A Fun Side Quest

I don't normally spend a lot of time pouring over the transaction list in hockey, but I do keep an eye on the ECHL transactions during this time of year to see if any U SPORTS players have been added or released. One name on the list jumped out to me on October 10, and I decided to look into this person because I don't know many men named "Colleen" who play hockey. Might we be seeing the Stingrays with a female goalie?

Before we get into this, let's just remember that an EBUG in the ECHL is a contract that guarantees nothing more than a few days of working in practices. They are vitally important, though, because they fill in when goalies are moving between leagues or when a netminder gets injured. We saw how important the EBUG was to the Fort Wayne Komets back in 2002 as they earned a win with EBUG Joe Franke between the pipes! Clearly, EBUGs serve an important role.

With ECHL teams currently running through training camps and preseason games, EBUGs become important as teams wait for goalies to arrive from AHL clubs or release goalies who may not be ready for ECHL action. There have been a handful signed in the last week as teams sort out their rosters, and the South Carolina Stingrays appeared to need one on Saturday as they tapped into their local Charleston Youth Hockey Association where Colleen Jacoby was working as the association's goalie coach! The Muskegon, Michigan native last played competitive hockey in 2015-16 for the ACHA Division II University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, but she was on the ice this weekend stopping pucks in an ECHL crease as she broke out the pads and mask for the Stingrays! How cool is that?

It should be noted that Colleen Jacoby wasn't likely looking for an ECHL job as she currently works as an attorney at Tecklenburg, Jenkins & Jacoby. She keeps her skills sharp through coaching and playing adult hockey around Charleston, though, so it's not like the Stingrays were throwing an untrained, unprepared player in the crease. She's still a Red Wings fan in terms of her hockey love, and her goaltending numbers at both Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Minnesota-Duluth shows she knows how to stop pucks!

Jacoby was splitting goaltending duties over the weekend with Ben Kraws who played with the Idaho Steelheads last season, and it's expected that there will be a goaltender sent to them eventually by the Hershey Bears as they're currently carrying three goaltenders on their roster. Until they do, though, it seems that Colleen Jacoby will be wearing a Stingrays jersey! For how long is the big question.

South Carolina doesn't play a game until Friday when they travel to Jacksonville to meet the Icemen to open the 2026-27 ECHL season. On Saturday, October 17, they'll be back in Charleston for their home opener against the Greensville Swamp Rabbits, and I'll be keeping my eye on the transactions records for the next few days to see if Colleen remains with the club. It's very likely that she'll be released before the team travels on Thursday, but any injury in Hershey or Washington may change those plans. Such is the nature of hockey.

You might be thinking that the Stingrays would be raking it easy on our lawyer-turned-pro-goalie, but it looks like Jacoby is holding her own in camp to the delight of her new teammates and coaches!
It's always awesome to see head coach Jesse Kallechy and the team's starting netminder and Jacoby's goaltending partner Ben Kraws excited about how she's been playing in camp, and that will only extend her stay with the Stingrays. Again, I'm not saying she'll be on the opening night roster or anything, but the fact that she can hang with ECHL shooters shows she has the talents to be in their camp.

I love stories like this and I'm glad that Jacoby's getting her chance to shine. She's a successful lawyer who clearly loves the game, but it seems she's living a dream this week as she's in a professional training camp with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays. Even if she is released by the team, she showed she can do the job if needed. Perhaps there's some room on the Stingrays' payroll for an EBUG who is skilled enough to negotiate her own professional hockey contract?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!