“This process proved the power of unity and standing together,” Todd Skirving, member of the PHPA executive committee, wrote on X.
The Worcester Railers season is set to resume on Wednesday, as the union representing ECHL hockey players has come to a tentative agreement with the league to end a work stoppage which threatened to upend the season.
The ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association announced late Saturday that the two parties had reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement. The deal is still subject to ratification by the union’s membership and the ECHL Board of Governors, but the tentative agreement will allow for players to report back to their teams and prepare to return to play, according to a Saturday press release from the Railers.
“This process proved the power of unity and standing together,” Todd Skirving, member of the PHPA executive committee, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday. “Thank you to our fans and, most importantly, our players for setting a standard that we can all be proud of. Let's play hockey.”
A Railers away game in Portland, Maine and two home games scheduled for the DCU Center over the weekend were postponed as a result of the dispute between players and the league. Salary levels, player safety, and travel requirements were among the issues that led to the strike, as ECHL players have been playing under an expired collective bargaining agreement since June.
The ECHL is a 30-team developmental league operating two tiers below the National Hockey League.
Ticket holders for the Railers’ home games originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Worcester’s DCU Center will receive an email outlining next steps, according to a team Instagram post on Saturday.
The next Railers game is an away game scheduled for Wednesday against the Wheeling Nailers of West Virginia.
Following another road game against the Adirondack Thunder of New York on Jan. 7, the next Railers home stint is a three-game series against the Florida Everblades, scheduled for Jan. 9-11.
Games scheduled for Jan. 9 and 10 are a part of IceCats Weekend, a tribute to the defunct Worcester IceCats. The American Hockey League team played in Worcester from 1994 to 2005.
Last year’s celebration of the IceCats drew record crowds for the team.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
