looking to jump into it full steam, and win games–if I can do that, I don’t think my youth hockey door opening days will be focused upon too much, " said Seeger. "Steve has a group of players that respond well to him, and he has leadership qualities and experience outside of coaching that I think will allow him to develop and command respect in this new role–he’s a quick study, and I’m looking forward to being a part of it all–its going to be a challenge but we have the people to succeed," said Stearns. While this all remains to be seen, the fans will have the opportunity to see a team that will play a shortened season, with players who are serious competitors



Standard introduction to the players who will likely be there the whole year. (The designated vets seldom get cut during the year unless the team is in freefall.) One thing to note here is the "unexpected" hiring of Seeger as Coach. Unless the plan was for him to have dual duties from the get go, it looks like they couldn't find anyone else on short notice.

When a city loses a team it is always an excellent PR move to bring a player from the departed club to play for the new team. Bringing Lind in is a solid move as a player and for PR purposes. I'm not firmiliar with the other players signed but so far so good here.

[BCRantzilla]

Freedom Sign Several Players from Tryouts

The Findlay Freedom, the new expansion team of the North Eastern Hockey League, hosted a tryout over the past weekend, and made several signings. Freedom General Manager, Mike DeLong stated “We had a good tryout. There were several talented players that attended, it made it harder for us to do our homework on these players to see what best fits the needs of the team.”

The Freedom signed several players from the tryout, and is looking to sign several more by the end of the week. Including in the signings are forwards Dave Stewart and Lukas Vepy. Stewart is a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and has plenty of experience with playing previously in Junior A and four years at Oswego State University. “Dave is a finesse player with great vision on the ice. He brings speed, scoring, and leadership to the team” stated DeLong.

Lukas Vepy is from Slovakia and has played along side with Stewart for many years. “These two guys have great chemistry together” further stated DeLong, “both guys will strengthen our scoring threat”. Vepy comes from playing in many different calibers of play bring a mix of European and North American style of hockey.

Not just “out-of-towners” signed, but several local players agreed to terms as well. There were three players that are graduates of Bowling Green University and hometown goalie, Dennis Canfield. Canfield played Junior A and for Saint Anselm College. He also spent a season with the University of Findlay and has also seen time with the Kalamazoo Wings of the UHL. General Manager Mike DeLong said “Dennis is a very competitive goalie, and has a great intensity level, which makes him a great asset to the team.” Canfield will split time between the pipes with Daniel Ljung. Ljung is a native of Sweden and comes from Junior A, Lawrence College, Division I Pro Sweden and has also seen time with the Fort Wayne Komets of the United Hockey League. Ljung was ranked top goalie at the IHC Pro Free Agent Camp in 2005.
With these signings, the Freedom is off to a good start and will start practicing this week at the University of Findlay and at The Cube. The Freedom season starts November 4th in Danville, IL, and return home on Sunday, for the Freedom’s inaugural home game November 5th at 4:00 p.m. at the Sky Bank Arena at The Cube. For further information, feel free to contact us at info@findlayfreedom.comThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or call toll free 877-720-PUCK (7825).



A couple of players with pro experience to note here. Aside from that they don't seem to have a full roster in place just yet. Also they haven't hired a coach yet.

[BCRantzilla]

The Stars, Danbury's new professional hockey team that plays its inaugural season this winter, wanted the defenseman to help build the franchise from the start. Part of that building process meant he will have input on how to form the team and run day-to-day operations.

There is another source for Lopresti's excitement about playing with the Stars. Lopresti, one of three players the Stars announced Monday who signed a one-year contract with the team, is resuming a professional playing career after a two-year hiatus.

"I feel like I can play an 80-game season," said Lopresti, 28. "I'm just ecstatic about playing again. Anyone who knows me knows that this is what I like doing because this is all I talk about."

Lopresti last played professional during the 2003-04 season. He started that season with the Winston Salem T-Bird of the South East Hockey League but moved to the Greensboro Generals in the East Coast Hockey League to end the season.

While Lopresti said he always intended to play professionally after concluding his college career at Boston University in 1999, he stopped playing after the 2003-04 season because of family issues stemming from the death of his father, Michael, in 2004.

The defenseman actually spent most of his professional playing career dealing with his father's failing health. Lopresti said he first found out about his father's health problems while he was playing in Germany with the Peissenberg Hornets in the 2001-02 season. Although he wanted to spend more than one season in Germany, he did not want to spend another year 4,000 miles away from his family and opted to hook up with a minor league team back in the United States.

He caught on with the Orlando Seals of the now-defunct Atlantic Coast Hockey League before landing in the SEHL.

Lopresti's father passed away in December of 2004, and pursuing a playing career became a secondary matter. He moved back to the Northeast to be with his family and stopped playing professionally.

"It helped not having any of that hockey stuff to worry about," Lopresti said. "In the big picture, hockey is minor. It was the right decision for me to step away."

Lopresti said a number of teams contacted him prior to the 2004-05 season about joining their roster, he decided not to take any of their offers.

Even though Lopresti stopped playing, he did not faze hockey out of his life.

Lopresti works as a youth coach with the Mid Fairfield Blues and the New Canaan Winter Club hockey teams. His association as a youth coach led to his involvement with the New England Stars.

Stars general manager and coach Stephan Seeger also served as a coach with the Mid Fairfield Youth Hockey Association and met Lopresti through the youth circuit.

Seeger approached Lopresti about playing, and the proximity of the team's home base -- the Stars are based out of Stamford but plays their home games at the Danbury Ice Arena -- helped lure the defenseman back to playing.

"I knew that for me to get up and move away wasn't the right move," said Lopresti, who lives in Norwalk. "So having this right in my back yard was perfect."

Even with a two-year hiatus, Lopresti said returning to his playing form should not be a long process. In addition to coaching at the youth level, Lopresti said he has maintained his playing shape with regular skating sessions.

Lopresti admits his playing career likely will end within a couple of years. He said he is trying to get a job in the financial field, and the setup of the North Eastern Hockey League allows players to continue work outside of hockey since games only are held on the weekends.

But when his playing career finally ends, Lopresti said he wants to remain in the sport in some capacity.

"I think hockey will probably be a part of my life forever," Lopresti said. "I don't see it ending any time soon. When the playing time's over, there's always behind-the-scenes stuff, there's always the coaching aspect, there's always front-office stuff. There really is no end to it."



It's always a double edged sword to bring in a guy who hasn't played in 2 years. One one hand you get someone who is well heeled with minimal injuries and probably healthier than anyone else on the roster. On the other hand you are getting someone who will likely have dulled skills and isn't anywhere near gameshape. That said, of all of the players announced today and from what I have heard from other sources, the Stars have the lineup with the best pro credentials to date. Lots of ECHL experience there.

[BCRantzilla]

Well all 5 league sites are down and have been for most of the weekend. (The Pounders site was never up to begin with but everything else is off the net at present.) This isn`t good.

[whoopee23]

When is the first game again? Like in two days right?

[BCRantzilla]

When is the first game again? Like in two days right?

Yes, Opening Night is Saturday night. The league site is STILL down but the Stars' site is back online. Unfortunately, it is the sole NEHL website online right now.

[BreakersFan]

Yes, Opening Night is Saturday night. The league site is STILL down but the Stars' site is back online. Unfortunately, it is the sole NEHL website online right now.

www.aleaguehockey.com is still running. There is a message on it dated 10-31 that says that the league website has to be rebuilt from scratch.

[BCRantzilla]

Gotta wonder why it went down so quickly. As of this writing there is only one team with a site up. I only hope that the cities have advertised enough to have a strong opening night.

[BCRantzilla]

Here's an item from the Stars' site:

Hockey Returns to Danbury: Stars say Hi
11/01/2006 2:49 PM

Chris Seifert: Softhanded Speedster who Plays with an Edge
John Pirro: Danbury News Times

"We were all devastated, because it was such an enjoyable, family thing to do," said former season ticket holder Ron Harrison of Bethel.

But on Tuesday, Harrison was in the stands at the Danbury Ice Arena as another team, the New England Stars, took the first strides toward securing the affections of the fans who so loyally supported the Trashers over the last two seasons.

"The city is in for a treat," promised Stephan Seeger, coach and general manager of the new team. "We have a great bunch of guys who will put on a good show for everyone."

The Stars, one of four teams in the newly reorganized North Eastern Hockey League, will play 11 home games during the 2006-07 season at the 3,005-seat arena. Its roster, which isn't yet completely settled, will include several players who spent part of the past two seasons in the black-and-blue Trashers uniforms.

The news that there will be hockey in Danbury again this year was enough to draw close to 40 people, most of them former Trashers fans, to a "Meet the Stars" night at the arena. After watching the players run through a series of drills, a few even took to the ice to skate with the team. Some already were wearing black, red and gold Stars jerseys.

Brenda and Greg St. Claire of Danbury were "very disappointed" when the Trashers folded earlier this year. But drawn by the camaraderie that developed among the team's fans, they're planning to attend as many Stars games as they can.

"It's been all good memories," Greg St. Claire said. "We're hoping they sign even more Trashers guys."

About 90 percent of the Stars players have played professionally, while the others played high-level college hockey, Seeger said. The NEHL, which schedules all its games on weekends, is geared for those players who want to compete professionally while holding down other jobs during the week. They will earn between $30 and $200 per game.

"You always have the desire to play," said T.J. Klein, 28, a former collegiate player and now youth hockey coach in Ridgefield, who is trying to make the team. "It never really leaves you, and when you get an opportunity, you've got to take advantage of it."

Among the players already signed by the Stars are former Trashers Eric Lind, Clark Jones and Dave LoPresti.

"It's a great atmosphere. I'm really looking forward to coming back and playing here," Lind said.

The roster will also include a former Trashers opponent, 25-year-old Chris Seifert, who grew up in Redding and played last season in the United Hockey League for Elmira, N.Y.

"I'll be glad to be on the (home) bench this year," said Seifert, who Seeger is counting on to be one of the players who make the Stars soar. "They are spirited fans and it gets me going and gets me fired up to play," Seifert said.

The 22-game schedule this season is an abbreviated one, but the league hopes to expand to at least eight teams and play 70 to 80 games next year, Seeger said.

Only time will tell if the Stars can duplicate the Trashers' success in developing fans.

Tyrone Lane and Lauren Disher of Waterbury are among those willing to give them a chance.

"I haven't bought any tickets yet. I'm going to, no doubt," said Lane. "But they've got big skates to fill."

Contact John Pirro

at jpirro@newstimes.com

or at (203) 731-3342.

Only 40 fans is not good but it proves that the team IS advertising unlike most NEHL/CPHL teams in the last several years. The organization is saying all the right things and they have the most experienced roster in the circut.

Since I'm not sold on any Cashman run club until they can prove they are organized or financed at all, the Stars are still the class of the league going into opening night.

[JohnDoe]

The Danville Pounders will face off against the Findlay Freedom tonight at 7:30pm at the David S. Plamer Arena in Danville IL. Both teams are looking to win the first ever game for there organization. Should be a great night of exciting hockey action. Don't Miss It!!!!
Score to be posted later tonight.

[BCRantzilla]

So what happened???

[JohnDoe]

Findlay 11
Danville 5

Game was 5-4 at the end of 2 periods, Danivlle skated with 10 skaters due to a few guys not showing up. Once they have a full roster they should be a very good team. Findlay is no pus over with a little more time they will be solid as well. SOG were I think Danville 30 Findlay 60 I think they said there was like 490 somthing fans but it looked a little smaller croud still good for opening night

Was a well played game until Danville got tired due to the short bench

Any one hear about M.V. and Danbury

[major league]

Danbury 12
M.V. 2

[BCRantzilla]

Well 10 guys is certainly NOT indicative of a PRO lineup. (Shades of last year when Cashman had to play for the other team on one occasion...) At least the league is getting full games in even if they weren't all that competitive. I'm looking forward to more info on the Stars as they looked like a very solid lineup going in. Here's an article from the Monday from Utica:

http://www.lifeandtimesofutica.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17397174&BRD=2681&PAG=461&dept_id=543954&rfi=6
Hockey is back

By: Matthew W. Moran 10/30/2006

UTICA - Hockey fans know that the sport has a rich tradition in Utica. Clubs like the Utica Devils of the American Hockey League, the Mohawk Valley Comets and the Utica Bulldogs, have all brought hockey lovers to downtown Utica to support local hockey.

If Jim Cashman has his way, that tradition is going to continue. Cashman has started the North Eastern Hockey League, and this November will be bringing semi-pro hockey to the Utica Auditorium as part of the new Mohawk Valley IceCats.

Based out of Fort Erie, Ontario Cashman is no stranger to entrepreneurial hockey efforts in the Mohawk Valley. He attempted to start a club in Whitestown in the mid '90s but was unable to make the team financially viable.

"Utica is one of the main cities that I'd been looking at when I wanted to start the league," said Cashman. "I had a team out in Whitestown, but people didn't want to drive out there. I knew that this could work in Utica - and this time we're going to do it right."

Cashman said that he was confident that the Utica a would appreciate the new team.

"It's definitely a hockey community," he said. "They've got a rich history of hockey there with the Devils and the Comets - the AHL (American Hockey League), the UHL (United Hockey League) - those budgets weren't conducive for the fan base in Utica. That's why I thought that it would be a really good area for us to go into. If we can get a 1,000 or more people, than this can be a success."

What will make the IceCats a success when other teams have folded?

"The key is keeping the budget low," said Cashman, whose operating budget for the season is only $50,000. "That's not going to be a problem here. And we're going to put a good product on the ice. I can pretty much guarantee we're going to be battling for first place."

While the IceCats players will all be quality hockey players, there's no doubt that this will be a group playing for the love of the game, as players will only make between $30 to $100 a game. The squad will have players from Canada, Western New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, California, and will even have three Japanese players. Most of the team will have either college, professional or junior experience.

Hockey historian Jim Mancuso is working as the club's general manager. Mancuso is a member of the Society for International Hockey Research and has written a series of books about minor league hockey in the Northeast, including "Hockey In Syracuse," "Hockey In The Capitol District" and "The Clinton Comets: An EHL Dynasty."

"His goal is to resurrect pro hockey in cities in the Northeast," said Mancuso of his boss, Cashman. "Lots of cities have lost teams. There's room for another league in the Northeast."

Cashman is also aiming to make the league very affordable. To this end, single-game tickets are only $8, with students getting in the door for just $6. A season pass for the 10-game home schedule is only $60, and family four-packs for the season are $199.

"He wants to start out slow and keep the cost down," said Mancuso, who is networking with area businesses to gain advertising and sponsorships for the IceCats. "I'd like to tell the fans locally this is something to build on - we have a long-standing hockey tradition in this area, going back to 1928 with the Clinton Hockey Club."

The team's low budget is enabling them to shoot for an attendance of around 800 to 1,000 per game.

"I believe the fans are still here," said Mancuso. "I would just recommend giving him (Cashman) a chance - this might turn into a solid minor league hockey team that could be here for 20 years. There's room for it - but people need to give it a chance. Little by little he's going to build it up. I think that there's still that minor league kind of fan that wants to see that kind of hockey."

The North Eastern Hockey League will be a feeder system for the more established ECHL (East Coast Hockey League). There are currently four ECHL that have agreed to work with the new league, to call up NEHL players when East Coast players are promoted up.

"It's going to be good action, it's going to be a good time, and it's going to be cheap," promised Mancuso.

Sounds like a winning combination.

For ticket information, call 733-0519 or e-mail jcashman@cogeco.ca. The league Web site is www.northeasternhockeyleague.com.

If PT Barnum's statement of "all publicity is good publicity" then the NEHL 2K6 can clearly say 'so far, so good' as this is the most media coverage a Cashman run league has had in YEARS. Other positives to note is that Findlay drew an announced crowd of 490 according to the previous poster. Weather it was a bit bigger or smaller than that is really inconcequential as it is the biggest crowd the NEHL1.0/CPHL/NEHL1.5 have had and likely a bigger crowd than the entire CPHL drew last year combined. It is only half of what Cashman has said the league needs to break even but it is way ahead of what anyone, (me included,) thought possible over the summer.

So far so good but now the competitive balance needs to improve because bad hockey just doesn't sell tickets unless you are in Quebec where any hockey is guaranteed to draw.

[JohnDoe]

The game was in Danville not Findlay with the 490 attendance. Just alittle FYI.

We will find out what Findlay draws soon as they are Playing the Ice Cats tonday it started at 4pm EST. Should be over any time now. Hoefully someone will let us know how it went.

[BCRantzilla]

Here's the latest info from the Stars' big opening night win:

Stars Open Season with Decisive Road Victory
11/06/2006 9:21 AM
While the score remained close at 4-2 following the first period, the Stars began distancing in the second period where they played more defensively but posted two more goals to make it a 6-2 game after the second. Ryan Hall, who is one of three goalies that Stars management are looking at for the job between the pipes, made several key saves, without which the Stars' third period strategy might have changed.
With two periods behind them, the Stars entered the third period with confidence, demonstrating a goal scoring capability ranging from pretty tic-tack-toe tallies, to brute strength slapshot and high traffic additions that found the back of the net. The Stars six goal third period came on the heels of a goalie change, which in hindsight, may not have been what the Ice Cats needed to keep the score closer.

