The herbal adrenalin rush and emotion surge throughout the Pensacola Ice Flyers first follow Saturday had a distinct more or less really feel.
“This year, it’s getting back to normal, for the most part,” mentioned Ice Flyers trainer Rod Aldoff, who starts his 8th season at the back of the bench. This is the primary time in 3 seasons, alternatively, the cloud of the coronavirus pandemic isn’t soaring with follow protocols, restrictions with participant and fan interplay and different problems.
“It is a better feeling coming into this season, knowing we will have a good group coming in and as time goes on with the ECHL camps trimming rosters, we’ll see what happens,” Aldoff mentioned.
“At the end of the day, you go play hockey and it’s always exciting.”
This would be the shortest preseason. The Ice Flyers could have 5 follow days prior to opening the season at 7:05 p.m. Thursday in opposition to the Huntsville Havoc from the Pensacola Bay Center.
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“The first thing I look at is getting the lines together for the most part,” Aldoff mentioned. “Getting those lines together so players can get used to each other as soon as possible and they get a feel for each other and get comfortable.
“We only have five days to get a team on the same page.”
The Ice Flyers had 20 avid gamers hit the ice on the Bay Center at midday Saturday for the primary of 2 one-hour periods. The roster is led through the go back of winger Garrett Milan, a fan favourite, who two years in the past helped the Ice Flyers win their fourth Southern Professional Hockey League President’s Cup identify.
All of the practices thru Wednesday on the Bay Center are open to the general public, which is one thing that didn’t happen the former two seasons.
Milan spent ultimate 12 months enjoying for the Halmstad Hammers in Sweden’s Hockey Ettan League. In 4 other stints with the Ice Flyers, he’s blended to attain 49 objectives and 108 assists, together with 51 assists throughout the 2017-18 season.
He’s joined through wingers Weiland Parrish, Ivan Bondarenko, Petr Panacek, Malik Johnson, along side defensemen Seth Ensor, Preston Kugler. All 3 goaltenders in coaching camp might be newbies.
But like previous preseasons, the roster might be a fluid checklist. The ECHL coaching camps are wrapping up this weekend with roster cuts taking place in the following few days.
Unlike a 12 months in the past, there might be quite a lot of participant motion between the 2 leagues. Last 12 months with collegiate avid gamers within the U.S. and Canada staying at school for an additional season, because of COVID-19 problems, and issue getting any avid gamers from Europe, minor league hockey in any respect ranges had groups scrambling to fill rosters.
“With our situation, we lost all of our returners, and no players coming out of college, none from Europe,” Aldoff mentioned. “It was unreal. I have never seen anything like it.”
Ice Flyers proprietor Greg Harris mentioned his pleasure degree rose two weeks in the past when the beginning of October ushered any other hockey preseason into focal point, along side a countdown to opening night time.
“This is the fun time of year,” he mentioned. “I love this time of year and I know our fans do, too. As soon as it’s Oct. 1, when that day hits, it doesn’t matter, it’s hockey season through all the ranks.”
The Ice Flyers body of workers has been in a position to organize thru summer season for a season that can come with fan interplay and occasions that might no longer occur the former two seasons.
“It’s more or less the like the great ol’ days the place, it’s, ‘Hey, let’s get again to standard.’ I think we’re there,” Harris mentioned. “We are back to normal, This has been a very pre-COVID-like off season for us and we hope it’s a very pre-COVID like season for us as well.
“It’s been nice to not think about the restrictions and all the things that we had to change, or had not thought of, in order to comply with league protocols just to play games.
“We are bringing back postgame skates with players. We are bringing back autograph sessions. Some of those things we are bringing back will give the fans the feeling that it’s like it’s a pre-COVID season again.”
The Ice Flyers opening night on Thursday will be followed by a second home game on Saturday for “Pink In The Rink” night, where the team will wear custom-made, pink jerseys to be auctioned, along with other activities to benefit Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Pensacola.
It will be the first time in franchise history the Ice Flyers have opened at home on a Thursday night.
“We want to see how this goes,” Harris said. “It’s a good opportunity. We had to add a weekday game this year in the league, so we wanted to take a look at this and see what we could potentially do on a Thursday night. And then, an even bigger night on a Saturday for the Pink in the Rink Night.”
Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com.
ICE FLYERS TRAINING CAMP
(Practices are open to the public at no charge)
Sunday: First practice at 10 a.m.
Monday: First practice at 10 a.m.
Tuesday: First practice at 10 a.m.
Wednesday: Practice at 10 a.m.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: Ice Flyers Season-Opening Weekend
WHEN: Thursday and Saturday, both games have 7:05 p.m. start
WHO: Huntsville Havoc vs. Ice Flyers (Thursday); Macon Mayhem vs. Ice Flyers (Saturday)
WHERE: Pensacola Bay Center
PROMOTIONS: First 1,000 fans on Thursday receive a magnetic calendar. Saturday is Pink In the Rink Night with all fans encouraged to wear pink.
TICKETS: Prices range from $15 to $28 with discounts applied for military and student tickets, provided those seats are purchased at the Bay Center box office.
INFO: www.iceflyers.com
RADIO: Fox Sports Pensacola (101.1 FM, 1450 AM).