Road Trip: Cancelled

Every year, I look at the schedules of the teams near HBIC Headquarters and try to map out a potential road trip where I can see as many games as possible. Normally, there are all sorts of things that get in the way where the total number of games that I could see drops to a few, but this year seemed to have the stars align for such a trip. Based on the title of this article, however, I have decided against taking this trip and I'll discuss why below. For now, let's take a look at my proposed trip, destinations, and costs involved for this trip into hockey's heartland.

I'll break this down by stop as it makes more sense for me to illustrate the games I had planned on seeing with a little context. Some might be more of a head-scratching reason than others, but I'm looking for variation, not repetition, and unique hockey locales. You'll notice I include ticket costs, approximate hotel costs (because I didn't book those nights officially), and incidentals like food and merchandise at the game. All of these factored into the costs I was planning while travelling. Time's wasting, so let's get rolling!

DULUTH, MINNESOTA

The first leg of this trip would have seen me travel to Duluth where the Bulldogs women's team would host the St. Cloud State Huskies on December 4. I have been itching to see Ève Gascon play with the Bulldogs more often, and knowing the success that Laura Schuler has had with that program meant that I'd likely be walking the halls of AMSOIL Arena and taking in a lot of history. St. Cloud State has former Finnish standouts Mira Jalosuo and Noora Räty behind the bench as the program rebuilds, so I was curious about their progress as well.

DISTANCE: 613kms (7 hours)
TICKET COST: $17.00
HOTEL COST: $220 with free breakfast
INCIDENTALS: $30 (Castle Danger beverage and Burnt Ends)

MANKATO, MINNESOTA

Saturday night would see me in Mankato where I'd attend the Mavericks men's hockey game as they hosted Bowling Green. I have never been to Mankato, but I've heard good things about the city from former women's player Alexis Paddington, so this had to be a stop on this trip. Goaltender Raiden LeGall and defender Sam Court are from Manitoba while former ECHL forward Ty Cheveldayoff plays for Bowling Green, so there are few players to watch. On top of that, I have a Mavericks jersey I can wear so I can blend in as a local!

DISTANCE: 377kms (4 hours)
TICKET COST: $20.00? (not available yet)
HOTEL COST: $140 with free breakfast and pool
INCIDENTALS: $30 (local beverage and Wiste's Meat Market)

DES MOINES, IOWA

Sunday would be a bit of a rush, but I'd have to be up early and on the road for Des Moines, Iowa for the 3pm game between the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins and Iowa Wild. Being that I'm quite familiar with both teams thanks to the Moose and that no roster decisions have been made for either team yet, this game was more of a luxury in seeing an AHL game in another city. I do have an Iowa Heartlanders jersey I could wear, but I'm not certain how welcome those would be at a Wild game. Being that I'm me, though, I'd wear it anyway.

DISTANCE: 336kms (3.5 hours)
TICKET COST: $31.00 in section 114
HOTEL COST: none
INCIDENTALS: $30 (some sort of local beverage and food)

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA

You have noticed the "none" for hotel costs above, and that's because I'd high-tail it back to Minneapolis after the game (weather permitting). I'm not going to lie, though - this is the one that broke my enthusiasm. The Edmonton Oilers are visiting the Minnesota Wild on this evening, and I thought I could take the opportunity to see all of McDavid, Draisaitl, Kaprizov, Hughes, and Boldy in one rink. I'm not a fan of either team, but I'd gladly wear my Oilers alternate jersey to the game and take the abuse from the Wild fans. However, I look at that $200 price tag on the ticket and think "I haven't spent one-third of that amount in seeing three games". The NHL is too expensive.

DISTANCE: 399kms (3.5 hours)
TICKET COST: $178 in section 122
HOTEL COST: $93 x 3 nights with free breakfast
INCIDENTALS: $10 (I already spent enough)

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA

I'd need to be on the road early on Wednesday to cover a thousand kilometers. However, an ECHL game featuring the Orlando Solar Bears and Rapid City Rush is one I would not want to miss. Mount Royal's Shane Farkas just signed with the Rush, former NHLer Brady Keeper is on the protected list for this season, and Seth Fyten, brother of former Bisons captain Caitlin Fyten, is also on the list. And when am I ever going to see the Solar Bears play? This was a must-see event.

DISTANCE: 939kms (8.5 hours)
TICKET COST: $48.50 in section C
HOTEL COST: $90 with free breakfast
INCIDENTALS: $30 (some sort of local beverage and food)

FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA

I'd have to hustle again on Thursday to land in Fargo where I'd be heading to Scheels Arena on Friday night for the USHL game between the Des Moines Buccaneers and the Fargo Force. Being that I've never been to a USHL game and knowing Fargo's drive for winning, I expect this one to be a fun night. I have no ties to any of the players, but crossing another league off the list after attending a game is a personal goal. If you count the NCAA's women's game as being a different league, that would be six different leagues in seven days!

