A man of his word, it appears that Scott Brand has listened to the mixed-to-poor reviews of the Pregame Shootout idea.

Ahead of tonight’s game versus Elmira, the Carolina Thunderbirds announce they’ve scrapped the Pregame Shootout. After being unused in one game’s results, and giving the Thunderbirds a loss, it didn’t necessarily enthrall Thunderbirds fans as was hoped.

Whether or not this is the death of the rule altogether remains to be seen, but Brand is a man who doesn’t force something that isn’t working, and that listens to his fans.

If this is the end of the pregame shootout, I certainly commend the effort and idea of the league’s golden goose, and especially pushing the envelope to making hockey more fun for southerners.

While an interesting idea, the feedback from the first weekend was almost universally negative, with probably 90 percent of fans who commented about it after attending the games saying they did not like it and preferred it go back before the games.

The pre-game shootout actually did come into play in one game, with the Port Huron Prowlers claiming a 5-4 win after winning the pre-game shootout 1-0, then holding Carolina scoreless in overtime, this despite the Thunderbirds pulling their goalie to try and get a winner.

We’ll do a more proper burial if and when it’s official.