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 VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

Jacksonville Icemen
2020–21 ECHL season
CityJacksonville, Florida
LeagueECHL
ConferenceEastern
DivisionSouth
Founded1992 (1992) (In the CoHL)
Home arenaVyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
ColorsNavy blue, Columbia blue, white
     
Owner(s)SZH Hockey LLC
(Andrew Kaufmann – majority)
Head coachJason Christie
AffiliatesWinnipeg Jets (NHL)
Manitoba Moose (AHL)
Websitewww.jacksonvilleicemen.com
Franchise history
1992–2008Muskegon Fury
2008–2010Muskegon Lumberjacks
2010–2016Evansville IceMen
2017–presentJacksonville Icemen

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]

In the team's second season in Jacksonville, the franchise qualified for the ECHL playoffs for the first time since it joined the league in 2012. Following the season, Geary sold his shares of the team and the controlling interest was acquired by SZH Hockey LLC, a group led by Andrew Kaufmann on July 16, 2019.[12] On December 1, 2020, the team added three members of SZH Hockey LLC, all past or present NFL players with a connection to the area: Tim Tebow, Myles Jack, and Reggie Hayward.[13]

Season-by-season records
Regular season Playoffs
SeasonGPWLOTLSOLPtsGFGAStandingYear1st round2nd round3rd roundKelly Cup
2017–1872263943592032465th, South2018Did not qualify
2018–1972363222761982174th, South2019L, 2–4, FLA———
2019–2060242961551732066th, South2020Season cancelled

Players

Current roster

As of October 30, 2020.[14]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
– Pascal Aquin LW L 23 2021 Le Gardeur, Quebec Icemen
10 Chris Brown C R 24 2020 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Icemen
7 Jacob Cederholm D R 23 2018 Helsingborg, Sweden Icemen
– Cameron Critchlow LW L 29 2020 Fredericton, New Brunswick Icemen
– Abbott Girduckis F R 25 2020 Belleville, Ontario Icemen
– Jarod Hilderman D R 23 2020 Calgary, Alberta Icemen
48 Michael Kim D L 25 2020 Toronto, Ontario Icemen
6 Craig Martin F L 25 2019 Trail, British Columbia Icemen
– Kevin McKernan D R 26 2020 Grafton, Massachusetts Icemen
27 Ian McKinnon C L 22 2020 Whitby, Ontario Icemen
– Ara Nazarian LW L 24 2020 Boxford, Massachusetts Icemen
– Nathan Perkovich RW R 35 2020 Canton, Michigan Icemen
23 Andrew Peski D R 23 2020 Orleans, Ontario Providence
20 Wacey Rabbit C L 34 2019 Lethbridge, Alberta Icemen
4 Luke Shiplo D L 25 2019 Oakville, Ontario Icemen
47 Dalton Thrower D R 27 2019 Squamish, British Columbia Icemen
21 Jared VanWormer F R 28 2020 Traverse City, Michigan Icemen
41 Brendan Warren LW L 23 2019 Carleton, Michigan 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. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  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. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved 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. "Board of Governors Approves Jacksonville's Transfer of Controlling Interest". OurSports Central. July 16, 2019.
  13. "Tim Tebow, Jaguars players buy minority share in Jacksonville Icemen". Jacksonville Business Journal. December 1, 2020.
  14. "Jacksonville Icemen team roster". Jacksonville Icemen. 2020-01-21. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
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