Knoxville Ice Bears

Last updated

Knoxville Ice Bears
IceBearsNewLogo.png
City Knoxville, Tennessee
League SPHL
Founded2002 (in the ACHL)
Home arena Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum
ColorsBlack, purple, orange
   
Owner(s)The Knoxville IceBears Ownership Group[ citation needed ]
General manager Mike Murray
Head coach John Gurskis
Media Knoxville News-Sentinel
WBIR-TV
WATE-TV
WVLT-TV
WUTK-FM
Franchise history
2002–presentKnoxville Ice Bears
Championships
Regular season titles5 (2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2021-2022)
Playoff championships4 (2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2014–15)
Hockey current event.svg Current season
Center Ice Knoxvilleicebears.jpg
Center Ice

The Knoxville Ice Bears are a professional ice hockey team. The team competes in the SPHL. They play their home games at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Ice Bears have made the playoffs in every season of their existence. In 2006, the Ice Bears defeated the Florida Seals to take their first President's Cup. The Ice Bears won back to back President's Cup Championships in the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons. On April 18, 2015, the Ice Bears defeated the Mississippi RiverKings 4–2 to sweep the 2015 SPHL Finals and win their 4th President's Cup.

Contents

History

The Ice Bears in their Knoxville Cherokee throwback jerseys inside the Coliseum in February 2021. KCAC2021.jpg
The Ice Bears in their Knoxville Cherokee throwback jerseys inside the Coliseum in February 2021.

The Knoxville Ice Bears were founded in 2002 as a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. After finishing as runner-up to the Orlando Seals in the 2002–03 season, the Ice Bears moved to the new South East Hockey League. Again, they finished as a runner-up in the playoffs to the Huntsville Channel Cats for 2003–04. In 2004, the team again changed hockey leagues and joined the new Southern Professional Hockey League. In the SPHL's first season, the Ice Bears won the regular season championship Commissioner's Cup, but lost in the second round of the playoffs (after a first round bye) to the eventual champions, the Columbus Cottonmouths.

In 2005–06, the Ice Bears secured the Commissioner's Cup and the President's Cup by beating the Florida Seals in game four of a best-of-five series. In 2006–07, the team was eliminated in the league semifinals with two straight losses to the Fayetteville FireAntz. In 2007–08, the Ice Bears once again secured the Commissioner's Cup, now renamed the William B. Coffey Trophy. In the 2008 President's Cup playoffs, the Ice Bears won again. Rookie goalie Kirk Irving took home playoff MVP honors. The President Cup title was the Ice Bears' second in three years.

In 2008–09, the Ice Bears again won the William B. Coffey Trophy. The Ice Bears also won their second straight President's Cup.

On May 29, 2009, it was announced that head coach Scott Hillman had resigned to be the first coach of the Central Hockey League's expansion team in Independence, Missouri. [1] [2] Marc Rodgers took over in June 2009 after Hillman's departure.

On March 27, 2010, a line brawl erupted between the Ice Bears and rival Fayetteville FireAntz. A total of 19 players were ejected. In the third period with the Ice Bears winning 5–3, few players remained. The Ice Bears then took a 9–4 lead. The game was declared a forfeit at 10:45 of the third period, as the FireAntz had two skaters remaining after several FireAntz players intentionally drew penalties so their team would not have enough players remaining to play the rest of the game. [3] There were a total of 26 games in suspensions handed out between all the ejected players.

In the 2009–10 season, the Ice Bears finished fourth out of seven teams. They went to the playoffs to face the FireAntz in a best-of-three series in the first round. The Ice Bears' back-to-back regular season and league championship run came to an end on April 9, 2010, when they were defeated 3–1 in game two by the eventual playoff champions, the Huntsville Havoc.

After the 2009–10 season, Ice Bears' star and SPHL all-time leading scorer Kevin Swider retired. [4] On July 12, 2010, Swider was named Ice Bears' director of hockey operations and youth hockey school director. Swider won every scoring title from 2004 to 2010, all six years of the SPHL's existence to that point. Swider came out of retirement in the summer of 2011. The SPHL renamed the league leader in scoring trophy after Swider in 2015. [5] In 2017, Swider was inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame for his repeated scoring titles in the SPHL. [6]

On June 29, 2010, head coach Marc Rodgers and the Ice Bears parted ways. It was not clear if Rodgers was fired or resigned. [7]

On August 2, 2010, the Ice Bears introduced Mike Craigen as the new head coach. [8] Craigen, a Buckhorn, Ontario, Canada native was a former Ice Bears player from 2004 to 2008. He was a part of Knoxville's 2006 and 2008 President's Cup Championship teams. The 2010–11 season saw the Ice Bears finish sixth out of eight teams.

On October 9, 2012, the team announced that they had partnered with the NHL's Nashville Predators to host a preseason game against Huntsville, at Bridgestone Arena, the Predators home ice, on October 20. The event was free to all Ice Bears season ticket holders.

On April 18, 2015, the Ice Bears won their fourth Presidents Cup, ending a six-year drought. Ice Bears' goalie Bryan Hince took home the SPHL Playoffs MVP Award after winning his last five starts in the playoffs and allowing less than two goals per game. [9]

On May 15, 2017, the team opted to not renew coach Mike Craigen's contract. [10] The Ice Bears then announced Jeff Carr as their new head coach in June. [11]

General manager history

Coaching history

Captain history

Championships

YearLeagueTrophy
2005–06 SPHL President's Cup
2007–08 SPHL President's Cup
2008–09 SPHL President's Cup
2014–15 SPHL President's Cup

The Knoxville Ice Bears have won five William B. Coffey Trophies as the regular season champions and four President's Cup championships as the playoff champions.

