Английская Википедия:Chicago Express

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Шаблон:Other uses Шаблон:Pro hockey team

The Chicago Express were a professional ice hockey team located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, serving the Chicago market. The Express were a member of the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference.[1] The team played its home games at the Sears Centre.[2]

The Express were owned by Craig Drecktrah, who formerly owned the United Hockey League's Chicago Hounds and Rockford IceHogs.

It was announced on July 13, 2011 that the Express would be affiliated with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets and the AHL's Springfield Falcons.[3]

On April 6, 2012, it was announced that the Chicago Express would cease operations due to poor attendance numbers and lack of support.[4] The Express finished last in the league for average attendance with 2,508.[5] On some nights, the Express, which also had AHL and NHL competition in the same market, was struggling to get 1,000 spectators at its games.

Team history

Файл:ExpressTraxxwithSanta.jpg
Express mascot Traxx the horse (left)

Inception

The team formed out of talks between owner Craig Drecktrah and officials at the Sears Centre. On the heels of the Chicago Hounds folding in 2009 after only playing one season (2006–07) at the Sears Centre, Drecktrah worked with arena and Hoffman Estates village officials to bring in an ECHL franchise.[2] The league approved the franchise's application at the ECHL's annual Board of Governors Meeting in June 2010.[6]

Team name

Файл:Chicago Express Center Ice.JPG
Express center ice logo during their first and only ECHL season in 2011-12

To name the new franchise, the team held a special name the team contest that eventually received over a thousand unique name suggestions. On July 22, the four finalists for the team name were unveiled. They were the Chicago Blizzard, Hoffman Estates Hammers, Chicago Knights and Chicago Express. Voting for the team's name closed on August 4, with Express announced as the winner on September 21. The final four portion of the contest received a total of 20,000 votes.[7]

2011–2012 season

Under the direction of Steve Martinson, the Express finished with a record of 34-26-8-4, good enough for 80 points and second place in the North Division, four points behind the division leading Kalamazoo Wings. However, this was only good enough for ninth in Eastern Conference. They were actually tied with the eighth place Reading Royals points wise, however they missed out on the playoffs because the Royals had more wins.

The Express fold

At the end of the season, the Express folded outright. There were a myriad of reason for this. Firstly, the Express could not hope to compete with the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) and the Chicago Wolves (AHL). The team had no radio and television deals, and were not promoted on those mediums. The team also had a hard time drawing fans to Hoffman Estates from the heart of the city.[8]

Mascot

The mascot for the Chicago Express was "Traxx" the Horse.

Players

Файл:Chaz Johnson Express.JPG
Chaz Johnson finished as Chicago's all-time leader in goals scored with 20.
Файл:Tyler Donati Chicago.JPG
Tyler Donati led the Express with 47 assists and 61 points.
Файл:Devin DiDiomete Express.JPG
Devin DiDiomete was the Express' all-time leader in penalty minutes.
Файл:Allen York Express.JPG
Allen York played for both the Express and the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2011–12 season.
Файл:Nathan Lutz Express.JPG
Nathan Lutz was the captain of the Express.
Skaters
Player # Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Шаблон:Sortname 20 F 16 1 0 1 13
Шаблон:Sortname 4 D 43 3 8 11 25
Шаблон:Sortname 6 D 61 8 29 37 87
Шаблон:Sortname 14 C 14 1 4 5 11
Шаблон:Sortname 5 D 38 1 3 4 20
Шаблон:Sortname 27 LW 41 11 16 27 277
Шаблон:Sortname 19 RW 46 14 47 61 29
Шаблон:Sortname 4 D 17 5 6 11 14
Шаблон:Sortname 16 F 60 13 13 26 41
Шаблон:Sortname 72 RW 72 19 25 44 70
Шаблон:Sortname 26 F 6 1 0 1 2
Шаблон:Sortname 71 F 19 6 5 11 75
Шаблон:Sortname 93 F 27 8 20 28 38
Шаблон:Sortname 12 D 27 1 2 3 10
Шаблон:Sortname 98 RW 64 20 15 35 132
Шаблон:Sortname 18 C 20 3 3 6 8
Шаблон:Sortname 7 D 11 0 2 2 7
Шаблон:Sortname 44 D 72 6 7 13 121
Шаблон:Sortname 7 F 39 4 14 18 10
Шаблон:Sortname 17 C 65 11 27 38 49
Шаблон:Sortname 15 F 2 0 0 0 0
Шаблон:Sortname 42 D 25 0 8 8 20
Шаблон:Sortname 9 F 59 11 20 31 23
Шаблон:Sortname 27 LW 27 11 11 22 29
Шаблон:Sortname 5 D 4 0 0 0 0
Шаблон:Sortname 20 F 13 7 4 11 27
Шаблон:Sortname 2 D 22 3 6 9 10
Шаблон:Sortname 22 LW 15 7 9 16 8
Шаблон:Sortname 25 F 28 7 8 15 123
Шаблон:Sortname 15 C 3 0 0 0 0
Шаблон:Sortname 26 F 3 0 0 0 0
Шаблон:Sortname 21 F 8 0 1 1 42
Шаблон:Sortname 24 D 48 3 16 19 22
Шаблон:Sortname 7 F 2 0 0 0 4
Шаблон:Sortname 10 C 17 3 8 11 19
Шаблон:Sortname 24 D 3 0 0 0 0
Шаблон:Sortname 3 D 54 14 13 27 69
Шаблон:Sortname 8 D 40 10 15 25 29
Goaltenders
Player # GP MIN W L OTL GAA SV% SO
Шаблон:Sortname 31 18 794 6 3 2 3.25 .896 1
Шаблон:Sortname 31 12 722 8 3 1 2.41 .926 1
Шаблон:Sortname 31 22 1334 10 8 2 3.15 .899 1
Шаблон:Sortname 47 16 844 6 8 1 2.99 .896 0
Шаблон:Sortname 47 1 65 0 0 1 4.65 .844 0
Шаблон:Sortname 30 11 604 4 4 1 3.28 .892 0

All player statistics taken from the ECHL.com.[9]

Team captain

  • Nathan Lutz, 2011–12

References

Шаблон:Reflist

External links

Шаблон:Columbus Blue Jackets Шаблон:ECHLdefunct