Brent Ozarowski and Clark Jones led the scoring rampage, both with "hatties" and a couple of assists. Complimented by Chris Seifert's playmaking prowess and 5 assists, the line of Ozarowski, Jones and Seifert were an offensive force to be reckoned with. When you add the strength and experience of Eric Lind (goal, 2 assists) and Erik Eaton (2 goals, 1 assist) into this mix, it is not surprising that the MV Ice Cats, stacked with several players from Japan, were no match for the Stars on Saturday night. Next game will be at home in Danbury on November 12 at 6:00pm, where the Stars face the Findlay Freedom out of Ohio, in what is expected to be a close game that will pit younger skaters against the depth and experience of the Stars.

The buzz coming out of training camp was that the Cats and Stars would have by far the best teams in the league. Looks like Utica's club is NOT off to a good start out of the gates. I'm wondering if anyone knew what the attendance was for opening night in Utica?

[nksports]

I found it interesting the Findlay paper didn't have anything online about its games. Anybody out there know how they drew in the home opener?

[BCRantzilla]

Currently there is only one out of 5 NEHL websites online at the present time. We are approaching Week 2 so this is unacceptable for a professional hockey league. (Actually all that is online for the NEHL and Findlay is the wallpaper for the site with a bunch of generic paragraphs.) New England is the only website online as of this printing.

As for newspaper articles, it could take some time for them to go out and cover a game as even in the SPHL and it's predecessor's, they got minimal coverage early on.

The league does itself no favors having no online presence when they should be in full promotional mode.

[spider]

Rant,
I think that is all fixing to change. I agree the NEHL needs more presence on the web but I may know of some upcoming news that will be benifical to the NEHL this year.
I think A puck hockey can and will survive.
Stay tuned for some developments.

[BCRantzilla]

The latest online is that the Findlay Freedom site is back up and running with updated league stats. There are news links but they aren't working but at least they have updated headlines.

This brings the league up to TWO functioning websites. Other encouraging items to note are the fact that the NEHL has two ticket agencies handling online ticket sales. Ticketmaster and Ticketalternative are both handling tickets for the Freedom and the Ice Cats thus far. While dealing with Ticketmaster is comperable to making a deal with the Devil, it does show that there isn't any fraud going on here. (Except those assinine service charges Ticketmaster charges but that's a whole other post...)

I only hope that teams start icing full rosters but at least one team is making me feel a bit uneasy about that possibility this weekend.

[BCRantzilla]

Okay,

We're now in Week Two of the NEHL but I have some serious concerns with the websites STILL down with the exception of Findlay and New Engand. Danville NEVER had a site up nor did M.V. The leauge site is technically up but it has nothing on it.

This is a money issue as no other league has this kind of website problems for this long. I've also noticed that these are Jim Cashman run teams and the league site, (run by Jim,) that are having this problem. Also, the fact that the Cashman run teams aren't sporting full rosters at all is another telltale sign that they are NOT properly financed.

At least he has 2 teams that appear to be financed and operating properly but it is looking like Jim isn't capable of owning ANY teams due to lack of money. I hope things improve but after a promicing first week it isn't looking good.

[JohnDoe]

Who is this Jim Cashman guy?

From what I have heard he doesnt have the best track record. Just look at wikipedia or google search his name.

With a 4 team league in A puck how can you operate when cities like Findlay and Danbury and Danville and Danbury for that fact are like 15 hours away. What do these guys get paid? I went to the first game in Danville and besides the short bench for danville the game was good through the 2nd period but there there were no legs for the third. There were over 400 people there announced by the PA announcer. People seemed to like the product. I just dont see how it is going to last on such a wide spread basis and with the limited resources Mr. Cashman appears to have. What about the people he has working for him. I talked for a second to the G.M. in Danville a younger guy that seems to be pretty strait forward, and He has a great outlook for the future but I wonder if maybe he is just saying that because he works for the league and since the league pays the bills.
Rantzilla: you seem to have a good insight as to this whole situation and the way things worked in the past can you bring me upto speed and is the G.M. that I talked to right to be very positive about this season and next?

Thanks

[spider]

Rant,
Are you the gate keeeper for the NEHL? Do you have something against Jim Cashman? Has he done anything to you?
It seems that you are always trying to drag him and his leagues down.
I think A Puck hockey is a good thing. It's going to take time to make it work right. Jim is doing a lot better this year than in the past.
Give him a chance before you start judging his efforts.
What have you done lately?

[BCRantzilla]

I'm not even going to dignify that bit of flamebait with a responce. Here's the latest from the Stars' home opener:

STARS CRUSH FREEDOM AT HOME OPENER
11/13/2006 10:27 AM

http://newenglandstarshockey.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/News/home%20game.jpg
Jones, LoPresti, Ozarowski (21) and Seifert (83) celebrating a first period goal


Stars crush Freedom in Danbury debut
By Chris Leone
News-Times Correspondent

"There was a void when Danbury learned that it was not going to have a UHL team," said New England coach Stephan Seeger. "We think that we can fill that void." The Stars, part of the four-team North Eastern Hockey League, opened without a big ceremony, played before a half full rink, but still took home a 14-1 victory over their visitors from Ohio.

Regardless of the outcome it was clear from the start that this event was a celebration for hockey in the greater Danbury area.

"It's a nice experience here and this is a great rink and a great facility," said John Vitti, a 10-year-old youth hockey player from Ridgefield. "I think Danbury will get a lot of people to root for this team."

Sam Sarath, a teammate of Vitti's on the Ridgefield Lions was also happy to see his coach, Stars forward T.J. Cline, practice what he preaches on and off the ice.

"I've never seen him (Cline) in full equipment and playing," said Sarath. "Yeah, it's exciting to have hockey here. It's kind of close and we get to see games."

On a rainy day with the NFL in mid-season and NASCAR winding down to its final two weeks, sports fans had plenty of options and reasons to stay home. However, for the estimated 1,300 fans that came out, they didn't have to wait too long to cheer.

"We set the tone early," said Seegar. "We have a lot of talent on this team."

When Scott Horvath let a wrist shot fly on net early in the first period, it appeared at first glance to be harmless. The captain's shot, however, just kept rising, eventually clearing the glove side of Freedom goalie Dennis Canfield. When the horn sounded and lamp lit at the 5:27 mark of the first period, the Stars had their first home goal and a 1-0 lead.

"Eric Lind threw me a nice pass across the ice," said Horvath. "I just stepped over the blue line and let it go. It felt good to get the fans into the game."

New England fed off that early goal and the momentum provided by the home crowd. With a 23-5 advantage in first-period shots, the Starts controlled the play -- and most importantly for the fans, the hits.

With Section 102 shouting at Freedom players and directly at Canfield, the Stars scored again. Dave LoPresti found the back of the net on a one-timer from Chris Seifert at 15:47 of the first period.

When Canfield was briefly injured on a slashing penalty, the section gave the visiting goalie a standing 10-count before a mock sympathy call upon his standing up.

"This is good for the core group of fans," said Rick Ziegler of West Haven and a proud resident of Section 102. "To be honest, we were all skeptical, but so far, so good."

"We're just rolling it over like a pension plan," said Ziegler, who, like many in the section, still proudly wear their Trashers jerseys. "Noise, that's what were known for in this section."

In the second period, Section 102 and the rest of the arena had plenty to celebrate.

Horvath added his second goal of the game just over a minute into the period, and Clark Jones followed with a natural hat trick. The forward scored twice shorthanded in a 22 second span, then added a power play goal late in the period. The arena had barely finished celebrating when 21 seconds later Horvath collected his third goal for his own hat trick. Goals from Rich Vega and Phil Esposito rounded out the seven-goal period that put the game away.

"After the first period it was only 2-1, we had our chances but really had to put the puck in the net," said Horvath. "We didn't want to keep it close."

In the second a couple of fights also brought out some noise. A minor scrap between Sean Keene and Tony Westfail drew mild applause. However, it was the pugilistic work of Eric Lind that brought out a game misconduct for fighting, the crowd to its feet and along with the ultimate result probably more fans to future games.

With a combined 15 goals, 84 shots, three fights and over 50 minutes in penalties it was an opening with something for everyone to remember.


Findlay Freedom (2-1) 1 0 0 -- 1

New England Stars (2-0) 2 7 5 -- 14

1st Period

1. N, Scott Horvath (Eric Lind), 5:27; 2. N, Dave LoPresti (Chris Seifert), 15:47; 3. F, Kevin Assenmacher (Unassisted), 1:41.

2nd Period

4. N, Scott Horvath 2 (Ryan Hughes), 1:21; 5. N, Clark Jones (Scott Horvath), (SH) 3:49; 6. N, Clark Jones 2 (Unassisted), (SH) 4:13; 7. N, Rich Vega (Unassisted), 6:16; 8. N, Clark Jones 3 (T.J. Cline and Rich Vega), 15:57; 9. N, Scott Horvath 3 (Sean Keane), 16:19; 10. N, Phil Esposito (Tom Westfall and Chris Seifert), 18:00.

3rd Period

11. N, T.J. Cline (Sean Keane) PP, 1:19; 12. N, Tom Westfall (Unassisted), 10:53; 13. N, T.J. Cline 2 (Eric Lind), (SH) 13:55; 14. N, T.J. Cline (Eric Lind) (PP) 19:01; 15. N, Tom Westfall 2 (Eric Lind), 19:20.

SHOTS ON GOAL: New England 64, Findlay 20. SAVES: Kelly Holowaty (NE) 19; Dennis Canfield (F) 45 and Woody Morris (F) 5.

If there is anything positive happening with the NEHL, the N.E. Stars are it. An announced crowd of 1300 is possibly the most positive thing to happen to this or any other league in the NEHL/CPHL universe since 2003. I predicted that this locale was a winner going in and it isn't disappointing.

The problem now is that the level of competition is just plain pitiful. The other game this week featured the Ice Cats smacking the Danville Pounders 18-1 in front of about 100 people in Utica. The problem here is that 14-1 and 18-1 are simply NOT hockey scores. I am not one to ever penalize a team for being good but there has only been one competitive game so far. In the long run this just isn't good.

Huge props to the Stars organization for building on all the right things and for putting what is so far a team that could very well be able to run with the lesser teams in the SPHL.

[BCRantzilla]

Another Stars press release:

Stars to Play Next Home Game In Stamford, CT
11/16/2006 3:30 PM

Come watch southern Connecticut's newest pro hockey team take on the MV Ice Cats at the Terry Connors Rink in Stamford, CT. The Ice Cats will be looking for revenge after suffering a devastaing lose to the Stars in the season opener 12-2.

The game gives the hockey fans of southern Fairfield county a chance to see Pro Hockey in their own backyard. Local youth hockey players are encouraged to show their team support by wearing their team jersey's to the game. Doors open at 7pm with the puck drop at 7:30pm.

[BCRantzilla]

Here's a recent Stars' signing:

Eaton adds size and strength to defense
11/16/2006 4:10 PM

11/16/2006 4:10 PM -
Eaton joins the Stars after last playing for the Columbus Inferno of the ECHL. The 6'2 220 lbs defeseman played his college hockey at Bowling Green of the CCHA. Following his collegiate career Eaton then went to the Cinninati Cyclones also of the ECHL to finish up his senior season. His hard shot and impressive size is an intimidating factor to anyone who enters the Stars zone. Look for this player to be a major factor in the teams success this season.

Chalk up even MORE AA experience for an already loaded Stars lineup. Considering how it is looking more and more like a one horse race thus far, I'm suprised that the Stars even need to upgrade. I guess it gives them a lineup capable of being the class of A-Puck. It would be nice to see ANYONE give this team a game though.

[JohnDoe]

Danville Pounders Win First Game.

Danville Beat M.V. Ice Cats Tonight 11-10 As a fan it was a pure offensive display very little defense by either team. I think they announced shots as something like M.V. 50 and Danville 60.

A big change from the Danville team seen the first night. They had a full bench and allot of young guys that look like they will make a great team pretty soon.

They had a new goalie though which I thought was odd since they had 2 capable goalies on the 4th.

Hopefully this is a great sign of things to come.
Also the guy serving as G.M. said to try this web address for a temporary website while the main site is created. He said he will try to update it as often as possible.

www.danvillepounders.bravehost.com

[kahunakats]

A couple of quick questions....
Did the Pounders have a game program available for the fans?
Any word on players that are suiting up for the IceCats? We have rosters for the Stars and the Pounders but have heard nothing about players for Findlay or MV...

[JohnDoe]

I think You asked about Programs Yes The Pounders Had Game Programs, Nothing fancy Ithink it was all black and white had actual game date and current roster for Danville on it.

As far as the Ice cats go I dont know much about the guys for them. what was strange was a guy that scored a couple of goals for them was a kid on the roster for Danville in the program so I dont know what happened if they traded him or what as well as a guy that lives in the area I have known for 4 or 5 years. I asked the G.M. about it and he didnt say much but we started talking about other stuff then I forgot all about going back to the question.

News paper coverage from the game is here

http://www.commercial-news.com/sports/local_story_324061847.html

[JohnDoe]

www.findlayfreedom.com has a roster on it

[BCRantzilla]

Another article from the Stars' official site:

http://www.newenglandstarshockey.com/news/index.html?article_id=23

Undefeated Stars Go Two for Two this Weekend
11/20/2006 12:50 PM


11/20/2006 12:50 PM -
The New England Stars continued their impressive display of skill and toughness Saturday night at Terry Connors Ice Rink In Stamford, CT versus the MV Ice Cats. The Stars skated away with a 13-2 victory in front of a great crowd of local fans and youth hockey players. The line of Scott Horvath, Chris Seifert, and Clark Jones led the way accounting for 8 of the 13 goals and 23 points between the three of them. Dave LoPresti and Eric Lind continue to anchor the defense that kept the Ice Cats forwards out of the game, and provided an offensive spark again with each of them contributing to the score sheet. Shawn Lindsay also netted his first goal as a Star.

On Sunday the team traveled to Findlay, Ohio for an afternoon game against the Freedom. The early morning traveling seemed to be a hurdle for the Stars as they did not play the best game of the season. After a series of delays getting to the arena the Stars came out slow and unprepared. The Freedom turned out to be a bigger challenge than anyone expected. The two teams battled back and forth on the score board all game. After a questionable non goal call by the referee that would have tied the game for the Freedom, the Stars added an empty net goal and left Findlay with an 8-6 victory. Scott Horvath contiued to light the lamp scoring 3 goals in the game, bringing his weekend total to 9. Clark Jones added 2 goals, and Dave LoPresti, Chris Seifert and Erik Eaton each contributed with 1.

The Stars improve their record to 4-0 on the season. Next game is this Sunday at Utica.

The good news: The team won both games.
The bad news: No announced crowd after announcing a big crowd the week before is a bad sign. The Stars would be far better served to play the remainder of the season in Danbury regardless of what the league brass thinks.

I had heard that the Pounders had a set home roster but have had untold problems fielding a team on the road. My guess is that the win over the Cats was a home game.

I am glad Danville is taking it upon themselves to keep the team afloat because if Jim was left as the sole man in charge the team would have gone bye bye a long time ago. This team is hanging by a thread but it is nice to see them trying to hang on.

The Freedom is a team I just can't put my finger on right now. They are the other privately owned club but they have the most eratic lineup of all. (Big wins, bigger losses, etc.) As for attendance in Findlay, here is something from their site:

The Freedom wants to reward our loyal fans by offering a reduced rate for the remaining Freedom home games. The Findlay Freedom Hockey Club believes every night should be “Fan Appreciation Night”.

With the continued support from the community and our loyal fans, Findlay will be the proud home of the Freedom for many years to come!

Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for children ages 3-12 yrs.

Discounting tickets in this manner is a telltale sign that attendance is soft at best in Findlay right now. That said, $8 for A-Puck should be the flat rate unless there is luxury or club seating. A good showing against the league's superpower should help their credibility with the fans and generate intrest.

As for the Ice Cats, I recall Jim saying that this was the best team he had ever assembled. The problem is that this 'best team' has been embarassed twice by the Stars and got rolled by a Pounders club that is barely alive at the best of times. If he doesn't revamp the lineup and/or do more advertising in Utica, this team could sink quickly.

It is a promicing sign that the local media in Findlay and Danbury are starting to embrace their teams. Danville writing a promicing article about the Pounders this week is a HUGE positive. The fact that it even had when the next home game was is free advertisement. They need all the help they can get right now so this is good. The two teams I predicted would not be strong in terms of ownership and fan support have been the two teams run by Cashman. That said, there are two reasonably strong club that can keep the league afloat weather Jim sinks or swims so one month after the first puck dropped I am predicting that the NEHL 2.0 will survive it's season.

[BCRantzilla]

For the record, here's the Danville article from the link above:

Serd gets chance on ice

http://www.commercial-news.com/sports/images_sizedimage_324061524/xl
BY AARON PATTERSON

DANVILLE — Jacob Serd has had hockey in his blood for as long as he can remember.

A fan and regular at Danville Saints, Dashers and Wings games, he also played in the Junior Wings program.

So upon returning to his hometown, Serd was happy to learn that minor-pro hockey was coming back to Danville and found himself with an opportunity to play for the Pounders.

