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Jacksonville Icemen Pucks and Paws Night coming soon

By Wesley Coburn

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 18: A puck sits on the boards prior to the game between the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins at the Nassau Coliseum on January 18, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders shut-out the Bruins 1-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 18: A puck sits on the boards prior to the game between the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins at the Nassau Coliseum on January 18, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders shut-out the Bruins 1-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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The Jacksonville Icemen are welcoming all the hockey dogs.

The Jacksonville Icemen are welcoming all the hockey dogs to their third annual Pucks and Paws Night, originally scheduled to be held this Saturday, January 23, against the Florida Everblades.

The Jacksonville Icemen play in the ECHL, and are the Double-A affiliate of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, which have a significant hockey dog fandom of their own on Instagram, highlighted by the Winnipeg Jets Dogs community page.

The Icemen are partially owned by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack.

On Wednesday, January 20, the ECHL postponed the Everblades-Icemen contests scheduled for this weekend to a later time to be determined due to COVID-19 safety protocols.

12 of the league’s 26 teams understandably decided to sit out the 2020-21 season just to be on the safe side, which resulted in a shuffling of the divisions; in normal times, the Jacksonville Icemen play in the Eastern Conference South Division.

This will be the third Pucks and Paws Night the team has hosted at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, following the lead of other ECHL teams like the Cincinnati Cyclones and Indy Fuel. The league’s reigning champs are the Newfoundland Growlers, who claimed the title in their inaugural 2018-19 season.

About 100 dogs have attended each of the two previous Pucks and Paws Nights, staying within a designated area so that those with dog allergies (or strange people who dislike dogs) can still enjoy the game experience.

“The dogs have been extremely well behaved and friendly,” Carli Faust, Jacksonville business development manager, explained in an email to Dog O’Day.

One dog is allowed per human (who has signed a liability waiver beforehand), and they must enter using a specific entrance and take the stairs (wheelchair users can take the elevator). The dogs and their handlers must also stay within their area for safety purposes, and ordinary fans cannot enter the dog-friendly zone if they did not bring a dog with them.

About 4,000 fans, or 25 percent of total capacity, are allowed into games this season to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has claimed about 24,000 lives with 1.6 million cases thus far.

As of this writing, Jacksonville is sixth in a seven-team Eastern Conference through 13 games played, with a winning percentage of .385 from record of four wins, seven losses and one overtime loss, good for 10 points. (Winning percentage is being used to order the standings this year, rather than points earned, due to imbalanced schedules.)

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The Icemen return to the ice for a road contest at the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Saturday, January 30.

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