The Greenville Grrrowl 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 ...

hockey team located in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

. They played their home games at the

BI-LO Center Bon Secours Wellness Arena (formerly the BI-LO Center; The Well) is a multi-purpose arena in Greenville, South Carolina. The arena serves as the home of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL. History The Bon Secours Wellness Arena was buil ...

. In the 2001–02 season, they won the

Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

. The Grrrowl's initial season was 1998–99, with former

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 ...

defensive star John Marks as their coach. He remained their only coach from 1998 to 2006. They were an affiliate of the AHL

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: *Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hocke ...

, and 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 ...

Chicago Blackhawks and the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. The team announced that it was folding on June 2, 2006, after running a

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1,000,000 deficit during 2005 that left the team unable to attract new investors. They began losing money after attendance slid from 7,000 per game in their first season to just 2,100 in 2004-05. On June 15, the

announced they were willing to pay $350,000 to keep the team afloat, hoping to entice developers to save the team. Despite the offer, the Grrrowl ceased operations on July 10, 2006 when the team failed to find new sources of financing. According to Grrrowl president Ed Rubinstein, the team only plans to refund "some percentage" of money already paid by season ticket holders. Hockey returned to Greenville after a four-year absence when the

Johnstown Chiefs The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now "ECHL") when that ...

relocated and became the

Greenville Road Warriors The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a professional ice hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and play their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Gre ...

in 2010.

Playoffs

*1998–99: Did not qualify. *1999–00: 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 ( ...

3-2 in first round; defeated Augusta 3-1 in quarterfinals; lost to

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

4-2 in semifinals. *2000–01: Did not qualify. *2001–02: Defeated

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

3-2 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 ...

3-1 in quarterfinals; 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 semifinals; defeated

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

4-0 to win championship. *2002–03: Defeated

1-0 in first round; lost to Columbia 3-0 in second round. *2003–04: Did not qualify. *2004–05: Defeated

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 ...

3-1 in first round; lost to

3-0 in quarterfinals. *2005–06: Defeated Augusta 2-0 in first round; lost to

3-1 in second round.

Retired numbers

*''36'' –

Nick Vitucci Nick Vitucci (born June 16, 1967) is a former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was the head coach of the ECHL's Toledo Walleye from 2009 to 2014. In 2008, Vitucci was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame. Playing career During his playin ...

retired in 2004. Nick played in 14 ECHL seasons, his last three with the Greenville Grrrowl. He later became the head coach for the

Toledo Walleye The Toledo Walleye are a professional ice hockey team based in Toledo, Ohio. The Walleye are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL. The Walleye were founded in 1991 as the Toledo Storm and play their home games at ...

References

External links

Official Junior Grrrowl Website
Defunct ECHL teams Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey teams in South Carolina Sports in Greenville, South Carolina Ice hockey clubs established in 1998 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2006 Atlanta Thrashers minor league affiliates Boston Bruins minor league affiliates Chicago Blackhawks minor league affiliates Edmonton Oilers minor league affiliates 1998 establishments in South Carolina 2006 disestablishments in South Carolina {{SouthCarolina-sport-team-stub