“I was in the Air Force for four years and played down in Louisiana,” said Serd. “I got back in town here and started playing pick-up with the guys and (general manager) Cameron (Estes) got a hold of me.”

Estes can be glad he gave Serd a call as the Danville native’s goal 6 minutes, 49 seconds into the third period gave the Pounders an 11-10 win over the Mohawk Valley Ice Cats (1-2-1).

“That was luck,” joked Serd who is better known for his defense. “I said my prayers last night. But it felt good.”

“I coached Jake years ago,” said Danville assistant coach Charlie Sermersheim. “He came back on the ice for us and I thought he did a tremendous job.

“You couldn’t ask for anybody to come out that hasn’t skated in a couple of years and work as hard as he did. So we’re real proud of him for being a native.”

The Pounders’ first franchise win didn’t come without a fight.

Down 7-1 early in the second period, Danville scored 10 unanswered goals with six coming in the second.

The Pounders (1-2-0) were lighting the lamp so frequent in the second period that P.A. announcer Thom Barnes was crediting goals only seconds apart.

Danville’s fourth and fifth goals — scored by Jeff Hohlman and Mike McMahon respectively — came just 11 seconds apart.

“Coming into the (second) period, nobody was down on each other,” said Serd. “We talked about what we needed to improve on — power play, penalty kill.

“It just kind of worked out. There wasn’t a big crowd here, but we could definitely feel the fans. We talked about that in the locker room — the Danville fans are great.”

The Pounders also had two goals each from Jake Krumm and Shawn Nicholson (two assists) and assists from Omar Torres (4), Justin Todd (3) and Ricky Reznick (3).

Danville goalie Sean Herron recorded 35 saves on the night.

“Getting this first win for Danville, hopefully we’ll draw more of these fans because I know there are Wings fans and Saints fans and Dashers fans out there,” said Serd. “Next Sunday, I’d like to see this place get some people here.

“I think a lot of people in the community are real happy (to have hockey in Danville). The more fans, the longer we can stay.”

The Pounders’ next home game is Nov. 26 at 4 p.m. against the Findlay Freedom.

[bradlehman]

Rant,
Are you the gate keeeper for the NEHL? Do you have something against Jim Cashman? Has he done anything to you?
It seems that you are always trying to drag him and his leagues down.
I think A Puck hockey is a good thing. It's going to take time to make it work right. Jim is doing a lot better this year than in the past.
Give him a chance before you start judging his efforts.
What have you done lately?

Response

I'm not even going to dignify that bit of flamebait with a responce. Here's the latest from the Stars' home opener:


Typical response whenever "big" Chris gets called out. Chris, have fun driving more people of the board you egotistical, megalomaniac, self indulgent, self righteous,toad. Be a man and for once, just once respond intelligently to your critics. My God man! You have the mentalities of a child with an intellect to match. This used to be a thriving board. I hold you singly responsible for it's demise. The fact that the owner allows you to be the neighborhood bully is baffling.

"He got no allies to really speak of.
What he gets he must pay for, he don't get it out of love."

Bob Dylan-Neighborhood Bully from the disc Infidels(1983)

Oh, and you might want to occasionally spell check your posts, genius

[BCRantzilla]

Boy, that wasn't flamebait or anything. Do you have anything to contribute to the topic at hand???

[BCRantzilla]

Updated league standings:

1. N.E. Stars: 4-0, PTS: 8
2. Findlay Freedom: 2-2, PTS: 4
3. M.V. Icecats: 1-2-1. PTS: 3
4. Danville Pounders: 1-2, PTS: 2

In website news the league is up to 3 out of 5 websites up and updated, (4 teams and an official league site.) The official site is STILL down and it has been for all intents and purposes, dead since the first puck dropped. This is simply not acceptable at the professional level for this to happen. Of the 3 current sites, only two are professional in terms of quality, (meaning not of the freeweb variety,) but considering the state of the Pounders in recent weeks, the current site is a lot better than it has any right to be which I consider a positive. The Icecats never had a website up to begin with as well and these are all things that NEED to happen in order for the league to look on the up and up.

Now granted, this is all a huge step up from the CPHL season of a year ago which was already out of business for all intents and purposes at this time last year. While I have recently predicted that this league WILL indeed survive the season, they do have a long way to go.

[BCRantzilla]

Featured Player article from the Stars' site:

Horvath: The Big Gun
11/22/2006 9:13 PM
11/22/2006 9:13 PM -
With the Stars' scoring rampage attracting fans from all over, its hard to believe that one player is so readily singled out as the team's scoring machine. Scott Horvath, however, fits the description, even against the backdrop of other obvious finess players such as Clark Jones, Chris Seifert, and Brent Ozarowski, all of whom have contributed to the tallies that make up the Stars current four game winning streak. Not suprisingly, this Colorado entry draft selection really stands out among what is quite conceivably the most talented squad at this level of play. Horvath scored 9 goals over this last weekend, finishing off both the MV Ice Cats, and Findlay Freedom, in games away from Danbury. Watch for Horvath to become the power forward of the year, as he continues to demonstrate his prowess in front of the net. Coming to watch a goal scorer? Look for number twelve (12), with eighteen (18) and eighty-three (83) invariably in the mix. The line of Jones, Seifert and Horvath have been unstoppable in the Stars' initial four games.

No, those stats aren't blown up, they really are that high. I just hope to see some more competitive games as the year progresses.

[JohnDoe]

Just curious but I looked on aleaguehockey.com and noticed the games in Bel Vernon, PA were all removed from the schedule.

I called the G.M. in Danville and all he would say is the NEHL is no longer playing in Pittsburgh. He said he didn't know much about why but there were no games there now.

Rantzilla, you seem to have a lot of contacts do you know why they are not there anymore?

[BCRantzilla]

I have heard some stuff from players who have been keeping the team together and the story is that Jim had been putting a schedule together for a team that wasn't even in the league. I thought that story HAD to be a joke or at the very least a mistake but from the sounds of things, there is more to this than I thought.

The semi-official word I got out of Danville was that there would be an "all-star" team being used as either a replacement team or a seperate team. I'll look into this some more to see what's up.

[JohnDoe]

An All-star team??? What does Danville have to do with the NEHL pulling out of Pittsburgh? I have heard there are some different guys playing for Danville in Danville and Findlay then play in Utica and Danbury. Have you talked to the G.M. at all in Danville? I asked him if he had talked to you and he said he didnt think the name sounded like someone he had talked to. Cameron is the guys name in Danville he is a strait forward kinda guy that will talk about most anything you ask about from what I have experienced.
If you havent talked to Cameron then who is the official person from danville is it a player or what. Just curious since I spend my hard earned money to support the pounders.

[JohnDoe]

rantzilla, sorry I mis typed when I asked where your official word came from I went back and re read your post and you said Semi official. Sorry I miss quoted you on that.

[BCRantzilla]

Actually I have been talking to players on the Pounders but not Cameron as of yet. (I'll get around to emailing him before the weekend is over to touch base.) I was told about this replacement team but not much other than that Cashman had gotten a lease in another building to house this team.

It all seems really bizarre if you ask me but the IceCats leaving Pittsburgh to stay in Utica full time was probably the best idea he had all year. (Too bad I thought of "one city, one team" back in the summer...)

On another note, the New England Stars have 8 sponsors on their website, something that has NEVER happened in this league before. The team must be financially stable which is another Cashman-run league first.

I'll keep looking into this replacement team to see just what's going on because it just doesn't make sense and has potential to ruin the league.

[nksports]

Anybody seen any attendance reports recently. I'd especially be interested in what Findlay is drawing.

[BCRantzilla]

Aside from the announced crowds of 490 and 1300 for Stars' home games I have heard NOTHING in regards to attendance. I am willing to bet dollars to donuts that the Ice Cats did not draw in Mon Valley, the likely reason why Cashman has cut them as one of the home rinks for the team. (That is official now BTW.)

[JohnDoe]

I have been at Danville's 2 games

Opening night announced 300 something
Second night about 200 (it was a sunday)

Even when Danville had a NAHL and USHL team when they played on Sundays they had an avg of like 350. So sundays are notorius for low draws in Danville. I am interested to see how many are there this sunday compared to the next saturday game.

[BCRantzilla]

As strange as it sounds, the Pounders STILL draw better than any team in any of the previous incarnations of this league ever did. It isn't enough to survive but it's still a marked improvement for what it's worth.

[JohnDoe]

Wow What A Game

Danville 7
Findlay 6 Ot Shoot Out

This was probably the best game I have seen in a long time. Attendance about the same as last week around 200 but with this game and a little press things should turn around real soon.

[BCRantzilla]

This was what the doctor/Rantsman ordered to be sure. A competitive game with high scoring but not cartoonesque. I'll try to get a report out of Danbury about their game with M.V. in a bit.

[kahunakats]

Does anyone have a roster or a list of some of the players who have played for the IceCats this season? I have rosters from the other three teams but not one name for MV.

[JohnDoe]

Any word from Danbury and Mohawk Valley yet

[BCRantzilla]

The only thing I've seen is that the Stars won on Sunday upping their record to 5-0. I'll post an updated standings later.

[BCRantzilla]

The latest off the Stars' site:

Cline Moved off Tryout List onto Roster
http://newenglandstarshockey.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/thumbcache/90b6ad9a535bb6650681453820a0b350.300.jpg
11/27/2006 8:06 PM - After playing in four of the first five Stars games this season, the Stars have decided that TJ Cline has what it takes to play. He has demonstrated a willingness to work hard and dedicate himself to accomplishing his mission--to earn a spot along side of Stars players such as Chris Seifert, Scott Horvath, Eric Lind, and Clark Jones--not an easy crowd to mingle with as a rookie. "TJ plays rough hockey that draws attention to his ability to play. He uses what he has, and what he's best at, to his advantage. With a team this deep, we felt that he would have to demonstrate something special, and he did. TJ is a work horse, who takes his team and his own play very seriously, and while he was not an obvious candidate in this crowd at the beginning of the season, he's been impressive, and that's why he's here," said Stars coach Stephan Seeger. The team hopes to see Cline continue the style of play that has earned him a spot on the team. "I smirk every time I see him line somebody up, " said coach Bob Stearns, "he doesn't stop working for his entire shift, and that means alot to us and to his team mates." Cline, who played with Chris Seifert at Manhattanville College, has played both offense and defense during his tryout period, and performed well in both roles. Look for Cline to be a crowd pleaser in Danbury this year; taking the body is something that the crowd appreciates, and if the first home game was any indication, Cline will continue to draw fan support.


Updated NEHL standings for Week 4:

1. New England Stars: 5-0, 10 PTS
2. Findlay Freedom: 2-2-1, 5 PTS
3. Danville Pounders: 2-2, 4 PTS
4. M.V. (Utica?) Ice Cats: 1-3-1, 3 PTS

[BCRantzilla]

Here's something a bit on the bizarre side:

The Stars' schedule site shows the Ice Cats game on Sunday as a 0-0 tie but their updated standings show the Stars at 5-0, which implies that they won that game.

I've also been hearing rumours abound that the Ice Cats' players have not been paid this year. Both of these things give credence to the idea of the Cats being either done or about to be restructured or replaced.

I emailed the Stars office to see what happened over the weekend and I'll let you guys know what the official word is when I hear back.

[JohnDoe]

Danbury won 13-5 I think it was if you look for I think it was channel 2 in utica they had a little article online about the game. Good press but the stands looked empty.

Rantzilla, I have not spoken with the G.M. here since the game last weekend have you talked to him yet? If so what do you think? In my conversations with him seems pretty nice and strait forward.

[kahunakats]

Check out the league website-it should be fully functional within the next 48 hours.

www.northeasternhockeyleague.com

[BCRantzilla]

JD,

I'll look into the results of that one. I have had some pretty good email exchanges with Cameron and look forward to more in the future. He sounds very genuine about building the team up as well as the league as a whole.

As for that NEHL link, it's about time it was fixed. See what happens when you pay for the server? Good things happen!

[BCRantzilla]

http://www.wktv.com/news/sports/local/4748911.html

New England Ices IceCats
Brian Sandler has the highlights
Video High


The first time the Mohawk Valley IceCats team played at the Utica Aud, the semi-professional team won 18-1. Unfortunately, the second go-around wasn't quite as nice, as the 'Cats lost to the New England Stars on Sunday night 13-5.


Hironori Kobayashi led MV with two goals, while Jim Cashman, Chris Herr, and Mark Vida each had one.


The IceCats' next home game at the Aud is Sunday, December 10th at 6 p.m.


Story Created: Nov 27, 2006 at 1:47 AM EST

Can you say NEHL first? ANY time the local news shows highlights of a game, it is a big deal even if the Ice Cats got their arses kicked. It was clear who the superior team was in this one in the short snipets I got to see. However, Jim can't accuse Utica's press of ignoring them.

I heard crowd noise but there looked like there was nobody there at all. Advertising is the key dudes...

[JohnDoe]

BC,

Danville had new coverage of the first 2 games in Danville but neither made the web version of the stations. They havent been as good as the coverage but non the less coverage is coverage.

[BCRantzilla]

Just to let everyone know I'll have my Month in Review up on the board hopefully by late tonight. We should also start doing weekly picks to see how we can call 'em.

[BCRantzilla]

Here's an article out of Findlay, (the first in a long time.)

http://www.findlayliving.com/article_1597.php
Freedom Calls Findlay Home
By
Dec 1, 2006,

http://www.findlayliving.com/artman/uploads/findlay_ohio_freedom_hockey3.jpg
It's Back!

Two years after the University of Findlay announced they would no longer have a hockey team and talks of other leagues possibly coming to Findlay, hockey on higher level has returned.

Some say Findlay's not a hockey town but how can that be? Surrounded by three cities where one can watch professional hockey, Toledo, Columbus and Detroit there has to be fans from Findlay. Now we don't want to excuse the Findlay Men's league or our beloved
Findlay Trojan Hockey team but if you are looking for a higher level one has to leave Findlay for that.

Not anymore! With the complete transformation, the ice is back, and fittingly, the remolded structure is named "The Cube". The ribbon was cut on the New Sky Bank Arena at "The Cube" September 21st. The new home of Findlay High Trojan's, The Silver Blades and the Findlay Area Men's Hockey Association a new team was revealed.

Then a surprise announcement by Mayor Iriti, The new facility will be home to the Findlay Freedom Hockey Club. Calling Findlay home, this expansion team of the NEHL brings to Findlay great hard-hitting hockey action. Players from around the area, across the nation and Canada man the team. They have come to Findlay, an area well known for its love and dedication for Hockey, to add to the passion for the sport.

"We know how much of a hockey town Findlay is," said Mike Delong, General Manager of the Freedom. "Our goal is to bring the fans a fun and exciting game to experience. We want to provide great entertainment that the entire family can come to enjoy," added Matt Crawford, President of the Club.

The Findlay Freedom opened their inaugural season in Danville against the Pounders where they pulled out their first victory of the new season, SCORE. The November 5 home opener at the Cube saw the Findlay Freedom defeat the Mohawk Valley Ice Cats from Utica. The team treated the hometown crowd to an action packed afternoon. By the end of the third period, The Freedom came out on top with their first home win.

The Findlay Freedoms first road trip to the East Coast took them to Danbury Connecticut to battle the New England Stars. The Stars lineup for that November 12 offering was sprinkled with NHL players that took it to the Freedom. The lines were brutally tested that afternoon. Despite a tremendous effort, they came up on the short end of a 14 to 1 effort. The Freedoms opportunity to gain respect from the New England Stars came again in front of the home crowd on November 19 in the Sky Bank Arena at the Cube. Naturally the Stars came in too over confidant in the contest. The Freedom displayed an elevated game of passing and shooting as they attacked the Stars goal. Eighteen minutes into the third period the Freedom was threatening to tie the Stars. With the score at 7 to 6, the Freedom delivered what seemed to be the tying goal. Then a whistle disqualified the goal to the crowd's dismay. Never giving up, the Freedom pulled the goalie and went for it. They came up empty handed though, as the Stars were able to steal the puck and rang the buzzer for the final of 8-6 with the empty net goal. Even though the Freedom came up short the excitement of giving the Stars a real battle on the ice wasn't lost on the team. Assistant Coach Keith Williams of Findlay said in his excitement after the game he was thrilled to be associated with the program. It's feels great to be able to play here in Findlay. And that is what is at the heart of this team.

Goalie Denny Canfield, a graduate of The University of Findlay is a big supporter of youth hockey and enjoys the opportunity to get out and work with kids. On the ice he is like Gumby, stretching and twisting to stop every puck headed into his territory. The Assenmacher brothers make their presence known, while Etienne Chenard and Rob Boyles seem to slingshot their way across the ice. Coach Matt McAlpin and Assistant Coach Keith Williams keep the pressure on as they keep the line's charging and checking their next opponents to the net.

The Findlay Freedom began their home season on November 5 against the Mohawk Valley Ice Cats from Utica and came out on top. They will continue to battle on home ice at the Cube on Sunday afternoons throughout the season. For information on game schedule and ticket purchases you can call The Findlay Freedom at 877-720-7825 or go to www.findlayfreedom.com. Bring the family and come on out to the Cube and show your support for your Findlay Freedom.

http://www.findlayliving.com/artman/uploads/findlay_ohio_freedom_hockey1.jpg


This is a very good article about the team. It's good to finally get some news out of Findlay since the team has had very little news of note lately.