Notable former Ice Bears

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Hockey League</span> North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league

The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which operated the league from 2000 to 2013, at which point it was purchased by the individual franchise owners. As of the end of its final season in 2014, three of the 30 National Hockey League teams had affiliations with the CHL: the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SPHL</span> Ice hockey league of the eastern United States

The SPHL 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 the midwestern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Eagles</span> American Hockey League team in Loveland, Colorado

The Colorado Eagles are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Pacific Division of the American Hockey League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbus Cottonmouths</span> Ice hockey team in Columbus, Georgia

The Columbus Cottonmouths were three separate professional ice hockey teams based in Columbus, Georgia. The team is nicknamed the Snakes and played their home games at the Columbus Civic Center. In 2017, the third franchise suspended operations after failing to find a new owner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fayetteville Marksmen</span> American ice hockey team

The Fayetteville Marksmen are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They currently play in the SPHL and play their home games in the Crown Coliseum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntsville Havoc</span> American ice hockey team

The Huntsville Havoc are a professional ice hockey team in the SPHL. They play their home games at the Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Marks (ice hockey)</span> Canadian ice hockey player and coach

John Garrison Marks is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He most recently worked as the head coach of the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid City Rush</span> American ice hockey team

The Rapid City Rush are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Rapid City, South Dakota, and play their home games at The Monument. The Rush are currently a minor affiliate of the Calgary Flames NHL franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Mavericks</span> Professional minor league ice hockey team in Kansas City, Missouri

The Kansas City Mavericks are an ice hockey team in the ECHL. Founded in 2009 as the Missouri Mavericks of the CHL, the team plays in Independence, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, at the Cable Dahmer Arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi Surge</span> Ice hockey team in Biloxi, Mississippi

The Mississippi Surge were a professional hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League that began play in the 2009–10 season and folded on May 2, 2014. Playing for five seasons, the Surge was based in Biloxi and home games were played at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, also known as "The Power Plant".

The 2007–08 Southern Professional Hockey League season was the fourth season of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The regular season began October 25, 2007, and ended April 13, 2008, after a 52-game regular season and a six-team playoff. The Knoxville Ice Bears won their second SPHL championship.

The 2006–07 Southern Professional Hockey League season was the third season of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The regular season began October 27, 2006, and ended April 18, 2007, after a 56-game regular season and a six-team playoff. The Fayetteville FireAntz won their first SPHL championship.

The 2005–06 Southern Professional Hockey League season was the second season of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The regular season began October 21, 2005, and ended April 12, 2006, after a 56-game regular season and a six-team playoff. The Knoxville Ice Bears won their first SPHL championship.

The 2004–05 Southern Professional Hockey League season was the first season of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The regular season began October 29, 2004, and ended April 1, 2005, after a 56-game regular season and a six-team playoff. The Columbus Cottonmouths won the first SPHL championship.

The 2011–12 Southern Professional Hockey League season was the eighth season of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The season began October 20, 2011, and ended April 14, 2012, after a 56-game regular season and an eight-team playoff. The Columbus Cottonmouths captured their second SPHL championship.

The 2012–13 Southern Professional Hockey League season was the ninth season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The regular season began October 26, 2012 and ended April 14, 2013, after a 56-game regular season and an 8-team playoff. The Fayetteville FireAntz captured their first SPHL regular season title. The Pensacola Ice Flyers defeated the Huntsville Havoc in the President's Cup final 2 games to 1 to win the team's first President's Cup.

The 2009–10 Missouri Mavericks season is the inaugural season of the Central Hockey League (CHL) franchise in Independence, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri.

The 2014–15 SPHL season was the 11th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The Knoxville Ice Bears defeated the Mississippi RiverKings in the President's Cup final 2 games to none to win their 4th SPHL title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs</span> Professional ice hockey team based in Virginia

The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs are a professional ice hockey team and a member of the SPHL. Based in Roanoke, Virginia, the Rail Yard Dawgs play their home games at Berglund Center.

The 2021–22 SPHL season was the 18th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The playoffs concluded on May 3, 2022 with the Peoria Rivermen defeating the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in 4 games in the President's Cup Finals, claiming their first President's Cup.

References

  1. "Hillman resigns as coach of Ice Bears for job in CHL". Knoxville News Sentinel . May 29, 2009.
  2. Knoxville Ice Bears head coach resigns [ dead link ]
  3. "Video - Game forfeited thanks to bench-clearing brawl". Yahoo Sports . March 29, 2010.
  4. "Kevin Swider Retires From Hockey". Knoxville News Sentinel . October 5, 2012.
  5. "SPHL names scoring award after Kevin Swider". Knoxville News Sentinel. March 3, 2015.
  6. "Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame announces new class". Knoxville News Sentinel. March 10, 2017.
  7. "Ice Bears 'asked me to resign' as coach". Knoxville News Sentinel. June 29, 2010.
  8. "Mike Craigen happy to be Ice Bears coach". Knoxville News Sentinel. August 2, 2010.
  9. "Ice bears Capture Fourth President's Trophy". OurSports Central. April 18, 2015.
  10. "Knoxville Ice Bears look for new coach". WATE . May 15, 2017.
  11. "Ice Bears announce Jeff Carr as new head coach". WBIR . June 29, 2017.