Long Beach Ice Dogs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Long Beach Ice Dogs | |
 |
|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Home ice | Long Beach Sports Arena |
| Based in | Long Beach, California |
| Colors | Navy Blue, Gold |
| League | ECHL |
| NHL Affiliate | Boston Bruins |
| Owner | Steven Bash Ted Foxman Isaac Bash, M.D. |
| President | Seth Slavin |
| General Manager | Rick Adduono |
| Head Coach | Rick Adduono |
The Long Beach Ice Dogs are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL.
The Ice Dogs trace their origins to the San Diego Gulls, a team in the now-defunct International Hockey League that began play in 1990. In 1995, the team moved north to become the Los Angeles Ice Dogs. Due to poor attendance at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, the team was on the move again after just one season, this time to Long Beach, California, where it retained the "Ice Dogs" name. In 1999, Barry Kemp, the television executive who had become the team's owner, withdrew the team from the league and moved it to the West Coast Hockey League, where it remained until the league's 2003 merger with the ECHL. He had sensed, correctly, that the IHL was about to fold.
The team plays at the Long Beach Sports Arena, just one hundred yards from Long Beach Harbor. In 2005, it was forced to play first-round ECHL playoff games in the HealthSouth Training Center, owned by the Los Angeles Kings, when the Long Beach facilities were being used as garage space for the Champ Car Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach during the ECHL playoffs.
In the summer of 2006, Kemp sold the Ice Dogs to a new investment group led by Chicago businessman Ted Foxman.[1] The new ownership group plans to keep the team in Long Beach. The future of the team there has been uncertain because the Ice Dogs typically have the lowest average attendance in the ECHL. The owners also plan to promote boxing cards at the Long Beach Arena.
On October 20, 2006, the Ice Dogs reached an affiliate agreement with the NHL's Boston Bruins[2].
[edit] Notes
- Popular NHL goaltenders Manny Legace of the St. Louis Blues and Nikolai Khabibulin of the Chicago Blackhawks played for the Long Beach Ice Dogs during their pro career. Jaroslav Modry, Mark Hardy, Domenic Pittis, and Patrik Augusta also spent some time with the Long Beach Ice Dogs.
- They are currently the ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the NHL, after spending the past several years as the affiliate of both the Montreal Canadiens and the Dallas Stars.
- For a couple of seasons, the concrete beneath the ice at the Long Beach Arena was a light blue color, stemming from a previous sponsorship with the airline JetBlue. Because of this, the blue lines on the ice were actually painted yellow, but also marked by blue lines on the dasher boards. Also the creases in front of the goals were white instead of the typical light blue, since the rest of the rink was light blue. After the airline left as a sponsor, team officials decided to leave the ice blue because it reflected less light than the normal white concrete during television broadcasts. Currently, the ice has returned to the typical white color.
[edit] Reference
- ^ Press-Telegram, June 18, 2006, page D1
- ^ Hockey's Future Magazine [1]
[edit] External links
| ECHL | |
| 2006-07 teams: Alaska Aces | Augusta Lynx | Bakersfield Condors | Charlotte Checkers | Cincinnati Cyclones | Columbia Inferno | Dayton Bombers | Florida Everblades | Fresno Falcons | Gwinnett Gladiators | Idaho Steelheads | Johnstown Chiefs | Las Vegas Wranglers | Long Beach Ice Dogs | Pensacola Ice Pilots | Phoenix RoadRunners | Reading Royals | South Carolina Stingrays | Stockton Thunder | Texas Wildcatters | Toledo Storm | Trenton Titans | Utah Grizzlies | Victoria Salmon Kings | Wheeling Nailers | |
| Planned 2007-08 teams: Mississippi Sea Wolves | |
| Trophies and Awards: Patrick J. Kelly Cup | |
| Related Articles: NHL | AHL | CHL | SPHL | UHL | World Cup | |
