Lynx crowds slow to gain; ECHL attendance up; Wolves to return

While the Lynx have seen their home attendance rise gradually in recent weeks, it seems Augusta's minor-league hockey team isn't enjoying the kind of success some of the ECHL's other southeastern teams are seeing.
Augusta, riding an eight-game home winning streak, has seen its home attendance average rise to 2,310 through 20 home gates, which ranks 21st out of 25 teams in the ECHL.
The team's last two home game crowds showed positive direction - 2,762 for the Lynx's 4-3 shootout win over Texas on Jan. 12 and 3,219 for Augusta's 8-3 rout of Pensacola on Jan. 13.
Still, the average (2,310) so far is more than 500 behind last season's 2,843 average, which ended up ranking 23rd of 25 teams. The team's owners can only hope the increasing trend continues through January, February and March.
A breakdown of attendance for the Lynx since 1998, their first year:
2005-2006: 2,843 (23rd)
2004-2005: 3,090 (20th)
2003-2004: 2,980 (23rd)
2002-2003: 3,836 (11th)
2001-2002: 4,279 (11th)
2000-2001: 4,468 (10th)
1999-2000: 4,767 (12th)
1998-1999: 5,443 (9th)
Meanwhile, the ECHL reported the South Carolina Stingrays sold out Saturday for the first time in eight years and had its second 10,000+ crowd of the season. Several other southeastern teams also are seeing growing crowds (see below).
The rising attendance is encouraging for the Mississippi Sea Wolves, who will return for the 2007-2008 season in Biloxi after suspending operations the past two seasons because of Hurricane Katrina.

From www.echl.com:
Attendance Up
Coming out of the All-Star break the ECHL had a strong attendance weekend including All-Star host Idaho having back-to-back sellout crowds and South Carolina having its first sellout in eight years. The Steelheads had 5,018 on Friday and a team record 5,533 on Saturday while the Stingrays had 10,496 on Saturday which is the first sellout since Oct. 24, 1998 and the second crowd of more than 10,000 this year.

The league is averaging 4,053 per game and is closing in on two million fans for the 14th consecutive season.

Stockton welcomed more than 16,000 for two games, including a capacity crowd of 9,737 on Saturday, to raise its league-leading attendance to 6,861 per game which is up 7.55 percent from a year ago when the Thunder led the league in their first season.

Charlotte sold out for the second Friday in a row and for the league-leading fourth time with 8,675 on Saturday, raising its average to 5,603 per game which is fifth in the ECHL. Utah has had its three largest crowds the last three games, including 7,028 on Saturday, to raise its average attendance to 4,639 per game while Pensacola had its second-largest crowd of the year on Saturday. The Grizzlies average is up a league-high 17.14 percent from their inaugural season in 2005-06.

Dayton and Toledo rank second and third in average attendance increase with 8.69 percent and 6.63 percent while Texas is up 5.97 percent from 2004-05, the last season that the Wildcatters played.

Bakersfield is third in average attendance with 5,868 per game which is an increase of 4.52 percent from a year ago. The Condors have raised their average attendance each of their three seasons in the ECHL and are up over 30 percent from their expansion season in 2003-04.

Gwinnett is fourth with 5,670 per game which is an increase of 2.57 percent while Alaska is up 2.09 percent to 4,987 per game and Fresno has raised its average by 1.50 percent to 4,534 per game.

The league has raised average attendance each of the last three years, including 2005-06 when it had its largest per-game average since 1999-2000 with 4,372 per game as 13 of 22 returning teams raised attendance.

Mississippi returns
Mississippi informed the Board that the team would return to the ice at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum for the 2007-08 season. The team stated that it had sold over 150 new season tickets since reopening its offices in the arena on Dec. 4, raising its total season tickets to more than 1,170. The team stated that it has hired Thom Emerson as director of season tickets and group sales and Marc Shelanski as director of corporate sales and broadcasting.

