The Kansas City Mavericks hosted some pre-season hockey action over the weekend, while several teams helped out with hurricane relief. All this and more in this week's ECHL Notebook.
Training camps around the ECHL are underway, which means another exciting season of action is close at hand.
The Kansas City Mavericks have yet to play a pre-season game, but have already made a bit of history over the weekend. With recent hurricanes affecting some cities around the ECHL, teams in those areas are pitching in to provide relief. These storylines and others are featured in this week’s ECHL Notebook.
History In Missouri
The Kansas City Mavericks training camp didn’t get underway until Monday, but fans still got a chance to see some hockey, AHL-style.
For the first time, AHL action came to Cable Dahmer Arena over the weekend, as the Mavericks’ affiliate Coachella Valley Firebirds squared off for a two-game series with the Milwaukee Admirals.
Over 2,000 fans were in attendance for each of the two games, which saw the Admirals make a clean sweep of the Firebirds, 5-2 and 2-1.
In the first game on Friday, the two teams traded goals in the first and second period, but the Admirals pulled away in the third with three unanswered goals.
Saturday was a defensive struggle from start to finish, with Milwaukee hanging on for the narrow victory.
What would a pre-season contest be without a little fist action? The third period of Game 2 kicked off with a center-ice fight between Turner Ottenbriet and Narvin Mutter. Mavericks fans were also treated to some familiar faces on the ice including Tucker Robertson, Cade Borchardt, Ryan Jones and David Noel.
The Mavericks began their training camp Monday in the most anticipated season in the club’s history after falling just short of a Kelly Cup championship. The team will open the 2024-25 regular season at home on Oct. 19 against the Wichita Thunder.
Hurricane Relief
Competing for roster spots may be the focal point of training camp, but several ECHL teams took some time to do their part in helping their communities deal with the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.
The South Carolina Stingrays are holding a hurricane relief drive through Wednesday, Oct. 9 to support those affected by Hurricane Helene. Stingrays fans are encouraged to donate hygiene and baby products, pet food and care items, non-perishables, batteries, or other essential items.
A donation box will be at the Carolina Ice Palace through Wednesday, and another will be at the Stingrays front office. The Stingrays will collect the items on Oct. 10 and send them to Asheville, North Carolina, on Friday.
In Greenville, the Swamp Rabbits made sandwiches after Sunday’s skate for local first responders, front-line workers and local schoolchildren affected by Helene.
On Wednesday, the Swamp Rabbits and Stingrays will play a Care As One Community game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The game is free to the public, but fans are encouraged to donate as they are able to the United Way of Greenville County Community Relief Fund.
The Savannah Ghost Pirates are partnering with United Way of Coastal Empire (UWCE) in support of Hurricane Helene relief efforts.
Fans can purchase tickets to Ghost Pirates home games Oct. 27 and 30 against the Orlando Solar Bears. A portion of the proceeds from those games will be donated to UCWE’s Rapid Response Disaster Fund.
As of this writing, the death toll from Helene has reached 227 over six states.
Rush Jerseys Up For Auction
The Rapid City Rush is holding a pre-season jersey auction through October 13. This week, Rush fans can bid on a Size 54 Simon Boyko 2023-24 Specialty Mighty Ducks Iceland white jersey, which has Boyko’s last name and #16 on the back.
Bids can be placed here.
ECHL Unfiltered Now On FloHockey
This past Sunday was the finale of ECHL Unfiltered, a docuseries featuring a behind-the-scenes look at life in minor league hockey. Presented by AboveGame Entertainment, the series was shown on NHL Network the past two weekends.
The feature is now available in its entirety on FloHockey, the ECHL’s streaming platform. All five episodes can be watched on demand.
ECHL Names New Hotel Partner
The ECHL announced on Monday that it has partnered with Lucid Travel, part of HotelPlanner, a leading provider of online group hotel booking solutions, to name HotelPlanner as the “Official Hotel Reservations Partner” of the League.
As part of the agreement, the ECHL will work with HotelPlanner to organize the annual ECHL Hockey Summer Meetings, book staff and on-ice officials travel throughout the season and provide hotel deals for ECHL fans, including a $20 hotel credit.
Fans can access their $20 Hotel Credit by visiting the ECHL’s dedicated HotelPlanner page.