The Louisiana IceGators were a 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 ...

team in the Southern Professional Hockey League that began play in the 2009–10 season. Like the original IceGators, which played from 1995 until folding in 2005, they were based in Lafayette, Louisiana. The IceGators were brought back by local businessman Danny Smith. In August 2010, Smith sold the team to two local businessmen, E.C. "Chuck" Anselmo, Jr. and E.C. "Chuck" Anselmo, III.

History

For their first season as members of the SPHL, home games were played at the

Blackham Coliseum Blackham Coliseum is a multipurpose arena in Lafayette, Louisiana. It was built on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus in 1949 as the home to the then-named SLI Bulldogs, now called the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball teams. ...

rather than 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 ...

, the original home of the ECHL's IceGators. For the 2010–11 season, the team's home ice returned to the

, also called the "Frozen Swamp." On October 26, 2009,

Ron Handy Ronald Handy (born January 15, 1963) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played 14 games in the National Hockey League. Biography Handy was born in Toronto, Ontario. As a youth, he played in the 1976 Quebec International Pee ...

stepped down as head coach after a 0-3-0 start. He was replaced by general manager Brent Sapergia on an interim basis. Sapergia was banned by the league after being disqualified from two games in a row. In

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 ...

, Sapergia threw a water bottle onto the ice, then a water cooler, then a pair of medical kits. Sapergia finished the tirade by emptying Louisiana's supply of hockey sticks into play and giving a farewell gesture to the fans as he left the arena. Former

Huntsville Havoc The Huntsville Havoc are a professional ice hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). They play their home games at the Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. History The team began play in the 2004–05 season ...

player and coach John Gibson was later named head coach, while Handy began to focus on community relations and off-ice operations. Gibson would coach 11 games before being replaced by Dave MacIsaac. MacIsaac would finish off the 2009–10 season, coaching 38 games, finishing with a record of 18-18-0. On October 18, 2010, the IceGators affiliated with the New York Islanders of the

National Hockey League 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 ...

for the 2010–11 season. During the 2010–11 season, MacIsaac would have 7 wins and 14 losses in 22 games before being let go. He was replaced in December 2010 by former

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 ...

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

Kevin "Killer" Kaminiski. Also during this season, the IceGators brought back forward Shawn McNeil who had played for the ECHL IceGators from 1999 to 2003. The IceGators also started rookie goalie Scott Darling who would become the first SPHL player to play in the

when he was called up by the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

during the

2014–15 NHL season The 2014–15 NHL season was the 98th season of operation (97th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Los Angeles Kings became the first team to miss the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the previous season since the C ...

. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup with Darling as a back-up to

Corey Crawford Corey Crawford (born December 31, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Nicknamed "Crow" by teammates and fans, he played his entire professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), w ...

. In 2013–14, IceGators star player, Shawn McNeil, would play in 56 games achieving 18 goals and 49 assists at the age of 35. On April 3, 2014, Shawn was named the 2013–14 Easton SPHL Most Valuable Player. "McNeil led all players in points (67) and assists (49) and tied SPHL season-highs with an 18-game point streak and an eight-game assist streak. One of four IceGators to play all 56 games, McNeil was a team-best +18 as he led Louisiana to a second-place finish in the regular season." On May 16, 2016, the IceGators' general manager and the SPHL announced that the team is suspending operations for the

2016–17 SPHL season The 2016–17 SPHL season was the 13th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). League business Team changes *The dormant Mississippi Surge franchise was purchased and relocated to Roanoke, Virginia, and became the Roanoke Rai ...

due to planned Cajundome renovations. However, sometime after the announcement, the team shut down its headquarters, the website was taken down, and the team has not indicated a return. In 2018, the franchise was sold and became the

Quad City Storm The Quad City Storm is a professional minor league hockey team to begin play in the 2018–19 season as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The team is based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa, with home games at the Vi ...

Team record

Season-by-season records

As of the 2015–16 season

Attendance

Team information

Captains

*2009–10: Paul McBrien *2010–15: Shawn McNeil *2015–16: Jake Hauswirth/Mike Kavanagh

Coaching history

*2009:

(0-3-0) *2009: Brent Sapergia (2-2-0) *2009: John Gibson (3-8-0) *2009–11: David MacIsaac (25-33-2) *2011:

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 ...

(0-3-0) *2011–14:

Kevin Kaminski Kevin Kaminski (born March 13, 1969) is a former Canadian ice hockey player, notable for being one of the most prominent minor-league "goons" of the 1990s. He is currently the head coach of the La Ronge Ice Wolves of the Saskatchewan Junior Hock ...

(102-84-13) *2014–16: Drew Omicioli (27-21-8) IceGators name Drew Omicioli head coach

General Manager

* 2009–10: Brent Sapergia * 2010–11: Dave Berryman * 2011–present: Louis Dumont

SPHL awards

2010–11

*Beau McLaughlin: All-SPHL Second Team

2011–12

*Brayden Metz: All-SPHL Rookie Team *Jason Hill: All-SPHL Second Team

2012–13

* Riley Gill: SPHL Goalie of the Year Award Winner, All-SPHL First Team *Matt Robertson: All-SPHL First Team *Kirk Byczynski: All-SPHL Second Team, All-SPHL Rookie Team

2013–14

*Shawn McNeil: Easton Most Valuable Player, All-SPHL First Team *Kirk Byczynski: All-SPHL Second Team

2015–16

*Jake Hauswirth: All-SPHL Second Team *Zac Frischmon: All-SPHL Rookie Team

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louisiana Icegators Southern Professional Hockey League teams Sports teams in Lafayette, Louisiana Ice hockey teams in Louisiana Ice hockey clubs established in 2009 2009 establishments in Louisiana