Many look forward to October for various reasons. Halloween, dropping temperatures, and the inevitable pumpkin spice takeover are among them, just to name a few. For lovers of sports though, October makes a case as the most popular month of the year, as all four major sports are active in some form. With no action on the ice since April, Jacksonville Icemen fanatics have been longing for October for six months. At last, we have arrived, and the ECHL season is now in full swing. Locally, fans are abuzz and hopeful for the team’s return to the postseason.

The Jacksonville Icemen had a great season in 2018, making the playoffs in just their second year as a franchise. Jacksonville gave the Florida Everblades, arguably the best team in the ECHL, all they could handle while pushing the series to six games. A mere six months later, a lot of changes have been made to the Icemen roster. As one of Post to Post Links II error: No post found with slug "feud-sports"’s hockey contributors, I had the chance to catch up with Alex Reed, the Director of Communications for the Icemen, and he gave me some insight on what to expect this season.

Nearly four weeks after opening night for the Icemen–when another sold-out crowd filled Veterans Memorial–the ‘Men sit at 1-5-2 on the year. On opening night, ultimately it was a 4-3 loss to Greenville, but the Icemen fought to the final minutes, managing a point from the overtime loss. I asked Reed some of strengths and weaknesses he saw from this game, as the Icemen bring in an almost completely new team from what they had in April. He says, “I really thought the team played hard, and I think they knew it was a situation where they did get better as the game went on. Which, I think bodes well with them finally settling in and getting used to one another from a chemistry standpoint.”

The Jacksonville Icemen are entering this season with a few familiar faces in Dajon Mingo, Emerson and Everett Clark. Also returning are Kyle Shapiro, Jacob Cederholm, and Jack Glover. The remainder of the roster are rookies or players brought in from the NHL and AHL. A few guys who are making their pro-debut this season include goaltender Griffin Outhouse, who racked up 36 saves in the opener, as well as forward Bobby Lynch, who had four shots on goal and had a look to win the game before regulation ended.

Editors note: Griffin Outhouse was recalled to the Manitoba Moose on November 4th. Taylor Doll expects Outhouse to return to the Icemen after a short stint with the Moose.

Per Reed, defenseman Mitch Jones is the first name to keep an eye on as the season progresses. Jones is an acquisition from the Cincinnati Cyclones, the Brabham Cup winners last year. The Brabham Cup is given to the regular season champions in the ECHL. Reed made sure to reiterate that Jones “played a key role” in the phenomenal season Cinci’ had.

Introducing your 2019-2020 Icemen captains!

It’s no secret that Jacksonville fans will miss former Captain Garret Hunt and Alternate Captain Cameron Critchlow. Hunt and Critchlow both played prominent roles in the first two seasons in Jacksonville and have both moved on to play overseas.

The Jacksonville Icemen did not hesitate to find talented replacements for both positions as Emerson Clark takes the captain’s mantle this year. Reed is very optimistic on Clark being able to step right in. “He’s a guy that will stick up for his teammates if he has to. He leads by example, so that was a welcomed addition,” he says. Not to be forgotten, Johnny Albert takes over the AC role. Albert was the captain of the AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose previously, and he’s played at the NHL level in Winnipeg for nine games. Reed sings Albert’s praises: “He knows how to get there. He stepped right in on the second day and was already mentoring the younger guys.”

Regarding decisions that some of the Icemen faithful were anxiously awaiting during preseason, Reed made it clear that Coach Christie studiously labored over the roster. “Coach was really working hard on recruiting those next-level players, we call them fringe players. Players that are good enough to be in the AHL but just because of the numbers game may have to come down here (to the ECHL), and, unfortunately, those guys hold out until late in the summer because they want to see if they are going to get an AHL deal.”

The ‘Men are ready to take the next step as Jacksonville is coming off of a successful season with strong momentum. Coach Christie expects all of the aforementioned new faces to adopt the culture of the locker room on and off the ice, and he knows that the veteran players can show them the way.

Four games into the season, the Icemen haven’t gotten off to the start they want, but there is plenty of time to turn their record around. Jacksonville isn’t to be counted out of the South Division race, as they attack the schedule one game at a time.

Be sure to follow along with the Jacksonville Icemen on social media @JaxIcemen: Twitter, Instagram. You can purchase tickets for upcoming games at Vystar Memorial Arena at Jacksonvilleicemen.com

Taylor Doll is a contributor for Post to Post Links II error: No post found with slug "feud-sports". You can follow her and the rest of the team on Twitter below.
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