So, it's been two weeks since the last posting, and even that one wasn't me. Much thanks to Sarah for filling in during an otherwise exceptionally busy week. Now that most of my pre-season duties ( designing schedules, ordering in-arena signage, etc.) are completed, I should be able to get this blog thing up and rolling. I'm hoping for at least two updates per week during the season, and maybe, just maybe, daily updates.
As I'm sure you're all well aware, the Inferno made a pretty big announcement over this past weekend. The land site for the new building has finally been firmed, and I promise you, no one is more excited about this than the office staff. We had heard rumblings about the new building going up over there in the St. Andrews area, but until everything was completely in tip-top shape, we couldn't say anything for certain. A lot of people, including those of you over on the message boards, had been asking about what was going on with the new place; I wasn't lying when I said that I had no more information to give. But now that the plans have been released, I can share with you some of the pictures.
As you can see, this building has a "corner-centric" design, much like the Colonial Center. Whereas the Coliseum has the same basic shape and look on all four sides, this building will have a legitimate front door, highlighted by a sky light atrium.
The previous designs had called for a dome-shaped roof, and as you can see, this building has an A-frame style roof. I think this looks a lot better; the last designs looked like an igloo. This building looks like a palace in comparison. I will try and post some pictures of the inside as they become available.
As many of you noticed in your email inbox yesterday, Coach Mann signed center Marc Cavosie, while releasing forwards Kelly Thomson and Matt Caranci. There are still a few more cuts that have to be made today by 3 p.m., but a player of Cavosie's caliber is a big boost to the club. He's played four years in the American Hockey League with the Houston Aeros and Philly Phantoms, where he scored 99 points (26 goals, 73 assists) in 252 regular season games. Coach Mann wasn't really planning on adding anyone else to the roster this late in camp, but when you have the opportunity to bring in a guy like Cavosie, you have to do it. His impressive resume will further bolster an already talented lineup that includes snipers such as Jeff Miles, Daniel Sparre, Brad Ralph, Anthony Battaglia and Peter Tsimikalis.
While the team may not have had the kind of preseason results we all would've liked, it's important to note how meaningless the preseason really is. Most teams play the guys that they're a little unsure about, or are trying to make the team. Preseason wins and losses don't mean a whole lot, and as an example, look at the Atlanta Thrashers in the NHL. They had a pretty good preseason, and as of Tuesday night they were the only team in the league without a point in the standings. Once the Inferno have some time to jell and get their lines figured out, they'll be just fine.
Training camp is starting to wind down, but not before WIS TV's Brian DeRoy had a chance to hit the ice. Brian is the host of the Sunrise show from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., and he's a good friend of the Inferno. At any rate, he came out to do a segment (which should run on the Sunrise show sometime next week) on training camp. He came in for the full effect; he was there for breakfast , video analysis, and a full skate.