“The ECHL is delighted to officially welcome back the Sea Wolves for their belated 10th year in the ‘Den’. While much works remains to be done, there has been significant progress since Dec. 1, 2006 and we expect that momentum will continue throughout the spring and summer months,” said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna. “The ownership group is unanimously behind the team and now we need fans and sponsors to lend their support to ensure a successful return.”

The Sea Wolves were granted a Voluntary Suspension by the Board for each of the last two seasons under the league’s hardship provisions as a result of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. The team is located in Biloxi which suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina, resulting in extensive damage to the team’s home arena, including flood damage to team offices and locker rooms as well as the ice-making equipment and two Zambonis.

Myrtle Beach Granted Extension Of Voluntary Suspension

Myrtle Beach stated that it continues to work toward construction of a facility on the campus of Coastal Carolina University to allow the team to compete in the 2008-09 season

Lynx on New Year's Eve: More on a record outburst

After the Augusta Lynx scored four short-handed goals in the second period of Sunday's 5-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers, I began checking to see what kind of record the accomplishment might be.

The ECHL record book does not keep a category of most short-handed goals in one period, but the league keeps it by game.

Jack Carnefix of the ECHL sent me some updated information regarding the performance. He also said the accomplishment is likely an all-time ECHL record for short-handed goals in one period.

The following is from the league:

Augusta's four short-handed goals in one game tied the ECHL record for short-handed goals in a game since 1992-1993.

Richmond scored four goals on Feb. 22, 1997, and repeated the feat on Dec. 6, 1998, while Johnstown accomplished it on Jan. 7, 2001.

Trailing 2-0 in the second period, the Lynx scored their short-handed goals in succession and all while down one man.

Louis Goulet scored an unassisted short-handed goal at 5:01 of the second and added his second short-handed goal at 17:39, assisted by Ryan Lang and Nick Kuiper.

Dirk Southern scored the second short-handed goal at 13:43, assisted by Lang, and Mike Erickson scored the fourth and final short-handed goal unassisted at 18:30.

Goulet is the second player this season to score two short-handed goals in a game, with the other being Charlotte’s Mark Lee, who ironically accomplished the feat in a 6-3 win against Augusta on Dec. 2.

Goulet has three short-handed goals this season, tying him for fourth in the league with T.J. Trevelyan of Long Beach, Dustin Johner of Florida and Brandin Cote of Texas. Greg Hogeboom of Reading leads the ECHL with five short-handed goals while Wes Goldie of Victoria and Brent McDonald of Florida are tied for second with four short-handed goals each.

The short-handed outburst doubled the Lynx’s short-handed goal production for the season and allowed them to climb from tied for 15th in the league into a tie for third with Gwinnett, Reading and South Carolina. Fresno leads the league with 13 short-handed goals while Florida is second with nine.

The ECHL's updated record book looks like this:

Shorthand Goals
4 - Augusta Lynx vs. Charlotte, Dec. 31, 2006
Johnstown Chiefs vs. Roanoke, Jan. 7, 2001
Richmond Renegades vs. Wheeling, Dec. 6, 1998
Richmond Renegades vs. South Carolina, Feb. 22, 1997
3 - 16 times, most recent; Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, Dec. 14, 2003

Here is a portion of the article that ran in Tuesday's editions:

By Steve Sanders
Staff writer

They are often called "shorties" in the hockey world, a term that describes short-handed goals scored by an outmanned team while it's trying to kill a penalty.

They don't happen very often.

That makes the Augusta Lynx's accomplishment Sunday against the Charlotte Checkers at James Brown Arena especially impressive.
Augusta scored a record four "shorties" in the second period alone during a 5-2 victory on New Year's Eve. By comparison, the Lynx tallied only three short-handed goals during the entire 1999-2000 season, and no ECHL team this season had scored more than three in a game.

"Two in a game is very rare," Lynx coach Bob Ferguson said. "I've never seen anything like (what happened Sunday)."

