XIHL Championships Postponed

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

This is the official press release from the eXtreme Inline Hockey League. It was a difficult call for the organizers, but I support it completely.

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EXTREME INLINE HOCKEY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS POSTPONED
Extreme Weather Creates Unsafe Conditions

The eXtreme Inline Hockey League (XIHL) was scheduled to play its 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 Americaâ??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 itâ??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 leagueâ??s decision, â??Weâ??re disappointed in having to make this decision to cancel our inaugural Championship Event. However, weâ??ve been closely monitoring the weather reports and it became clear that for the safety of 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 mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>. 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 <A HREF="http://www.zrink.com" target="_new">http://www.zrink.com</A>.

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Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central

[NLane]

I thought it was a good call. Heard on the news that Philly schools are even closed today. That had to have been a heck of a storm!

[ScrappersSponser]

We got 10.5 Inches according to the weather. My driveway got about 6 feet. I opened my garage door and I was eye to eye with snow. Was not fun to dig out of thats for sure. That was just inside Philly imagine what the suburbs got.

Jeff Haze