PRINCETON, N.J. – The ECHL in association with The MeiGray Group announced that the Sixth-Annual Game-Worn Jersey Auction at the 2007 Rbk Hockey ECHL All-Star Game will benefit the Professional Hockey Players’ Association Health and Welfare Fund which provides health insurance for ECHL players and their families.
The jerseys worn by the 21 members of the American Conference and the 21 members of the National Conference during the first period of play on January 17 will be auctioned live during the game simultaneously at Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho and online at www.ECHL.com, www.MeiGray.com and http://echlauction.at.edeal.com/.
In addition to the jerseys, game-used and goal-scoring pucks from the All-Star Game as well as worn jerseys and pucks from the skills competition will also be collected and auctioned at http://echlauction.at.edeal.com/.
The jersey auction begins at 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 17 and closes at 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 31 while the puck auction begins at 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 19 and closes at 9 p.m. ET on Feb. 6. The jerseys and pucks from the skills competition will be auctioned beginning at 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 31 and continuing until 9 p.m. ET on Feb. 14.
Since beginning the ECHL All-Star Game game-worn jersey auction in 2002, the ECHL and MeiGray have raised over $88,000 for the PHPA Health and Welfare Fund (2005 and 2006), Make-A-Wish Foundation (2004), Karmanos Cancer Institute (2003) and Twin Towers Fund (2002).
“Game-worn jerseys and game-used pucks are becoming more and more fun to collect thanks to the ECHL's vision,” said Barry Meisel, MeiGray's President and Chief Operating Officer. “The league grows, the hobby grows, the fun grows. And best of all, we're helping a very worthy cause in the Players' Health and Welfare Fund.”
“MeiGray’s continued support of the charity auction provides the ECHL and the PHPA maximum exposure and credibility in the game-worn jersey business,” said Glen Thornborough, ECHL Senior Vice President of Marketing/Business Development. “Our goal, along with MeiGray, is to grow the affinity of the game-used industry and continue to provide fans and collectors worldwide with the comfort of true authentication combined with premier product.”
Each player in the ECHL All-Star Game will wear a different jersey in each of the game’s three periods. The jerseys worn in the second period will be available to the general sports collecting public later this winter through MeiGray, a Branchburg, N.J., company that also partners with the National Hockey League in the NHL-MGG Game-Worn Jersey Authentication Program and the American Hockey League in the AHL-MGG Game-Worn Jersey Program. The players will keep the jersey that they wear during the third period.
Each ECHL team will wear one set of home and road jerseys for the first half of the season and another set for the second half. MeiGray, which offers game-worn jerseys from all ECHL teams to hockey fans and sports collectors worldwide, owns the exclusive rights to the jerseys worn during the first half of the season while the teams own the exclusive rights to jerseys worn for the second half as well as all specialty jerseys and jerseys worn during the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Fans and collectors can order the jerseys of their favorite teams at MeiGray.com or telephone MeiGray toll-free at (888) 463-4472 for more information.
The leading distributor and authenticator of game-worn hockey jerseys, and "Official Game-Worn Jersey Source of the ECHL," MeiGray has sold nearly 3,500 game-worn ECHL jerseys since the program began in 2002-03, including nearly 1,000 each of the past three seasons.
The Stingrays next home game is Saturday, Jan. 20th. It’s Pack the House Night at the North Charleston Coliseum with every ticket in the place only $5. Tickets are going fast, so purchase yours today by calling 744-2248.
Come early to the game to watch the members of the military play hockey at 1pm and stick around as the Charleston Ladyrays take on the Columbia Hotflash at 3:30 p.m. It’s three games for the price of one. Stingrays Hockey – A Whole
Lot Cooler!