DISTANCE: 130kms (1 hour)
TICKET COST: $20 in section 110 bought in advance
HOTEL COST: $140 with free breakfast
INCIDENTALS: $30 (some sort of local beverage and food)

GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA

The last stop is obvious as no hockey trip through the middle of the US would be complete without a UND game. The Fighting Hawks are scheduled to battle the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on Friday and Saturday, and there are literally a handful of tickets remaining for either day. As such, I'd be sitting in the nosebleed section, so one game will be enough for me. They play their annual White-Out Game on Saturday so I'd opt for Friday's game where the 701 Night promotions will run, but the cost of tickets was surprising.

DISTANCE: 130kms (1 hour)
TICKET COST: $80 in section 111 bought in advance
HOTEL COST: $160 with free breakfast
INCIDENTALS: $30 (some sort of local beverage and food)

CONCLUSION

By Saturday, I'd be home and getting back into an everyday routine after spending a week on the road watching hockey in an arena virtually every night. Some will say I'm insane for planning something like this out, and there may be some truth to that. After all, the dollar figures that I'd need to make this happen are greater than I want to spend. I'll break this down so you get what I mean.

TOTAL TICKET COSTS: $394.50 USD
TOTAL HOTEL COSTS: $1029 USD
TOTAL INCIDENTALS: $190 USD, but this likely would be less.
TOTAL KILOMETERS: 3032kms including leg back to Winnipeg.

Between the costs totalling $1500, the addition of gas and food while travelling, and any required contingency money needed, I'm looking at a $2000 USD cost for this trip, and that's just not something for which the budget will allow before Christmas. Pushing the costs higher would be the exchange rate, and this trip suddenly went from fun to expensive with a final total nearing $3000 CDN for a week of hockey games. I'd love to make something like this happen, but it's simply not in the cards when it comes to spending wisely.

On this Labour Day, this is what I laboured over as I looked to go on an adventure. Unfortunately, that won't happen this December 4-11 due to the escalating costs, but it would have been fun to watch seven games over eight nights from six different leagues!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Une Année Supplémentaire

If you don't recognize the stylized "S" to the left, that's ok because I had no idea that the Université de Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or used that as a logo. As you may know, Sherbrooke was looking to get into men's and women's hockey at the U SPORTS level with the addition of hockey teams by 2027 thanks to a generous donation. With Laval ready to go this season, I had assumed that SHerbrooke had pushed their scheduling up to bring their team into the RSEQ at the same time. It turns out that not everything would follow the logical addition of two teams at the same time as the Vert-et-Or remain committed to the 2027 start date for university hockey.

I have no issue with admitting that I was wrong on this one as my wish to see university-level women's hockey grow and improve is being shared by one province across this nation. Sherbrooke has made a handful of announcements for their men's hockey team's debut next season when it comes to staffing and players, but the women's team doesn't even exist on their athletics page yet. This isn't a setback, but one would hope that a page for the women's team is on the horizon.

That being said, the 2027 debut for the Vert-et-Or in the RSEQ will happen at the Thibault GM Complex where the school and arena agreed to a three-year deal to have all activities - practices and games - held there. You might be thinking, "Aren't they going to be around more than three years?" when it comes to this arena deal, but Sherbrooke is planning an ambitious new project: a new arena!

As Camille Guindon wrote in her article for Le Collectif, the arena project still has several key details that have to be sorted out including capacity, layout, and the services that will be offered, but by having the two university teams as initial tenants the arena will see revenue streams develop. The total cost is currently estimated at between $25 million and $40 million, but the arena project received a $15 million donation from businessman Herb Black and funds from the Serge Savard Fund. Perhaps a future arena isn't impossible.

As Guindon's wrote in the article, though, was the note that read "A women's team could also be created as early as the following year."

I'm not asking Sherbrooke to rush the creation of a women's team, and seeing all the moving parts that surround the Sherbrooke entries into men's and women's hockey justifies that extra year of preparation and setup. Sherbrooke's efforts to recruit won't be easier with the other five teams in the RSEQ still needing players next season, but the women's program still needs all of its coaching staff hired which is something that needs to happen sooner than later.

Five teams will take the ice this season with a sixth team planning for a 2027 debut. The RSEQ is still the smallest conference in U SPORTS women's hockey with the new additions, but the six-team RSEQ is far more legitimate than the four-team RSEQ ever was. I'll be watching Laval's progress this season when it comes to the Rouge-et-Or's competitiveness with teams like Concordia, Montreal, and Bishop's, and their growth should be the map that Sherbrooke follows for their 2027 debut. If Laval does well, Sherbrooke should replicate that.