[kahunakats]

Actually, it had nothing to do with paying the server but finding someone with the time and inclination to put material back after the server crashed and wiped everything out. That is what we are in the process of doing now. BTW, the league will be making an announcement on Monday that they are naming a former NHL Vice President as a league consultant. Besides being a VP for the Phoenix Coyotes, he was also a Director for the Philadelphia Eagles for seven years. The league is certainly attempting to go in the right direction and make A-league hockey a reality.

[kahunakats]

Mohawk Valley IceCats 12
Danville Pounders 8

Justin Todd of Danville had 4 goals and 1 assist in the game.

[BCRantzilla]

Actually, it had nothing to do with paying the server but finding someone with the time and inclination to put material back after the server crashed and wiped everything out. That is what we are in the process of doing now. BTW, the league will be making an announcement on Monday that they are naming a former NHL Vice President as a league consultant. Besides being a VP for the Phoenix Coyotes, he was also a Director for the Philadelphia Eagles for seven years. The league is certainly attempting to go in the right direction and make A-league hockey a reality.

I'm not sure who I'm talking to but I don't buy the comment that the lack of websites for Danville, M.V. and the league site being down for a full month are due to no time to post it. Neither club had a site to begin with which says loud and clear that ownership doesn't have the money to have a site. (Granted the Pounders' management put a free account site online but it shows that ownership won't finance an official domain for them.)

Not having a webmaster, websites and what not are definately money issues. Findlay and New England have had no problems with this for the most part. The Ice Cats and Pounders are still the teams with money and credibility issues. Mainly due to lack of funding.

As for the Coyotes Executive coming in, while I think any NHL experience is good, it remains to be seen how this will help the league.

[kahunakats]

I'll grant you that two of the franchises are underfunded but-unlike past attempts-the league is working aggressively to correct that problem. The former NHL VP specialized in tickets sales and services and marketing-all of which would provide short-term fixes for the teams since tickets and marketing is what most teams live on at this level. The league is also reaching out to former Danville Dashers (from the old All-American and Continental League days) and a former NHL player from the Blues to try to shore up support and assistance with the Danville franchise. As to the league website, it was down because nobody knew how to restore information in it once the server crashed. That is being remedied with the addition of two extra people to work on the sites and get the word out to the media and the public. The league website situation was not a matter of money but a matter of not having enough personnel to get all the jobs done and that is something the league is working on right now with these additions. Unlike past incarnations, the NEHL has been in the regular season now for five weeks and ALL games have been played on time. Now we work on solidifying league partners, getting stats organized, getting Mohawk Valley up-and-running with a website and increasing attendance and credibility. As with all fledgling leagues we are always looking for help-anyone interested?

[JohnDoe]

Why dont we ask this question,

BC, you have been pating all of the league announcements on here, and wasnt there a few on how the league had filled various positions like a commisioner, and the 2 guys from Findlay were like 2 front office positions?

Corect me if I am wrong but if this is the case Kahunakats, The Findlay site has been up for 2 1/2 weeks now why didnt Mr. Cashman have his other front office people like the Findlay guys help get the league site up???? They obviously have someone who knows how to work it.

Where is this commisioner??????? What in the league is anyone other then yourself and Mr. Cashman doing as far as running the league? Or is it a 2 man show and then you look good by having other names in positions and asking for more help but then it is still a dictatorship with Mr. Cashman in the lead.

There are still to many questions surrounding the running of this league.
The shame is I have been at all the games in Danville and they are a good team. They need to get a couple more physical guys but they are built young with a lot of potential I asked the G.M. not last night but 2 weeks ago how much he had to spend on advertising because I had some ideas for him and he told me he was lucky he was able to work deals with a couple sponsors in trade because he was not allocated any money for advertising. That is pathetic for Mr. cashman to think anyone no matter what city can properly advertise a team and get people in the door with no money to advertise with. Luckily for Danville I think the Cameron guy that is their G.M. was a little creative in atleast getting some advertising for no money.

There is always a lot of excuses surrounding supposed league reps on this board. It isnt his fault its their fault and that kinda crap. I guess it is good for once that someone I am assuming in a league position has admitted they have no money. But if that hasnt been fixed with a couple league failures before why would anyone sponsor the league now???????????????????

No more excuses do something about it.

Also on a positive note the Danville team did have their jerseys finished this weekend they look sharp. I did ask the G.M. about where he got them becaue I want to buy one and he said that he got them from a local guy around danville because their were to many supplier issues with other companies the league was buying from. He wouldnt go into much more detail even though I asked for more info.

[BCRantzilla]

Restoring info is simple really:

Just repost news items previously lost. All you have to do is save articles when they are written. New England has had no problems at all with this, then again, they either have a webmaster, (someone you will likely have to pay some sort of salary,) or know people who can do it on the fly for them.

Danville has done exceptionally well considering that Cashman has left them out to dry for all intents and purposes. M.V. has been a total disaster as well with zero attendance for the most part and rumours flying around that nobody in the organization has been paid this year. This simply is NOT acceptable.

I would gladly volunteer my services in terms of anything ranging from recruiting, media relations, scouting or coaching but I sincerely doubt that either team that needs these things can afford to pay someone to do that. There is nothing an NHL exec can do about this fact unless Jim Cashman is removed as owner of these teams and people with MONEY come in and put the people in place needed to run the teams properly and without incident.

While reaching out to former players on teams' past in certain markets is not a bad thing, it doesn't help much in the short term either. At this level marketing is grass roots based because the public need to trust the team and product. Good old fashioned community relations are the best way to go but the teams have to be financed properly in the first place. Danbury has done and exceptional job of this. Findlay is not doing badly either from what little I have seen. Danville has built a small but loyal fanbase which is the cornerstone of a team looking to solidify itself in the marketplace but M.V. is basically dead in the water because of no money and a boss with far less committment than the one in Danville.

There needs to be an influx of money and a shift in leadership at the league level in order to right the ship. Yes, I agree that it is a LOT better than past incarnations which were a sad joke at best for the most part, but it is far from where it needs to be.

[BCRantzilla]

JD, I'll try to answer point by point because there's a lot here:

Why dont we ask this question,

BC, you have been pating all of the league announcements on here, and wasnt there a few on how the league had filled various positions like a commisioner, and the 2 guys from Findlay were like 2 front office positions?

You are correct. My guess is that the Findlay crew ended up being part of the ownership group. Too bad nobody said anything about weather or not they were out of the previous positions or if anyone replaced them.

Corect me if I am wrong but if this is the case Kahunakats, The Findlay site has been up for 2 1/2 weeks now why didnt Mr. Cashman have his other front office people like the Findlay guys help get the league site up???? They obviously have someone who knows how to work it.

I think the answer is simple: Findlay's group had the money, Cashman didn't.1

Where is this commisioner??????? What in the league is anyone other then yourself and Mr. Cashman doing as far as running the league? Or is it a 2 man show and then you look good by having other names in positions and asking for more help but then it is still a dictatorship with Mr. Cashman in the lead.

I tend to share your frustration. Why hire a commish is they aren't part of the league after the announcement? Jim clearly can't do this alone but I tend to wonder if he even wants anyone else helping because his track record isn't exactly one conductive to new ideas from new people.

There are still to many questions surrounding the running of this league.
The shame is I have been at all the games in Danville and they are a good team. They need to get a couple more physical guys but they are built young with a lot of potential I asked the G.M. not last night but 2 weeks ago how much he had to spend on advertising because I had some ideas for him and he told me he was lucky he was able to work deals with a couple sponsors in trade because he was not allocated any money for advertising. That is pathetic for Mr. cashman to think anyone no matter what city can properly advertise a team and get people in the door with no money to advertise with. Luckily for Danville I think the Cameron guy that is their G.M. was a little creative in atleast getting some advertising for no money.

Having someone who cares running the show will pay dividends eventually if the rumours of new ownership on the horizon are true. It's too bad they've been left out to dry like this because there sounds like there is a very high level of loyalty from the players, management and fans here.

There is always a lot of excuses surrounding supposed league reps on this board. It isnt his fault its their fault and that kinda crap. I guess it is good for once that someone I am assuming in a league position has admitted they have no money. But if that hasnt been fixed with a couple league failures before why would anyone sponsor the league now???????????????????

No more excuses do something about it.

Nothing new from Cashman run leagues unfortunately. In the original NEHL of 2003-04 it was "all Rob Madia's fault." Then it was the "players' fault". In 03-04 it was all Kolodziej's fault. Last year it was the Pittsburgh coaches and players' faults. Meanwhile the same league owner has run 100% of the teams until this year and only half of the players on the two teams THIS year have been paid. Who's fault is that?

a positive note the Danville team did have their jerseys finished this weekend they look sharp. I did ask the G.M. about where he got them becaue I want to buy one and he said that he got them from a local guy around danville because their were to many supplier issues with other companies the league was buying from. He wouldnt go into much more detail even though I asked for more info.

Unless you have an AHL team I wouldn't bet on getting a replica jersey of a minor league team in their first season. Game worn late in the season? Good chance, commercial replica? Not likely until next year because they are still working on getting some stability. Hopefully they will be able to make t-shirts or ballcaps in the meantime though.

[BCRantzilla]

The league executive hires were posted on the previous NEHL thread so here's a repost of the releases:

NEHL HIRES LEAGUE COMMISSIONER

9/05/06 – The North Eastern Hockey League has found a Commissioner. The NEHL is bringing back a familiar face to the league. Former Oneida County/ Mohawk Valley Comets coach Brett Boake will take the reigns. Boake led the Comets to a 16-4 record and a first place seeding in the regular season. Boake proved that he was a good leader among men.

Boake was born October 30, 1974 in Newmarket, Ontario and was raised in Toronto, Ontario. He grew up playing hockey in the Aurora Tigers and Toronto Marlies youth organizations. He then went on to play 5 years of Junior hockey for the Chippawa Merchants, Fort Erie Meteors and then finishing it off in Jr. ‘A’ with the Richmond Hill Riot.

“When I was looking for a candidate to fill this position I didn’t have to go very far. I have known Brett for 15 years and knew that he could do a great job in this position,” says Jim Cashman, League President. “Brett and I were teammates in Chippawa for 2 years winning a League Title in the first season together. He was a hard worker that did what the team needed of him to help win. He is a complete team player and has been for as long as I have known him.”

Boake graduated from Niagara College in 1994 with a diploma in business and marketing. He held the position of Service Manager for 6 years for Performance Lexus/ Toyota/ BMW car dealership, Brett started his own business and now is an Owner/ Operator of The Wearhouse Limited, a promotional goods and advertising company in Toronto, Ontario.

“When Cash (League President Jim Cashman) approached me with this offer, I was a little shocked at first, it was so out of the blue” says Boake. “We talked for about an hour about what the job would entail and what he would expect or need from me in this position and I knew I could do the job very well. I also knew what I was getting involved in as far as being involved with the league. I have known Cash to be a good leader since our days of playing together in Chippawa”

Boake has been the hockey coach for the boy’s team at Niagara Christian Collegiate, which is a private high school for the past 4 years. He was also in charge of recruiting and scholarships for N.C.C. students coming to the school and graduating into college.

“I have known Jim for 15 years now, I know what to expect from him and he knows what to expect from me,” adds Boake. “We seem to be the same type of person, we are both hard working, honest and stand up guys. That could be why we get along so well and have for so long.”

Brett resides in Fort Erie, Ontario with his wife of 7 years Alicia and their 2 ½ year old son Jaxon. They are expecting a second child in October.

NEHL ADDS 2

8/23/06 – The North Eastern Hockey League has filled two positions in the league office. Matt Crawford and Mike DeLong, both of Fort Wayne, Indiana. will fill the positions of Vice President of Hockey Operations and Public Relations Director.

Crawford earned the Combat Infantry Badge as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom while serving in the Indiana Army National Guard and is a graduate of the Indiana Military Academy Officer Candidate School.

“We started the CPSHL in 2005 and thought we would like to take another step up in the hockey chain,” says Crawford. “We came across the NEHL and figured it wouldn’t hurt to offer our services too help out and take that step we were looking for.”

Both Crawford and DeLong are Co-Founders of the Central Public Safety Hockey League with Crawford holding position of President and DeLong being the Vice-President and Public Relations Director. The league was started in 2005 and is currently operating with teams in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rockford, Illinois and 3 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Crawford and DeLong are also employed as Police Officers.

“We did extensive research on the league and thought this would be a great opportunity for us,” stated DeLong. “When we advised Cashman of what we have previously accomplished and of our future goals, the NEHL seemed like a good fit for us all.”

“I met Matt Crawford and Mike DeLong a couple of months back when they approached me about working for the league,” says League President Jim Cashman. “After numerous talks and a couple of trips to Fort Wayne to meet face to face I felt they would be well suited for these positions”

They will both start in these positions immediately and work out of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

[BCRantzilla]

For the record, here's the official announcement of the latest hire on the NEHL website:

NEHL NAMES FORMER NHL EXECUTIVE AS CONSULTANT
December 4, 2006


The North Eastern Hockey League is pleased to announce the appointment of former NHL executive Shayne Donohue as a consultant for the minor league this season.


Donohue, a former Vice President of the Phoenix Coyotes has also served as a Director for the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons and worked with the Detroit Pistons prior to that.


The Wausau, Wisconsin native currently has residences in both Philadelphia and Phoenix but will be able to serve the NEHL by providing valuable insight and experience to the member teams-specializing in marketing and ticket sales.


“This is a great leap forward for us,” league founder Jim Cashman said. “This kind of bold move helps bring credibility to the league and shows that what we have been saying all along is true: there is a future for ‘A-League” hockey.”

Why hire the guy as just a "consultant"? With his credentials and clearly a vacancy at the commissioner level, why not give him the big job? They had better have the money to pay his salary...

[JohnDoe]

BC,

thanks for confirming my thoughts and clearing up my statements.

Looks pretty uniformed as to the problems that the NEHL is and has faced over the last few years

[lucky13flyah64]

I wanted to post and hear some replies from what seems like the more knowledgable persons in regaurds to the NEHL.

I have been looking at taking a shot at pro hockey for the past two years. I'm 23 right now and currently on active-duty army in PA.

I was able to play a season in college for Univ. of Pittsburgh at Johnstown but due to the military and gaining full-time employment through it I was unable to continue playing.

Does anyone know what the possibilities and chances of playing are? I found out about this league too late to make the open try-outs. Does anyone know if the teams practice during the week etc?

Thanks for any info you can supply.

[PROMAN]

Do you think if Cashman doesn't fail for he 5th time that he would pay all the bills he incurred in Poughkepsie, York, Pittsburgh, Long Island/Philly, St. Catherines or any of the other places who have lawsuits against him? or who is he going to make his scapegoat for this league?
The two teams who are successful would be smart to get out on their own before they go down with the ship and get blamed for another failure where the only common thread for the failures is Cashman.

[BCRantzilla]

To be honest, Cashman may not even have a say in how this year finishes. When you have two independant owners and two franchises going belly up but one of the two finding ways to hang on without Cashman anywhere near them, that's a 3-1 vote to remove him if it comes to that.

Worse comes to worse, you will have 3 teams finish the year but I do feel that the league will survive regardless of weather Jim Cashman is part fo it or not.

[JohnDoe]

As a hockey fan in Danville, I appreciate everytihng the G.M. here has done. It would be a shame for all the work he has put into building this team went away because of the situations talked about on here in the last couple weeks. I was here and supported the Wings the old Jr. A team here in Danville and It makes me sad to think another team could possibly leave because this may be the last chance for hockey of any kind in Danville. I know Cameron told me he is working on finding an owner for next season and he thaught it was close to happening but he couldnt promise me anything. We have 1 of the nicest rinks in the midwest and we need to keep ice alive not just for the pounders but the 2 college club teams that play here and the 2 youth hockey organizations that play here. It would be a shame if something happened and the NEHL didnt finish the season. I hope a lot of the chatter on here isnt true about M.V. and Danville in financial trouble and maybe not finishing the season. But I can tell you that as a fan I thank Cameron the Danville G.M. for stepping up to the plate and trying to make this works with what seems to be less then favorable conditions. So Cameron if you read this board thanks and to all the Danville fans please come out and support the pounders because rhey need us the fans to make this work.

[BCRantzilla]

Perhaps you can start a fansite for the team. (A booster club could cost a bit much so this could be a good start.) If you have a digicamera, bring it to the games, (the guy in Halifax who covered the CEHL did this last year in Portsmouth.)

I'll continue to cover the league here and post news. Speaking of which, here's the updated NEHL standings going into week 6:

1. N.E. Stars: 5-0, 10 pts
2. Findlay Freedom: 2-2-1, 5 pts
3. M.V. Ice Cats: 2-4-1, 5 pts
4. Danville Pounders: 2-3, 4 pts

[BCRantzilla]

Anyone have any news on tonight's game?

