The Columbus Blue Jackets Affiliation
On March 25, 2010, the Columbus Blue Jackets announced a one-year affiliation agreement with a one-year option. Also introduced was a new jersey and logo. The new logo will still have a falcon holding a hockey stick, but the background will be grey, the word Falcons in red, and the word Springfield in navy blue. The new jerseys will have the Blue Jackets logo on the shoulders, with a white star on each sleeve. The new ECHL affiliation for the Falcons will be with the Evansville IceMen.
Rob Riley was named the new head coach of the Falcons on August 3, 2010, replacing Rob Daum. Riley was the former head coach at the United States Military Academy.
The Falcons opened the 2010–11 AHL season with a home-and-home matchup against the Providence Bruins. The Bruins hosted on October 8, 2010 in Providence, and the Falcons hosted on October 9, 2010 in Springfield. To honor the 75th anniversary of the American Hockey League, each team wore throwback jerseys from 1936. The Bruins wore the jerseys of the Providence Reds while the Falcons wore the jerseys of the Springfield Indians. The Falcons won the first game in Providence 5-1, while the Bruins took the following game in Springfield 6-5.
On December 21, 2010 it was announced that the Falcons had been sold from Springfield Pro Hockey, LLC to Falcons Hockey Entertainment, LLC. The majority owner is Charlie Pompea, while Bruce Landon is the minority owner, and will continue to be the president/general manager. Pompea has stated that he intends to keep the Falcons in Springfield, MA. It was also announced that day that the Falcons lease at the MassMutual Center was extended, as well as the affiliation with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The following season, Columbus decided to once again renew their affiliation with the Falcons, through the 2013-14 season.
During the 2011-12 AHL Season the Falcons will be honoring the Springfield hockey teams that have won the Calder Cup. The teams honored include the 1960, 1961, 1962, 1974, 1990, and 1991 Springfield Indians, in addition to the 1971 Springfield Kings. The Falcons will wear commemorative jerseys for those games, and former coaches and players will be there to take part in pre-game festivities.
This market was previously home to:
- Springfield Indians (1926–1994)
Read more about this topic: Springfield Falcons
Famous quotes containing the words columbus, blue and/or affiliation:
“The American who first discovered Columbus made a bad discovery.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)
“Down the blue night the unending columns press
In noiseless tumult, break and wave and flow,”
—Rupert Brooke (1887–1915)
“Men seem more bound to the wheel of success than women do. That women are trained to get satisfaction from affiliation rather than achievement has tended to keep them from great achievement. But it has also freed them from unreasonable expectations about the satisfactions that professional achievement brings.”
—Phyllis Rose (b. 1942)