Evansville IceMen
Evansville IceMen | |
---|---|
Muskegon Fury | |
2008–2010 | Muskegon Lumberjacks |
2010–2016 | Evansville IceMen |
2017–present | Jacksonville Icemen |
The Evansville IceMen were a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Evansville, Indiana. The franchise was originally a member of the United Hockey League before it merged into the Central Hockey League in 2010. The franchise has won four post-season championship titles in the UHL in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005. The franchise played one season at Swonder Ice Arena before moving to the Ford Center beginning in the 2011–12 season.
The IceMen were formerly known as the Muskegon Fury from 1992 to 2008, and Muskegon Lumberjacks from 2008 to 2010. The IceMen franchise replaced the original Evansville IceMen that were a part of the All American Hockey League before folding in 2010.
The franchise went dormant after the
History
On February 8, 2010, it was announced that the Muskegon Lumberjacks would move to Evansville, Indiana as the Evansville IceMen at the conclusion of the 2009–10 International Hockey League season, replacing the team with the same name, and played their home games at Swonder Ice Arena. The United States Hockey League would then award an expansion team to Muskegon taking on the name Muskegon Lumberjacks.[4]
On July 13, 2010, the International Hockey League merged with the Central Hockey League, retaining the name Central Hockey League. The merger had the Bloomington PrairieThunder, Dayton Gems, Evansville IceMen, Fort Wayne Komets and Quad City Mallards IHL franchises move to the Northern Conference of the CHL.
In 2011, the IceMen moved their home games to the new Ford Center in Evansville, playing in the inaugural event for the arena.
On May 17, 2012, the IceMen were formally accepted into the ECHL, with membership to begin in the 2012–13 season.[5] On June 15, 2012, the IceMen announced an affiliation with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets and its primary AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.[6] Before the resumption of the new season on August 30, 2012, the Peoria Rivermen announced that the IceMen would be their ECHL farm club, cutting ties with the Alaska Aces.[7]
The IceMen announced on June 5, 2014, that they had hired Dwight Mullins as the new head coach and was joined by former IceMen player Josh Beaulieu as assistant coach. Prior to the 2014–15 season, the IceMen agreed to a new affiliation contract with the Ottawa Senators and their AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, after losing their Blue Jackets affiliation. In January 2015, Mullins was replaced by Al Sims due to a poor start to the season (9-16-4).
On November 16, 2015, team owner Ron Geary wrote a letter to the IceMen fans that the team's operating lease with the Ford Center was ending after the 2015–16 season. Despite attempts to negotiate a lease extension with the city since February 2015, the two parties had not yet come to an agreement on new terms with the upcoming December 1 deadline (later extended to Dec. 15 and then again to January 6 when the 15th deadline was not met).
In January 2017, Geary sold the sold part of the franchise to an ownership group based out of Jacksonville, Florida, and the relocation was approved by the ECHL on February 8, 2017. Geary remained as the primary owner.[3]
Seasons
Season | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Playoffs | |||||||||
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Central Hockey League | |||||||||||||||||||
2010–11 | 66 | 21 | 32 | 8 | 5 | 55 | 181 | 242 | 1240 | Did not qualify | |||||||||
2011–12 | 66 | 40 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 84 | 215 | 192 | 1390 | Lost 1st Round, 0-4 vs. Missouri Mavericks
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ECHL | |||||||||||||||||||
2012–13 | 72 | 25 | 40 | 3 | 4 | 57 | 207 | 272 | 1256 | Did not qualify | |||||||||
2013–14 | 72 | 31 | 30 | 4 | 7 | 73 | 226 | 237 | 1059 | Did not qualify | |||||||||
2014–15 | 72 | 15 | 48 | 6 | 3 | 39 | 169 | 271 | 1184 | Did not qualify | |||||||||
2015–16 | 72 | 29 | 33 | 7 | 3 | 68 | 207 | 242 | 1028 | Did not qualify |
See also
- Sports in Evansville
References
- ^ Rodriguez, Jacob (January 24, 2017). "Reports: Minor league hockey team sold to Jacksonville group". WTLV. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
- ^ "ECHL Approves IceMen Transfer of Home Territory to Jacksonville". ECHL. February 8, 2017. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ^ a b "Meet the Jacksonville Icemen, our new hockey team". WTLV. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ^ Rop, Ron (February 2, 2010). "It's official Lumberjacks hockey in Muskegon". Muskegon Chronicle. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- ^ "Expansion Membership Approved for Evansville". ECHL. May 17, 2012. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ^ Lintner, Jonathan (June 15, 2012). "IceMen will be affiliated with NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets". Evansville Courier & Press. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
- Peoria Journal Star. Archived from the originalon February 23, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
- ^ Geary, Ron (November 16, 2015). "A Letter To IceMen Fans, From Team Owner Ron Geary". Evansville IceMen. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
- ^ "Evansville's Hockey Team in Jeopardy". OurSports Central. November 16, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
- ^ Harding, Matthew (January 19, 2016). "BREAKING: Evansville IceMen Announce Move". The Sin Bin. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
- ^ "Evansville will be home to Southern Professional Hockey League franchise". Evansville Courier & Press. February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ^ "ECHL Approves IceMen Move to Owensboro". OurSportsCentral. March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- WAVE 3. Archived from the originalon September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ^ "Back Up Plan in Place for Owensboro Sportscenter". Tristate Homepage. August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
- ^ Martin, John T. (September 30, 2016). "IceMen won't play in Owensboro". Evansville Courier & Press. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
External links
Media related to Evansville IceMen at Wikimedia Commons