[JohnDoe]

BC,

Question that maybe you could answer, I was looking at the NEHL website and it looked like M.V. plays more games then any of the other teams, So I counted how many and it looks like here is how many games each team plays

Findlay 20
Danville 20
New England 21
M.V. 24

How is it possible in a professional league for 1 team to play 3 more games then 1 team and 4 more then 2 others? Are they on a different point structure or is M.V. just stacking the deck to give them a chance for a couple more wins??

Just curious

[BCRantzilla]

I knew this league would have an uneven schedule going in. Apparently it was because this year wouldn't be a "true" season as much as a test run. (Every year has been a test run for this league since 2004 though so take that for what it's worth.)

As for how the playoffs will shake down, Cashman told me the FINAL standings would be based on winning percentage opposed to points. (Yet they post point totals on the site, strange.) If the Stars indeed run the table it becomes a moot point regardless of what the Cats or anyone else do.

I heard a rumour recently that Findlay is having slight money troubles but they will survive the season. Stay tuned on that one.

[ZamboniDriver]

Did some one ask how it is going today?

At the end of two periods the Stars lead 9-1

[BCRantzilla]

Well that sends my first of two "games to watch" in my Month In Review straight to hell. I just hope Danville can get a couple of goals to make it respectable. Nobody wants to see one team win by mercy rule every single time.

[NewEnglandStars]

Th Stars beat Danville 16-5 tonight. Eric Lind had four goals for the Stars. Among the five fights were two rounds of Phil Esposito versus Brendan Tedstone. Espo kicked Teddy's ass the second time.

[BCRantzilla]

Ouch.

How was attendance for the game and did Danville ice a full squad? (They've had problems fielding a full roster for road games all year which is why I ask.)

[NewEnglandStars]

Ouch.

How was attendance for the game and did Danville ice a full squad? (They've had problems fielding a full roster for road games all year which is why I ask.)

Danville seemed to have their full team, except for Brendan Tedstone filling in. Tedstone got a game misconduct in the second period for head-butting anyway. The attendance was not as high as it was for Trashers games, but it seemed decent.

[BreakersFan]

To be honest, Cashman may not even have a say in how this year finishes. When you have two independant owners and two franchises going belly up but one of the two finding ways to hang on without Cashman anywhere near them, that's a 3-1 vote to remove him if it comes to that.

Worse comes to worse, you will have 3 teams finish the year but I do feel that the league will survive regardless of weather Jim Cashman is part fo it or not.

The Jamestown Titans drew pretty well (1000), had good local media coverage and had a great fan site suring their one year of existance. The arena there will not get involved with Cashman, but certainly might be interested in a non-Cashman NEHL.

[BCRantzilla]

I think most would agree that if this league survives the season, it will be in spite of Cashman, not because of him.

If Jamestown could draw 1000/game or close to it, they would definately be a possibility the remaining owners should look at. Danville would have to have a spot somewhere because from the accounts I've gotten here, there is potential for a team to survive there.

I'd like to learn more about the Stars and how they do things because it is obvious that they are the pace setter in the league thus far.

Oh, and did anyone get the score in the other game this past weekend?

[ZamboniDriver]

Danville seemed to have their full team, except for Brendan Tedstone filling in. Tedstone got a game misconduct in the second period for head-butting anyway. The attendance was not as high as it was for Trashers games, but it seemed decent.

I don't think that you can compare the Trashers attendance. They were a winning team in an established league (UHL), spent money on promotions and even they inflated attendance figures to an unbelievable level (more than the rink holds?). I think the Stars can hold their own if they stay in Danbury (no home games in Stamford) and make the games competitive. They can split the Trasher fans with the Soundtigers and still average between 500-1000 per night but the fans want to see a game.If they survive the first year or two maybe then explore games in Shelton or Stamford.

[NewEnglandStars]

That Stamford game was just a one shot deal. All the Stars' other home games are at the DIA.

[BCRantzilla]

Based on the model Cashman put forth for the league initially, teams should be able to survive on crowds of around 1000 a game. Rink costs in the Northeast are far cheaper than in the South making the need for bigger crowds far less than in the SPHL for the same level of hockey. Even if the salary cap was around $6500 per week the NEHL could thrive if there were 5-7 markets drawing what the Stars have drawn this year.

If the games could get more competitive there is definately hope. It would be really cool to see the Stars run the table because you NEVER see that but it wouldn't be good for the league in the long run for one team to effectively own to that degree.

[NEHLFAN]

http://www.wktv.com/news/sports/local/4879151.html video from freedom/ice cats game.

[NEHLFAN]

props to cashman for getting television news coverage. hopefully this will help ticket sales. also, if you go to a game don't forget to save your ticket stub. If one of the asian hockey players scores a goal can be redeemed for a free spring roll at some nearby chinese restarant, no joke.

[hockeysauce]

does anybody know where I can find pictures/video from the New England/Danville game on Sunday??

I played in that game for Danville as a contracted away player, and it was my first ever pro game, so I'm looking for pictures or anything of the game... I'll be playing for them again on Sunday in Utica... thanks for any help

[NEHLFAN]

I wanted to post and hear some replies from what seems like the more knowledgable persons in regaurds to the NEHL.

I have been looking at taking a shot at pro hockey for the past two years. I'm 23 right now and currently on active-duty army in PA.

I was able to play a season in college for Univ. of Pittsburgh at Johnstown but due to the military and gaining full-time employment through it I was unable to continue playing.

Does anyone know what the possibilities and chances of playing are? I found out about this league too late to make the open try-outs. Does anyone know if the teams practice during the week etc?

Thanks for any info you can supply.




Any luck finding a team?

[NewEnglandStars]

does anybody know where I can find pictures/video from the New England/Danville game on Sunday??

I played in that game for Danville as a contracted away player, and it was my first ever pro game, so I'm looking for pictures or anything of the game... I'll be playing for them again on Sunday in Utica... thanks for any help

Hey, which number player were you? You can find photos of the game at http://www.trasherpics.net/ - go there and click on photo galleries and find the Stars vs. Pounders game.

[BCRantzilla]

Of the Danbury contingent that has finally discovered OSC, anyone from the Section 102 boards???

[BCRantzilla]

http://www.wktv.com/news/sports/local/4879151.html video from freedom/ice cats game.

A couple of notes:

-Attendance is up in Utica, a very good sign.

-Utica finally got to see a competitive game after two blowouts.

-Highlight reel saves are a good way to attract scouts. (See why having OSC coverage is a good thing?)

Utica's media has been behind the team from the get go which is huge but the team needs to promote itself outside of the media as well to yeild more results at the gate. Things have clearly improved here though.

[BreakersFan]

Hey, which number player were you? You can find photos of the game at http://www.trasherpics.net/ - go there and click on photo galleries and find the Stars vs. Pounders game.

Nice picture page, NES. I was also at the Jackals/Komets game on Saturday. Sat in section 106

[BreakersFan]

I think most would agree that if this league survives the season, it will be in spite of Cashman, not because of him.

If Jamestown could draw 1000/game or close to it, they would definately be a possibility the remaining owners should look at. Danville would have to have a spot somewhere because from the accounts I've gotten here, there is potential for a team to survive there.

I'd like to learn more about the Stars and how they do things because it is obvious that they are the pace setter in the league thus far.



How about Jamestown, Danbury, Glens Falls, and Utica for a good 4 team loop. Maybe Findlay and Danville make it 6....

[NewEnglandStars]

Of the Danbury contingent that has finally discovered OSC, anyone from the Section 102 boards???

I am Whalers4Life over there.

[NewEnglandStars]

Nice picture page, NES. I was also at the Jackals/Komets game on Saturday. Sat in section 106

I wasn't with the Danbury contingent that traveled up to that game, but after seeing video highlights of it on YouTube I sure wish I had been!

[hockeysauce]

Hey, which number player were you? You can find photos of the game at http://www.trasherpics.net/ - go there and click on photo galleries and find the Stars vs. Pounders game.

I was #24 ... aka the smallest person on the ice lol

[NewEnglandStars]

I was #24 ... aka the smallest person on the ice lol

LOL! I remember you. I was joking that you looked like you were about 12-years-old. If there's no picture of you there contact Bill Thebert who runs trasherpics.net. Click the contact link on the page there. He said he's got about 1,100 photos of the game, so I bet he's got some of you. Out of curiosity, how many of the players there were "regular" Pounders and how many were add-ons for the game? I know Tedstone was a special guest, but I didn't realize there were others.

[hockeysauce]

lol thanks...

looking for any feedback on how you think I played... I didn't have a strong game, haven't played real hockey (other than BS men's leagues) in awhile and was alittle nervous going into this game... I should play much better in Utica...


as for Danville regulars, I think only two players (Justin Todd 19, and Evan Afflex 14) made the trip from Danville... i'm signed on as an "east road" player, so i think for the reimainder of this season Danville is going to have a split roster....

[BCRantzilla]

A little NEHL history for you guys, check this out!

http://www.northeasternhockeyleague.com
Dennis Canfield, goalie for the Findlay Freedom has been named player of the week for December 9 and 10. Canfield made 46 saves to keep his team in the game in a 6-4 loss to the Mohawk Valley IceCats in Utica, NY. Dennis is also the first player to be called up to the 'AA' level as he has signed with the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL.

This is an NEHL first and a monumental transaction that could lend a serious level of credibility for this league. Considering how badly the Stars have shelled the entire NEHL this year you have to wonder when teams will be knocking on their door.

[BCRantzilla]

Stars Lambaste Pounders: Streak Continues with Six

http://newenglandstarshockey.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/thumbcache/0c93a59b635bd25463d91f213855d7e8.200.jpg

12/13/2006 12:29 AM -
Having now played each of the teams in the league at least once, the Stars show no sign of relenting to opponents, and other teams in the league will need to continue consulting the drawing board for solutions to the Stars’ explosive tally machine. Fans in Danbury chanted "we want 20" at the second half of the third period, urging the Stars to continue lighting the lamp. "I think the fans are starting to realize that the goal differential is not as much a slight on the caliber of the other teams, as it is an attestation to our own team’s depth" said Stars GM/Coach Stephan Seeger, "we have a lot of skill and finesse up front, and a solid wall at the blue line that regularly joins in on the score sheet." Regarding the strategy of opponents intimidating Stars players, something which appears to have been the approach taken at the beginning of both the last two home games by the visiting Freedom and Pounders, Seeger said simply: "as I’ve said countless times, the rough stuff is not our priority, but its part of the game that can’t be controlled by just one team–I think that’s the point to the strategy captured by the expression ‘knock’em off their game’–I think its also clear that we have the staff to respond effectively to it if other teams feel the need to deal with our firepower in that way." And deal with it they did.

The Pounder’s roster sported a minor league fight favorite in Brendan Tedstone, who appeared to begin taunting Star players including Phil Esposito as early as the warm up. "Tedstone is a big man and so is Phil, but in the end, I think Phil’s bigger heart and determination saw him through to a clear cut fight victory that allowed the rest of the team to ignore the prospect of rough stuff and concentrate on securing a decisive victory," said Seeger, who added that "Espo is a good team guy, who takes a lot of penalties because he plays with an edge; sometimes an edge costs you in a game, and sometimes it leads to focus" and jokingly remarked that "this time Phil’s style came in handy, and since he also figured himself into the score sheet with a goal and two helpers, the finesse players forgave him for having to work short handed for the twenty two minutes he spent in the box. He’s here to stay, and we’ll continue to work on defining his role and evolving his style to suit team needs." If Seeger’s edge theory is at all viable, the game had by two of the Stars’ "edgiest" players is easily reconcilable: "Lindy had three and two helpers and Eats (Erik Eaton) had the opening goal followed by two assists–you always know these two guys come to play and what you can expect from them, game in and game out," Seeger said. Notably, both these players joined their team mate Phil Esposito in that familiar place, for similar discretions, in a game that was full of skirmishes started by opponents and finished by the home team.

http://newenglandstarshockey.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/thumbcache/9ea70e39095584537f0cda17aa0f6a91.200.jpg

But with rough play comes injury, and strategy or otherwise, Clark Jones’ newly acclaimed fan club, recently acknowledge on the NEHL’s league web-site, are deeply saddened that the team’s starting Center will not be able to join his team mates in Illinois or Chicago this weekend due to a shoulder injury that is likely to have him sidelined for several weeks. "He was protecting himself in a skirmish with Malloy, and when he let the right fly in the exchange his shoulder dislocated, and we knew he’d be going directly to the locker," said Assistant Coach Bob Stearns. The immediate remedy was not for the faint hearted, according to Coach Stearns, who indicated that medical staff immediately "snapped it back into place, and wrapped him up." Coaches’ Assistant Russ Luery, who escorted Jones to the locker with team Trainers remarked: "Clark was in a lot of pain, but the first thing he said after the Doc rammed his shoulder back in place was get me back out there so I can watch the boys finish this team off–this is the kind of athlete that he is–he deserves a fan club." Consistent with his suave but warrior type image, Jones entered a guest luxury box to watch the remainder of the third period, gesturing with his free arm to fans who waived, cheered, and displayed poster and body art messages to him from below. "Clarkie is a huge factor in this team’s record, and his skates are not easily filled–we’ll determine this week who will join Horvath and Seifert on the first line, but his return can’t come soon enough for any of us," said Stephan Seeger, "he’s just one of those adhesion players both on and off the ice, that revs up his team mates, and keeps everyone competing."

With stellar performances from guys like Scott Horvath (1 goal, 3 assists.), Eric Lind (3 goals, 2 assists), Chris Seifert (2 goals, 2 assists), TJ Cline (2 goals, 1 assist), Phil Esposito (1 goal, 2 assists), Ryan Hughes (3 assists), and newcomer Bobby Weston (2 goals, 4 assists), the Stars wrapped up the Pounders in style, shelling their goaltender mercilessly, outrightly barring play in the defensive zone, and sending their would-be tough guys a "nighty night" message that it takes a lot more than an attitude and rough play to beat Danbury’s newest hockey team at their home rink.

Another 1000+ crowd for the Stars. At this point the "streak" is going to be the likely topic that dominates NEHL discussion the rest of the year or as long as it lasts, whatever comes first. I can only hope that the rest of the league can fix the financial problems with new ownership or other means because at least one market clearly needs this and wants this league to survive and thrive.

[BCRantzilla]

More reaction on the recent callup on Findlay's site:

http://findlayfreedom.com/content/view/1/2/
First Freedom Player to Get Called Up!

http://findlayfreedom.com/templates/freedom/images/canfieldpic.jpg

December 12, 2006

Findlay, OH -- Dennis Canfield made history by being the first Findlay Freedom player to get called up to a higher level. The 26 year old Buffalo native will suit up for the Dayton Bombers of the East Coast Hockey League. Canfield, who posted a 2-3 record with the Findlay Freedom, will come in replacement to Dan Lacosta who has been called up by the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. He will share goaltending duties with Adam Berkhoel. The Bombers are in Cincinnati to play the Cyclones on Tuesday December 12th. On Friday December 15th they will host the Toledo Storm and they will be on the road the following day to play the Wheeling Nailers.

Canfield also captured the NEHL player of the week honors. Canfield stopped 53 of the IceCats' 59 shots on goal to keep the Freedom in the game in a 6-4 loss to Mohawk Valley IceCats in Utica, NY. As for the Findlay Freedom, they will host the undefeated New England Stars on Sunday December 17th at 4:00pm at Sky Bank Arena @ The Cube.

[NEHLFAN]

anybody know anything about this league. http://pshl-ice.tripod.com/ notice that they want to put a team in danville.

[BCRantzilla]

That 'league' makes the rounds here from time to time but it looks like nothing more than a sim league at best.

[NEHLFAN]

I guess at this point we're not going to see a mvicecats.com, eh?

[BCRantzilla]

From the reports I've heard about the two teams Cashman owns, he can't even afford to pay players on his OWN team so how could he afford a website domain? The league site, also run by Cashman has been barely operational since the beginning which is clearly a case of him not being able to pay the server. (Which would explain why the site "crashed" on November 1st and didn't get going again until the beginning of December.

Both MV and Danville desperately need owners with MONEY to give them a fighting chance as they both have a good hockey background and people will support these teams. However, Cashman, like he has in the past, thought he would sell out the first 3 games and use that money to finance the teams because he has no capital.

[BCRantzilla]

Some news from the Pounders site:

Pounders In The News

Pounders Look To Regroup

The Danville Pounders got off to a slow start to the 2006-2007 season. After blowing the first 2 games of the season the Pounders came back to win back to back games. The Pounders won their first game of the franchises history against the Mohawk Valley Ice Cats, then they defeated the Freedom the next weekend in a shoot out. Since then it has been downhill the last 2 games, The Pounders lost at home against the Ice cats in a 12-8 game, then the Pounders Played in Danbury against the undefeated New England Stars. The game was a 16-5 loss for Danville. The upside to the game was Danville tied for the second most goals scored against the Stars with 5 in the game. G.M. Cameron Estes said " We have talent out east and out west but we need to get a little more physical in our play and also learn how to not allow an average of 10 goals a game. If we do this we will WIN more games soon"

Danville will host the same New England Stars this Saturday the 16th at the David S. Palmer Arena in Danville, IL Game will start at 7:30pm and doors will open at 7pm Tickets are $8 adults and $6 students and seniors.



