USACHL: New Junior League?

GoalieEd

Registered User
Oct 9, 2008
202
3
another day another article: I do know that my adult rec players in Wichita Falls have wanted skate sharpening and the force was unable to provide it. Someone had said the force didn’t even have a machine there but I have no way to know if true or not.

All the games this weekend did get held:

Also, wasn’t this guy very pro on the USACHL?
DAILY DISH: MONDAY MASH
 

swoopster

Politally incorrect
Dec 10, 2015
668
258
MI formerly MA
"It's quarter to three, there's no one in the rink except you and me
So, set 'em up, Joe, I got a little story I think you should know
We're drinkin', my friend, to the end of the USACHL's brief episode
Make it one for my ego, and one more for the road..."

Sinatra "And One More For the Road" ( with changes ) :thumbu:
 

sbkbghockey

Registered User
Aug 26, 2008
1,428
15
at the ice rink, USA
another day another article: I do know that my adult rec players in Wichita Falls have wanted skate sharpening and the force was unable to provide it. Someone had said the force didn’t even have a machine there but I have no way to know if true or not.

All the games this weekend did get held:

Also, wasn’t this guy very pro on the USACHL?
DAILY DISH: MONDAY MASH

LOL yeah, Stephen Heisler was all over this new league as some great new venture and up until a couple weeks ago was a big supporter on his blog. He also bashed his rival junior hockey news website that posts the Death Pool blog and bashed the knowledgeable people in the junior hockey circles (like many on this board) that saw the league as a good idea early on paper but could see the constant accumulation of red flags as the season closed in.

The league is clearly trying to somehow scrape by but the thing is dead for all intents and purposes. Original head coaches gone, social media shut down, closed games to the public, no where close to a true Tier I (free to play) league from the beginning and now not even giving the kids what JV high school teams have, no stats coverage, no promotion to college or next levels... As Stephen mentioned at the end of the article- kids still there that are good enough to play juniors need to run now, the rest move on to college and real life. (I'm usually not very negative but this time it's real- kids/families should realize when something is too good to be true).
 
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Rgvhockeyfan

Registered User
Aug 29, 2018
65
3
Well according to Heisler it's on serious life support. Next bee game is scheduled for mid December nearly a month away. Prolly won't make it.

Sucks.

Prolly won't see live hockey again here.

just can't see state farm as being a good choice to put a team due to distance and unfortunately now lack of fan support.

Our first game had 3700 and my best guess Sat night was 7 or 800 with about 3 or 400 yesterday.

Pffffffffffffffffffft....where's my remote...
 

GoalieEd

Registered User
Oct 9, 2008
202
3
The next games for the Force are here Friday, Saturday, and a Sunday vs Laredo. Spectra, who is running the arena in Wichita Falls, announced on Facebook today public ice skating as late as Dec 21st. The venue only makes ice when there is a hockey team to support it so it seems they aren’t doing anything drastic at this point.
 

PCSPounder

Stadium Groupie
Apr 12, 2012
2,852
564
The Outskirts of Nutria Nanny
Any idea why such a dramatic drop off in attendance?

I'm going to make a guess from about 1,500 miles away... not to be taken as gospel, but from experience and as a starting point for an investigation.

First game... get publicity by handing out free tickets. Then hope the takers come back.

That strategy has supposedly been played. Many believe this creates the expectation that they should be able to find free tickets anytime. And this is a low-publicity hockey team/league... I can tell you with certainty that too many free tickets devalued the Seattle Mariners product for many years until they finally had a couple decent drafts. I believe there to be a few exceptions... I'm thinking that people in Timbers Army would tell you this is how we recruited so many people to get a USL team to become probably the most intensely followed Major League Soccer team (open to debate), but that's a different sport and Timbers Army are a different hook.
 

Rgvhockeyfan

Registered User
Aug 29, 2018
65
3
Any idea why such a dramatic drop off in attendance?

Just my thinking living here forever...Mexicans are very very family oriented...Friday nights Ok...but to spend 2 or 3 trips in a weekend takes time away from family...and to boot if you have a family of 4 that's close to $100 for a game...multiply that by 3 and its not feasible...so its no go on Sat and Sunday...plus football on Sunday afternoons gets in the way...and that's free...

Even with the chl bees Sundays were very very slow. Tues and thurs. Night games were stronger than Sun.

Also think there was a lot of confusion going on but that's minor...

Sports just don't seem to last here...never have. I think its the family thing...plus not a lot of money in the average bears pocket to blow...

On a side note State Farm arena was the big event center here with hockey basketball concerts and whatnot...the vipers, who are the d league basketball team are owned by Alonzo Cantu, a very very wealthy developer...he got into a disagreement with State Farm on a basketball contract and has built his own, much nicer arena.

