Jacksonville Icemen

Jacksonville Icemen
2018–19 ECHL season
City Jacksonville, Florida
League ECHL
Conference Eastern
Division South
Founded 1992 (1992) (In the CoHL)
Home arena Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Colors Navy blue, Columbia blue, white
              
Owner(s) Ron Geary (primary)
Head coach Jason Christie
Affiliates Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
Manitoba Moose (AHL)
Website www.jacksonvilleicemen.com
Franchise history
1992–2008 Muskegon Fury
2008–2010 Muskegon Lumberjacks
2010–2016 Evansville IceMen
2017–present Jacksonville Icemen

The Jacksonville Icemen are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Jacksonville, Florida, that began play in the 2017–18 season. The team plays its home games at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

History

The Icemen were formerly known as the Muskegon Fury from 1992 to 2008, the Muskegon Lumberjacks from 2008 to 2010, and the Evansville IceMen from 2010 to 2016.

On November 16, 2015, Evansville IceMen owner Ron Geary wrote a letter to the 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.[1] The City of Evansville and Geary were unable to come to an agreement. Geary then agreed to terms with the city of Owensboro, Kentucky, to relocate the team to the Owensboro Sportscenter if the IceMen were forced to leave the Ford Center.[2]

On February 8, 2016, the City of Evansville announced that it had secured an expansion team in the Southern Professional Hockey League to play at the Ford Center beginning in the 2016–17 season, thus displacing the IceMen franchise from Evansville.[3] Finally, on March 14, the IceMen and the ECHL announced the franchise's relocation to Owensboro had been approved but the franchise would have to go dormant for the 2016–17 season to allow time for the necessary renovations on the Owensboro Sportscenter to be completed.[4] However, by September 2016, Geary still had not taken over management of the Sportscenter and the City of Owensboro announced a different management company would take over the Sportscenter on October 1.[5][6] On the September 30 deadline, Geary sent a letter to mayor Ron Payne stating he would not be purchasing the Sportscenter because of too much cost to convert and refurbish the arena.[7]

In January 2017, Geary sold part of the franchise to an ownership group based out of Jacksonville, Florida,[8] and the relocation was approved by the ECHL on February 8, 2017.[9] Geary remained as the primary owner.[10] The team hired Jason Christie as their first head coach and then affiliated with the Winnipeg Jets (NHL) and the Manitoba Moose (AHL), the organization familiar with Christie from his time as the head coach of the Tulsa Oilers.[11]

Season-by-season records

Regular season Playoffs
SeasonGPWLOTLSOLPtsGFGAStandingYear1st round2nd round3rd roundKelly Cup
2017–1872263943592032465th, South2018Did not qualify

Current roster

As of August 21, 2018.[12]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
11 Canada Cameron Critchlow LW L 26 2017 Fredericton, New Brunswick Icemen
19 Canada Cody Fowlie RW R 25 2018 Airdrie, Alberta Icemen
24 Canada Garet Hunt LW L 31 2017 Maple Ridge, British Columbia Icemen
21 Canada Eli Lichtenwald LW L 26 2017 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Icemen
10 United States Dajon Mingo RW R 28 2017 Canton, Michigan Icemen
20 Canada Wacey Rabbit C L 31 2018 Lethbridge, Alberta Icemen
– United States Jake Randolph LW L 24 2018 Duluth, Minnesota Icemen
15 Canada Colten Veloso RW R 21 2018 Winnipeg, Manitoba Icemen

See also

References

  1. ↑ "A Letter To IceMen Fans, From Team Owner Ron Geary". Evansville IceMen. November 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ "BREAKING: Evansville IceMen Announce Move". The Sin Bin. January 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Evansville will be home to Southern Professional Hockey League franchise". Evansville Courier & Press. February 8, 2016.
  4. ↑ "ECHL Approves IceMen Move to Owensboro". OurSportsCentral. March 14, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Owensboro finds backup plan for Sportscenter". WAVE 3. September 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Back Up Plan in Place for Owensboro Sportscenter". Tristate Homepage. August 17, 2016.
  7. ↑ "IceMen won't play in Owensboro". Evansville Courier & Press. September 30, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Reports: Minor league hockey team sold to Jacksonville group". WTLV. January 25, 2017.
  9. ↑ "ECHL Approves IceMen Transfer of Home Territory to Jacksonville". ECHL. February 8, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Meet the Jacksonville Icemen, our new hockey team". WTLV. February 8, 2017.
  11. ↑ "ICEMEN BECOME ECHL AFFILIATE OF WINNIPEG, MANITOBA". ECHL. July 6, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Jacksonville Icemen team roster". Jacksonville Icemen. 2017-09-16. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
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