USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C o m mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia / S a n t a Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icial Ci rcu it
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 18, No. 41
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
October 17, 2018
The Boys are back
1 Section, 8 Pages
By Will Isern
flyers Will Chase title under championship coach
If it were ever improbable that a minor league hockey team would enjoy wide support in the Florida panhandle, the Pensacola Ice Flyers have long since laid any doubts to rest. The Flyers draw roughly 4,000 fans to the Pensacola Bay Center for each home game, and more than 100,000 over the course of a season. With the 2018-2019 season set to begin in late October and a familiar face back behind home bench, the will Flyers look to recapture the magic of a few years ago and bring home the President’s Cup. The Flyers first home game is set for Oct. 20 against the Birmingham Bulls. Tickets will be just $5. It will be the first time the Flyers have offered a $5 ticket night to open the season. Following a 33-16 record last season, Ice Flyers owner Greg Harris parted ways with former coach Jeff Bes and brought back coach Rod Aldoff, who led the team to Presidents’ Cup titles in 2014 and 2016. The Flyers will also have a full-time assistant coach for the first time in former defenseman and assistant captain Jeremy Gates. Rosters are always fluid in the minors, more so this year as the Southern Professional Hockey League is adding an expansion team in Moline, Illinois. The Flyers have 13 protected players including forwards Charlie Adams, Jessyko
Bernard, Josh Cousineau, Matt Johnson, Garrett Milan, Brian Morgan, Ken Neil, TJ Sarcona, defensemen Nathan Bruyere, Mark Esshaki and Christian Weidauer and goalies Brian Billett and Sean Bonar. “The start of the season is kind of a puzzle,” said coach Aldoff. “You’ve kind of got the main part of the puzzle with your core group of guys, then you have to wait and see what happens with guys moving around and then you get your team together. So that’s what we’re doing in the short term. Guys know Pensacola is a great place to play and we have a good reputation so that helps.” After leading the Flyers to the Presidents’ Cup title in 2016, Aldoff was hired by the Norfolk Admirals in the higher-level East Coast Hockey League, but was fired after an ownership change. Aldoff was working as a scout for the Edmonton Oilers when Harris reached out to him about returning to Pensacola. Aldoff said the decision to come back was an easy one and that he looks forward to getting in to training camp “I think one thing that’s always been very good is our organization,” Aldoff said. “Greg expects professionalism and that’s something I expect too out myself and my players, so when you can work for good people that’s always important. Our fan support has always been tremendous; we
have great fans every night.” The players are looking forward to the season as well. Goalie Brian Billett is heading into his second year with the Ice Flyers and described his ambitions for the season as, “championship or bust.” “It’s been such a good experience so far, just the overall city and everything you can do and enjoy here,” he said. “And once you actually get
Coach Aldoff for bringing in a good players that have been in the league for a while, I think we have a very solid foundation and anything less than a championship is a bust.” Success in the minor leagues can be a two-edged sword. A team that does well is more likely to draw bigger crowds. The Flyers, for example, saw their highest average attendance during their champi-
the ranks and eventually make the NHL. Forging a good team in the minors, said forward Matt Johnson, is about getting guys to put team goals ahead o personal ambition. “Obviously in the minors everybody wants to play at a higher level,” Johnson said. “But if you can get guys to buy-in, to be less individualistic and more team-oriented,
on the ice at the Bay Center and play in front of the best group of fans in the SPHL it really makes things that much better … I’m really optimistic about the season, credit goes to (owner) Greg Harris and
onship-winning years. But as the team succeeds, players are more likely to get called up to higher leagues, leaving the lower-level team to fill those gaps. The goal of every minor league player is to move up
team success leads to individual success – because that’s what (higher-level teams) are looking for. Nobody wants a prima donna call-up who things he’s too good to be there.”
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