In summary, nothing is happening on the surface for the Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or women's team right now. Under the surface, however, the building of the coachign staff will start soon, a possible new arena announcement seems to be imminent, and 25 women will be given a chance to be Sherbrooke's inaugural women's hockey team. If you're a fan of U SPORTS women's hockey, having Sherbrooke take this gap year might be disappointing at first, but they're working on making hockey better for everyone in and around Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Keep up the good work, and we'll see you in 2027, Sherbrooke!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Icemen Cometh

Back in July, the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen announced that they were redesigning and rebranding their look which worked simply due to fun. Anytime that one can get a yeti into Florida means they're looking to have a little more fun with their branding, so I was hopeful that the team's new look would carry into their jersey design. With a refined colour palette and some creativity, the Icemen could have a lot of fun with their look this season and beyond. Would we see them indulge?

It seems that the fun begins and ends with the yeti logo on this one.

There isn't a lot to get excited about here when it comes to the three base colours the Icemen chose in white, black, and gray. If we were still watching black-and-white television, this might get a pass, but these three base colours do nothing to help elevate the logo or the colours used on these jerseys. Let's break these down, though.

We'll start with the gray jersey only because the Icemen did in their release, stating, "The new gray jersey features the new primary logo with the iceberg blue and black accents scattered throughout." The only problem is that there aren't iceberg blue accents scattered throughout, and it seems like black is carrying a lot of water for iceberg blue. Why is there so much black on a jersey for Icemen? Why is there no white used on this jersey for accent colours or contrasts? For a team who uses white and iceberg blue as its main colours, having a gray jersey is the equivalent of giving up. This gray jersey needs a do-over.

We move to the black jersey where the release states, "The black jersey features the full-body design of the yeti-like creature with the iceberg blue accent at the base of the jersey." With Captain Obvious working in the Icemen's marketing department, there is zero reason why the Icemen should be wearing black when they have iceberg blue available to them as a base colour. Even if they went with a deeper blue or a navy blue, it would be infinitely more "ice"-like than black. Having the Icemen wear black is the definition of dumb, and my hope is that these jerseys will be retired quickly because they just don't fit the branding. If they do stay, give me a shoulder yoke!

And that brings us to the white jersey where the release states, "The team’s white jersey will also be worn with white pants, helmets and gloves to complete an iced-out look for the Icemen." For someone who has lived in ice and snow all his life, I can honestly say that white is not the colour of ice, but iceberg blue is. If you're digging the Icemen out of the snow, this would be a suitable jersey. However, there's a significant lack of contrast on here that the black accents could provide as shown by the black Atheltic Knit logo in the middle of the chest. Again, this jersey just feels incomplete at this point without the immediate contrasts to the white and blue colours.

Besides my absolute hatred for black jerseys, this new set of threads for the Icemen just feels rushed and incomplete. I understand the concept of keeping the design simple, but, between poor colour choices and missing design elements, the Icemen miss the mark with this rebranding. The fun they baked into the logos isn't there when applied to fabric, and that's a shame because it looked like the Icemen's tenth anniversary was going to based on fun beginnings.

Unless the Icemen can find a way to bring the fun to these jerseys in the coming years, they may see their bottom line for merchandise remain frozen. These three are good concept jerseys, but they shouldn't be worn on the ice by anyone called the Icemen.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Kingdom Grows

All of the points on the map above are hockey teams owned by the same group. It doesn't include their other sports business ventures in baseball, women's basketball, and soccer, but you can see by the colours of the pins on the map that they own several teams or are operating teams within the same league. I'm not sure how conflict-of-interest rules apply here, but owning and/or operating five ECHL teams seems like it would cause headaches. For Zawyer Sports and Entertainment Group, though, those rules don't seem to apply.

Yesterday, the Zawyer Group sunk themselves a little deeper into the SPHL after the Huntsville Havoc announced that Zawyer had acquired a controlling interest in the team. If you notice the green pins on the map, those represent Huntsville and the soon-to-be-real Mobile Mysticks hockey team that will join the SPHL in 2027, both of whom are now owned and operated by the Zawyer Group. I'm no economist or financial guru, but owning and/or operating nine hockey teams - half of whom are in the ECHL - seems like a disaster waiting to happen if anything were to happen to the Zawyer Group financially.

According to the release, the SPHL Board of Governors approved the transaction at their annual meetings last month, and I'm very curious about the conversations that went on with regards to the Zawyer Group's financial situation, the potential conflict-of-interest that owning two teams will cause with the Mysticks, and if there were any other interested parties. The SPHL often has teams operating with tiny profit margins, so one has to wonder what sold the SPHL's Governors on the Zawyer Group taking over as owners of the Havoc.

