Finally caught an Icebats game last night. I had missed the home opener due to vacation, which was the wiser choice since these guys are only ‘AA’ level yet the ECHL teams are better than this. The ‘bats are having a lousy season already: only three players from last year are back and they’re 2-7 as I write this (they lost this afternoon). So much for the return of Brent Hughes who took them to the President’s Cup several years ago. I know they’re better hockey players than I ever could be but they stunk on ice last night. They were just outmatched in every aspect by the Youngstown Steelhounds. One thing I read from Hughes was how last year’s lineup lacked passion which is why the last coach got fired. I don’t know, from what I remember of the 2006-07 guys, they were only guilty of not protecting their leads yet were capable of scoring on rebounds if someone shot from the blue line. I’ll still take in a few games because it’s cheaper than going to Dallas just to spend $10 on parking.
After the game, I picked up a copy of this free sports weekly to find out how close the Icebats were to taking the season off. It explained why the current owner bought out the remaining partners. For several years, the team has been trying to get a better place to play in Cedar Park (a ‘burb in Northwest Austin). I have no idea why there, personally I think fewer people would go than when they played at the Travis County Expo Center or the current rink. Cedar Park is a pain to drive to from other parts of Austin plus it’s on all those new gouging…I mean toll roads. So it turns out the previous pool of owners wanted to put the team on hold for a year since Cedar Park backed out again. The current owner did the math and figured out he’d lose money either way, thus, he bought them out to honor the season-ticket holders, sponsors and players who auditioned. I’m glad, the current rink is near my house. I purchased a new jersey as a show of support.
The free article did explain why Cedar Park is keeping the Icebats in limbo, the Dallas Stars are wooing them with an AHL franchise. As a hockey fan I have several questions I’m sure the Lady Modano organization would probably dodge. One, does this mean the Iowa Stars come here or does that team get dissolved? Two, if the Icebats have struggled to put a decent number of butts in seats for 11 seasons, how would be any different with an AHL (AAA-level) team? Three, how long is the commitment? New arenas/rinks are expensive since I know the people of Cedar Park and probably Travis County will get the bill. Finally, will the Stars play a pre-season game or two here as the Coyotes do with San Antonio? I would like to see an AHL team here though. Austin is the 16th largest city in the US, right behind exciting Columbus, OH which has an NHL team. I just don’t want it to have ties to the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche aka al-Qaidarado. Probably won’t happen. Hockey has a limited interested in Texas and it can’t compete with the state religion, football.
I do want to close with some upbeat news, my guy JR scored his 499th goal against the LA Kings! One more to go to secure his spot. Not only will he be the third American to do it, he’ll be the 40th player to achieve this. I think doing it against the Kings made it feel even better since he had a rotten time with them and the new coach, Marc “Big Boy” Crawford, didn’t like him.
Oh, and how ’bout them Flyers! First place in the Atlantic, 8-4, 16 points and undefeated at home.