ECHL: Coaching Change Mid-Season Bust or Not?

I recently asked a group of Savannah Ghost Pirate fans what they thought of the team’s performance since the Coaching staff changed a little over a month ago. Some had positive things to say, a few not great, and some expected more changes.

In February, we saw the untimely firing of Head coach Rick Bennet, who was halfway into his second season with the team. The Ghost Pirates’ administration felt they needed to bring in a new voice to lead the team, as they had fallen to last place in the ECHL Eastern Conference. Bennet was the Ghost Pirates’ first Head Coach since their inauguration season in 2022, coaching for 113 games with a 42-56-12-2 record.

It was reported in January 2022 that Bennet resigned as Union head coach due to anonymous emails complaining about his coaching style, which led to an investigation that substantiated those complaints. So, one has to ask if those “coaching styles” were some of Savannah’s problems.

After the All-Star break, a rough skid saw this change come about faster than expected. Assistant Coach Alex Loh was named Interim head coach for the rest of the 23-24 season. Loh was previously the head coach of the Adirondack Thunder for three seasons and was named assistant coach for the Ghost Pirates in 2022 under Rick Bennet. 

So, how is the team stacking up under Loh now? The Ghost Pirates are no longer last in the East; they have played 16 games since Loh took over and have an 8-8 record. The fans feel that the team is playing better and being more physical, but some think that the loss of Bennet has taken some of the skills away. 

Savannah’s current record is 22-29-4-1, with 49 points this season. Did this change give the Pirates the boost we hoped for? Eh, not so far, but this isn’t solely related to the coaching change. The Ghost Pirates have dealt with quite a few roster changes in the last month, with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights relying on them to fill the holes in their roster due to sending players to cover injuries in the NHL Vegas Golden Knights roster. It has seemed to improve the morale and play of the team. That has been seen, and the team seems to be meshing much better since the change. We can only hope that the change continues to have a positive influence and allows the Ghost Pirates to finish this season stronger than mid-season play positioned us. The Ghost Pirates play South Carolina Stingrays March 9th in Savannah.