I'm not here to rain on the Zawyer Group's parade of takeovers in minor pro sports. They seems to understand that fans matter by emphasizing local gate revenues and sponsor revenues, and they treat media deals and merchandise revenue as bonus money. Tickets remain affordable for fans by having more and more sponsors pick up bigger gameday costs, and they replicate this model over all the hockey teams they own and/or operate. The end result is that they have solid attendance figures which gives them a ballpark revenue figure to plan for future seasons. Clearly, as the Zawyer Kingdom grows, this team ownership model appears to be successful.

Again, this isn't a warning that one should be wary of Zawyer Sports and Entertainment. As they continue to add teams and leagues to their portfolio, they are proving that their model works. It becomes a little more worrisome, however, when you consider that they're being asked to use the model above in places where hockey isn't a top-three sport or in places where hockey has failed once before.

The Tahoe Knight Monsters, for example, have never exceeded 3700 fans per game in their three years of existence yet the Savannah Ghost Pirates have sold out their arena at 7485 fans for the past three seasons. Why does the model work in Savannah, but not in Stateline? Jacksonville 's attendance climbed to above 9000 fans per game since Zawyer took over, but Greensboro only saw 6050 fans per game in their inaugural season. How does an expansion team not see more fans than an Icemen team that hasn't even won a division title?

Obviously, there are a pile of other factors that get thrown into the recipe as well, but Huntsville wasn't having problems drawing fans to their games as they've averaged more than 6000 fans over the past three seasons. They played to 98.4% capacity last season - second-best in the SPHL - and averaged more than 1500 fans per game in the playoffs than second-best Pensacola. In terms of ticket sales, the Havoc might be the SPHL's best team from a revenue perspective.

So why did Keith and Becky Jeffries made the decision to sell to Zawyer Sports and Entertainment when they were already doing well?

Well, age might be one reason as Keith Jeffries is 68 years-old. In the release yesterday, Jeffries stated, “The time is right to bring in a managing partner that can help take the Huntsville Havoc into its next chapter," making it sound like he and his wife may want to enjoy the game more rather than running the show. He's certainly earned that right after founding the team in 2004 and guiding it through, at times, some murky waters in the SPHL. However, he stuck to his one guiding principle over 22 years of founding and running the Havoc.

"It goes back to when I went into business early in life, when I was in my early 20s," Jeffries told Mike Easterling of the Huntsville Business Journal in 2019. "My dad told me the key has always been good customer service. The name we had was Golden Rule and it came from the idea of how to treat people, whether they were customers or employees, to try to treat people the way you'd want to be treated as a customer or employee.

"We try to do the same thing here. We're not perfect, but we're getting better. If I was a fan or season ticket holder — how would I want to be treated? Some things are out of our control, but we still do the best with what we have."

It seems pretty clear that his principle has led the Havoc to success both on and off the ice, and one hopes that the Zawyer Group will continue to hold that principle as the guiding light in Huntsville. The Jeffries will still be a fixture at games as a minority owner, but this transition to the Zawyer Group should allow the Jeffries to enjoy a day off every once in a while as they approach retirement ages. After all, I'd say that Keith and Becky absolutely deserve that.

It's funny that in the cutthroat world of professional sports that one simple principle we're taught in elementary school helped to make an SPHL team successful in its community. Make no mistake that the Jeffries guided the Havoc through some tough times and they likely made istakes as well, but the idea of treating fans and sponsors well was the driving force behind the Havoc's tenure in the volatile SPHL. Perhaps the "Golden Rule" should be the first rule for all teams?

That now falls to the Zawyer Group to embrace that mentality as the Havoc move forward. If they follow the plan laid out by the Jeffries, they shouldn't have any issues in Huntsville when it comes to finding success. And if they do find that success, that will only make their sports portfolio that much stronger. Seems easy, doesn't it?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 728

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, has escaped! Our hosts will be out in the community tonight as they make a trip down to the Hockey For All Centre in west Winnipeg to check out an intriguing matchup between the ACHA's University of Jamestown Jimmies and the MFHL's Winnipeg Ice! As far as we can tell, this will be the Ice's first dance with a university team, so this could be fun as the hosts will look for interviews post-game in between talking about hockey! It's the first show out of the studios in a while, so join us down at the Hockey For All Centre for the game and the The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Some will say the image to the left is an accurate description of our two hosts, but Teebz and Jason will make their way down to the Hockey For All Centre where they'll set up the remote gear and chat about the ongoing insanity at Rogers Communications with respect to Elliotte Friedman and Kevin Bieksa potentially being gone from their broadcasts. They'll also talk about the recent shutdown of Victory+ and how the broadcasting landscape has changed in hockey. They'll also update everyone on the score in the game between the Jimmies and Ice, and they'll see if they can flag down a few players and/or coaches for an interview on the show tonight. It's always fun heading out to a rink for a live show where we can meet talented people, so make sure you're tuned into The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The UMFM website's streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason talk insane decisions and bad business, they'll chat with some of Manitoba's best players, and anything else they can squeeze in during their first on-location show exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!