The Macon Trax were a minor-league 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 hock ...

team based in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

. They played in the low minor leagues

Atlantic Coast Hockey League The Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) was a minor league hockey organization that operated between 1981 and 1987. The league was founded by Bill Coffey. The Bob Payne Trophy was awarded to the team who won the league playoff championship. Acco ...

(2002–03),

World Hockey Association 2 The World Hockey Association 2 was a minor professional ice hockey league created at the instigation of the organizers of the proposed recreated World Hockey Association to serve as its development league. The WHA2 teams — some of which had ...

(2003–04) and

Southern Professional Hockey League The Southern Professional Hockey League (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 mid ...

(2004–05), playing their home games at the

Macon Coliseum The Macon Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Macon, Georgia, United States. It is home to the Macon Mayhem, a minor-league hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League. The Centerplex was home to the Macon Whoopee (ECHL), Macon Whoopee ...

. The team went to the championship finals in both the WHA2 and the SPHL, losing in each series to the league champion. This history prompted head coach Tommy Stewart to tell the ''

Macon Telegraph ''The Telegraph,'' frequently called The Macon Telegraph, is the primary print news organ in Central Georgia, Middle Georgia. It is the third-largest newspaper in the State of Georgia (after the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' and ''Augusta Chron ...

'' that the team was "always a bridesmaid, never a bride." The Trax were one of eight minor league hockey teams purchased or founded by real estate mogul David Waronker starting in 2003. By January 2007 all but one of those teams had ceased operations. Following the termination of the Trax in 2005, the team's players were dispersed by draft to the

Pee Dee Cyclones Originally called the Pee Dee Cyclones, the Twin City Cyclones were a minor league ice hockey team based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They began play in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) in the 2005–06 season. In the 2005–0 ...

and

Florida Seals The Florida Seals were a minor league ice hockey franchise, a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Originally based in Orlando, Florida, as the Orlando Seals, they later moved to Kissimmee, Florida, a suburb thirty miles sout ...

, two new teams entering the SPHL for the 2005–06 season. Stewart was given a coaching contract with the Florida team, which lost in the 2006 SPHL finals. The Seals would later suspend operations in January 2007. Nearly a decade after the Trax folded, the SPHL returned to Macon during the 2015–16 season. The new team, the

Macon Mayhem The Macon Mayhem are a Southern Professional Hockey League team based in Macon, Georgia, and play in the Macon Coliseum. The team was formerly the Augusta RiverHawks, who suspended operations for the 2013–14 season due to ice system failure at J ...

, was formerly known as the

Augusta RiverHawks The Augusta RiverHawks were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Augusta, Georgia. They played in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) from 2010 to 2013. They played their home games at the James Brown Arena. History The ...

. The RiverHawks relocated to Macon after the ice refrigeration system at the

James Brown Arena James Brown Arena (formerly known as Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center) is a multi-purpose complex located in Augusta, Georgia. It is managed by Spectra Experiences. It features an 8,000-seat arena, renamed the James Brown Arena, in honor of ...

malfunctioned in late February 2013, forcing the team to suspend its operations.

2004-2005 season roster

* Tom Wilson * Lou Dimasi * Chris Davidson * Art Mnatsakanov * Bob Macmillan * Chris Duggan * Steve Zoryk * Craig Miller * Jeff Roukes * Mark Allen * John Gurskis * Edan Welch *

Dominik Dawes Dominick Dawes is an American ice hockey coach and former player who was the NCAA Division III coach of the year. Career Dawes played for Thomas R. Proctor High School in Utica, New York. Upon graduating, Dawes played four years at Norwich fo ...

* Casey Handrahan * Craig Geerlinks * Mark Cairns * Ryan Rivard * David Deeves * Terry Denike

References

Defunct Southern Professional Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 2002 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2005 Ice hockey teams in Georgia (U.S. state) Sports in Macon, Georgia Atlantic Coast Hockey League (2002–03) teams World Hockey Association 2 teams 2002 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 2005 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) {{GeorgiaUS-sport-team-stub