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ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna in Long Beach Wednesday

February 27, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Long Beach Ice Dogs News Release


LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Long Beach Ice Dogs of the ECHL, a proud affiliate of the Boston Bruins, have announced that ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna will be at the Long Beach Arena when the Ice Dogs host the Stockton Thunder on Wednesday, February 28th at NOON at the Long Beach Arena.

Brian McKenna is in his fifth season as Commissioner and was the creator and continues to be the driving force behind the ECHL's identity as the Premier 'AA' Hockey League.

McKenna oversaw the expansion of the ECHL to include six former west coast markets and three new teams in 2003-04, giving the league a national footprint and in 2006-07 the league welcomes the Cincinnati Cyclones and the Texas Wildcatters back to the ice.

The ECHL remains the leading source of talent for the American Hockey League and in 2005-06 the league had affiliations with 21 of the 27 teams in AHL and provided almost 80 percent of the AHL roster additions, clearly continuing to position the ECHL as the premier professional development league to the AHL and the NHL. This is consistent with the ECHL philosophy of providing fast-paced and affordable entertainment for its fans while providing a top-notch hockey environment for the best young players not in the AHL or NHL. In addition, the league just completed negotiations for a three-year extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Professional Hockey Players' Association (PHPA) bringing labor peace and an opportunity to work jointly with the PHPA to continue to grow the sport at the 'AA' level through the 2008-09 season.

Tickets for all Ice Dogs games are available by calling an account executive at (562) ICE-DOGS, or by visiting the Long Beach Arena box office. For more information, please visit our website at www.icedogs.com. Season tickets and group sales for the 2006-07 Ice Dogs' season are on sale now. Fans may click on the TEAMLINE logo on www.icedogs.com for a free AUDIO feed for all Ice Dogs games or pay $6 for the VIDEO portion at all home games.

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