Crunch owner Howard Dolgon
The American Hockey League (AHL) today announced it has honored Crunch owner Howard Dolgon with its Thomas Ebright Award in recognition of Dolgon’s career contributions to the league.
The AHL also selected Utica Comets president Robert Esche as a co-winner of the James C. Hendy Memorial Award, honoring the AHL’s outstanding executive.
Dolgon represents the “longest-tenured independent ownership” in the AHL as the Crunch marked its 20th anniversary in the 2013-14 season, according to the AHL’s website.
The AHL cited Dolgon’s “bold creativity and tireless passion” in his efforts to generate “positive exposure” for the Crunch organization, the Syracuse community, and the AHL, the website said.
The Thomas Ebright Award honors Tom Ebright, the former owner and governor of the Baltimore Skipjacks and Portland Pirates who passed away in 1997, according to the AHL website.
Besides Dolgon’s honor, the AHL also selected Utica’s Esche and Gordon Kaye, executive director of the Rockford IceHogs, as co-winners of award honoring the AHL’s outstanding executive.
Esche “revitalized” a market that had been without AHL hockey for two decades, even without the benefits of a “large, modern” arena, the AHL said.
Under Esche’s guidance, the Comets hosted 17 sellouts at the refurbished “Aud” (the Utica Memorial Auditorium) and played to more than 90 percent capacity for the season, the league added.
The James C. Hendy Award is named for the late Jim Hendy, a Hockey hall of famer and long-time statistician and historian for the AHL who won four Calder Cups as general manager of the original Cleveland Barons, according to the AHL website.
The Ebright Award isn’t the first time the AHL has recognized Dolgon’s efforts.
The AHL also honored Dolgon with the James C. Hendy Memorial Award in 2010 as the league’s outstanding executive.
He was the “driving force” behind the Mirabito Outdoor Classic, the first outdoor game in AHL history, which the Crunch hosted at the New York State Fairgrounds on Feb. 20, 2010 and set an AHL single-game attendance record of 21,508.
Dolgon and the Crunch are also promoting the Toyota Frozen Dome Classic, when the Crunch will host Esche’s Utica Comets on Nov. 22 in the Carrier Dome.
The same event will include an NCAA Division III matchup between the Utica College Pioneers and the Oswego State Lakers.
A law-enforcement charity game between the Syracuse and Utica police departments prior the Crunch-Comets game.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
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