ECHL All-Star Game Rant, ECHL All Time Best and Worst Records at Risk, Jersey Reversal Date Arrives and More

 

The ECHL All-Star game took place last night and as I wrote yesterday it is a huge undertaking for the host team, this year the Norfolk Admirals. The amount of time and effort the Admirals staff put into the game should be commended and the attendance (5067) was respectable. 

- I didn't pay much attention leading up to the game itself but noticed there was some technical issue with ticketing for the Hall of Fame exhibit (which was resolved) and the Stanley Cup's arrival was delayed because of an airline issue. The issues hit closer to home last night when I tuned into FloHockey to watch the game and there was no audio. Again, not sure where the problem was but there is no excuse for a game with a nationwide audience, for which fans pay plenty to go for a couple of hours with no audio. I am sure most of the audience was lost before the audio was restored. I heard there were also problems with the NHL Network broadcast. I turned the no audio FloHockey broadcast off after the fastest skater skills event and didn't check back in until the final game and caught the tail end of that game.

- The ECHL can't be happy with the results of the All-Star game. Remember there were four teams in this 3-on-3 multiple round, running time tournament that included skills competitions that added to the score. Two of the teams were from the host team Norfolk Admirals, the other two were one each from the two ECHL conferences (Eastern & Western). Coincidentally, Norfolk is the worst team in the league and on pace for the worst season in ECHL history. You take Norfolk's team and divide it in half against the best players in the league and everyone I am sure assumed the final game would be between the Eastern Conference All-Stars and the Western Conference All-Stars. The Eastern Conference didn't even make it to the final game and the Western Conference got shutout 2-0 in the finals by the Destroyers (half of Norfolk's team). Congrats to the winners but not a good look for the league. It is not the first time the local team beat the All-Stars. One time between 1993 and 2010 the ECHL All-Stars played the local team and that was in 1997. The Charlotte Checkers beat the All-Stars 7-6. The next year the ECHL went back to conference against conference.

- Its time for the ECHL to step up and have a real All-Star game like the big boys. Here is the AHL format: Four teams made up of All-Stars from the four AHL divisions (12 players per team). A full scale stand alone skills competition takes place on Sunday night followed by the game on Monday night. The four teams participate in a 3-on-3 round robin tournament featuring six games of 10 minutes each. The two teams with the best record after the round robin face off for the championship, a six minute 3-on-3 game. 

- I am sure the ECHL will say the AHL format is too expensive despite the fact for most of the league's history local players did not participate in the All-Star game. Find a way to make it work with just All-Stars or don't have an All-Star game at all. After all there wasn't an All-Star game in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2021.

 

- Here is the press release about the ECHL All-Star Classic with the detailed results:  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2023/1/all-star-recap   

- The fastest skater winner last night was Lincoln Griffin of the Cincinnati Cyclones with a time of 12.90 seconds. That is the second fastest time ever in the skills competition. A fellow Cincinnati Cyclone holds the all time record. In 2018 Justin Danforth set the record at 12.75. Danforth is now in the NHL (Columbus Blue Jackets).

- Norfolk's Callum Fyrer won the hardest shot competition at 97 MPH. The all time record is 102.7 MPH set by Josh Godfrey of the South Carolina Stingrays in 2011.

 

- Liam Finlay had a goal and an assist for the Western Conference All-Stars.  His team started out very strong but were shutout 4-0 in the semifinals by the Eastern Conference. They still made the finals because it was a cumulative score (including skills competition points) tournament until the finals. The Western Conference lost to one of the Norfolk teams 2-0 in the finals. Finlay wore #13 at the All-Star game, not sure if it was a tribute to his coach or a coincidence he was wearing Chad Costello's #13. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- It seems odd the ECHL would schedule regular season games the same day as the All-Star game but that is always the case. There were four games yesterday, Jacksonville beat Atlanta (OT), Maine beat Reading, Utah beat Idaho and Rapid City beat Kansas City (OT).

 

- Idaho has played Utah 15 times in its first 35 games (43%) and has a record against the Grizzlies of 11-4-0-0. After playing all these games against each other they will not play again until April 5 when they will play three more times.

 

- Iowa's road winless streak has reached 20 games which ties the Heartlanders for the second longest winless streak in ECHL history. Because of a six game homestand coming up, Iowa won't have a chance to take over second by themselves until it plays Wheeling on February 3. The all time record winless streak is still a ways off. In 1992-93 Roanoke Valley had a 26 game winless streak. Iowa has had plenty of opportunities to break the winless streak. They have lost seven of the 20 games in overtime. 

 

- The ECHL season is almost 50% complete and there is still a chance the all time best record and worst record in a single season could fall. Idaho has a points percentage of .814 which is slightly ahead of the all time record of .806. Norfolk's points percentage is .208, ahead of the all time lowest record of .227.

 

DID YOU KNOW: It’s that time, ECHL jersey reversal date has arrived:

As of this Friday (Jan. 20), ECHL teams will switch and start wearing their dark jerseys at home and their white jerseys on the road through the end of the regular season. During the Playoffs, home teams will continue wearing their dark jerseys and visiting teams will continue to wear their white jerseys. There are some exceptions, usually related to games when specialty jerseys are involved.