Ferguson said he stressed to the team, playing with a short roster after a couple of call-ups before the weekend, that it needed to stay out of the penalty box. Penalties had cost the team in Saturday's 4-3 loss at Charlotte.

Then, the Lynx committed four consecutive penalties.

"I was starting to get frustrated," Ferguson said, "and then they countered by scoring on each one (penalty kill). It just happened."

Time now on Lynx's side

The Augusta Lynx are ripe to go on a run.

That's what they're saying going into this weekend's games with Gwinnett (Friday at Gwinnett, Saturday at home, 7:35 p.m.), followed by what essentially is a month of home games.

The mood at practice this week was noticeably more positive after Tuesday's 4-2 win over South Carolina at James Brown Arena, where the team plays 11 of its next 15.

Maybe it's because the team is young, deep and talented.

Maybe it's because they just won (probably).

Maybe it's because a handful of regulars are preparing to return to a lineup that has come through an extremely tough early-season schedule with a 12-11 record and sits tied for third place.

Heck, maybe they're just having fun.

Either way, a lot of the guys were sounding pretty optimistic this week.

It may not mean much if they have a bad weekend, though, and I'm sure coach Bob Ferguson will let them know it.
The Lynx have had some issues.

They haven't exactly been stellar at home, where they're 3-6.
And they're giving up way too many goals (93 this season, tops in the league).

But despite that, the team is four points out of first place in the top-heavy South Division. They're tied for fifth in the ECHL with 24 points.

And they're confident.

If you've seen the Lynx play this season, chances are you've seen a team with much more potential, firepower and flare than last year's.

Augusta's stable of impressive scorers - Ryan Lang, Jamie Johnson, J.B. Bittner, Louis Goulet - are holding up their end and have been fun to watch.

Some other observations:

- Goaltending could be more consistent. Lynx have had problems giving up goals on not that many shots;

- Dave McKee is tied for the league lead with 10 wins, but he has played A LOT of minutes for a rookie;

- The team needs former all-star Brett Jaeger to return to form in net, which they hope is sooner than later (I think sooner);

- Attendance at home games isn't great, but the team expects it to get better after the holidays;

- Team has some pretty good defensemen and some pretty good forwards, but overall team defense has broken down at times and has been a concern;

- They need to start picking up points (i.e. wins) during the next month because they've played more games already than any other team in the division.

Hockey Shootouts: Good for the game or unfair gimmick?

Sports fans love the hockey shootout. Even the most die-hard hockey fans have a hard time denying it has its moments.

One-on-one, shooter versus goalie with the game on the line. A split second of excitement with the spotlight on the stars.

You've no doubt seen the movie where the little underdog kid wins the big game in a shootout with the trick move his granddad or somebody taught him.

That's it, exactly what the NHL was trying to capture when it instituted the shootout in place of ties in regular-season games following the disastrous lockout a couple of seasons ago.

After all, no one who pays good money for a ticket to a sports event wants it to end in a tie, right?

The shootout has sparked debate.

Those for it argue it is great entertainment with unmatched suspense and thrill, a back-and-forth ride of emotion. It is fast, simple and delivers outcomes.

It re-emphasizes the central goal of the game: to get the puck in the net. Fans love watching goals.

And it prevents teams from letting up and settling for a point and a tie. The shootout guarantees a winning team and two points.

Those against the shootout argue that it doesn't keep with the integrity of the sport. Hockey is supposed to be a team game, emphasizing passing and skating skills over individual talent on a series of breakaways.

It can punish goaltenders who otherwise deserve not to lose. A goaltender can effectively make 45 outstanding saves in a 0-0 tie, then lose because of a couple of free breakaways.

Some have compared the shootout to a home run contest to end a tied baseball game, for example, or quarterbacks throwing a football through a tire to break ties on the gridiron.

Also, purists will argue that sometimes in hockey a tie is warranted. Both teams deserve the point and neither deserves two. It also complicates standings and records, with shootout losses and wins replacing ties.

