By WJBC Staff
BLOOMINGTON – There will be no hockey in Bloomington this weekend as the Central Illinois Flying Aces have been formed to delay their home opener again.
The United States Hockey League team has announced its home opener will take place on Nov. 10 at Grossinger Motors Arena as the first phase of upgrades proceeds at the team’s home arena.
“As an organization, we are committed to providing the best experience in the safest possible environment to our players, fans and opposing teams,” Chief Operating Officer Brendan Kelly said. “We are pleased by the efforts of the arena management company, VenuWorks, to address player and fan safety concerns at Grossinger Motors Arena. The new home opener date of Nov. 10 will allow ample time for VenuWorks and the City of Bloomington to finalize phase one repairs to the dasher board and glass system and install and maintain a quality ice surface consistent with USHL standards.”
In addition to the change to the home opener date, the next four originally scheduled home games on Oct. 28, Oct. 29, Nov. 4 and Nov. 5 will now be played at Carver Arena at the Peoria Civic Center. This Hockey in the Heartland Series will showcase the Flying Aces and the Peoria Rivermen, both of which are owned by Consolidated Sports Holdings International.
“Considering we’re both now part of the CSH International family of teams, this is a great opportunity to work in synergy with the Rivermen and symbolizes the strong partnership we have as we continue to grow hockey in Central Illinois,” Kelly said. “We’re excited to give our fans their first look at a very good Flying Aces team and show new fans the speed and skill of a USHL game for the first time.”
“We really appreciate the flexibility of the USHL and opposing teams to make the transition of moving these games to Peoria a smooth process,” Flying Aces Head Coach/GM Mike Watt said. “We’re lucky to have such a great venue this close to us, and we’re grateful for all of the efforts that made these games possible.”
The two Saturdays of the Hockey in the Heartland Series will be single-admission doubleheaders, featuring a Flying Aces game at 3 p.m. followed by the regularly scheduled Rivermen games at 7:15 p.m. on both Oct. 28 and Nov. 4. Fans that purchase an Oct. 28 or Nov. 4 ticket will receive admission to both games that day at Carver Arena.
The Aces’ two Sunday games on Oct. 29 and Nov. 4 will be general admission seating and tickets are just $5 for each game. Tickets to the standalone Sunday showcase games will be available at the Toyota Box Office at the Peoria Civic Center starting on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. The puck will drop at 4 p.m. for both Sunday games.
The Flying Aces open the Hockey in the Heartland Series with an Oct. 28 matchup against the Dubuque Fighting Saints before facing the Waterloo Black Hawks on Oct 29. Central Illinois kicks off the second weekend of the showcase with a Nov. 4 tilt against the Des Moines Buccaneers and finishes the weekend with a rivalry game against the Chicago Steel on Nov. 5.