In Other Pounders News:

G.M. Cameron Estes has announced himself as an Assistant Coach for the remainder of the 06-07 season. "I evaluated the situation and talked to Sean Nicholson the Player Coach and we wanted to find a way to help take a little of the extra duties from Sean so he can focus on playing and progressing his career further, The most logical scenario put me on the bench with fellow assistant coach Charlie Sermersheim to help run things" Estes said " I am thrilled to have this chance and hopefuly we can get this thing turned in the right direction"

The Danville Pounders Keep adding more young talent to their roster, Recent additions include Mike McMahon (Chicago, IL), Evan Affleck (Mission Viejo, CA), John Burton (Chicago, IL), Jason Ulanski (Chicago, IL), Jimmy Pellegrino (New York) and Brian Coleman (Chicago, IL). Also the Pounders have Justin Todd (Manitoba, Canada) on a pro tryout.

After a blowout loss like the one in Danbury you had to know changes were coming. Personally if I was in Estes's shoes I would take over the coaching duties outright and take the pressure off of Sean and just give him the C instead. When you have to coach and play, one of the two always suffers and since he's one of their best players, the team can't afford to have his game slip when it isn't nesessary.

I hope Danville represents this weekend as they will be seeing the best team in the NEHL for the first time this year.

[JohnDoe]

New England 10
Danville 6

I thought New England was supposed to be good. They were just a gong show with a couple of good players. #7 is a goon all he can do is hack people.
Anyway all in all a good game Danville showed that they can play a high level of hockey and is getting better with time. Approx 400 fans I didnt hear a total announced but it looked like it did opening night

[BCRantzilla]

Well to be fair, both teams have guys who can fight. Last week's game between these two teams was rough so I kind of expected another battle here.

It's good to see the fact that attendance is up but it still needs to continue to rise if the team is going to survive.

[NewEnglandStars]

New England 10
Danville 6

I thought New England was supposed to be good. They were just a gong show with a couple of good players. #7 is a goon all he can do is hack people.
Anyway all in all a good game Danville showed that they can play a high level of hockey and is getting better with time. Approx 400 fans I didnt hear a total announced but it looked like it did opening night


#7 is Phil Esposito and his job is to get under the other team's skin and fight. That is what a goon is for. He's done it his whole career as you can tell by his PIM at http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid%5B%5D=7002 so why would he change now?

[JohnDoe]

I thought this league was going to be a developmental league/A league so to say

This is from www.aleaguehockey.com League Mission
The first is to train and develop hockey players and office staff to be ready to move up the professional hockey ladder to the AA level and beyond.
The NEHL is going to work on becoming the main developmental league for the three AA professional leagues. These would be the ECHL, Central Hockey League and United Hockey League.

With this above from the league website where does a 37 year old guy who obviously will not be called up to any team in AA the rest of his playing days fit into the mission of the league.

BC- There is a difference in a rough game and a cheap game. I think New England had like 25 penalties on the game most for slashing, Cross Checking and Tripping guys up. They tried to re create the Todd Bertuzzi incident a couple of times trying to jump guys from behind and 1 guy at the end of the game was swinging his helmet at other players.

Now Danville werent saints by any terms they had a guy get in a fight and keep his gloves on, and a few slashing calls.

Then after the final buzzer like 5 seconds after the Buzzer 1 of New Englands players rips a Slap shot on Danville's goalie from the hashmarks this started a good scrum when the danville goalie took exception to that and just pounded the crap out of the NE guy. The NE player turtled so quick he didnt want any part of it. But thats what you get when you pull a cheap play like ripping one several seconds after the final buzzer.

[NewEnglandStars]

I thought this league was going to be a developmental league/A league so to say

This is from www.aleaguehockey.com League Mission
The first is to train and develop hockey players and office staff to be ready to move up the professional hockey ladder to the AA level and beyond.
The NEHL is going to work on becoming the main developmental league for the three AA professional leagues. These would be the ECHL, Central Hockey League and United Hockey League.

Well, the league website might say that, but you can't believe anything Cashman says or writes. The youngest player on the Stars is 24, and all the rest are older than that (most are around 28 or so). I don't think any of them are going to move up anywhere, but most have plenty of experience at higher levels (UHL and ECHL).

By the way, Esposito is 36. Last weekend in Danbury the Danville Pounders had 37-year-old, 300-pound goon Brendan Tedstone playing for them. At least Esposito can skate. He also kicked Tedstone's butt in the fight while Tedstone got kicked out for head-butting.

[kahunakats]

The Mohawk Valley IceCats now have their website up and going with complete stats. Link to it at:

www.leaguelineup.com/mvicecats

[BCRantzilla]

Well, the league website might say that, but you can't believe anything Cashman says or writes. The youngest player on the Stars is 24, and all the rest are older than that (most are around 28 or so). I don't think any of them are going to move up anywhere, but most have plenty of experience at higher levels (UHL and ECHL).

By the way, Esposito is 36. Last weekend in Danbury the Danville Pounders had 37-year-old, 300-pound goon Brendan Tedstone playing for them. At least Esposito can skate. He also kicked Tedstone's butt in the fight while Tedstone got kicked out for head-butting.

Here's my take on the "developmental" aim of the NEHL:

The nanosecond Jim told me that there was no veteran rule this year this aspect of the league was out the window as far as I'm concerned. Add this to the fact that press releases stated very clearly that ALL FOUR teams had affiliations with ECHL or CHL teams, then we realized that this was NOT the case at all. Basically if any players get a callup, it is a huge bonus but nobody should expect teams to go too far to do this for players all that often. This year is clearly win-oriented.

If I was in charge, I would run things the way the Northern League and other renegade baseball leagues do it. Have a veteran rule of about 6 players with over 160 professional games played, (or two full seasons,) and have the rest of the roster filled out with kids. This way you have a core of vets that fans can identify with the team and lots of young talent that is attractive to higher level leagues. I prefer the rebel league angle because that way you can go looking for "name" players overlooked by other leagues or find guys that can be there for a game or two ala the Quebec Senior League, (aka LNAH.)

Which brings me to the goons; Guys, this is HOCKEY, fights sell and a tough guy or two protect the scorers and give them space as well as ample power play time, (5-4, 4-4, 4-3 situations,) and this give us the high scoring you see. Now I think the scores are a bit high, it's better than 1-0 snoozefests that dominated the Old NHL and AHL in the last 15 years. I for one would NEVER ice a team in the lower minors or A-Puck WITHOUT a gunslinger or two because that would be suicide.

Just my two cents.

[JohnDoe]

bc,

I think I may have been mis understood or maybe not, I have no problem with good old fashioned physical hockey but when guys try to recreate the Todd Bertuzzi incident or similar and when guys go around 2 handing the other team in the back of the legs all night. This is not good Physical hockey it borders on a gong show. Yes this is professional hockey I understand the physical nature of the game with fighting I like it myself but when you become a gong show that is when it becaomes a little unbearable. (pardon my spelling)

Now as far as the Wins as the top priority, Yes every team want to win but I know that after speaking with Cameron the G.M. in Danville He said there is no one moving up yet but he anticipates trying to get atleast 5 or 6 up when ever one of the AA teams gets back with him. I do know he told me he has had contact (I think contact is the word he used) with atleast 3 or 4 AA teams but he would not name them. So yes some of the teams have no interest in moving the players but I think after talking to Cameron this is his #1 goal for the guys that are ready.

Danville Players To Watch (From A Fans Perspective I am getting the info from the game program so I hope this is accurate)

Sean Nicholson Forward Countryside, IL
Justin Thoel Defense Palos Heights, IL
Mike McMahon Forward Tinley Park, IL
Evan Affleck Forward Mission Viejo, CA
Justin Todd Forward Manitoba (I think he is still on tryout but very strong player)
John Burton Forward Chicago, IL
Jimmy Pellegrino Goalie New York ( I only saw him 1 game in Danville but I asked Cameron about him and he said that Jimmy is a great goaltender with a ton of potential but he needed to firm up the support in front of him so Jimmy will Show better. I liked what i saw opening night from him.)
My final player to watch is Jason Ulanski Forward Chicago, IL

From a fan stand point an I have been to a couple UHL games myself this year I can see Nicholson, McMahon, Todd, Burton and Thoel moving up pretty soon, I think Pellegrino will be able to hold his own of course I am basing this off of 1/2 of a game he played opening night. Then Affleck and Ulanski to round out the group. I dont know if anyone else I have seen play with them this year could play the AA hockey I have seen but these guys could for sure. I think I am going to do a Danville Pounders First Half Review in a couple of weeks for anyone who is interested.

[BCRantzilla]

The Stars site's latest:

Stars Victorious in Two Weekend Wins in Illinois and Ohio
12/18/2006 1:03 AM
12/18/2006 1:03 AM -
While both opponents altered rosters from previous games, and new staff were enlisted to solve the Stars' offensive machine, neither the Danville Pounders, nor the Findlay Freedom, were successful with their own attempts. Both games were physical, and were riddled with penalties, however, in the end, the Stars prevailed because their home town opponents were sweating "Redding Fever." They were simply unable to skate with Scott Horvath or Chris Seifert, who combined to score 11 goals and over 20 points in the two road games. These Redding natives, Scott Horvath and Chris Seifert, lit the lamp so often together, that they may have to contribute to their opponents' electrical bills for the month.

Regarding Chris Seifert's 9 point (4g, 5 assists) game against Findlay on Sunday, Stars Coach Stephan Seeger stated: "Chris gets better every period he plays, and with Clark Jones out of the lineup for a while, he will be leaned on for offensive firepower." The task comes somewhat more easily with a linemate such as Scott Horvath, who himself started out the game against Findlay with a natural hatrick, and who has been a dominant force on the ice at every game. "Horvy has a very heavy shot, and he has an uncanny endurance for a big guy--he and Seif work very well together, and the goals they produce are often very stylish ones. These two are nasty, together and the other teams know it."

Seeger said that "tonight was Seifert's night, and nobody was going to dispute that, not if Seif had anything to say about it. When Horvath was sidelined after the second period with an upper body injury, Seif wasn't nervous, he was motivated. He stepped up to the challenge and produced, with confidence, and determination. Seif really solidified the win for us in Findlay, after Horvath set the pace with a natural hatrick." Regarding who might play between these two Redding snipers in Jones' absence, the Stars have plugged in Bobby Weston. "Boston Bobby" as some refer to him on the team, complimented his new linemates in the first game against Danville with some wicked forechecking, and in the second game where he buried a well earned short handed goal, and two assists in Findlay. "Bobby shapes up nicely between these two; he's fast, and likes to pressure the puck." said Seeger, "and we are going to look to him to continue to produce with this line."

Seifert's point tally in Findlay is probably the "team record for most points in a single game."

On the blueline, special mention goes to Eric Lind, who potted 3 goals and 3 assists in the two games, and who also remained to kill off approximately 20 team mate generated penalty minutes. Notably all of his goals came on the heels of very hard slap shots. Newcomer and tryout prospect Mike Utzig who played with Lind said: "he's got a terrific slap shot, and he skates with the type of speed and grace that we all want to work towards." As well, Dave LoPresti's contributions do not go unnoticed by any serious Star follower. He had a couple of assists during the weekend's festivities, but he "was by far one of the most consistent no nonsense players in both game--Dave is really turning out to be a mainstay back there, and his toughness is really starting to show through. Without Dave, our goaltenders would regularly have had to deal with more opponent scoring chances this weekend" said Seeger, who also complimented both Goalies' play this weekend as bing "stellar, those guys are both there when we need them most, and most of the goals against us came when we were shorthanded--and we shorthanded alot in both games."

With Phil Esposito, and Clark Jones currently out with temporary injuries, it is difficult to know whether or not the club can continue the streak, which has been built upon personalities as much as it has been built upon statistics: "you don't get good stats until your team looks around at each other and submits to the idea that playing to win means wanting to play for one another--that's the respect that leads to victoryk," Seeger said.



Let me get this straight, their two stars are fine and the tough guys are hurt and they think they might LOSE? This team is so much better than the rest of the NEHL right now that they would have to lost half of their lineup to get stopped.

[NewEnglandStars]

Granted Esposito is a tough guy, but he did score twice on Saturday before his hip started acting up. Jones is not a tough guy. He's a scorer. I think he was leading the team in points until the injury.

[BCRantzilla]

Here's a new Stars' Featured Player:


13 Total Including 9 pointer against Findlay
12/18/2006 2:28 AM
12/18/2006 2:28 AM - Even in the absence of such key players as Clark Jones, and this weekend, at least temporarily, without the assistance of his other linemate, Scott Horvath. "Seifert is just starting to blossom, I think, and tonight's game was an example of the way that Chris can really take charge when he's determined." Look for Seifert and the Redding connection to keep the lamp red at upcoming games. Chris had 4 goals and 5 assists against Findlay, and the day before he had 2 goals and 2 assists in Danville. Managment has all the confidence required in this Redding lad, who has performed time and time again, especially under pressure.


ANOTHER 9 POINT NIGHT??? No other team in the history of pro hockey has had more than ONE player with a 9 point night, (the Leafs in 1976,) let alone two. The Stars have found their way into pro hockey history with that.

[BCRantzilla]

Here's one from the Freedom's site:

Findlay Freedom Collects Coats for Chopin Hall

December 18, 2006

FINDLAY, Ohio – The Findlay Freedom hockey team is collecting coats during their New Year's Eve game against the Mohawk Valley IceCats, Sunday, Dec. 31 at The Sky Bank Arena @ The Cube for Chopin Hall.

The collection will begin at 4:30 p.m. and run through the duration of the game which starts at 5:30 p.m. Fans will receive $1 off of their admission price for donating. After the collection is complete, the coats will be donated to Chopin Hall. Tickets are $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and college students, and $6 for children.
"I think that this time of year is about giving to the people in need, and
helping out those that have difficulties,” said Michael DeLong, Findlay Freedom hockey manager. “Hosting a coat drive is beneficial for everyone looking to help those in need during the holiday season."

The Findlay Freedom is a member of the North Eastern Hockey League (NEHL), a single A professional hockey league. The NEHL is a developmental league for players coming from the junior and college level, and players with a professional hockey background. The league is focused on improving the players’ skills by playing competitive hockey throughout the United States and Canada to prepare the players for the next professional level and beyond.

For more information the Findlay Freedom office at www.findlayfreedom.com or at 1-877-720-PUCK (7825).

This is the first official community outreach program I have seen from any of the teams in the league thus far. Nice to see.

[BCRantzilla]

The Mohawk Valley IceCats now have their website up and going with complete stats. Link to it at:

www.leaguelineup.com/mvicecats

Ouch is all I can say. When a team GM forced to run a team with zero budget can put a better website online than his boss you know things are not going well for the Ice Cats. This is the worst team site I have ever seen for a pro team.

[NEHLFAN]

how come none of these guys stats are on hockeydb? I don't understand how they can move up without it.

[kahunakats]

Chris Cuppett of the MV IceCats just became the second NEHL player to move up-he was picked up by Johnstown of the ECHL.

[BCRantzilla]

The news of Chris Cuppett's promotion hasn't been posted yet but it is certainly proof that there are some quality players in this league with two callups in as many weeks. Here's the latest headline from the NEHL main page:

STARS SWEEP-ICECATS SOLIDIFY SECOND

The New England Stars ran their winning streak to eight as they successfully shut down both the Danville Pounders and the Findlay Freedom over the weekend. The Stars downed Danville 10-6 Saturday night and then raced past the Freedom 11-5 on Sunday. Scott Horvath or Chris Seifert combined to score 11 goals over the weekend and Seifert had a 9-point game against Findlay Sunday afternoon. Bob Weston, from Boston University, was added to the Stars potent lineup over the weekend and impressed the brass with a nice effort against Danville to include a short-handed goal.
While the Stars went to 8-0, the Mohawk Valley IceCats skated to an impressive 17-2 win over the Danville Pounders Sunday in Utica in front of a crowd of 568 as Reo Kurosawa and Dave Molitierno each had hat tricks for Mohawk Valley. The win pushed the IceCats to 4-4-1 and solidly in second place in the league.

Utica is finally starting to draw which is huge for this league. The local media coverage is starting to pay off. (When the press is behind you, you've got a fighting chance.) However, the story of the year is still the Stars' Streak which is now 8-0. Never in the modern history of professional hockey in North America has a team run the table in a full season so the longer New England can go, the bigger the story will become.

[BCRantzilla]

Here's the first official team picture I've seen from any of the NEHL teams so far:

http://findlayfreedom.com/templates/freedom/images/team%20pic%20with%20Mayor%20Tony%20Iriti.jpg

[NEHLFAN]

http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/roster.php?step=&sub=&season_id=1&team_id=12
that goalie from utica signed

[JohnDoe]

I just wanted to point out something although very minor in nature to other things. Maybe I am a little biased because of my un ending support for the pounders as well.

I just viewed all team and league sites 6 in total 4 teams and 2 league sites.

Seeing how it is Christmas Eve I wanted to see how many teams took a moment to wish everyone a happy holidays such as the UHL did on their home page.

