Hockey Hotbed
Will changes in the landscape threaten the abundance of AHL teams in the New England region?

By DAN HICKLING
Minor League News

Half a tank of gas from virtually any point in New England. That's about all it'll take to get you to any of the region's eight American Hockey League franchise homes.

One home rink to call your own, seven more just down the pike in which to pour petrol on some of the fiercest rivalries in minor pro hockey.

Hartford vs. Bridgeport. Springfield vs. Worcester. Portland vs. Manchester. Lowell vs. Providence. Providence vs. Anybody.

It's a luxury New Englanders enjoy, but perhaps, should not take for granted.

The region is facing a few challenges that may threaten the very existence of this hockey hotbed.
Certainly, things will not be the same next year following the impending departure of the Worcester IceCats.

The top affiliate of the St. Louis Blues will leave after this season for Peoria, Ill., current home of the Rivermen, the Blues' Double-A farm club in the ECHL.

The Blues had owned the Cats franchise for the past few seasons, and once found Worcester's location ideal for player development.

Less time spent on the road, with more time practicing and playing in the cozy New England configuration.

What could be better?

A better offer, which the Blues, saddled with what is purported to be the worse building lease in the 28-team AHL, readily accepted.

Besides the shuffle, another thing endangering this hockey paradise is the glaring attendance problems experienced in most of the New England cities.

All but one of the bottom five rungs of the AHL's attendance ladder are found here, with Springfield registering a league worst 3,277 per game average, heading into mid-December.

Lowell, Worcester, and Portland are close behind with Bridgeport and Hartford also struggling.

The slide has been underway for several seasons.

Every one of those burghs is filling fewer seats than they did four years ago, when both Bridgeport and Manchester joined the fold.

Only Manchester, second highest with 8,825, and Providence (ninth with 6,870) are above the AHL median.

So, is there a fog of doom and gloom permeating New England's frigid ice halls as another dark winter sets in?

"I wouldn't say that at all," said Jeff Eisenberg, President/CEO of the Manchester Monarchs, who hosted this year's AHL All-Star game.

"There's nothing wrong with hockey in New England. In any league, you're going to have some franchises that might be struggling. But these are mature markets, and markets do have to stand the test of time. New England is the cradle of hockey."

It's certainly been a backbone of the AHL since its infancy.

Springfield and Providence both have storied roles as AHL members dating back to it's days as an eight-team bus and train loop.

Portland, first as the Maine Mariners and since 1993 as the Pirates has a rich Calder Cup laden history. Pirates tickets were once the toughest "get" in all of New England.

Other nearby towns have their own tales to tell. Hartford with it's own Cup winner in the post-Whalers era. Lowell's division title in its maiden year. Bridgeport going all the way to the Cup final in its first year.

Yet, even with their beloved Boston Bruins frozen out of action, the region's AHL clubs have seen no attendance bump.

Portland, saddled with an aging, bare-bones venue -- the 7,000 seat Cumberland County Civic Center -- has had to scramble for ways to bring in new fans.

The Pirates have conducted focus groups, trying to comb the marketplace for ideas. One of the first visible results was to soften up the image of its crusty mascot, morphing old Salty Pete into a kinder "Sweet Pete" type character.

Lowell, which sits less than an hour from Manchester, is relying on owner Elkin McCallum's civic-mindedness to keep the Lock Monsters afloat.

"It's never gone real well here, for whatever reason," said Monsters coach Tom Rowe, who has worn many hats since the franchise began in 1998. "I think the strength of this organization is the owner behind it. He's not a sports guy, but he bought it for the community. He's a real financial whiz when it comes to making the numbers work. You're always concerned about the attendance. But there will always be a team here, providing El can keep the same level of interest as he has now."

Still, as market prominence goes, most of the New England clubs have been shoved aside as the league has expanded westward, absorbing its rivals in the defunct International Hockey League (stretching from Cleveland to Salt Lake City) along the way.

Next year's lineup will have an even more pronounced western presence, with Peoria, Des Moines, and most likely Omaha, all coming in.

"Every building would like to be full, every night," said Jim Schoenfeld, GM of Hartford, which has seen its average crowd drop by nearly 3,000 a night (from a high of 7,099) since 2001. "But there are a lot of things tugging at the entertainment dollar. For us in Hartford, UConn (basketball) is a local team that is nationally recognized, and we're competing with them. But it's the way of the world, right now. There are a lot of (alternatives) for those who would watch hockey. There's only so much money to go around."

"We keep swinging and we're doing everything we can to get people coming into the building," he said. "I know one thing. Whether they're coming to Portland, Worcester, you name the team. Once they get in the building, they're treated to some great hockey."

After all, that's still the best selling point.