The Miami Manatees were a minor league

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

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 ...

. The Manatees originally played their home games at

Miami Arena Miami Arena was an indoor arena located in Miami, Florida. The venue served as the home of the NBA's Miami Heat, and the NHL's Florida Panthers. From 1988 until 1999, it also was the indoor arena for the Miami Hurricanes. History Completed in ...

; however, owner David Waronker had an out clause in the teams lease that stated that if the team's attendance average was under 1,500 after 20 of 32 homes games, the Manatees could play their home games elsewhere.Press release stating the team's departure from Miami Arena
/ref> This would prove to be the case, as recorded attendance was well below the mark for most home games; one contest against the Lakeland Loggerheads drew an estimated attendance of only 250 fans. After this, Waronker wanted to move the team to

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

, FL to play in the

RDV Sportsplex Built in 1998, the Orlando Sportsplex (formerly the RDV Sportsplex) is a multi-purpose sports and recreation facility that includes the Genesis Health Club, Genesis Ice Den, and nearly 100,000 square feet of Class A office/medical-use space occupi ...

, but the players shot down this idea; then the Manatees' ownership decided to play only away games. The players liked this idea even less and several left to play for other teams, mostly in the South East Hockey League while others tried to catch on with

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 ...

squads. With the few remaining players, the Manatees wound up playing only 48 regular-season games, but still qualified for the playoffs (see below). The play-by-play voice of the Manatees was Mark Fischel, with color analyst John Daley who was the head coach of the Jr. Manatees ice hockey program, with games carried on IRN.fm internet radio. The Manatees also received limited newspaper coverage in the Miami Herald, and nearby Ft. Lauderdale's Sun-Sentinel.

Playoffs

The Manatees finished the season in 5th place with 53 points in 48 games, an impressive 20 points over the 6th place Lakeland Loggerheads who played 58 games. However, after the Manatees decided to play only road games, the league changed its playoff format to allow the four best win percentages into the playoffs. This turned out to be bad news for the 4th place

Orlando Seals Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rel ...

; despite finishing with 59 points, or six more than Miami, they did it in 57 games for only a .517 winning percentage, and thus missed the playoffs. 1 -

Jacksonville Barracudas The Jacksonville Barracudas were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were established in 2002, and played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (2002–2003), the World Hockey Association 2 (2003–2004), ...

(81 pts in 59 games = .686 percentage)
2 -

Alabama Slammers The Alabama Slammers were a professional ice hockey team. They were a member of the World Hockey Association 2, and played their home games at Pelham Civic Center in Pelham, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham. The Slammers were ...

(72 pts in 58 games = .621)
3 -

Macon Trax The Macon Trax were a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Macon, Georgia. They played in the low minor leagues Atlantic Coast Hockey League (2002–03), World Hockey Association 2 (2003–04) and Southern Professional Hockey Lea ...

(66 pts in 56 games = .589)
4 - Miami Manatees (53 pts in 48 games = .552) After having their roster severely depleted, the Manatees managed to win one game before losing the best-of-three playoff series with Jacksonville, thus ending their season.

After 2003-2004 season

Following the 2003-04 season, the

WHA2 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 ...

teams jumped ship to the new Southern Professional Hockey League. The Manatees were given permission to suspend operations for the season and attempt to relocate to a new venue, whether in the Miami area or somewhere else. After failing to find another suitable arena, the franchise folded, and there has not been minor league hockey in Miami since.

Notes

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External links

Manatees Hockey - A Miami Manatees fan site

Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States World Hockey Association 2 teams Ice hockey teams in Florida Ice hockey teams in Miami 2003 establishments in Florida Ice hockey clubs established in 2003 2004 disestablishments in Florida Sports clubs disestablished in 2004