Originally called the Pee Dee Cyclones, the Twin City Cyclones were a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

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

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. They began play in the

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 ...

(SPHL) in the 2005–06 season. In the 2005–06 season, they finished sixth out of seven teams in the regular season standings, made the playoffs, but lost in the first round to the

Knoxville Ice Bears The Knoxville Ice Bears are a professional ice hockey team. The team competes in the Southern Professional Hockey League. They play their home games at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Ice Bears have made the playoffs ...

. In the 2006–07 season, their final in

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

, the Cyclones finished in seventh place and failed to make the playoffs. They were called the ''Pee Dee'' Cyclones as the region of South Carolina around Florence that is usually named after the

Pee Dee River The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the Carolinas of the United States. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River The Uwharri ...

. Unable to reach a new lease agreement with the

Florence Civic Center The Florence Center is a 10,000-seat multipurpose arena in Florence, South Carolina. The arena was known as the Florence Civic Center until it rebranded in November 2017. It hosted the infamous eighth WWF In Your House pay-per-view in 1996, durin ...

, the Cyclones relocated Winston-Salem for the 2007–08 season. Two seasons later, on March 31, 2009, the Cyclones ceased operations, citing the American economic downturn as a reason for their folding. In 2010, the Kerzners, the former owners of the folded Cyclones, were granted another expansion franchise in 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 ...

References

External links

The Southern Professional Hockey League website
Defunct Southern Professional Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in North Carolina Sports in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 2005 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2009 2005 establishments in South Carolina 2009 disestablishments in North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-sport-team-stub