Crunch Announce New ECHL Affiliation
August 25, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release
Syracuse, NY (August 25, 2009) - The Syracuse Crunch announced today that the Columbus Blue Jackets have entered into an affiliation agreement with the Gwinnett Gladiators to serve as the ECHL affiliate for both clubs.
The Gwinnett franchise enters its 14th season in the ECHL and seventh as the Gwinnett Gladiators. The club spent its first seven years as the Mobile Mysticks, based out of Mobile, Alabama, before relocating to the Atlanta suburb of Gwinnett, Georgia in 2003. They compete in the South Division of the ECHL's American Conference.
"We are very excited to add Gwinnett as our ECHL partner for this upcoming season," said Columbus Assistant General Manager Chris MacFarland. "Developing players is crucial to the long term success of any hockey organization, and we feel very comfortable that Gwinnett will be a great place for our young players to develop and gain valuable professional experience."
This marks the fourth ECHL affiliate for Columbus/Syracuse, as the clubs were affiliated with the Johnstown Chiefs in 2008-09, Elmira Jackals in 2007-08 and the Dayton Bombers from 2000-07.
The Crunch open their 16th AHL season on Saturday, October 3 in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Syracuse opens up at home the following weekend when they face Adirondack on Saturday, October 10. Season tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Crunch office at (315) 473- 4444 or by stopping by the Crunch office in the War Memorial at Oncenter, located at 800 South State Street in downtown Syracuse.
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