Sykotyk Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 49 minutes ago, BeerGuyJordan said: I was thinking less Swamp Rabbits and more Solar Bears, with respect to rebranding. Orlando Solar Bears, Houston ThunderBears, Knoxville Ice Bears,... there's something wrong with bears according to sports marketers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosrs1 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 1 minute ago, Sykotyk said: Orlando Solar Bears, Houston ThunderBears, Knoxville Ice Bears,... there's something wrong with bears according to sports marketers. Well the Hershey Bears kind of have the Bears name locked up in minor league hockey. Seeing as they've been sitting on it since 1938. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerGuyJordan Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 2 hours ago, Sykotyk said: Orlando Solar Bears, Houston ThunderBears, Knoxville Ice Bears,... there's something wrong with bears according to sports marketers. I meant identity quality. Obviously, between Alaska, Utah and Orlando, ursines are covered. Orlando has a great identity, and a unique color scheme that they execute well. 2 Quote Thunder Bay Lynx - International Hockey Association (2 seasons, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2018 Xtreme Cup Champions) | Houston Armadillos - Major League Hockey (2 seasons, 2016-18) | Minnesota Muskies - North American Basketball Association (1 season, 2017-2018) | Louisville Thoroughbreds - United League of Baseball (1 season, 2017, 2017 United Cup Champions) | Las Vegas Thunderbirds - International Basketball League (1 season, 2016-17, 2017 Champions) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvrdgsfn Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Alaska Aces may be done after this season http://www.ktva.com/alaska-aces-ownership-considering-ceasing-operations-727/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DustDevil61 Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 3 hours ago, rvrdgsfn said: Alaska Aces may be done after this season http://www.ktva.com/alaska-aces-ownership-considering-ceasing-operations-727/ It'd be a shame to see this happen. I've always loved seeing Utah and Alaska play, as it has felt like the two have been rivals in the last few years. Quote AKA @LanRovr0 on Twitter LED Sig Credits to packerfan21396 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerGuyJordan Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 3 hours ago, rvrdgsfn said: Alaska Aces may be done after this season http://www.ktva.com/alaska-aces-ownership-considering-ceasing-operations-727/ Can't say I'm surprised, especially with the loss of the Cali teams. The travel line of their budget has got to be huge. I'll be sad to see them go, if true. Proba ly the third best executed identity in the ECHL, behind Toledo and Orlando. Quote Thunder Bay Lynx - International Hockey Association (2 seasons, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2018 Xtreme Cup Champions) | Houston Armadillos - Major League Hockey (2 seasons, 2016-18) | Minnesota Muskies - North American Basketball Association (1 season, 2017-2018) | Louisville Thoroughbreds - United League of Baseball (1 season, 2017, 2017 United Cup Champions) | Las Vegas Thunderbirds - International Basketball League (1 season, 2016-17, 2017 Champions) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickp91 Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 It's a miracle the Aces were able to survive as long as they have, their travel budget to get around and play the other teams in the ECHL must be huge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sykotyk Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 There's two teams in the NAHL in Alaska. Fairbanks and in Soldotna. It would make more sense to switch over to NAHL. With three Alaskan teams, the ability to let the league favor scheduling Alaskan teams, would greatly cut down on travel. And road teams could travel to all three in one trip to get in as many games as possible. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rams80 Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 14 hours ago, BeerGuyJordan said: Can't say I'm surprised, especially with the loss of the Cali teams. The travel line of their budget has got to be huge. I'll be sad to see them go, if true. Proba ly the third best executed identity in the ECHL, behind Toledo and Orlando. The Aces historically subsidized travel to Anchorage as well-they got around it some by having teams play 3 game "series" and vice versa. But yeah, with the loss of Victoria and then the California teams, Boise's the closest market now and it quickly (Salt Lake City, Loveland, CO, Rapid City) gets worse from there. Probably not sustainable any more. Quote On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said: You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now. On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said: Today, we are all otaku. "The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010 The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sykotyk Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 It's actually cheaper/easier for Alaska to fly to major cities than the little dots on the map that are ECHL markets traditionally. The reason NAHL teams in Alaska were in the division with Texas teams was because flying to Dallas was actually cheaper. So, sticking them with sporadically placed western teams wasn't as ideal. Not sure if that's still the case. But, other than Seattle (the primary destination of almost all Alaskan flights), you're taking other flights to continue your trip in most cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smzimbabwe Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I got official notification the morning that the Aces will cease operations at the end of the season. Bummer, I used to work for the team back in the 90's, sad to hear of their passing. One season, they signed Link Gaetz and there was a lounge under the arena where the players would go after the game and socialize with some ticket holders, team workers, and there was catered food and a bar. After one game, Gaetz walked in, slammed his fist on the bar and announced loudly "The warrior needs a beer!" It was quite scary and intimidating. Other teams would have at least one player who would want to test himself by getting in a fight on ice with Gaetz. