The Louisiana IceGators were an

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 E ...

team based in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

, from 1995 until the end of the 2004–05 season. The team played its home games at the

Cajundome The Cajundome is a 13,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in Lafayette, Louisiana on the South Campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. It is home to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's and women's basketball programs in addition t ...

and were last an affiliate of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

and the AHL Houston Aeros.

History

The team holds the top four regular-season average attendance numbers in

history: 11,433 in 1996-97, 11,196 in 1997-98, 9,857 in 1998-99 and 9,776 in 1995-96. The IceGators also hosted the eighth-largest and nine of the 10 largest postseason crowds in

history, including four capacity crowds of 11,800 in 1997. The team won division titles in eight of its ten seasons. The team never won an ECHL championship, and toward the end of its existence attendance dropped. The 2004–05 season was plagued with team financial issues; drops in attendance led the

to no longer allow seating in the 300 level seats. The final game only had an attendance of only 4,228. In January 2006,

officials announced that no investors had responded to a request for proposals that would have returned a hockey team to the dome for the 2006–07 season.

Season-by-season records

Playoffs results

*1995–96: Lost to

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

3-2 in first round. *1996–97: Defeated

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

3-0 in first round; defeated

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

3-2 in quarterfinals; defeated Peoria 3-1 in semifinals; lost to

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

4-1 in finals. *1997–98: Defeated

3-0 in first round; defeated

Pee Dee The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee, a Native American tribe that historically inhabited the region. His ...

3-0 in quarterfinals; lost to

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

4-2 in semifinals. *1998–99: Lost to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

3-2 in first round. *1999–00: Defeated

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

3-1 in first round; defeated

3-0 in quarterfinals; defeated Greenville 4-2 in semifinals; lost to Peoria 4-2 in finals. *2000–01: Defeated

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

3-2 in first round; defeated

3-2 in quarterfinals; lost to

4-0 in semifinals. *2001–02: Lost to

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

3-2 in first round. *2002–03: Defeated

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

3-0 in first round; lost to

3-0 in quarterfinals. *2003–04: Defeated

3-2 in first round; lost to

Gwinnett Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton ...

3-1 in quarterfinals. *2004–05: Did not qualify.

IceGators records

Team records

* Most Points, One Season – 116 (56-12-4, 2001–02) * Best Points Percentage, One Season – .806 (56-12-4, 2001–02) * Most Wins, One Season – 56 (2001–02) * Most Home Wins, One Season – 30 (2001–02) * Most Road Wins, One Season – 26 (2001–02) * Fewest Home Losses, One Season – 2 (2001–02) * Longest Winning Streak, One Season – 14 (November 23, 2001 - December 22, 2001) * Most Shorthand Goals, One Season – 24 (1998–99) * Most 30-Or-More Goal Scorers, One Season – 5 (1998–99) :: (John Varga, 39; John Spoltore, 36;

Don Parsons Donald Parsons may refer to: * Donald F. Parsons, American former judge * Donald J. Parsons (1922–2016), American Episcopal bishop * Donald Parsons (businessman) (1930–2012), American businessman * Don Parsons (politician), member of the Ho ...

; 34, Mike Murray, 31;

Louis Dumont Louis Charles Jean Dumont (11 August 1911 – 19 November 1998) was a French anthropologist. Dumont was born in Thessaloniki, in the Salonica Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. He taught at Oxford University during the 1950s, and was then dire ...

, 30) * Fewest Goals Against, One Season – 156 (2001–02) * Lowest Goals Against Average, One Season – 2.17 (2001–02, 156 goals in 72 games) * Longest Overtime Playoff Games ** 121:24, Louisiana at Greenville, May 5, 2000 (Greenville won 3-2 at 1:24 of the fourth overtime) ** 115:19, Jackson at Louisiana, April 5, 2002 (Jackson won 5-4 at 15:19 of the third overtime) * Most Penalty Minutes, One Team, One Series (Since 91-92) – 355 (Louisiana IceGators vs. Pensacola, 1998) * Most Penalty Minutes, One Team, One Playoff Game – 168 (Louisiana IceGators vs. Pensacola, April 30, 1998) * Most Road Playoff Wins – 21

Individual records

* Most Shorthand Goals, Season – 11 (

Jay Murphy Jay Dennis Murphy (born June 26, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player. He played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Los Angeles Clippers and Washington Bullets. College career He attended high ...

, 1998–99) * Most Power-Play Goals, Defenseman, Season – 16 (

Chris Valicevic Chris Valicevic (born April 25, 1968) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman of Croatian ancestry. who spent the majority of his career with the ECHL's Louisiana IceGators. He is the fifth all-time career scorer in the ECHL wi ...

, 1995–96) * Highest Assists-Per-Game Average, Career – 1.15 (John Spoltore, 1995-2001) ::(among players with 200 or more assists) * Most 100-Or-More Point Seasons – 4 (John Spoltore, 1995-2001) * Most Consecutive 100-Or-More Point Seasons – 3 (John Spoltore, 1997-2000) * Most Penalty Minutes, Season – 512 (Rob McCaig, 1995–96) * Most Shutouts By A Goaltender, Season – 7 (

Frederic Cloutier Frédéric Cloutier (born May 14, 1981) is a Canadian-born Italian professional ice hockey goaltender who plays for HC Merano of the Alps Hockey League. Undrafted by a National Hockey League (NHL) team, Cloutier played for the Bridgeport Sound T ...

, 2001–02) * Lowest Goals-Against Average By A Goaltender, Season – 1.84 (Frederic Cloutier, 2001–02) * Highest Save Percentage By A Goaltender, Season – .945 (Frederic Cloutier, 2001–02) * Most Assists In Playoffs, Career – 69 (John Spoltore, 1996-2001) * Most Assists, One Playoff Year – 26 (John Spoltore, 2000) * Most Points, One Playoff Year – 34 (John Spoltore, 2000) * Most All-Star Games Played – 7 (

, 1994, 1996–2001)

Attendance records

* All-Time Regular Season Average Attendance ** 11,433 (1996–97) ** 11,196 (1997–98) ** 9,857 (1998–99) ** 9,776 (1995–96) * Regular Season Total Attendance ** 401,185 (1996–97) ** 391,826 (1997–98) ** 345,003 (1998–99) ** 342,154 (1995–96) * Highest Attendance, ECHL All-Star Game – 11,493 (January 20, 1998) * All-Time Attendance, Playoff Game ** 11,800 (South Carolina at Louisiana, Kelly Cup Finals, May 11, 1997) ** 11,800 (South Carolina at Louisiana, Kelly Cup Finals, May 9, 1997) ** 11,800 (South Carolina at Louisiana, Kelly Cup Finals, May 7, 1997) ** 11,800 (Peoria at Louisiana, Kelly Cup Semi-Finals, April 28, 1997) ** 11,754 (Mobile at Louisiana, Kelly Cup 1st Round, April 6, 1997) ** 11,042 (Jacksonville at Louisiana, Riley Cup 1st Round, April 5, 1996) ** 10,460 (Pensacola at Louisiana, Southern Conference Finals, April 25, 1998) ** 10,220 (Mobile at Louisiana, Kelly Cup 1st Round, April 2, 1996)

References

External links

The IceGators Official Website
{{ECHLdefunct Defunct ECHL teams Sports teams in Lafayette, Louisiana Ice hockey teams in Louisiana Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 1995 Sports clubs disestablished in 2005 1995 establishments in Louisiana 2005 disestablishments in Louisiana Minnesota Wild minor league affiliates