What I'm getting at here is State Farm will soon be getting desperate for a tenant, which gives me hope hockey will return due to an attractive price.
 
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Rgvhockeyfan

Registered User
Aug 29, 2018
65
3
I'm going to make a guess from about 1,500 miles away... not to be taken as gospel, but from experience and as a starting point for an investigation.

First game... get publicity by handing out free tickets. Then hope the takers come back.

That strategy has supposedly been played. Many believe this creates the expectation that they should be able to find free tickets anytime. And this is a low-publicity hockey team/league... I can tell you with certainty that too many free tickets devalued the Seattle Mariners product for many years until they finally had a couple decent drafts. I believe there to be a few exceptions... I'm thinking that people in Timbers Army would tell you this is how we recruited so many people to get a USL team to become probably the most intensely followed Major League Soccer team (open to debate), but that's a different sport and Timbers Army are a different hook.

At the box office I told them I was a senior citizen veteran student and asked the ticket girl if she ever considered modeling....believe it or don't...got in for $11
 

Barclay Donaldson

Registered User
Feb 4, 2018
2,531
2,058
Tatooine
LOL yeah, Stephen Heisler was all over this new league as some great new venture and up until a couple weeks ago was a big supporter on his blog. He also bashed his rival junior hockey news website that posts the Death Pool blog and bashed the knowledgeable people in the junior hockey circles (like many on this board) that saw the league as a good idea early on paper but could see the constant accumulation of red flags as the season closed in.

The league is clearly trying to somehow scrape by but the thing is dead for all intents and purposes. Original head coaches gone, social media shut down, closed games to the public, no where close to a true Tier I (free to play) league from the beginning and now not even giving the kids what JV high school teams have, no stats coverage, no promotion to college or next levels... As Stephen mentioned at the end of the article- kids still there that are good enough to play juniors need to run now, the rest move on to college and real life. (I'm usually not very negative but this time it's real- kids/families should realize when something is too good to be true).

Heisler supports whoever pads his pockets, just like The Junior Hockey News, and he was hyping up the league during the summer. He ended up doing the right thing in the end and changing his tone in his news release while removing all USACHL content from his site.

Can't say there weren't signs from the beginning the league wasn't going to do too hot. USACHL co-owner Kozuback figuratively built the original CHL and its arenas on quicksand. He also spearheaded the C1HL and we all know how much of a joke that was when stuff came out after they failed a second time. They were giving teams and cities 6 months to go from nothing to fully ready, and look at the results: no ice at an arena, very short rosters all around, and no one really prepped including the refs. They made the same mistakes that killed the old CHL: the league forcing teams onto cities that don't fit. Just take away Kozuback's Global Entertainment operating the arenas (lying to cities, losing a couple million each year, and selling promises they can't keep) and it's the same thing all over again. Beaumont and a couple of others, have to imagine the WSHL's El Paso Rhinos got an offer too, didn't want anything to do with the league for obvious reasons, which may have been changed if they had an extra year to prep, and the league ended up having to make a team out of thin air.

Junior hockey in these markets wasn't a bad idea, but the league didn't execute on anything they needed to if they wanted it to be successful.
 

BOS358

Purveyor of unpopular opinions
Jul 20, 2017
609
329
Boston
I never thought I would say this, but I agree 100% with what Heisler wrote in his article today.

While I can't speak for others on this board, I had no ill will toward the league officers, team staff, or players, as I personally know none of them. If the league succeeded, it would not have bothered me one bit. However, the league was a house of cards, and a poorly built one at that.

Had the league succeeded, it might have had a trickle-down effect that saw youth hockey organizations form and maybe even thrive. It could have opened up the game to an entirely new audience. Stranger things have happened.

If there is in fact a fraud investigation into Bill Davidson's dealings, then I hope he gets what he deserves. Hopefully a real league will form down there and the people who run the thing are competent, experienced and ethical.
 

ElGuapo

^Plethora of piñatas
Nov 30, 2010
4,132
1,407
Nomad
I never thought I would say this, but I agree 100% with what Heisler wrote in his article today.

While I can't speak for others on this board, I had no ill will toward the league officers, team staff, or players, as I personally know none of them. If the league succeeded, it would not have bothered me one bit. However, the league was a house of cards, and a poorly built one at that.

Had the league succeeded, it might have had a trickle-down effect that saw youth hockey organizations form and maybe even thrive. It could have opened up the game to an entirely new audience. Stranger things have happened.

