BMGulakiw 0 Report post Posted November 29, 2004 Press Release from XIHL:Contact: Benny Gulakiw716.491.2656benny@xihl.comNEWS RELEASEFor Immediate Release: November 28, 2004OUT WITH THE OLD – IN WITH THE NEWeXtreme Inline Hockey League Replaces Suspended Team with Buffalo WingsThe eXtreme Inline Hockey League (XIHL), is pleased to announce that the Buffalo Wings Roller Hockey Club has joined the league for the remainder of the inaugural 2004 Festival season. The Buffalo Wings will replace the South Jersey Cougars on the schedule. The Cougars were suspended for the remainder of the 2004 season by the league last week for failing to meet all of the league’s operating requirements. Because of the adjustments to the schedule necessitated by two of the teams not meeting some or all of their travel requirements, the league will end up with an unbalanced schedule. The remaining founding members of the XIHL (New Jersey Werewolves, Hartford Thunder, Marple Gladiators, Garden State Ottakringer, Philadelphia Sting) have all agreed that this is the best course of action; rewarding teams that have met all of their requirements with a greater chance of advancing to the league’s inaugural Championship. The Werewolves, Thunder and Ottakringer will end up playing 8 total games. The Marple Gladiators, because of failing to field a team for the league’s opening Festival weekend in Hartford, will play a total of 6 games and the Buffalo Wings have agreed to play out the Cougars remaining schedule consisting of just 4 games.XIHL Commissioner, Steve Seeger, comments on the mid-season changes taking place, “We made it clear right from the beginning that this was a trial season set-up to work the bugs out and to showcase our brand of eXtreme Inline Hockey. The Festival format was intended to give our founding member teams an opportunity to stay active while promoting the XIHL leading up to our first full season in the Fall of 2005.†With the addition of the Buffalo Wings, one of the most successful and respected roller hockey clubs of all time, the XIHL has established itself as the premier “pro-style†inline hockey league in North America. “The Buffalo Wings wanted to join the league right from the beginning,†says Benny Gulakiw, the XIHL’s Marketing and Public Relations Director and former Vice President of Operations for the Buffalo Wings, “but because their players are so active, conflicts with the early part of our schedule precluded them from committing to the season as a whole.†Gulakiw continues, “When it became clear that we were going to have problems with the Cougars, the Buffalo Wings was the first team we called.â€The Buffalo Wings will travel to Vorhees, NJ and the Flyer’s Skate Zone to participate in the Garden State Ottakringer Festival weekend where they will play in two games against opponents to be determined. The Wings will then play a home-and-home series against the New Jersey Werewolves. Buffalo will host the Werewolves at their home rink, the Kenan Arena in Lockport, NY, on Sunday, December 19 at 12:00 PM. The game is being scheduled in conjunction with their traditional Wings’ Cup Inline Hockey Tournament taking place that weekend. The game is tentatively scheduled to be broadcast via tape-delay on Lockport Cable-Access Television (LCTV) and can be seen on most Adelphia cable networks. The Wings will then travel to Bridgewater, NJ and the Extremes Indoor Sports Center for a re-match against the Werewolves on Sunday, January 2. By committing to this schedule, the Wings will be eligible to participate in the Championship series where the top four teams in the standings will advance to complete for the $2,500.00 cash prize. The 2004 XIHL Championship Series is scheduled for January 21/22, 2005 in a location to be announced. The league is currently accepting bids from facilities interested in hosting the league’s Inaugural Festival season Championship. For more information on the Buffalo Wings, visit their web site at www.buffalowings.net. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMGulakiw 0 Report post Posted December 9, 2004 Press Release from XIHL:Contact: Benny Gulakiw716.491.2656benny@xihl.comNEWS RELEASEFor Immediate Release: December 9, 2004EXTREME INLINE HOCKEY LEAGUE NEWS & NOTESRecap of Sting Festival – Preview of Ottakringer Festival XIHL INVADED THE HIVENew Jersey Werewolves in the Driver’s Seat to Finish FirstThe eXtreme Inline Hockey League (XIHL) kicked-off the second half of their inaugural Festival season by completing the Philadelphia Sting Festival Weekend held this past weekend December 4/5 at the Family Fun Spot in Aston, PA. The New Jersey Werewolves (5-1, 10pts), entering the Weekend two points out of first place, won both of their games in easy fashion; by a combined score of 30-5 . The ‘Wolves are now tied for first with the Hartford Thunder (5-3, 10pts). However, New Jersey needs only to win one of their remaining two games to take sole possession of the top spot. The Thunder, which have completed their regular season schedule, can only sit back and hope the Werewolves stumble.The Sting Festival Weekend opened with an outstanding game as the Garden State Ottakringer (1-3, 2pts), looking for their first win of the season, took on the league leading Hartford Thunder on Saturday. This was a back-and-forth battle as the teams exchanged goals throughout the game. The Elephants