"Wish we had more wins, obviously," said Bennett after his dismissal during a recent phone call with Connect Savannah. "We felt as a staff that players were developing, they were moving up and that was a check. We were proud of the fact that they were developing. It's just the wins, you know. It's a win-loss business and I understand that."
The "AA" affiliate of the Las Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL, the Ghost Pirates entered their Friday, Feb. 2 game against Florida with 33 points on the season and a record of 14-22-4-1, good enough for last place in the ECHL Eastern Conference.
Over the last ten games leading up to Friday, Savannah was 3-6-1-0.
"Some nights you felt like we were the better team," Bennett said. "And you look up at the end of the game and we're on the wrong end. And it felt like that a lot."
Assistant coach Alex Loh was named the interim head coach in a press release issued Thursday by the team.
"The Savannah Ghost Pirates announced Thursday the team has relieved Rick Bennett of his coaching duties and named assistant coach Alex Loh as interim head coach," the release said.
“We want to thank Rick for his work in establishing the Ghost Pirates team from its inception,” Zawyer Sports president Bob Ohrablo said. “We look forward to Alex and Nick leading our team upward in the tough South Division.”
Loh, 39, spent the past two seasons in Savannah as an assistant coach under Bennett, who was one of the top collegiate coaches in the country at Union College in Albany, NY before coming to Savannah. He won a National Championship in 2014 and compiled a 168-126-41 record over 11 seasons.
Bennett said he didn't talk to the team after being told of the organization's decision on Wednesday night.
"This is a little bit different than college," he said. "I did not have a chance to talk to the guys directly. I just kind of felt that I wanted Alex and (assistant coach) Nick (Tuzzolino) to do that. It's their team now, and not that it wasn't before, but it'll be their fingerprints on it. I just wanted it seamless for the players and the staff. I didn't want to be involved because it's best to just move on as quickly as you can."
Sanford Stadium beer sales on for UGA's 2024 football season
University of Georgia Athletics Director Josh Brooks announced big news for the UGA football faithful this week at the Georgia Athletic Association winter meeting of the Board of Directors.
Beginning this fall, UGA will sell alcohol to the public at Sanford Stadium for UGA football games. The school already sold alcohol at basketball and baseball games. Georgia has 6 homes games scheduled for 2024.
Last year, 117 of 133 Division 1 teams sold alcohol at their home stadiums. Georgia and Auburn are the latest schools from the Southeastern Conference to adopt in-stadium alcohol sales.
Memorial Day School moves to 8-man football
Beginning in August, Memorial Day School's football program will be playing eight-man football, transitioning from the traditional 11-man football format played by the majority of schools in Georgia. The school announced it through a post on X (Twitter) on Wednesday, Jan. 31.
"The Football program at Memorial Day School has moved to 8-man football," the post says. "Fast paced high, high scoring game! Any tips information or feedback on this is welcome and needed!"
Josh Washington to transfer from Savannah Country Day
One of Savannah's top sophomore wide receivers will be playing football at a new school in 2024. Josh Washington, a two-year starter on both sides of the ball for head coach John Mohring at Savannah Country Day, won't be returning to the school for his junior year.
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SCDS sophomore Josh Washington
The decision was confirmed by Washington's father during a recent phone call with Connect Savannah.
It's unclear where Washington will transfer to, but when asked, Washington's father said they "are considering a few different options." He said Washington will remain at Country Day through the remainder of this academic year before transferring in the summer ahead of his junior year.
In 21 career games at SCDS, Washington has 74 catches, 1,075 yards and 10 touchdowns receiving. The school was made aware of the decision earlier in January when Washington's parents called to inform Mohring.
High school baseball preseason rankings & dates to know
The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) baseball season officially begins on Feb. 12, the first day games are allowed to be played across the state.
Savannah Country Day will host Camden County on Feb. 15 in the Hornets' home opener. Before first pitch at 5:30pm, the school will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5pm to honor the new baseball field on the school's campus.
Head of School Kef Wilson and members of the Board of Trustees will be on hand for the ribbon-cutting of T. Brown Field, named for the late Tim Brown who was a generous supporter of the program. Yaël van Hulst funded the project in memory of Brown, her late husband.
Several area baseball teams begin the year ranked in "The Coaches Box" preseason coach polls. Benedictine begins the year at No. 6 in the Class 4A poll while Calvary Day (3) and Savannah Christian (5) each begin in the Class 3A top-5.