You may find it surprising that although the Augusta Lynx are 3-0 in shootouts this season, coach Bob Ferguson isn't the biggest fan of the shootout.

"If you're the team that comes from behind and scores a late goal to get a point, you leave the arena feeling OK about it," Ferguson said. "But if you're the team that gave up the lead, and the other team gets two points (in the shootout), it's a frustrating feeling.

"Hockey's always been a team sport. (The shootout) takes the team concept out of the game. Not to mention, so many points now are determined by it, especially in a schedule like ours with so many division opponents. Those extra points given out in so many of those games become so important that it's almost - you don't want to use the word unfair - but it can decide playoff spots. You sometimes can feel like your playoff positioning is decided by those extra shootout points, and it's frustrating at times as a coach."

Shootouts are frustrating at times for coaches, perhaps, and disappointing for fans of the losing team, always, but one thing they are never is dull.

What does the PEN in Pensacola stand for?

Answer: Penalty, or more accurately, penalties (plural, very plural).

Apparently, the only compass being used by the PENsacola Ice Pilots these days is the one plotting a course straight to the penalty box.

The ECHL team in PENsacola, which the Lynx visit this weekend, is committing enough hooking and slashing to fill up a horror movie title 10 times over.

Sure, the ECHL is enforcing rules differently this season. But 309 penalty minutes (PIM) in seven games?

That's 115 more than the next closest team and an average of 44.1 PIM per game. Regulation hockey games are 60 minutes, meaning there is an Ice Pilot landing in the box for the time it takes to play 3/4 of a game.

"I just don't have any answers right now," Pilots coach George Dupont told the Pensacola News Journal this week. "We're obviously not adjusting to the new standards set forth by the league, and it's becoming a real problem."

According to the ECHL's game summaries, PENsacola's penalties can be summed up like this:

- 107 minors (including 2 high sticking, 15 interference, 8 slashing, 12 tripping, 25 hooking, 3 boarding, 10 holding, 16 roughing, 3 obstruction, 2 charging, 3 cross-checking);

- 9 majors (fighting);

- 1 10-minute misconduct;

- 4 game misconducts.

The Ice Pilots (0-7-0) earned 82 PIM on 26 minors in a 6-4 loss to Texas on Oct. 28 and picked up 70 in a 4-1 loss to Texas on Oct. 27.

Their style also encourages other teams to join them in the parade to the penalty box. Pensacola's opponents have earned 241 PIM, which is 26 more than any other team has provoked.

"Stay disciplined," Augusta coach Bob Ferguson said when asked what you tell a team about to play a team like PENsacola. "I don't know what type of penalties they are, but we have to stay disciplined. We have to put a lot of emphasis on staying out of the box and taking advantage of our power play situations."

One of the leaders of the Pilots is former Lynx assistant captain Dan Sullivan, a crowd favorite for his energy and, um, PENchant for fighting.

Sullivan is tied for the league lead with 4 major penalties, all fights.

"Sully is definitely an energy player and offensively he's off to a pretty good start (five points)," Ferguson said. "Any time a player plays his old team you want to do extra well. He's such a competitive player, that I'm sure he'll bring his best game to the rink."

In comparison, the Lynx have committed just 100 PIM, tied for third-fewest in the league. Granted, they've also played three less games.

But look at the averages. Augusta's is 25 PIM per game (19th). PENsacola's is 44.1 (1st). Watch out.

Lynx on the road: Get used to it, kid

The Augusta Lynx at the same time showed their promise and their inexperience in last weekend's season-opening split with Columbia and Gwinnett.

Now the young team (average age 24, seven rookies) hits the road for a brutal stretch that, as rookie goaltender David McKee said, "will be a true test of this team's ability."
Starting with Friday's game at Columbia (which won the opener 7-3 at James Brown Arena) and Saturday's game at South Carolina, Augusta plays six straight away from home, 11 of the next 12 and 13 of the next 15 on the road.

