Anthony Battaglia (born August 15, 1979) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player, who retired in February 2014.

Playing career

After one season of

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

playing for the Soo Indians, Battaglia played

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

for

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

. He spent four years at WMU and played in 139 games, and scored 47 points in the process. His solid but unspectacular scoring record led to him signing for the

Florida Everblades The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (N ...

in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

for the 2002–03 season. Battaglia played almost 50 games for the Everblades, but managed just 13 points. He would also play at the higher AHL level for the

Lowell Lock Monsters The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey L ...

on 9 occasions, but failed to score a single point. For the 2003–04 season, Battaglia would sign for another ECHL organization, the

Mississippi Sea Wolves The Mississippi Sea Wolves are a professional hockey team based in Biloxi, Mississippi, and play in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Sea Wolves are members of the FPHL. They are a revival of a team by the same name that played in the ECHL, ma ...

. Battaglia settled well, and in his first season made 67 regular season appearances, scoring 37 points. He would also feature in the post-season and was one of the Sea Wolves' most reliable players, with 6 points in 5 games. His productivity meant that he would remain in Mississippi for the 2004–05 season, and Battaglia again flourished. In 75 games, he managed to score 60 points, proving his quality at ECHL level. Battaglia also played with his brother Jon

Bates Battaglia Jonathan "Bates" Battaglia (born December 13, 1975) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals and the Toronto Mapl ...

, who signed with the Sea Wolves during the NHL lockout. The Sea Wolves suspended operations in the middle of the off-season because of Hurricane Katrina. Battaglia would remain in the ECHL, but split the 2005–06 season between the

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Star ...

and the

Augusta Lynx The Augusta Lynx were a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Augusta, Georgia. The Lynx played their home games at the James Brown Arena. The Lynx, who played in the ECHL, had affiliations with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL ...

. Despite the lack of consistency, Battaglia managed to maintain his level of play, and in 72 games for the two teams, scored 54 points. Battaglia would again move teams in the off-season, signing for the

Columbia Inferno The Columbia Inferno were an ECHL team based in Columbia, South Carolina. Beginning in 2008, the team went on voluntary suspension awaiting construction of a new arena in suburban Lexington County, South Carolina. However, the ECHL dropped Columb ...

. He played well and in 47 games scored 45 points. This led to his mid-season move in March 2007 to sign for the EIHL team, the

Manchester Phoenix Manchester Phoenix was a semi professional ice hockey team from Greater Manchester, England. The club was formed in 2003 as a result of the efforts of supporters group ''Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey'' to bring top-level ice hockey back to Ma ...

. It was Battaglia's first taste of European hockey, but he continued to impress with 13 points in the 13 games he featured in before the season ended. Despite impressing, Battaglia returned to North America and re-signed for the Inferno, and once again became an important player for the organization. In March 2008, Battaglia was part of a 5 player swap which sent him again to the Augusta Lynx. On 4 September 2008 his move to the

was confirmed. For the 2009–10 season, Battaglia played with the Amarillo Gorillas of the

Central 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 opera ...

. On August 24, 2010, Battaglia signed with the

Mississippi RiverKings The Mississippi RiverKings were a professional minor league ice hockey team. The RiverKings were a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League from 2011 to 2018 after playing their first nineteen seasons (1992–2011) in the Central Hock ...

, to remain in the

. After playing in 16 games with the RiverKings to start the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

season, Battaglia was released and signed with fellow CHL team the Tulsa Oilers on December 24, 2010. For the 2011–12 season, Battaglia moved to the

Federal Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. Do ...

, playing for the New Jersey Outlaws. He followed the franchise to

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popul ...

, for the 2012–13, playing with team until it folded on January 21, 2013. He then joined the Huntsville Havoc of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Battaglia played in the

for the

Dayton Demonz The Dayton Demonz were a professional ice hockey team based in Dayton, Ohio, in the Federal Hockey League. After the Dayton Gems of the Central Hockey League ceased operations, the Demonz were created as an expansion team in the FHL. The team pla ...

. He finished his hockey days with the

Mississippi Surge 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 ...

of the Southern Professional Hockey League when he retired on February 18, 2014.

Personal life

Anthony and his brother

Bates Bates may refer to: Places * Bates, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bates, Illinois. an unincorporated community in Sangamon County * Bates, Michigan, a community in Grand Traverse County * Bates, New York, a hamlet in the town of Ell ...

competed in and won ''The Amazing Race'' 22.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battaglia, Anthony 1979 births Living people Ice hockey people from Chicago American men's ice hockey left wingers Amarillo Gorillas players Augusta Lynx players Columbia Inferno players Florida Everblades players Huntsville Havoc players Kalamazoo Wings (2007–2009) players Lowell Lock Monsters players Manchester Phoenix players Mississippi RiverKings (CHL) players Mississippi Sea Wolves players Mississippi Surge players Reality show winners Soo Indians players Tulsa Oilers (1992–present) players Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) players Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey players The Amazing Race (American TV series) contestants