held a 3-2 lead at the half and extended that lead to 5-3 after 3 periods. In the fourth quarter, Hartford sniper John Pinhiero (3g,2A-5pts) evened the score at 5-5 with two quick goals. Garden State was determined to get in the win column as Chris Short put the ‘Kringer up 6-5 late in the game. Hartford, showing why they’re one of the top teams in the league, knotted-up the score at 6-6 with less than a minute left in regulation. The Elephants finally silenced the Thunder as David Kull slipped one past the Hartford goalkeeper in a mad scramble in front of the Thunder net with only 13 ticks left on the clock. Garden State held on for their first win of the season.In the second half of the Saturday double-header, the New Jersey Werewolves mauled the host team, Philadelphia Sting (0-4, 0pts), 19-3 in a rough-and-tumble affair. Werewolves forward, Bill Katinsky (2G,4A-6pts) lead the way while four other New Jersey players scored hat tricks. With the Werewolves already leading 10-0 after 2 quarters, the Sting tried to get even with the “Wolves with their fists instead of scoring goals as there was numerous fighting and roughing penalties.On Sunday, the Philadelphia Sting started the day the way the left off Saturday by getting smoked by the Hartford Thunder by a score of 8-1 in a thoroughly one-sided affair. The Sting actually thought they were in this one as they were only down 2-1 at the half. Hartford quickly showed them who was boss as they rattled-off 6 unanswered goals to secure the 2 points for the win.Not to be out-done, the New Jersey Werewolves dismantled the Garden State Ottakringer in the closing game of the Festival Weekend by dropping an 11-2 bomb on the Elephants. The Werewolves were howling as they clawed their way to an 8-0 lead after 3 quarters. Ottakringer finally came to life as their broke the shut-out with a quick goal to start the fourth. New Jersey quickly squashed any thoughts of a Garden State miracle comeback as they outscored the Ottakringer 3-1 to close-out the final stanza and pull into a first place tie with the Hartford Thunder. For complete scores, stats and standings, visit the leagues web site at www.xihl.com.THE CIRCUS IS IN TOWN AS XIHL VISITS THE OTTAKRINGERBuffalo Wings to Make Their XIHL DebutThe Garden State Ottakringer, in a fight for the fourth and final playoff spot, hosts the next XIHL regular season Festival Weekend. Games are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, December 11/12 at the Flyer’s Skate Zone in Vorhees, NJ. The Buffalo Wings, who recently joined the league, will be making their XIHL debut. In addition to the Wings and host Ottakringer, the Marple Gladiators and the Philadelphia Sting will also be participating. Two key match-ups that fans should keep their eyes on are the early games on Saturday and Sunday. Opening the Festival Weekend will be the Ottakringer and the Gladiators at 4:00PM Saturday. Sparks usually fly when these two teams get together. The other game to watch out for takes place at 12:30PM on Sunday, when the Buffalo Wings battle the Gladiators. This is a match-up that many in the roller hockey world have waited a long time to see. The Garden State Ottakringer Festival Weekend schedule is as follows:Saturday, December 114:00 PM – Garden State Ottakringer vs Marple Gladiators8:00 PM – Buffalo Wings vs Philadelphia StingSunday, December 1212:30 AM – Marple Gladiators vs Buffalo Wings2:30 PM – Philadelphia Sting vs Garden State OttakringerFor more information on attending the Garden State Ottakringer Festival Weekend, contact Bill Koslosky at OttakringerGM@Comcast.net or contact the XIHL’s Marketing and Public Relations Director, Benny Gulakiw at benny@xihl.com. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMGulakiw 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2005 Contact: Benny Gulakiw716.491.2656benny@xihl.comNEWS RELEASEFor Immediate Release: January 14, 2005 XIHL ANNOUNCES LOCATION FOR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Z-Rink the Setting as Four Founding Members Set to Battle for XIHL Championship! The inaugural eXtreme Inline Hockey League (XIHL) Festival regular season has been completed and the match-ups for the play-offs have been set. The XIHL Championships are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, January 22 & 23, 2005. The XIHL is pleased to announce that the inaugural Championship Series will be held at the Z-Rink in Glastonbury, CT. The Z-Rink is one of the premier multi-use facilities in the country. “The Z-Rink has been home to many high-profile inline hockey events,†said Steve Seeger, Commissioner of the XIHL. “There are very few buildings in our region that match-up to this facility and we’re looking forward to show-casing the talent of our league in this wonderful setting.