Yo ho! Ghost Pirates hockey among ECHL's best teams. What's behind the expansion team's start?
When an expansion team takes the field – or, in the case of the Savannah Ghost Pirates, the ice – no one knows what to expect.
You could be getting the 1962 New York Mets who lost 120 games or the 2018 Vegas Golden Knights who went to the Stanley Cup finals, a feat they repeated two years later.
The Ghost Pirates appear to be following in the footsteps of their hockey brethren - and parent club - the Golden Knights.
Coming off a 5-1 win Tuesday at Atlanta, the Ghost Pirates head into a two-game homestand that begins Thursday tied for second place in the ECHL’s South Division, just two points - one win - out of first.
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The Ghost Pirates face the Charleston-based South Carolina Stingrays on Thursday and the Orlando Solar Bears on Friday at Enmarket Arena. Savannah plays Saturday as well, albeit on the road at South Carolina.
Fourteen games into the Ghost Pirates' inaugural season, it is obvious Head Coach Rick Bennett and Assistant Alex Loh have an eye for both talent and high character players. Bennett, a longtime college coach with a national title on his record, and Loh, an ECHL coaching veteran, also know how to coach them up.
From day one, beginning with a pair of exhibition games at Jacksonville, the Ghost Pirates have played like an established team.
Bennett and Loh have leveraged the Golden Knights' expertise in scouting to put together a team capable of winning every night. The roster includes several players under contract with the NHL club.
A 'super tight, super close' team
The team’s early success is due to more than talent, said forward Spencer Naas. The Ghost Pirates also have developed off-ice relationships that translate to chemistry on the ice and in the locker room.
“With a new team you don’t know how it’s going to be early on,” said Naas who scored the first goal ever at Enmarket Arena. “I think we’re super pleased with the way we’ve come together. We’ve still got a long way to go but when we play well and we’re playing fast we can do some really nice things.”
Naas played collegiately at the University of Connecticut and spent the last two years playing in Sweden before getting the opportunity to sign with the Ghost Pirates.
“I think coach made it a point to recruit good character players and people,” Naas said. “When you have a locker room full of good people in general it makes it much easier to know one another and become close.
“I think it is a testament to everyone in the room because we’ve come together as a team really quickly and that’s what it’s all about, especially a team with no returnees.”
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Naas’ thoughts were echoed by goaltender Isaiah Saville, an Anchorage, Alaska, native who played at Nebraska-Omaha before being drafted by the Golden Knights.
“It starts in the locker room,” Saville said. “I think we’re a team that loves one another and treats each other as family and it’s the brotherhood.
“I think you will see this team (expansion) be more than a regular team. We came together in a matter of a couple of weeks. Everyone’s super tight, super close and you can tell there’s good things to come.”
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Ghost Pirates have future stars on the ice
It also helps if you have talented players. While the season is still young, the Ghost Pirates have several players who are making their mark.
Saville has established himself as one of the top goaltenders in the league as attested by his .947 save percentage which is ranks second. His goals against average of 1.92 per game is third in the league.
“Isaiah is going to battle for you,” Bennett said. “Guys want to play in front of him. He gives you a sense of calm out there which is good for us.”
Pat Guay, a left-handed shooting forward from Magog, Quebec, has established himself as one of the top rookies in the league.
Assigned to the Ghost Pirates by Henderson, the Golden Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate, he is showing himself to be not only a goal scorer but a playmaker as well.
Guay, a fifth-round Golden Knights draft pick this year, is seventh in the league in scoring with 19 points. Among rookies he is second in scoring and third in assists with 12. He is first in power play points with nine and second in power play assists with six.
Tristan Thompson is 10th in scoring among defensemen with 11 points and Brent Pederson leads the league in shootout goals with two. Connor Corcoran’s 51 shots is first in defenseman shots. Thompson is also first in game-winning goals with two.
As a team the Ghost Pirates lead the league in fewest penalty minutes with 134, are 6-0 when scoring first and 6-0-2 when leading after two periods. In their league-high seven overtime games, the Ghost Pirates have two overtime wins and two shootout wins to go with three overtime losses.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Ghost Pirates expansion hockey team winning ECHL games early