More than a handful of Augusta's players aren't used to that kind of grind, coming off 35-game college schedules that require mostly weekend play.

This stretch may not be a true test of this team's ability, it may be a true test of this team's mettle.

Young players are prone to "hit the wall" in their first full professional season, as the grind of the schedule takes its toll on the body and spirit.

It is early, very early, but this stretch of road games will go a long way in determining which players coach Bob Ferguson will be able to rely on in pressure situations in unfriendly arenas, where things can unravel quickly.

Coach Bob Ferguson has been around long enough (25 seasons) and has plenty of experience with young players, so he knows how to handle the flip sides of youth - inexperience and vigor.

A young team may be physically more able to handle the grind, but at what cost to the team's record?

"No question, I'm very concerned with what we're facing the next four weeks," Ferguson said. "But this is the best time to do it, at the first of the year when everybody's healthy."
The Lynx need to pick up points during this stretch. Don't expect them to surge to the top of the standings with this schedule, but they need to hang around in the middle of the pack until Thanksgiving so that a favorable schedule later on can help.

Ferguson's experience, along with that of some of the "older" players, if you can call 27-year-old Louis Goulet and 29-year-old Joe Cardarelli "older," should help.

"It's a good opportunity. We've got a good bunch of older guys who know how it goes, who can teach the young guys a little bit about what to do on the road and get to know each other," Goulet said. "Hopefully, we'll get off to a good start this weekend."

With youth though, you don't really know what you're going to get until it's tested. And it will be the next four weeks.

Ferguson likes to say it takes until Thanksgiving to know what kind of team he has. With this schedule, he should find out a lot between now and Dec. 1.

Revamped Lynx got a brand new bag

Looking at their situation now, isn't it hard to believe that the future of the Lynx in Augusta looked so bleak only a few months ago?

It seems like the entire second half of last season, even through a playoff push, was spent wondering whether Augusta would have minor-league hockey in 2006-2007.

Flash forward to today, when the Lynx - under new ownership with a new affiliation, new players and new rules enforcement -open the ECHL season against the Columbia Inferno at home with a lot of optimism.

First, the team was bought by Dan Troutman (now the GM) and Jan and Robert Burch - hockey fans.

Then Bob Ferguson, who never has missed the playoffs in a 24-year coaching career, signs a three-year deal.

Ferguson then gets the team a much-needed affiliation with two very solid teams in their respective leagues, Anaheim in the NHL and Portland in the AHL.

Then the civic center is renamed James Brown Arena, which just has a feel-good ring to it (OK, maybe this has nothing to do with the turnaround).

Result? Season ticket base is up, excitement is up, and so are expectations.

Some are saying the Lynx should challenge for the division championship and go deep into the playoffs with the talent on this team.

Ferguson signed a load of talent in the offseason - maybe even too much. He ended up having to release some quality players because that pipeline from the NHL and AHL started operating wide open, sending so many guys down that 33 different players went through some part of Augusta's camp.

The cream of the crop looks pretty good, too.

The Lynx have potential to score a lot with some smaller, quick and creative forwards - notably Louis Goulet, Jamie Johnson, Ryan Lang.

They have a solid mix of reputable defensemen - notably Eric Lundberg, Ken Scuderi, Phil Cole - and a proven winner in goal with Brett Jaeger.

And those are just the guys most fans know from this league. There's a lot of young talent and guys with AHL experience on this roster as well.

Ferguson built this team around the rules, and it should excel - barring a rash of injuries and call-ups.

The schedule won't help, though. It features a six-game road trip and a five-game road trip in the first 14 games.

The Lynx need to get through that in decent shape before any kind of great expectations should be placed on them.

James Brown Arena's gonna be packed with excitement this weekend and the Lynx will be jacked up about the opener and Saturday's game against rival Gwinnett. But that emotion will go away, and when it does, the Lynx need to realize how important these two home games are for their early schedule, which ain't pretty.