On behalf of everyone at The Sin Bin, we wish you a very safe and happy new year!
As we look forward to a new year, filled with new promises, hopes, and opportunities, let's take a look back at the top five stories of the year 2015 in the ECHL.
Before we get started, here are two of the stories that made honorable mention:
Evansville IceMen Lease Deal Saga
ECHL sponsorship deal with Geico
Now, let our countdown begin!
#5: The ECHL Takes it Outdoors
The city of Toledo, Ohio became the center of the ECHL universe for ten days at the turn of the new year, as the Toledo Walleye held the first outdoor games in ECHL history.
In the first game, against the Kalamazoo Wings, the Walleye lost 2-1 as Matt Caria scored the game-winning goal with just over three-and-a-half minutes left. The game against the Fort Wayne Komets was delayed one night due to rain and poor ice conditions, but when the finally got it going, with the Komets taking the game 3-2 in the shootout.
In addition to the ECHL games, the Fifth Third Field was also host to multiple public skates, high school and pee-wee games. Over at Huntington Center, the Stanley Cup was on hand for photos. While at the Toledo Museum of Art, snow sculptors were allowed to show off some of their work.
All in all, Mother Nature provided the right mix of cold temperatures, snow and sunshine on the event, which brought in more than 100,000 people to the area at a boost economically of more than $2 million.
#4: Missouri's Turnaround
One organization that has made significant strides in 2015 is the Missouri Mavericks. The long awaited sale of the team from Matt Adams to Lamar Hunt, Jr. was announced to a raucous crowd at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena on February 6th.
Since then, Hunt has worked diligently to grow the Mavericks fanbase by selling them as Kansas City's hockey team -- an advertising strategy that should pay significant dividends as the team continues to have success on the ice. Despite having a rough inaugural season in the ECHL, head coach Richard Matvichuk and general manager Brent Thiessen diligently put the building blocks in place for their incredible run so far this season.
On June 11th, the New York Islanders announced a new affiliation with the Mavericks. Offensive and defensive systems would be uniform throughout the entire affiliation. Strength and conditioning techniques and strategies as well. From John Tavares to the last guy on the bench for the Mavericks, every player in the organization would be using the same systems, verbiage, and strategies every time that they stepped onto the ice. In case you've been living in a cave for the last six months, it's worked out pretty well.
The Sin Bin's Joe Rozycki chronicled 2015 for the Mavericks, you can read it, here: //thesinbin.net/missouri-mavericks-top-moments-of-2015/
#3: South Carolina's Record Setting Win Streak
For 52 days in 2015, the South Carolina Stingrays were the toast of the ECHL and over time, the hockey world. The Stingrays ran off an ECHL-record 23-game winning streak that started on Saturday, February 7th with a 7-1 win over the then Greenville Road Warriors.
Stingrays head coach Spencer Carbery would describe the first win of the streak as "a much needed sigh of relief for our hockey club." At the time, the Stingrays were at 18-18-7 (43 points) on the season, mired in a 1-7-2 slump and outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
During the streak, South Carolina would outscore their opponents 100-35, win a league record 13-straight road wins and hold the opposition to two or less goals in 16 of the 23 games, including six shutouts.
Jeff Jakaitis would put together a personal 15-game winning streak that included a run of four straight shutouts.
At the end of the streak, on March 28th, the Stingrays were in the second position in the Eastern Conference with a record of 41-18-7 (89 points).
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