ANDREW LORD NAMED COACH FOR ECHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC
By: Mark Shelley, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
SHREWSBURY, NJ – The ECHL announced on Thursday that Everett Sheen of the Idaho Steelheads and Andrew Lord of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits have earned the right to serve as the coaches for the 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by Gulfstream on Monday, January 15, 2024, at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia. The game will air LIVE exclusively on NHL Network and be streamed via FloHockey
In this year’s All-Star event, the host Savannah Ghost Pirates will take on a team of ECHL All-Stars representing the other teams in the League and feature several Skills events, which will count as a goal towards the winning Player’s team score. The 2024 ECHL All-Star Skills Competition will occur between periods of the game, with results counting towards the cumulative score. The game’s first two periods will be 5-on-5, while the final period will consist of 3-on-3.
Sheen and Lord receive the coaching honors by their teams having the top winning percentage in their respective conference through games of December 23.
This marks the second consecutive season that Sheen has earned the right to coach in the All-Star Classic. In his fourth season as the Steelheads’ head coach, Sheen has led Idaho to an ECHL-best 21-5-1 record this season. Last season, Idaho captured the Brabham Cup as regular-season champion while setting ECHL records for wins (58), points (119), and home wins (32) in a season while advancing to the Kelly Cup Finals. Before becoming head coach, he spent three seasons as the club’s assistant coach. Sheen had a five-year professional playing career, including time in the ECHL each season. He played 319 career ECHL games with Reading, Ontario, and Colorado, scoring 137 points (48g-89a). He also spent time with the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins during the 2011-12 season. Sheen played four seasons of college hockey at College of the Holy Cross, serving as captain in his junior and senior seasons.
In his fourth season as the club’s coach, Lord has led Greenville to a 20-8-0 record this season. The Swamp Rabbits have advanced to the postseason in each of his three seasons, and last season, he led the team to 40 wins, their most since 2016-17. Before joining Greenville, Lord led the Cardiff Devils of the Elite Ice Hockey League to nine separate titles, including three Conference championships, two Challenge Cup championships, two League titles, and two Playoff championships. As the winningest coach in Devils history, he led the team to a 221-75-22 record across his six seasons as head coach. Before entering the coaching ranks, Lord enjoyed a lengthy professional hockey career out of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). He spent ten seasons in the pro ranks, totaling 462 games. His best work as a pro was done in the EIHL, where he scored 173 points in 216 games, all with Cardiff.
The 16th class of the ECHL Hall of Fame will be officially inducted at a luncheon presented by BFL CANADA and Sutton Special Risk on on Monday, January 15, at noon at the Savannah Convention Center. Tickets for the luncheon are available for $75 per person and include a plated lunch in conjunction with the ECHL Hall of Fame ceremony.
The 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic, presented by Gulfstream, will occur on Monday, January 15, 2024, at Enmarket Arena. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets today!
About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits …
Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team has provided family-friendly, live entertainment at Bon Secours Wellness Arena since 2010. Formerly the Greenville Road Warriors, the Swamp Rabbits are the highest-level professional minor league franchise in South Carolina. The Swamp Rabbits are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s LA Kings and the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Greenville is an ECHL Premier AA Hockey League member.