Of all 6 sights I was sad when I found only 1 even mentioned the holidays. That happened to be the Pounders Site. There was a note from Management which I would assume is Cameron and the Assistant Coach and then also a note from Cameron and his family. I found this to be a very personal touch ecspecialy when so many people rely on the internet for information.

I would like to thank Cameron because I know he reads this board from time to time and I wish that more people would take the 1 minute it takes to wish everyone a happy holidays.

So from My family to yours Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a safe and happy New Year to everyone on the OSC network.
Thank You for giving us a place to voice opinions and insight.

[NEHLFAN]

hey check the findlay site. another player moved up

[BCRantzilla]

Not really, he just went to another A-Puck league. Contrary to what some may believe, the SPHL is NOT AA.

[NewEnglandStars]

Not really, he just went to another A-Puck league. Contrary to what some may believe, the SPHL is NOT AA.

It's not AA, but it definitely is a higher league than the NEHL.

[NEHLFAN]

ROW RECALLED TO PORT HURON
DECEMBER 27, 2006
ROW RECALLED TO PORT HURON; CLUB INKS WOLFE
[FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.] The Fayetteville FireAntz of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) announced today that defenseman Dylan Row was recalled to the Port Huron Flags of the United Hockey League (UHL). The club also announced the signing of defenseman Trevor Wolfe.

Row (r-oww), a 5'10'', 190-pound defenseman from Winnipeg, Manitoba leaves the club tied atop the SPHL scoring lead amongst defensemen, with Lawne Snyder of the Florida Seals, with 20 points (8, 12) in 21 games. His eight goals is the most among blueliners in the league.

Wolfe, a 6'0'', 200-pound defenseman out of Toledo, Ohio joins the FireAntz as a defensive replacement for the departing Row. Wolfe, who has played with the Texas Wildcatters of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and New Mexico Scorpions of the Central Hockey League will make his FireAntz debut when the club plays tonight in Richmond.

The FireAntz return home for one weekend game this Saturday night, December 30th, as they take on the Jacksonville Barracudas. Its your last chance to catch the team at home in 2006. Great seats still remain and there are outstanding group rates available from the FireAntz office at (910) 321-0123.


http://www.fireantzhockey.com/articles/2006122716145454985.aspx

[BCRantzilla]

December 26, 2006

December 31st New Year's Eve Game/Party!

December 31st New Year's Eve Game

The Findlay Freedom will host the Mohawk Valley Icecats on New Years Eve. Join the Freedom in some exciting festivities for the family. The game will feature local band The Third Half before the game and during the first intermission, contests and giveaways, and of course an exciting hockey game for your viewing pleasure. Bring your friends and family for an early New Year celebration! Game time is 5:30 PM, doors open one hour prior to game time. The Findlay Freedom hockey team is collecting coats for Chopin Hall during the game. The collection will begin at 4:30 p.m. and run through the duration of the game which starts at 5:30 p.m. Fans will receive $1 off of their admission price for donating.

If you would like to continue celebrating with the Freedom, Uncle Buck & Boudreaux Bar located at 716 N. Main St. will host the New Years festivities. Come to meet the players, get some autographs, and be able to have a good time with the team. Uncle Buck & Boudreaux Bar will be sponsoring drink specials for Freedom Fans including $4 pitchers. See you there!

NYE games are always cool but I have always wanted to see a late game start at let's say, 9-10pm and celebrate the New Year as the game clock ticks down. That would be cool. The could work if you schedule rivalry games between cities close to each other. Beer gardens, fireworks, the works.

[kahunakats]

Can anyone tell me what the ballpark estimate of annual costs would be to have a franchise in the:
SPHL
UHL
ECHL
NEHL

[kahunakats]

The Freedom just had two more players move up-that makes five for the league in the last two weeks. Check out the league website for more info. Although some contend that the SPHL is on the same level as the NEHL, several of the players are now playing in the ECHL which is definately a step up.

[BCRantzilla]

All one has to do is look at the New England Stars' lineup to see that the level of play is on par with the SPHL if not higher. If it wasn't, they would not be snapping up NEHL players as quickly as they can find them. The ECHL is starting to "get it" as well.

That said, it's still a one-horse race in the NEHL as the Stars are simply in a class by themselves. I think the Stars would be a championship contender in the SPHL but right now the weaker SPHL teams could probably take the Pounders.

[BCRantzilla]

The article from http://www.northeasternhockeyleague.com

TWO MORE FREEDOM PLAYERS INK CONTRACTS-LEAGUE TOTAL UP TO FIVE IN LAST TWO WEEKS!

Findlay, OH -- More good news has come for Freedom goaltender Dennis Canfield. After a successful appearance in Fayetteville, NC, Canfield has returned to Ohio to sign with the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL. Canfield played well in two games for the Fayetteville FireAntz. Due to his strong performance, the Dayton Bombers invited Canfield to play with them for an extended period of time. The Bombers will be playing in Toledo on Friday, December 29 at 7:35 PM, then back at home on Saturday, December 30.
Freedom team captain Jim Tudor and goalie a Kevin Burke were called up to the Toledo Storm of the East Coast Hockey League. “Tudor is a strong defensive minded forward that plays both ends of the ice and can put the puck in the net,” said GM Mike DeLong. “It was no surprise that Tudor was called up, it was just a matter of time before he got the call”, says DeLong. The Findlay Freedom is proud to welcome back to the team goaltender Kevin Burke. Burke has officially become a member of the Findlay Freedom with Dennis Canfield signing with the Dayton Bombers. Subsequently, Burke has been called up to the Toledo Storm before he could unpack his bags to join the Toledo Storm for the weekend as a back-up goalie.

Good to see guys getting to the ECHL and seeing action right away. At worst, it means the league is getting extra money from the sale of players' contracts to other leagues. It certainly softens the blow of any soft attendance figures in the first half of the year.

[NewEnglandStars]

Is that the same Kevin Burke who played for Danville this season as well?

[BCRantzilla]

Yes, as a matter of fact Burke DID play for Danville. He's still on the team's roster page with every other player that has ever played a game for the Pounders. (Asterisks next to those who aren't with the team anymore.)

This means that technically every team in the NEHL other than the Stars have moved a player up. Excellent news for a league even I didn't think would make it to Christmas.

Anyone know what happened this past weekend between Utica and Findlay?

[kahunakats]

Observer-Dispatch

UTICA - Reo Kurosawa had a hat trick for the second-straight game to lead the Mohawk Valley IceCats to a 10-1 win Saturday over the Findlay Freedom in a North Eastern Hockey League game at the Utica Auditorium.



Steve Soto had 18 saves and gave up a second-period goal in his first start for the IceCats (5-4-1).



Andy Rummel and Sean Walsh both had two goals and an assist for Mohawk Valley. Jim Cashman added a goal and three assists.



Mohawk Valley, which is in second place in the North Eastern Hockey League, hosts the undefeated and league-leading New England Stars (7-0) at 6 p.m. Jan. 7.



Findlay 0 1 0 — 1



Mohawk Valley 5 1 4 — 10



Findlay (3-5-1): Rob Boyle 1-0, Matt Jones 0-1. Woody Morris 36 saves, Mike Stawicki 3 saves.



Mohawk Valley (5-4-1): Reo Kurosawa 3-0, Andy Rummel 2-1, Sean Walsh 2-1, Jim Cashman 1-3, Adrien Melrose 1-0, Emerson Mish 0-1, Mark Vida 0-1, P.J. Power 0-3, Dave Molitierno 0-1, Martin Kloscek 1-1, Chris Herr 0-1. Steve Soto 18 saves.

[JohnDoe]

According to the Findlay Website the Icekittens lost on sunday in findlay

I think this is great that they lost. dont know why i just think it is great.

Anyway on a serious note. I think it is great that Findlay has moved several players including 1 that played for Danville at some point but was called up as a member of Findlay. I just wonder when the Pounders will have someone called up I hear a lot of talk from the G.M. about trying to get players promoted but there is no one moved yet. I know it probably isnt easy to get players moved but with some of the talent Danville has they should have atleast 1 guy moved if Cameron was doing his job rite. Please dont take this as an attack on him but it is my opinion. If the Icekittens can get someone promoted with the bad reputation that their owner/coach/captain/g.m./all around credit taker Jim Casman has then Cameron must be doing something wrong. I wasnt that impressed with the Cuppet guy the last time MV was in Danville. Yeah MV won but it is because my beloved pounders wont hit or fight anyone. Anyway happy new year and Good luck to the NEHL this season you have made it further then anyone thought you would and please keep my favorite team the Pounders alive in Danville

JD

[BCRantzilla]

According to the Findlay Website the Icekittens lost on sunday in findlay

I think this is great that they lost. dont know why i just think it is great.

Anyway on a serious note. I think it is great that Findlay has moved several players including 1 that played for Danville at some point but was called up as a member of Findlay. I just wonder when the Pounders will have someone called up I hear a lot of talk from the G.M. about trying to get players promoted but there is no one moved yet. I know it probably isnt easy to get players moved but with some of the talent Danville has they should have atleast 1 guy moved if Cameron was doing his job rite. Please dont take this as an attack on him but it is my opinion. If the Icekittens can get someone promoted with the bad reputation that their owner/coach/captain/g.m./all around credit taker Jim Casman has then Cameron must be doing something wrong. I wasnt that impressed with the Cuppet guy the last time MV was in Danville. Yeah MV won but it is because my beloved pounders wont hit or fight anyone. Anyway happy new year and Good luck to the NEHL this season you have made it further then anyone thought you would and please keep my favorite team the Pounders alive in Danville

JD

The situation in Danville when the season started was so dire that survival was probably the top priority for this team. As for Cashman, my guess is that even a blind squirl finds a nut sometimes. Look at it this way, Danbury hasn't moved ANYONE up and they rule the league.

[kahunakats]

Emerson Mish of Mohawk Valley was given a five-day tryout contract with Elmira of the UHL.

[NewEnglandStars]

From today's UHL transactions:

Elmira Jackals
Eric Lind (D) Signed and added to roster
Chris Seifert (F) Signed and added to roster

Both Lind and Seifert are members of the Stars who have been called up to Elmira for at least the next two games and will not be playing for Danbury this weekend. Clark Jones will still be out for a few more weeks and Erik Eaton is day-to-day so the Stars could be shorthanded against the Ice Cats tomorrow night. Could this be the time that they finally lose a game?

[NewEnglandStars]

The Stars were beating the Ice Cats 8 to 1 after two periods tonight despite missing 6 of our regular players. I had to leave at that point, so I am not sure what the final score was, but I will post it when I find out.

[JohnDoe]

Pounders 16
Freedom 4 or 6 I cant remember


Largest crowd of the year I would have to guess 600-700 but that is a guess, Local news, radio and papers there so hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

Also I noticed in the game program that the pounders had a coupon for buy 1 get 1 free for the game vs New england here in a couple weeks. Everyone was talking about that.

I will post more details later I need to get to bed

[BCRantzilla]

Well, the Stars still have Scott Hovarth so until the Ice Cats can find a player capable of stopping him, they don't have much hope.

[NewEnglandStars]

The final score was 10 to 2 Danbury over Mohawk Valley. The Stars seemed unaffected by having 6 rookies in the line-up playing their first game.

[BCRantzilla]

Any word on attendance in Danbury last night?

[NewEnglandStars]

It didn't look like as many people as the previous two Danbury games had.

[BCRantzilla]

That's not good. Then again, maybe fans want to see someone actually show up to try to beat the Stars instead of lying down like M.V. did.

[JohnDoe]

Whats up with the league site being shut down??

Money issues?

[BCRantzilla]

I didn't know the site was down until you pointed that out and from what it says on the site, it appears as though the NEHL was removed, it didn't crash, not under construction but REMOVED BY THE SERVER OPERATOR!

At this point I think it is time for the other owners to turf Cashman as league boss and run the league themselves the rest of this season and restructure for next year. The fact that Jim can't even pay 25-30 bucks a month to keep a website URL going shows that he's broke and has no business running the league and owning it.

[NewEnglandStars]

The Stars beat the Ice Cats 6-5 last night in Utica.

Also, talk abounds on the Danbury message board that the Stars owner is unhappy with the NEHL and wants to try to get into a different league. Rurmor has it that 3 leagues (UHL, ECHL, and SPHL) have shown interest in bringing Danbury aboard.

[BreakersFan]

The Stars beat the Ice Cats 6-5 last night in Utica.

Also, talk abounds on the Danbury message board that the Stars owner is unhappy with the NEHL and wants to try to get into a different league. Rurmor has it that 3 leagues (UHL, ECHL, and SPHL) have shown interest in bringing Danbury aboard.

Interesting - can't imagine them in the SPHL unless there were a few other NE SPHL teams in the works. The travel would kill them budget-wise. It ain't easy to regularly bus to Huntsville, Florence and Jacksonville from Danbury.

As for the UHL, you'd also have a huge travel budget there plus a $1.5 million budget which is tough to do on 2000 fans. Similar budget in the ECHL, but much better travel, so that may be a possibility if the ticket prices get jacked up to $15 or so so that you make $20/head on the 70,000 fans you'd get.

[BreakersFan]

Hmmmm.......I wonder if an SPHL north division could be formed with Danbury, Glens Falls, and Utica. If you could get a fourth city, then each northern team would only have to make 1 or 2 week-long swings through the south. Each southern team would need to make only 1 swing north. Still not cheap, but certainly doable and still keeping budgets to around $850K. That's alot more doable than $1.5M.

[BCRantzilla]

Not really, that would kill both leagues in one fell swoop. (See similar attempts to create fully national A-Ball leagues in baseball.) Plus, would anyone want to be part of a league that David Waronker is still potentially a major player in?

[BCRantzilla]

The Stars beat the Ice Cats 6-5 last night in Utica.

Also, talk abounds on the Danbury message board that the Stars owner is unhappy with the NEHL and wants to try to get into a different league. Rurmor has it that 3 leagues (UHL, ECHL, and SPHL) have shown interest in bringing Danbury aboard.

I have heard rumblings that there is a group of investors looking to buy out the Cashman run franchises and help build up the NEHL. I wouldn't mind talking to folks with the Stars to see what their thoughts on a Cashmanless NEHL would be worth to them.

[nksports]

I have heard rumblings that there is a group of investors looking to buy out the Cashman run franchises and help build up the NEHL. I wouldn't mind talking to folks with the Stars to see what their thoughts on a Cashmanless NEHL would be worth to them.

If true, it would give the league a fighting chance. Then you start looking for logical expansion (think markets of 75,000 to 150,000 with 3,500- to 5,000-seat arenas). You might even get a UHL team or two or three joining your league.

[BreakersFan]

Not really, that would kill both leagues in one fell swoop. (See similar attempts to create fully national A-Ball leagues in baseball.) Plus, would anyone want to be part of a league that David Waronker is still potentially a major player in?

I realize that the margins are very small, but the southern teams would come north for one swing costing $16-18K or so, while the northern teams would make 2 southern swings at a cost of $32-36K or so. When you consider that the budgets for SPHL teams are about $800K, the additional travel isn't necessarily a killer.

Baseball is much more expensive travel-wise because you're playing virtually every day and paying per diems as well as for a hotel about 40% of the calendar nights on your schedule, so I don't think that is an accurate comparison.

[BreakersFan]

I have heard rumblings that there is a group of investors looking to buy out the Cashman run franchises and help build up the NEHL. I wouldn't mind talking to folks with the Stars to see what their thoughts on a Cashmanless NEHL would be worth to them.

Why buy them out at all? Why not just form a new league without Cashman? I am glad that the NEHL is having the success it is and hope for a great future for it. But if I am the Findlay Freedom or NE Stars owner, why buy something that has alot of baggage (not to mention legal ramifications) when I can easier start my own?

[BCRantzilla]

Why buy them out at all? Why not just form a new league without Cashman? I am glad that the NEHL is having the success it is and hope for a great future for it. But if I am the Findlay Freedom or NE Stars owner, why buy something that has alot of baggage (not to mention legal ramifications) when I can easier start my own?

Simple,

All one has to do is cover the remaining costs for the rest of the season and the teams are THEIRS'. No franchise fee, no dues, just keep the teams in business and someone can take over the teams. Not something that could happen if a new league was formed. You may look down on this but if I had the choice between taking over a team for budget and having to budget for a season AND pay a 5-6 figure franchise fee, it doesn't take a genius to figure out the better deal.

With the SPHL's baggage and lack of stability, (from Waronker's hell bent on self destruction turf wars to the implosion of the Seals,) why would any league who's max budget for 07-08 will be around $250,000 per team, (with a similar salary cap to the SPHL,) want to quadruple that budget and get nothing but drama in return?

[BCRantzilla]

I realize that the margins are very small, but the southern teams would come north for one swing costing $16-18K or so, while the northern teams would make 2 southern swings at a cost of $32-36K or so. When you consider that the budgets for SPHL teams are about $800K, the additional travel isn't necessarily a killer.

Baseball is much more expensive travel-wise because you're playing virtually every day and paying per diems as well as for a hotel about 40% of the calendar nights on your schedule, so I don't think that is an accurate comparison.