†The Z-Rink is located Glastonbury, CT, approximately 5 miles south of Hartford. The rink, consisting of an Athletica Board system with 6’ seamless glass, features a 185’ x 85’ SportCourt ATAK playing surface, full-size locker rooms with showers and a fully-stocked pro shop. The four-sided color scoreboard and climate-control system means fans can watch all the action in comfort. On Saturday, January 22, the first place New Jersey Werewolves will take on the #4 seed Marple Gladiators at 6:00 PM, while the #2 seed Hartford Thunder will battle the #3 seed Garden State Ottakringer at 8:30 PM in the second game of the semi-final double-header. The winners of the two semi-final games will meet on Sunday for the XIHL Championship scheduled for 6:00 PM. Tickets for each day are $5.00 can be purchased at the rink on the day of the games.There were two games left on the regular season scheduled for Sunday, January 2, 2005. The Garden State Ottakringer was scheduled to play the Philadelphia Sting and the Buffalo Wings was to travel to Bridgewater, NJ for a re-match against the New Jersey Werewolves. Because the league is operating under a Festival format and because the outcome of the game would not have effected the standings, the Ottakringer and the Sting agreed not to play the game. However, even though it was a similar situation for the Wings/Werewolves game, New Jersey wanted the game played because they had promoted the highly anticipated re-match with the Wings in their home building. The Buffalo Wings failed to field a team for the game and as a result have been suspended by the league indefinitely. #1 New Jersey Werewolves vs. #4 Marple Gladiators Preview: The New Jersey Werewolves enter the playoffs as the #1 seed as a result of their 5-2 record and 10 points. Although the ‘Wolves ended up with the same number of points as the Hartford Thunder (5-3, 10pts) and the teams split their season series (1-1), New Jersey won the tie-break with a +1 goal differential over the Thunder. The Werewolves take on the Marple Gladiators (4-2, 8pts). The Gladiators finished in fourth place, losing the tie-break (0-1, -6 GD) to the Ottakringer (4-3, 8pts). However, Marple only played 6 games as a result of missing the Hartford Thunder Festival Weekend which opened the XIHL season. The Werewolves and Gladiators played each other only once during the regular season with the ‘Wolves cruising to a 10-3 win. What that means is the Werewolves shouldn’t take the Gladiators lightly. C.J. Yoder, recognized as one of the best players in the game today, finished in second place in scoring with 9 goals and 19 assists in only 6 games. The Glads are not a one-player wonder. Ron Tracy (9g, 10a in 5 games) and JD Davidson (10g, 8a in 6 games) finished 5th and 7th in league scoring respectively. Backstopping the Gladiators is veteran goalie, Jason Yocum who won all three of his games between the pipes with a 3.00 gaa and a .907 save percentage. The New Jersey Werewolves didn’t finish in first place by accident. Their two losses came in their first and last games of the season and sandwiched a 5-game winning streak. Their key is balance with 8 players scoring in double-digits. One of the players to watch out for is Simon Egan. Egan, who was tied for the lead in team scoring with 16 points (11g, 5a), earned 5 of his goals in the ‘Wolves last game against the Buffalo Wings in Buffalo. Egan also knows his way to the penalty box as he notched 15 pims in 5 games. New Jersey has not one outstanding goalie, but two as Joseph D’Aloisio and Matthew Cavender finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in goalie stats in the league. Both goalies split time in the nets for the ‘Wolves and both had a gaa below 3.00. #2 Hartford Thunder vs. #3 Garden State Ottakringer Preview: Hartford and Garden State played twice during the regular season and the teams split the series. Hartford took the first game 11-2 early in the season, while the Ottakringer stole a close one from the Thunder at the last Festival Weekend by a score of 7-6. The Hartford Thunder is a strong team looking to prove that they belong with the elite teams in the nation. The Thunder has a not-so-secret weapon in John Pinhiero. Pinhiero lead the lead in scoring with 18 goals and 16 assists in 8 games. Other Hartford players to look out for are Sean Connelly (11g, 4a – 15pts) and Terry Patsel (9g, 5a – 14 pts). Hartford can be a scrappy team with players like Anthony Giusto (27 pims) and John Luszcz (16 pims) making sure all challenges are met. Edgar Faria guards the crease for the Thunder and is the league’s top goalie. In three games, Faria finished with an amazing 0.82 gaa and a .967 save percentage and includes one shut-out. The Garden State Ottakringer comes into the playoffs as one of the league’s hottest teams winning 4 of their last 5 games. The Elephants are another well-balanced team with 10 players scoring in double-digits. Chris Short (7g, 15a – 22pts), Sean Sullivan (11g, 9a – 20pts) and Bobby Beauchamp (14g, 5a – 19pts) are the ‘Kringer’s top scorers finishing 3rd, 4th and 6th in league scoring respectively. Nickolas DiPaolo and Adam Fischer handle the goaltending duties for Garden State, while Rich Wooten (18 pims), Dave Mainardi (15 pims) and Chris Short (14 pims) provides the muscle. For more information on the XIHL or the Championship series, visit the league's web site at www.xihl.com or contact the league's Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Benny Gulakiw by phone at (716) 491-2656 or by e-mail at benny@xihl.com. For more information about the Z-Rink or for directions to the facility, visit their web site at www.zrink.com. