The Louisiana IceGators were a professional ice hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League that began play in the 2009–10 season. Like the original IceGators , which played from 1995 until folding in 2005, they were based in Lafayette, Louisiana . The IceGators were brought back by local businessman Danny Smith. In August 2010, Smith sold the team to two local businessmen, E.C. "Chuck" Anselmo, Jr. and E.C. "Chuck" Anselmo, III.
17-583: The Pensacola Ice Flyers are a professional ice hockey team of the SPHL . The team played their first season in 2009–10 . Home games are played at the Pensacola Bay Center , previously home to the ECHL 's Pensacola Ice Pilots from 1996 until their folding in 2008. The "Ice Flyers" name has a double meaning – it is both a tribute to Pensacola's heritage in naval aviation ( Naval Air Station Pensacola
34-450: A water cooler, then a pair of medical kits. Sapergia finished the tirade by emptying Louisiana's supply of hockey sticks into play and giving a farewell gesture to the fans as he left the arena. Former Huntsville Havoc player and coach John Gibson was later named head coach, while Handy began to focus on community relations and off-ice operations. Gibson would coach 11 games before being replaced by Dave MacIsaac . MacIsaac would finish off
51-705: A year and a half. In 2023, the league rebranded to the orphaned initialism "SPHL" to reflect the fact that the league's footprint had expanded beyond the southern United States. Notes As per minor leagues, there are some rule differences between the SPHL and the NHL (and even the ECHL and the AHL, the two official developmental leagues regulated by the Professional Hockey Players' Association ). Awarded to
68-725: Is home to the legendary Blue Angels and the National Museum of Naval Aviation ) and a homage to original owner Tim Kerr , who previously played eleven seasons with the National Hockey League 's Philadelphia Flyers . On April 14, 2013, the Ice Flyers beat the Huntsville Havoc 2–0 in game three of the President's Cup finals to win the franchise's first President's Cup. The win also solidified
85-911: The Bloomington Blaze , and the Peoria Rivermen , who were replacing an American Hockey League team of the same name in their market. In 2015, the Augusta franchise returned and relocated to Macon, Georgia as the Macon Mayhem . In November 2014, Shannon Szabados became the first female goaltender to win an SPHL game, when the Columbus Cottonmouths defeated the Fayetteville FireAntz 5–4 in overtime. In that same game Erin Blair and Katie Guay became
102-648: The midwestern United States . Following the 2023–24 season , the Peoria Rivermen are the reigning President's Cup champions. As of 2024 , the Knoxville Ice Bears are the most successful team in SPHL history, having won five William B. Coffey Trophies as the regular season champions and four President's Cup playoff championships. The Peoria Rivermen have also won five William B. Coffey Trophies, while Pensacola has also won four President's Cups. The SPHL's history traces back to three other short-lived leagues. The Atlantic Coast Hockey League started play in
119-819: The 2002–03 season. After its only season, the ACHL dissolved with member teams forming the nucleus for two rival leagues, the South East Hockey League and the World Hockey Association 2 . After one season, the SEHL and WHA2 disbanded, with their surviving teams rejoining with two expansion teams to form the SPHL, commencing with the 2004–05 season. In 2009, the SPHL saw a large expansion with three new franchises, in Biloxi, Mississippi , Lafayette, Louisiana and Pensacola, Florida . In 2010,
136-607: The 2009–10 season, coaching 38 games, finishing with a record of 18-18-0. On October 18, 2010, the IceGators affiliated with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League for the 2010–11 season. During the 2010–11 season , MacIsaac would have 7 wins and 14 losses in 22 games before being let go. He was replaced in December 2010 by former NHL enforcer Kevin "Killer" Kaminiski . Also during this season,
153-462: The 2010–11 season, the team's home ice returned to the Cajundome , also called the "Frozen Swamp." On October 26, 2009, Ron Handy stepped down as head coach after a 0-3-0 start. He was replaced by general manager Brent Sapergia on an interim basis. Sapergia was banned by the league after being disqualified from two games in a row. In Pensacola , Sapergia threw a water bottle onto the ice, then
170-642: The 2018–19 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the 2019–20 season was curtailed and no champion was named. The following season, the league announced it would only play with five of the ten member teams due to pandemic-related capacity restrictions barring fans from attending games. During the season, the league approved of the Vermilion County Bobcats as a 2021–22 expansion team based in Danville, Illinois . The Bobcats folded after only
187-713: The IceGators brought back forward Shawn McNeil who had played for the ECHL IceGators from 1999 to 2003. The IceGators also started rookie goalie Scott Darling who would become the first SPHL player to play in the National Hockey League when he was called up by the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2014–15 NHL season . The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup with Darling as a back-up to Corey Crawford . In 2013–14 , IceGators star player, Shawn McNeil, would play in 56 games achieving 18 goals and 49 assists at
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#1732786738945204-402: The age of 35. On April 3, 2014, Shawn was named the 2013–14 Easton SPHL Most Valuable Player . "McNeil led all players in points (67) and assists (49) and tied SPHL season-highs with an 18-game point streak and an eight-game assist streak. One of four IceGators to play all 56 games, McNeil was a team-best +18 as he led Louisiana to a second-place finish in the regular season." On May 16, 2016,
221-574: The city of Pensacola's first professional sports championship. The Ice Flyers have since won the playoff championship in 2014, 2016, and 2021. SPHL The SPHL (formerly the Southern Professional Hockey League ) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina , with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in
238-638: The first female officials to referee an SPHL game. At the end of the 2015–16 season, the Louisiana IceGators announced a one-year leave of absence for renovations to their arena but never returned. The IceGators' franchise was sold and reactivated as the Quad City Storm in 2018. Then in 2016, the dormant Mississippi Surge franchise was relocated to Southwest Virginia to become the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs . One of
255-644: The inaugural SPHL teams, the Columbus Cottonmouths , suspended operations in 2017 after failing to find a buyer while an expansion team called the Birmingham Bulls were accepted into the league as the tenth team. Following the 2017–18 season, the Mississippi RiverKings suspended operations while the league searched for new owners. With the acceptance of the Quad City Storm , the league was able to remain at ten teams for
272-722: The league added an expansion team in Augusta, Georgia , another former long time ECHL market. For the 2011–12 season, the league added two-time Central Hockey League champions, the Mississippi RiverKings . For the 2013–14 season, the league lost the Augusta RiverHawks but also expanded northward with two franchises in Illinois : the Bloomington Thunder , a team also moving from the CHL, where they were known as
289-536: The league playoff champion. Originally known as the Commissioner's Cup, the regular season championship trophy was renamed in honor of league co-founder Bill Coffey during the 2007–08 season. Louisiana IceGators (SPHL) For their first season as members of the SPHL, home games were played at the Blackham Coliseum rather than the Cajundome , the original home of the ECHL's IceGators. For
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