New England Public Radio

Springfield’s New AHL Franchise: The Thunderbirds

Springfield’s new American Hockey League franchise has a name: the Thunderbirds,

Hundreds of fans at the Mass Mutual Center cheered as team executive Nathan Costa announced the name, which was chosen from a campaign that drew 2,600 entries. Costa says the name Thunderbirds honors pays homage to Springfield’s two previous AHL franchises, the Indians and the Falcons.

“It is a name, like the Falcons, that speaks to a fierce bird of prey. It’s a name that refers to an animal of prominence in Native American legend,” Costa says. “And it’s a name that serves as a tribute to the men and women of the U.S. Air Force who are all so vital to this region.”

Patricia Lucey, a Springfield hockey ticket holder for 50 years, says she’s thrilled with the new name and logo.

“It reminds me of power, like we’re just going to be a powerful force on the ice and a powerful force off the ice for the city,” Lucey says. “One thing, we need people to come to the games. Fill the building.”

Springfield’s previous hockey team, the Falcons, moved to Arizona due partly to poor ticket sales.

INTERVIEW: Republican sportswriter and columnist Ron Chimelis discusses the new hockey time, and the local ties of hockey legend Gordie Howe, whose funeral was held Wednesday. Click the audio player below to hear Chimelis with NEPR’s Susan Kaplan.

Springfield’s AHL Team Hires Native Son For Day-To-Day Operations

Owners of Springfield’s new American Hockey League Team team have picked a former AHL marketing executive to lead the franchise. Nathan Costa, who grew up in Springfield, says he knows that filling seats for hockey games at the downtown Mass Mutual Center is a challenge, one that the former Springfield Falcons couldn’t overcome.

Costa says first and foremost he wants the team to connect with the local community, “to show creative programming with our players, to integrate into the schools, to make sure they’re putting our logo on to their shirts, their hats.”

The team will be the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Florida Panthers. As for the team’s name. That’s still under wraps for now. Investors – including Mass Mutual, hotel owner Paul Picknelly, and Red Rose Pizza — also announced Bruce Landon as a consultant to the new franchise. Landon previously served as president of the Springfield Falcons.

 

The Short List: Drug Lab Scandal, Transgender Debate, Hockey Returns

NEPR'S WEEK IN REVIEW

What made The Short List this week?

  • Even more drug cases were affected than were first believed: up to 30,000 drug cases involved testing and/or testimony of former chemist Sonja Farak who worked in the Amherst, Massachusetts Police drug lab. massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said that Farak used drugs on the job nearly every day for eight years.
  • The Massachusetts Senate is scheduled to vote next week on a transgender bill; Governor Charlie Baker is still on the fence.
  • Hockey in Springfield, Massachusetts. One team leaves and another is on its way: is this sustainable?

Click on the audio player, above, to hear New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy explore these issues with Rick Hurst, publisher of the African American Point of View newspaper, and Matt Szafranski of the Western Mass Politics & Insight blog.

The Falcons Might Migrate West

Rumors That The Team Might Relocate To Arizona Are Flying

Springfield, Massachusetts, may be the birthplace of basketball, and home to the Basketball Hall of Fame, but it’s another sport that’s getting a lot of attention this week. Hockey has nearly a century of history in the city, and is home to the American Hockey League’s Front Office. But the Springfield Falcons could be moving West. To find out what that would mean for fans, New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy turned to Tim Culverhouse, who covers hockey for the Republican newspaper, to find out.

 

To hear Tim Culverhouse discuss the Springfield Falcons with New England Public Radio host Carrie Healy, click on the audio player, above.

As NHL Lockout Ends, So Does Springfield Falcons’ Time in the Spotlight

After a four-month labor dispute that canceled the first half of its season, the National Hockey League and the players’ union reached an agreement last weekend. NHL action is back for a shortened season later this month. But while the players were locked out, there was still professional hockey being played in the American Hockey League. As New England Public Radio’s Henry Epp reports, in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Falcons may have briefly benefited from having shut-out NHL players on their team.