Getting to Know the Savannah Ghost Pirates:
There is a new red light shining bright in Savannah, and it’s the Ghost Pirates. This new Southern ECHL team couldn’t have been placed in a better city. Savannah has such a great population full of people who have either come from a hockey-centric area or that have been raised in a place where hockey is not well-known. Now, so many people have fallen in love with the sport and the team. The Ghost Pirates’ inaugural season was definitely one for the books.
Rocky Roster:
This season, there were many injuries throughout the entire affiliate line as 64 different skaters and six different goaltenders took the ice for the Ghost Pirates in their inaugural season. Many of these were from the Vegas Golden Knights, especially the goalies. Throughout the season, the Henderson Silver Knights contracted players in Savannah who would frequently get called to the AHL. The main players that were moved back and forth between the two leagues were: Pat Guay, Daniel D’Amato, Jordan Papirny, Connor Corcoran, Peter Deliberatore, and Brandon Estes. Isaiah Saville, who is contracted with Vegas, was also pulled up to Henderson and is currently with the VGK Black Aces.
Savannah’s Super Stats:
Tristan Thompson was the one player to receive the Iron Man award (player who played in every game). Brent Pederson, Alex Swetlikoff, and Vincent Marleau were the only players to score a hat trick this season. Darian Skeoch led the team in PIM with 110, followed by Logan Drevitch with 74, Nico Blachman with 72, Swetlikoff with 71, and Josh Victor with 59. The top five goal-scorers were: Brent Pederson (27), Alex Swetlikoff and Vincent Marleau (20), Pat Guay (16), and Daniel D’Amato (15). Pederson also led with Power Play goals, as he had 11. Behind him were Marleau with eight, Swelikoff with six, and Guay with five. Swetlikoff led the team statistics in game-winning goals and shots, scoring four GWGs and taking 202 shots. Connor Corcoran was just behind him with 190 shots. Pat Guay led the SGP in points (52), assists (36), and points per game (1.06).
Focusing more on the statistics of all of Savannah’s goaltenders, Michael Bullion, Isaiah Saville, and Jordan Papirny take the lead almost equally. Michael Herringer and Cody Karpinski both only made an appearance on the ice for one game each, while Darion Hanson had started on the team’s roster at the beginning of the season but only played in 11 games. Bullion joined about halfway through the season, coming from the Norfolk Admirals. He played 34 total games for the SGP, won 12, played a total of 1,836 minutes, and racked up a save percentage of 0.89 and a shutout. Papirny, who had started in the first-ever home game for the Ghost Pirates, played 23 games and a total of 1,149 minutes, won eight games, and had a save percentage of 0.89. Saville, who rocked Savannah’s world with his two huge shutouts, played only 33 games, 1,806 minutes, and won eight times. His save percentage in Savannah was 0.92.
Each of the top three goalies had some skills that made them unique, but I personally was most impressed with Bullion. His hand-eye coordination is absolutely on point, as well as his impeccable reflexes. Papirny had great control over both his glove and his stick, using both at the right times to block pucks from getting in his net. Saville had a very easy time moving from post to post to stop shots, as well as a hot glove. In terms of forwards, I was very impressed with a lot of them. However, my top three would be: Swetlikoff, Pederson, and D’Amato. Pederson scored goals with ease and was great at sneaking the puck past the goalies’ reach. D’Amato had such incredible speed and skate control; some would think it was his superpower. In shootouts, he was able to psych out the netminders in order to lace in his shot. He was always sure to be the last one off the ice in warm-ups before games. Swetlikoff had an immense amount of power behind his stick, making for some great one-timers. He also seemed to have an incredible dynamic with his linemates, especially D’Amato. The “dynamic duo” would do certain mini-drills with one another right after their teammates had left the ice in warm-ups.
Spooky Special Events:
One of the biggest special events that the Savannah Ghost Pirates hosted this year was their Military Appreciation Weekend. They had a special jersey that would be worn in each of those games and several military vehicles and personnel outside of the arena. They’ve also had many other special jerseys that became huge hits in Savannah, such as Black Panther, Scooby Doo, Spongebob, and their Cancer Night jerseys. They also collaborated with the Jacksonville Icemen to do Dumb and Dumber jerseys. One of the season’s biggest records was that the SGP tied and broke the ECHL record for Single Season sellouts as they finished the season with 33/36 sold-out home games.
Savannah Sponsorships:
One thing that really helped put the season together for the Ghost Pirates were their sponsors. One big sponsor was the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, which sponsored the Ultimate Fan Giveaway that would give one lucky fan a free trip and two tickets to a VGK game. They also had designated shirts that would be thrown during t-shirt tosses at home games. Another huge sponsor was the Savannah Logistics Group, which provided the “puck delivery” and Baby Zam. Also, when the SGP took 30 shots in a home game, all fans in attendance would get a B&D Burgers gift card that would score them a free appetizer with any meal. Frosty Frog Xpress, a restaurant on the world-famous River Street, now has a special cocktail called the Green Ghost in the SGP’s honor. Publix, VyStar, and Old Town Trolley were all big sponsors, as they each provided the team with a Zamboni. The Old Town Trolley Fan Zam was a big hit during each intermission of each home game. Inside the arena, there is a VyStar VIP club area. There, they would have gourmet meals up top and access to a Speakeasy bar below. Publix hosted a “High or Low” intermission game in which fans would guess if the real price of a certain grocery item was higher or lower than the listed price.
Rivalries:
There doesn’t seem to be one specific rival to the Ghost Pirates, as they have shown much aggression and physicality towards many of their frequent opponents. There have been a lot of penalties between the Ghost Pirates and their fellow South Division teams. The statistics would say that the top three candidates would be: Greenville Swamp Rabbits, South Carolina Stingrays, and Atlanta Gladiators. Based on the statistics, the games against the Atlanta Gladiators produced the most penalty minutes for both teams. In all of their games against Atlanta, the Ghost Pirates had 203 total penalty minutes, while the Gladiators had 211. The SGP were only able to score 29 times on Atlanta’s net. Playing against the South Carolina Stingrays, the SGP had 169 PIM, and they had 147 PIM. In those games, Savannah lit the lamps 23 times. Against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, they had only 158 total PIMs, while the opponent had a total of 130 PIMs. When set up against them, the SGP scored 46 goals. Two things that go to show just how aggressive the Ghost Pirates were against the Gladiators are: on December 18, the PIMs were 52-50 Savannah, and on January 8, they were 92-67 Savannah.
Second Season Loading…
Season 2 for the Savannah Ghost Pirates will begin in October. One big thing we can look forward to next year is the 2024 All-Star Classic in January, which will be held in Enmarket Arena. We can also expect new and exciting special jerseys and events.
Recently, the ECHL released the Protected Lists for each team. Savannah’s consists of Michael Bullion, Matt Brassard, Tristan Thompson, Nolan Valleau, Carter Long, Nick Tuzzolino, Elijah Vilio, Will Riedell, Noah Carrol, Colin Doyle, Max Kaufman, Troy Lajeunesse, Brent Pedersen, Cole Stallard, Vincent Marleau, Jett Jones, Ross Armour, Spencer Naas, Logan Drevitch, Spencer Dorowicz, Marshall Moise, Tyler Adams, and Dylan Sadowy.
The second season for the Ghost Pirates will start at home on Friday, October 20, in which they’ll face the Norfolk Admirals at 7:30 EST.
Their second home game will be Sunday, November 5, in which they’ll take on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at 3:00 EST.