The south and the north are apples and oranges. In the north, the arena costs are 100 times cheaper than those in the SPHL and hense much lower annual budgets for teams at the A-Puck level. (Plus negating the need for 5-10,000 seat arenas to pay the lease costs to boot.) This also attracts owners with smaller pockets. This means a $100,000 increase in a team's budget can seriously hurt franchises in the northeastern region. You may laugh at this but this region has different needs and plays on a lower budget while maintaining a similar level of play. (At least the Stars have.)

A team can operate on a quarter million dollar annual budget in the NEHL or comperable league in this region while matching the SPHL's salary cap. However, asking them to travel to that degree would be a fatal mistake.

[BCRantzilla]

If true, it would give the league a fighting chance. Then you start looking for logical expansion (think markets of 75,000 to 150,000 with 3,500- to 5,000-seat arenas). You might even get a UHL team or two or three joining your league.

Word is that Flint is officially out of the UHL for next season and that is a team that could easily do well in the NEHL or similar A-Puck league. If one or two UHL teams in the Michigan area were to jump, it could save Danville's bacon because they are stuck on their own nearly a full day's drive from their nearest current opponent. A 4 team western division would be great because this is a league that cannot afford to lose Danville because this is clearly a market that is ready to support the league.

[nksports]

Some other Great Lakes state candidates:
Troy OH (used to be one of the more stable cities in the old Continental HL)
Marion OH
South Bend IN
Bowling Green OH
Hamilton-Middletown-Oxford OH
Holland MI
Traverse City MI
Sault Ste. Marie (pardon my butchering) MI or ON

The only drawback in some of these towns, you might have to settle on a lot of Sunday, Monday and Wednesday dates when the local college/HS teams are scheduled at home. (You also need to build support among the college/HS fans and not make them mad at you.)

I don't know as much about IL or the east coast to say what's available there.

[BCRantzilla]

Well the good news is that the NEHL website is back up with updates. On the "League Partners" section I noticed a Coke logo and that of Cashman's Athletic Warehouse. Two problems here:

1. Since when is Coca Cola an official league sponsor? If they are, why hasn't the league trumpeted this to the heavens yet??? Also, wouldn't the Stars have the Coke symbol on their site too if this was true?

2. Jim's Athletic Warehouse went out of business a long time ago. This is why none of the 4 teams actually got uniforms from the Athletic Warehouse dispite this being a "sponsorship perk". Why he continues to claim this as a league sponsor I will never know.

[nksports]

Why he continues to claim this as a league sponsor I will never know.

Because that makes it look like the league has a sponsor

[BreakersFan]

The south and the north are apples and oranges. In the north, the arena costs are 100 times cheaper than those in the SPHL and hense much lower annual budgets for teams at the A-Puck level. (Plus negating the need for 5-10,000 seat arenas to pay the lease costs to boot.) This also attracts owners with smaller pockets. This means a $100,000 increase in a team's budget can seriously hurt franchises in the northeastern region. You may laugh at this but this region has different needs and plays on a lower budget while maintaining a similar level of play. (At least the Stars have.)

A team can operate on a quarter million dollar annual budget in the NEHL or comperable league in this region while matching the SPHL's salary cap. However, asking them to travel to that degree would be a fatal mistake.

Good points. I concede :)

[gigarange58]

How does the quality of play (the talent of the players) in the NEHL compare to NCAA and ACHA college hockey?

[BCRantzilla]

I would say that most NCAA programs could give any of the lower level minors a good run at worst and a good beating at best. (I'm counting the NEHL, SPHL and even the UHL in that equation.) Any goalie who was a starter on an NCAA D1 school could start in the NEHL tomorrow for the most part.

As for ACHA, only D1 schools like Penn State, Illinois or the likes could really light it up against NEHL teams IMO. The question would be weather or not the kids can handle the physical game which is a LOT rougher in the NEHL than players will ever see in college.

[gigarange58]

Thanks for the info, BCRantzilla.

How do teams find players? Could a former college player get a try-out mid-season? Is there a draft in the summer, or tryout camps in the fall?

Thanks in advance!

[J Viper 29]

the freedom was holding a mid season tryout camp. Usually teams select players to training camp in late summer then cut to get to the roster from there.

[BCRantzilla]

Here's the official article regarding Sean Nicholson's move to the UHL:

FIRST DANVILLE PLAYER MOVES TO AA

The Danville Pounders are pleased to announce that Team Captain Sean Nicholson has signed a contract with the Chicago Hounds of the United Hockey League. The Hounds will be making a 3 game in 3 day road trip this weekend to Kalamazoo, Muskegon and Ft. Wayne these are the 3 top teams in the UHL. Nicholson is expected to play in all 3 games. For The Pounders this is the first player in the short history of the franchise to be moved up to the AA level.

Sean is a Chicago, IL area native who currently lives in Countryside, IL. He played Jr. hockey in Springfield, IL with the Springfield Jr. Blues of the North American Hockey League. While playing in Jr’s Sean broke his back, “3 years ago doctors said I should never play again” Sean said “To come back out of the blue and have the chance to play at this level is a huge self accomplishment” Sean started the season with the Danville Pounders of the NEHL a “A” level league. In 6 games with the Pounders Sean has 7 goals and 9 assists. “Sean is a great player, He has this fire in his eyes when he is on the ice” Danville Pounders G.M. and Coach Cameron Estes said “I know Sean will make the most of this chance and if he plays the way he is able to he will not be back, He is that talented”.

“Look out everyone Sean Nicholson is back, my comeback story is going to be huge” Nicholson said. Follow Sean over the weekend through the UHL website at www.theuhl.com.

Good to see that now every team in the league has promoted a player to the ECHL or the UHL. (Something the SPHL has never pulled off at any time in it's history.) Anyone have any news on the Freedom/Pounders game tonight?

[NewEnglandStars]

The Freedom beat the Pounders in a shootout.

[Hockey_NUT]

Question: What does Cashman bring to the table? Just because he books ice-time and types up a schedule does that make him Commissioner? I would be more sympathetic towards him if he invested financially; he is bringing the quality of the league down - 1st of all he is playing in the league (interesting that he could never make a minor pro hockey team in his prime, but now leads the ice cats in points hmmm, I think the comish should investigate that - oh right jim is) 2nd You are not going to attrack quality hockey players - if you are not going to pay them, and they have to travel 7 or 8 hours per game. Sorry folks - until you lose Cashman, this league is no better than a travelling rec league.

[BCRantzilla]

Here's the recap of this past weekend's lone game:

Freedom Earn Hard Fought Win in Shootout

The Findlay Freedom hosted the Danville Pounders Sunday at 4 PM. In an exciting duel of stamina and skill, the Freedom came through with a win on their home ice. The first period was led by the Pounders with five goals, two of which were scored by #11 Mike McMahon. Freedom #10 Steve Meloche scored the first goal 21 seconds off the draw, with an assist by #96 Tony Westfall. #67 Dave Stewart followed with another goal in the first with an assist from #40 Steve Filak.
In the second period, the Freedom came out with some new gas. #1 goalie Woody Morris stood his own, limiting the Pounders to just one goal in the second. The Freedom had five goals, two coming from #67 Stewart. Other goals came from Potts, Crutcher, and Filak with a couple assists awarded to Westfall.

The third period was an exciting duel. The Pounders tied up the score at 14:43 with a goal by #14 Justin Todd. The Freedom then fought hard and answered back with a power play goal by #67 Stewart, assisted by #4 Andy Hire and #96 Westfall. At 7:18 in the third period there was a fight leading to a Pounder power play in which they scored their final goal in the third by Todd. With a tied score at the end of the third, there was a five minute sudden death round. The teams played aggressive, but there were no goals, which led to a shoot-out. After eight nail-biting rounds, #4 Andy Hire scored the game-winning goal in the concluding shoot-out. The final score was 9-8 Freedom

[BreakersFan]

Question: What does Cashman bring to the table? Just because he books ice-time and types up a schedule does that make him Commissioner? I would be more sympathetic towards him if he invested financially; he is bringing the quality of the league down - 1st of all he is playing in the league (interesting that he could never make a minor pro hockey team in his prime, but now leads the ice cats in points hmmm, I think the comish should investigate that - oh right jim is) 2nd You are not going to attrack quality hockey players - if you are not going to pay them, and they have to travel 7 or 8 hours per game. Sorry folks - until you lose Cashman, this league is no better than a travelling rec league.

No apology necessary - you are right. Hopefully the Danbury success shows that this kind of league ($250K budget) can work in the northeast if the right people with a few dollars are behind it. Danbury, Utica, Glens Falls, and Jamestown can make it work...

[J Viper 29]

Average attendance:
So the word is
Stars Bring in a little over a 1000
Pounders between 250-550
IceCats reports from 100 start to 700 I think
Haven't heard much about the Freedom can anyone comment

Thank you

[NewEnglandStars]

The Stars reportedly beat the Pounders 22-9 today. Tom Westfall had 7 goals.

[BCRantzilla]

The Stars reportedly beat the Pounders 22-9 today. Tom Westfall had 7 goals.

I think it is time to hand the trophy to the Stars, the rest of the year is looking redundant.

[BCRantzilla]

Another player moves up:

Another Freedom Goalie Called Up

The Findlay Freedom is proud to announce that newly signed goalie Matt McBride was called up to the Toledo Storm. McBride, a Findlay, OH native, was loaned to the Toledo Storm of the ECHL for the weekend after Dominic Vicari was called up to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. The Storm will be hosting the Cincinnati Cyclones on Friday January 19th. On Saturday January 20th they will host the Dayton Bombers and on Sunday the Johnstown Chiefs. In other news, former goalie Dennis Canfield heads back to Dayton to play for the Bombers after signing an extended contract. Findlay Freedom captain Jim Tudor is set to return to the lineup after spending nearly a month with the Toledo Storm. “Tudor has a great work ethic and is a great addition to any team, we are glad to have him back,” says Coach McAlpin. “Tudor is returning as a result of players getting healthy and returning from the AHL, I am sure with his talent he will be back up there in no time,” added McAlpin.
“It is no coincidence that the Freedom leads the league in call ups,” says General Manager Mike DeLong. “Here at the Freedom we have an excellent staff that takes pride in making this a true development league and we use our resources and contacts to assist players to get to the next level”, added DeLong.

As much as it impresses me that players are moving up, I don't think it is a good thing for an indy league to go pure developmental. Fans need to be able to identify with their teams and know that this is indeed THEIR team, not someone else's. The success of the Northern League in baseball was driven by this and at the A-Puck level, there needs to be balance. Veterans who the fans can identify with and maintain continuity and kids looking to move up the ladder but the fans need to see that the team's first aim is winning and then players moving up. Fans will lose interest if they have no clue who's on the team one week from the next.

[BCRantzilla]

In the other game:

Freedom 10
M.V. 6

Freedom reclaim second place.

[whoopee23]

I took this info off the new england site. It looks lik ethe NY times had an article on the NEHL, or more specifically the Stars and their affordable hockey. Its an interesting read.


01/14/2007 5:19 PM -
Bargain Hockey Back, Cheers are Greater than Ever
Nancy Better
Jan 14, 2007

In June when the city’s minor-league team, the Trashers, was disbanded after its owner, James Galante, was indicted on federal racketeering charges related to his waste disposal business, which gave the team its name.
In November, the hiatus ended with the debut of the New England Stars, one of four teams in the fledgling North Eastern Hockey League. Stocked with several players from the defunct Trashers — as well as fresh recruits, like [] Scott Horvath, who was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League in 2001 — the undefeated Stars have won 10 straight and are comfortably in first.

“At first the fans were a little skeptical,” said Stephan Seeger, the Stars’ coach and general manager. “But game by game, we’re convincing them. We’re doing whatever we can to earn their respect.”

Mr. Seeger, a lawyer by trade, is also a part owner, belonging to the consortium of local hockey enthusiasts that owns the team.

The North Eastern League, based in Fort Erie, Ontario, describes itself as “a high-scoring, fast-paced league” that is “based on affordability for both owners and fans.” Tickets cost $10, season passes are $99 and players earn less than $50 a game. Home games are played at the Danbury Ice Arena. When Mr. Galante operated the Trashers, he increased the seating capacity to 3,000 from 600, and so far the Stars are attracting about 1,200 fans to home games.

The fans come for more than the stick-handling. On Dec. 10, when the Stars beat the Pounders of Danville, Ill., 16-4, one Stars defenseman received 17 penalty minutes in the first period alone, 2 for instigating a fight, 5 for fighting and 10 for misconduct. By the end of the game, more than 50 penalties had been called, two players had been ejected and one player was injured.

In the stands, fans applauded every goal and every scuffle. The loudest cheers and jeers came from Section 102, packed with Trashers loyalists. Despite their team’s demise, the group proudly wears jerseys emblazoned with the Trashers’ black-and-blue logo and T-shirts proclaiming, “Let’s Talk Trash.”

The N.H.L. it isn’t, but the fans do not seem to mind bargain-basement hockey at bargain-basement prices. Lucy Rinaldi, a Greenwich resident who attended the Dec. 10 game with her 12-year-old son, found the antics amusing. “It was fun to see a hockey game where the boys could get so close to the action,” she said. “You don’t see that much fighting at a typical N.H.L. event.”

Mr. Seeger contends that the fighting is not staged for fans’ entertainment. “Because our team is so skilled, some teams may have little choice but to try to knock us off our game,” he said. “Our guys are not interested in getting stitches and losing teeth. They have to get up and go to the office on Monday morning.”

Stars defenseman Ryan Hughes attributes the score differential to growing pains. “With all new teams in the league, there’s always going to be a discrepancy,” he said. “Eventually, the teams that are financially viable will be able to recruit good players and there will be more of a balance.”

Mr. Hughes and other players were also encouraged when two Stars — Chris Seifert and Eric Lind — were recently offered tryouts with the more-established United Hockey League.

The Stars will play 22 games this season, and next season the league hopes to grow to eight teams and a 70- to 80-game schedule. “I’d like to see minor-league hockey expand in the area,” Mr. Seeger said. “There is clearly a need for it.”

[NewEnglandStars]

Yeah, that article was in the NY Times on Sunday January 14. You can see me in the photo of Section 102 that accompanies the article (at the right hand side in the navy blue shirt) along with many other 102ers/former Trashers fans.

http://www.freewebs.com/waterbury/danbury.jpg

[gigarange58]

It's awfully hard to follow the teams in this league. The very least they could do is keep their Web sites somewhat up to date. Box scores would be nice. But look at Danville's and New England's sites. Today is Tuesday and neither one of them has been updated with a recap of this weekend's game (they're both still stuck on Jan. 14 games). If fans can't follow their teams, they're not going to remain fans for very long. And if the league wants to be taken seriously by the rest of the hockey world, not to mention by the media, it needs to show at least some effort.

[NEHLFAN]

i dont understand why cashman used an amateur site for his webpage. wouldn't it have been better for advertising if he had just used his team site through the league site? It would look much more professional. something like www.northeasternhockeyleague.com/mvicecats and then do the same with the illinois team. or use myspace or something? the sites that they currently use are terrible for marketing.

[JohnDoe]

I have not been on here at all in the last couple days ecspecialy since my beloved pounders had the worst showing of any team ever in hockey history on sunday. We had 6 players I recognized and the rest I had no clue who they were. The goaltending was like a little person playing goalie in a game of giants everything went in. I guess the 1 bright spot was they scored 9 goals on New England with a bunch of fill in players. That is the most New England has given up all season in 1 game.

Website- I guess with Jim's lack of money to support anything it is not surprising him or his media director listed on his website have half a clue how to do anything cpu related. Who is John Guy anyway probably one of the great minds Jim Cashman talks about but never appear in public. I agree that the Pounders website is nothing special but atleast Cameron took it on himself to do one when Cashman didnt come through like he should have as team owner.

[NewEnglandStars]

Anyone know the Stars vs. Ice Cats score from Friday 1/26?

[J Viper 29]

friday i think the final was 10-6 stars,

sat 12-3 icecats over pounders

[NewEnglandStars]

Stars win 12-5 over the Freedom tonight in a penalty filled game. Esposito and Elmer went at it in the third. Esposito tried to go after some Freedom players after the game and there was a lot of milling about. One linesman guided Esposito to the Stars enterance while the other guided Denis Assenmacher to the Freedom locker room. Assenmacher then repeatedly shoved the linesman in the face and received a gross misconduct. In any other league such actions would bring a suspension, but in this league I doubt it.

[BCRantzilla]

It wasn't an Ice Cat who did it so I think he is likely to miss at least one game. At least he would have the dubious distinction of being the very first NEHL suspension.

How was attendance for the games?

[NewEnglandStars]

The crowd was under 1,000 I think since it was a Sunday evening, but it was LOUD. This was the loudest I've heard it at a Stars game. The crowd, especially Section 102, really got under the skin of the Findlay players who after the game were yelling at us and flipping us the finger.

There's a scoresheet available at http://trasherpics.net/NEHLstats/sports/hockey/inc/showgame.php?id=00000013&tdiv=0001

[NEHLFAN]

take a look at this NEHLFANZONE.com

[NewEnglandStars]

Bill, I had no idea that you are NEHLFAN! :lol:

[nksports]

Things have been quite in here. Does that mean the league had a smooth week? Or is the the quiet before the storm?

[NewEnglandStars]

It means everyone is posting on the new NEHL Fan Zone message board now.