I'm not surprised that a rescheduled game didn't draw well, but I'm also not sure how much longer this team can keep going.
Granted, they've drawn some decent numbers in their last five home games, but that said, there are signs that the team is falling apart.
Steve Makway has been waived - a veteran defenseman about whom one "reporter" wrote "Makway also adds a lot of toughness to the back-end. Registering 68 fights in his Central Hockey League career, he's amassed 974 penalty minutes. His size certainly helps him when the fisticuffs occur. Standing at 6'5, 230 pounds, Makway is a force to be reckoned with." (See:
http://www.stlouisgametime.com/2013...les-chill-ink-steve-makway-and-riley-emmerson ).
Rivers subsequently came out and said, “We’re in a four-game span where we have a team challenge, it’s been issued on the board and a guy shows up irresponsibly … he’s gone,†Rivers said. “I don’t care who it is.†(See:
http://moundcitysports.com/2013-12-23-chill-drop/ ). If Rivers had control of the team, he wouldn't be cutting veterans for "irresponsibility."
Anthony Perdicaro left the team to go to Las Vegas of the ECHL, and Travis Ouellette left for Greenville. Of course, Ouellette was a waiver claim who then refused to report, hence his suspension. This signals to me that word is getting out that St. Charles is a toxic organization and players are avoiding it at all costs and the ones that are there are doing anything they can to get out.
Yes, I've heard the rumors that Missouri is sinking money into the Chill, but that said, the losses have to be mounting. Players start bailing when they can't get equipment, when they are worried about getting paid, and when promises aren't being kept. This may be what is happening in St. Charles.