Update

Well it's been an interesting few weeks. It seems the world has turned upside down in a few respects.

I would be lead to believe that from unsubstantiated talk I’ve heard, that after a great first game win over the Jacksonville Ice Dogs, the Daytona Beach Blaze are no more. A sad thing for the area, It would have been good to host a Junior team here and start developing a good program and following.

Perhaps in the future we may pull from some of the contacts made and develop our own team here in Daytona.

Local Area
On to other news. Great men’s league hockey started this past week with the C level games on Sunday. They were some great games with a lot of action. The Cyclones are starting out another winning season along with the Angry Beavers and the Red Stars. An early prediction would put a run for 1 and 2 spots between the Cyclones and the Beavers with a tight 3 and 4 spot between the Red Stars and Vendettas. The Vendettas would be my wild card, a lot of good players but, a new season for them and if they can pull out some chemistry in the next week or so, they may move into that 1-2 spot. The Red Stars, strong aggressive team, has potential but needs to cool down a bit and find their Chemistry or the wins will be short lived. The Cyclones are bringing back a tight line with serious ability which will be tough to defend and the Beavers have a new chemistry line with a tight defensive hold that will give any opponent a good run.

I haven’t been able to get results for the A/B league and missed games this week so feel free to comment with an update.

Rookie league action on Thursday was tough. Returning teams Blue Thunder and White Lightning (formerly Big Red) posted in the win column this week against the Hedgehogs and TNN Gold respectively. TNN Gold is our third house team and the Hedgehogs join us from their home rink in Jacksonville. Both returning teams showed great development and team chemistry. Our new teams are great competitors and should not be counted out. They held up a great competitive game and are only lacking a little chemistry. It should prove to be an exciting; anyone can take the season development.

ECHL action. The Orlando Solar Bears Posted 2 losses against the Florida Everblades this weekend. Playing in Estero Friday and Saturday night they were defeated 6 – 3 and 5 – 1 in some hard fought games. Orlando new and fresh, still trying to put together a team, showed great potential; while the lines seemed a little flat they are still developing their lines and chemistry. Regular season games start up on October 12 away at the Florida Everblades in Estero Florida. Our first home game is October 20th here at the Amway Arena against the Florida Everblades. We should be building a great in state rivalry the first four games of the season are with the 2011/12 Kelly Cup Champion Everblades, with the first three games Oct 12th ,13th and 19th away and then here at home on the 20th. Come join the action. Estero is only a short 4 to 5 hour drive southwest for you die hards.

NHL – well not much to talk about. Still locked out and no games. We are heading down another no season road. So much for the fans and love of the game. The NFL brought in replacement refs – not the best decision but it made the games very interesting to say the least. Perhaps we should bring in NHL replacement players? We could bring up the AHL to fill the spots or we could hold impromptu tryouts for anyone in local leagues and play the season with them? That would be a lot more fun. A flat 60k salary and bonus for playoffs and Stanley cup. These guys would really want it and it might be the only shot they ever get to put their name on the cup. Could make for a very competitive, exciting and interesting season. As for the current players, cancel their salaries for the year to cover the cost and let them suffer with the rest of the season locked out. As for the owners the season would be played at their expense allowing no income from the games. And let me just say a season full of rookies with a one shot drive for the cup may just bring in some serious revenue.

Looking forward to hearing from everyone

Gearing Up.

Well Fans it looks like last weekends Riddle games where a bust. Did Riddle show up for those games?

I watched Coach C's tryouts on Sunday night and it looks like he's got some prospects and some current talent. I'm Real excited to see them play. It should be and interesting game this Friday night at 9pm against the Jacksonville Ice Dogs.

Also the local teams are starting up. Registrations for the adult leagues has been taking place all this week and Sunday at 5:45 is the puck drop for the fall and winter season here in Daytona. It Should be a real blast. Come on out and enjoy the action.

Get ready for the Solar Bears.

And Lets hope this whole NHL lockout ends soon. Or perhaps not. We've got alot of great hockey here this season.

September Update

Good Day Hockey fans!

Well we just came out of our first hockey weekend here in Daytona. The Embry Riddle Eagles faced off with the USF Bulls. Unfortunately our Eagles could not pull out a win this weekend.

Watching the pre game warm ups it was obvious the Bulls hit the ice solid and confident. They did appear to still be getting used to each other and some plays were not on track, but overall looked like they were progressing and had some good flow. A little line tweeking and they should be on top of it.

The eagles came out looking a bit disheveled with a huge lack of connectivity out on the ice. There were a lot of superstars and very few team members out on the ice. The lines seemed uneven and the overall appearance was abismal at best. Lets hope they can pull it together for their upcoming games Sept, 21 and 22, home here at the Daytona Ice Arena, facing FAU. Check the Website www.daytonaicearena.com for game times.

Now for the Blaze. If you've been following them you know the deal so we wont rehash that stuff. Their practicing now and their first game is slated for the 28th of this month here at the Daytona Ice arena. Come out and support them and watch some action filled hard hitting hockey.

Our Solar Bears kick off their preseason away, facing off with the Florida Everblades at Germain Arena in Estero Florida, located between Naples and Fort Myers.

Then we have our NHL, Sorry but I have to say, what a joke. Just like the other upper level professional sports. They all believe they're worth more than they really are. That goes for both sides, Players and Owners. The only ones who really get locked out are the fans. But Hey fans if you really want to see some change, grow a pair and dont support them when they do come back, perhaps they'll get the point that this behavior is unacceptable.

I could go on and on but Lets hear your opinions on the whole NHL Debacle.

video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx7XQxAvvjs&feature=youtube_gdata_player Just a video you might like .

It's The New Season

Ok Hockey fans! The season is about to start and we've got an exciting season ahead of us with lots of action. New teams, new leagues, hard hitting, fast moving Hockey. Lets start with the new addition to the ECHL - The Orlando Solar Bears. This should prove to be a welcome addition, adding an in state rivalry to the south western florida Kelly Cup champions "The Florida Everblades". Stay tuned for more on these two. We Also have our Local College Team the "Embry Riddle Eagles" Back for another season of breakneck action! Now for an interesting turn in events. Florida now has the TEHL or the "Tropical Elite Hockey League". Junior hockey at its finest. Starting with our own local "Daytona Beach Blaze" playing out of their home ice here in South Daytona Florida at the Daytona Ice Arena. The seven other teams in the league are the "Florida Cyotes", playing out of the Palm Beach Ice Works, the "Florida Pharaohs",the "Pompano Beach Prowlers" out of the Glacier Ice and Snow Arena, the "St. Cloud Thunder", the "Tampa Bay Tide", the "TOHO Vipers", and the "Miami Sea Devils". This is the intro to an exciting season. I'll be back to post updates, stats, commentary and more!!!!! Lets keep the puck moving.