If there is in fact a fraud investigation into Bill Davidson's dealings, then I hope he gets what he deserves. Hopefully a real league will form down there and the people who run the thing are competent, experienced and ethical.

Yeah there's a market in smaller Texas cities. San Angelo, for example, joined the WPHL in 1997. The success was beyond all imagining. For a couple of years especially when an average of 1/20th of the entire metro population was at every game. But bad ownership soured things. In the eight years the team was there they developed an impressive youth hockey program and had boys and girls go onto play college hockey. Hockey was more popular than football, and San Angelo is in the deepest heart of "Friday Night Lights" country. Right now there could be a thriving youth hockey program but the only ice was at the coliseum the team played at so it just died. A shame. Unless another building not controlled by the city is built hockey couldn't ever go back. The City of SA hates it and they control that building. Turned down the NAHL a couple years after the CHL team folded.
 

Rgvhockeyfan

Registered User
Aug 29, 2018
65
3


I have to say the quote below is true.. I showed up that Sunday morning and a pick up game was being played...

"Games are being cancelled because of “arena” issues. And these arena issues just happen to be in places that cant draw flies for fans? But regularly scheduled men’s league games are being played that night in a building with ice problems?"
 

swoopster

Politally incorrect
Dec 10, 2015
668
258
MI formerly MA
I feel for ya Rgv, all you wanted was for the league to work. Unfortunatly it has been a tough learning process as to the exploitation that sleazy owners and league officials can pull off on innocent fans and players.

I hope at some time in the future, you are treated to a quality league in your area.
 
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Rgvhockeyfan

Registered User
Aug 29, 2018
65
3
I feel for ya Rgv, all you wanted was for the league to work. Unfortunatly it has been a tough learning process as to the exploitation that sleazy owners and league officials can pull off on innocent fans and players.

I hope at some time in the future, you are treated to a quality league in your area.

I just hope it doesn't ruin future attempts but I can't see how it helped anything. Back to an earlier post on the bright side, State farm arena now has Bert Odgen Arena to battle with for future events and Bert Odgen is a nicer venue in a better location...State Farm is in the middle of onion fields...so I would imagine they will have to cut prices to survive or turn into the valleys finest flea market...
 

Captain Crash

Registered User
Apr 9, 2015
463
227
I just hope it doesn't ruin future attempts but I can't see how it helped anything.

This statement is exactly why the majority of posters in this thread kept pointing to this league's problems. It is an unfortunate recurrence in hockey that having a team that is poorly run and/or in an unstable league frequently poisons the market for the future. The worse the departure, the more reluctant arenas are to grant leases and fans are to buy in. Revolving doors of franchises and poor on-ice products have had lasting impacts on otherwise good hockey markets like Jamestown NY and Danbury CT. No one here wanted the USACHL to fail out of some sort of spite or jealousy, but rather because it showed all the signs of an implosion that minor league hockey fans have seen before. Let's all just hope that this time it doesn't leave too much destruction in its wake.
 
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GoalieEd

Registered User
Oct 9, 2008
202
3
I haven’t seen anything official saying the USACHL has stopped operating at this point. Do we know if the teams held scheduled practices today? No news at all since the two articles came out yesterday that i could find.

I think I may be in the “Denial” stage of grief.
 

Rgvhockeyfan

Registered User
Aug 29, 2018
65
3
I haven’t seen anything official saying the USACHL has stopped operating at this point. Do we know if the teams held scheduled practices today? No news at all since the two articles came out yesterday that i could find.

I think I may be in the “Denial” stage of grief.

Just saw a post 3 hours ago from the bees and a confirmation from the bees Announcer on it (who is a straight up guy) the Friday lawmen bees game has been moved to State Farm arena at 7pm from the frio ice rink where not a single game has been played yet...there's probably good reason due to the bleachers only being able to seat about 300...That's what that million dollar upgrade was about. Friday night games pull in a good crowd...last was 3700.
Still detecting a heartbeat...still gotta cross my fingers and hope you guys are wrong about Bill and he's gonna prove otherwise...ain't betting though
 

Powerstroke88

Registered User
Nov 21, 2018
2
0
Just saw this.. Could be the end
 

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mk80

Registered User
Jul 30, 2012
7,962
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Just updated and added Saturday night too.
Like I've said, I want you to have a team in the valley, same in Laredo, and Wichita Falls. I hope all three of your markets can find their way into (and in the case of RGV, and Witchita Falls back into) a stable, quality league such as the NAHL. That would be the best option for having a viable level of hockey for the long term.

You're a passionate fan in the meantime supporting the league you have which is admirable on your part. But it's unfair to you because you're not getting what was advertised and perhaps equally as important the players are not getting what they were sold on either.
 

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