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMGulakiw 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 Contact: Benny Gulakiw716.491.2656benny@xihl.comNEWS RELEASEFor Immediate Release: January 22, 2005EXTREME INLINE HOCKEY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS POSTPONEDExtreme Weather Creates Unsafe Conditions The eXtreme Inline Hockey League (XIHL) was scheduled to play it’s inaugural season playoffs this weekend, January 22 & 23 at the Z-Rink in Glastonbury, CT, just 5 miles outside Hartford. However, due to blizzard-like conditions that are being predicted for this weekend throughout the Northeast, the XIHL has decided that in the best interest of the players, staff and fans, to postpone the Event. No new date has been announced.The XIHL is North America’s newest full-contact, pro-style inline hockey league. This season, which began in October, featured a Festival format. Six teams, located in the Northeast, competed in a series of two-day double-headers in order to determine the seedings for the playoffs. The league will begin it’s first full season in the Fall of 2005 where teams will play a 20-game schedule from October through April in a traditional home and road format.Three teams were scheduled to travel to the Harford area to compete for the league Championship trophy and a $2,500 cash prize. In addition to the Hartford Thunder, the number two seed for the playoffs and the host team for the event, the New Jersey Werewolves and the Garden State Ottakringer were also planning on attending the event. A large number of fans were expected to make the four-hour trip from the Philadelphia/New Jersey area to Connecticut to root for their favorite teams. Steve Seeger, the Commissioner for the XIHL, comments on the league’s decision, “We’re disappointed in having to make this decision to cancel our inaugural Championship Event. However, we’ve been closely monitoring the weather reports and it became clear that for the safety of our everyone involved, that postponing the event until a later date was the best thing to do.â€For more information on the XIHL or the Championship series, visit the league's web site at www.xihl.com or contact the league's Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Benny Gulakiw by phone at (716) 491-2656 or by e-mail at benny@xihl.com. For more information about the Z-Rink or for directions to the facility, call the rink at (860) 657-3310 or visit their web site at www.zrink.com. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMGulakiw 0 Report post Posted February 24, 2005 Press Release from XIHL:Contact: Benny Gulakiw716.491.2656benny@xihl.comNEWS RELEASEFor Immediate Release: February 24, 2005EXTREME INLINE HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS SET FOR THIS WEEKEND Hartford Thunder Hosts Semi-Final Game – New Jersey Werewolves Host Championship The eXtreme Inline Hockey League (XIHL) will play it’s inaugural season playoffs this weekend, February 26 & 27. The semi-final game will see the Hartford Thunder, who finished in second place during the regular season, will host the number three seed, Garden State Ottakringer, at 6:30 PM Saturday. The game will be played at the Z-Rink in Glastonbury, CT located just outside of Hartford. The winner of this game will play the number one seed, New Jersey Werewolves, on Sunday at 1:30 PM. The Werewolves received a first-round bye and will host the game at the Extremes Indoor Sports Center in Bridgewater, NJ. In addition to the league Championship trophy and banner, the winning team will receive a $2,500 cash prize.The XIHL is North America’s newest full-contact, pro-style inline hockey league. This season, which began in October, featured a Festival format. Six teams, located in the Northeast, competed in a series of two-day double-headers in order to determine the seedings for the playoffs. The league will begin it’s first full season in the Fall of 2005 where teams will play a 20-game schedule from October through April in a traditional home and road format.For more information on the XIHL or the Championship series, visit the league's web site at www.xihl.com or contact the league's Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Benny Gulakiw by phone at (716) 491-2656 or by e-mail at benny@xihl.com. For more information about the Z-Rink or for directions to the facility, call the rink at (860) 657-3310 or visit their web site at www.zrink.com. For more information about the Extremes Indoor Sports Center, call the rink at (732) 560-0005 or visit their web site at www.extremessports.net. - 30 - Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kirsch 1 Report post Posted February 24, 2005 I love inline and all but it always seems like leagues with extreme in the title never work out... Case in point ... the XFLI'm in agreement with MDE3 on this one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDE3 0 Report post Posted February 24, 2005 The name aside, they had some pretty entertaining games within the league. The level of play is maybe half or a quarter a notch below the Tournament Pro levels, but then a lot of the players also play, or have played in Narch and Tours Pro as well. The added features of full contact, "icing", and offsides makes the game different enough to make it hard to compare to the Tournament series. To me the games are more exciting than the Tournament Pro games because of these added elements. I would say on each of the contending teams, there are at least 3 - 4 players on each team with substantial tournament pro experience...including some of the top names from those series. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