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HedleyLamarr Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 On 2/19/2017 at 2:52 PM, rams80 said: The Aces historically subsidized travel to Anchorage as well-they got around it some by having teams play 3 game "series" and vice versa. But yeah, with the loss of Victoria and then the California teams, Boise's the closest market now and it quickly (Salt Lake City, Loveland, CO, Rapid City) gets worse from there. Probably not sustainable any more. The NHL and NBA, and in small part MLB too, really should get smarter when it comes to scheduling games, especially when it's inside the conference/league. There were a few seasons where the Thrashers made five or six separate trips to New York City to play the Devils, Rangers, and Islanders. I would think everyone benefits more if the sheer number of road trips were lessened and longer in length instead of singular home/road games. I wouldn't quite go as far as what Alaska did, but that's more out of necessity. A bit shocked that Alaska lased as long as they did. Life isn't easy when you're as much of an outpost as the Aces are, for them or the opponents. When they played the Gwinnett Gladiators in the Kelly Cup finals, the Gladiators didn't have their own chartered team plane. There weren't any flights where they could get their entire team personnel on one flight, so they were scrambling to fill up the couple-ish seats on any flights heading to Anchorage, whether they left from Atlanta or Birmingham or Nashville, etc. There was some uncertainty that the whole team would make it there in time for Game 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 8 minutes ago, HedleyLamarr said: The NHL and NBA, and in small part MLB too, really should get smarter when it comes to scheduling games, especially when it's inside the conference/league. There were a few seasons where the Thrashers made five or six separate trips to New York City to play the Devils, Rangers, and Islanders. I would think everyone benefits more if the sheer number of road trips were lessened and longer in length instead of singular home/road games. I wouldn't quite go as far as what Alaska did, but that's more out of necessity. I don't know if the league isn't trying hard enough or if it's just balancing out the different needs/demands of 30 different teams, but it seems like there are always weird schedule quirks. There was a standard "Sabres coach complains about compressed schedule" article recently, but they also had four days off four games into the season; that's only half a day less than a bye week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosrs1 Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 On 2/18/2017 at 6:26 PM, rvrdgsfn said: Alaska Aces may be done after this season http://www.ktva.com/alaska-aces-ownership-considering-ceasing-operations-727/ That would be a damned shame. But it sounds like the low oil prices are hitting everyone up there if University of Alaska was considering ditching their hockey program as well. Frankly given the demise of the ECHL's western division after the AHL moved west in 2016 I'm surprised the Aces fielded a team the last two years. The ECHL is supposed to be a bus league, and travel to Alaska isn't cheap, or easy given the distances and time zone issues. Basically the Aces are a latter day Alaska version of the old Hawaii Islanders of the PCL. And are no doubt suffering many of the same problems. And with eastern cities like Portland, ME waiting for replacement teams for lost AHL squads there's got to be enormous pressure to sell at a hefty profit. I hope they can work it out though. The Aces shouldn't have to fold just because the AHL gutted their former division. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sykotyk Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 On 3/3/2017 at 7:09 PM, bosrs1 said: That would be a damned shame. But it sounds like the low oil prices are hitting everyone up there if University of Alaska was considering ditching their hockey program as well. Frankly given the demise of the ECHL's western division after the AHL moved west in 2016 I'm surprised the Aces fielded a team the last two years. The ECHL is supposed to be a bus league, and travel to Alaska isn't cheap, or easy given the distances and time zone issues. Basically the Aces are a latter day Alaska version of the old Hawaii Islanders of the PCL. And are no doubt suffering many of the same problems. And with eastern cities like Portland, ME waiting for replacement teams for lost AHL squads there's got to be enormous pressure to sell at a hefty profit. I hope they can work it out though. The Aces shouldn't have to fold just because the AHL gutted their former division. Given that the AHL is much more a junior circuit than ECHL being a bus league, is there any possibility an AHL team would/could work in Alaska? Or is the market too tapped out to afford it with the added cost of travel? Traveling to San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, etc is probably much cheaper than ECHL travel. But, tickets/attendance probably requires a bit more than they can support. NAHL is probably the route to take for Anchorage to get a team. With two other NAHL teams in the state, it makes the most sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sodboy13 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 The California teams all moved where they did to cut out travel. Putting Anchorage in would undo the compact footprint, and probably make the Kings and Sharks whine their way into making David Andrews let them play a 48-game season. If the Canucks bail on Utica and set up in Abbotsford, then maybe it's doable, with teams going north for 4 or 6 games between the two teams. Otherwise, Anchorage is no man's land in the current minor hockey landscape. Quote On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said: For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA. PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvrdgsfn Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Looks like Elmira is done as well.... http://www.weny.com/news/All/first-arena-buyer-elmira-jackals-folding-031017?utm_medium=social&utm_source=WENY_TV_News Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosrs1 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 45 minutes ago, rvrdgsfn said: Looks like Elmira is done as well.... http://www.weny.com/news/All/first-arena-buyer-elmira-jackals-folding-031017?utm_medium=social&utm_source=WENY_TV_News Well I won't be surprised if Portland, ME lands a team now that's for sure. The Aces made it official they're folding after this season. http://arenadigest.com/2017/02/27/alaska-aces-fold-shop/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 I wasn't really sweating the Aces folding because I know there's college hockey in Anchorage, but then I saw that Anchorage might lose college hockey, too. That ain't good. Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-ROY Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 7 hours ago, the admiral said: I wasn't really sweating the Aces folding because I know there's college hockey in Anchorage, but then I saw that Anchorage might lose college hockey, too. That ain't good. It's all good Quote By mid-November, the board of regents determined that hockey would be spared the axe, calming the nerves of the two programs. But other teams in the state haven’t been so lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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