Knoxville Ice Bears
Encyclopedia
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 James White Civic Coliseum
in Knoxville, Tennessee
. In 2006 the Ice Bears defeated the Florida Seals
to take the SPHL championship and the President's Cup
. They have also won the Commissioner's Cup for the best record in the SPHL in the regular season the first two seasons of the SPHL's existence. In 2008, Knoxville did the double again winning both the Commissioner's and President's Cups.
for 2003-2004. The team again moved hockey leagues and joined with the new Southern Professional Hockey League. In the SPHL's first season, the Ice Bears won the regular season championship Commissioner's Cup
but lost in the second round (after a first round bye) to the eventual champions for 2004–2005, the Columbus Cottonmouths
.
Finally, in 2005-2006, the Ice Bears secured the Commissioner's Cup
and the President's Cup
by beating the Florida Seals
in Game 4 of a best-of-5 series. In 2006-2007 the team was eliminated in the league semifinals with two straight losses to the Fayetteville FireAntz
. In 2007-2008, the Ice Bears once again secured the Commissioners Cup, now renamed the William B. Coffey Trophy. In the 2008 President Cup playoffs the Ice Bears faced the Columbus Cottonmouths in the opening round after winning the first two games in Knoxville (4-2 & 5-2) the Ice Bears dropped the next two in Columbus by the identical score of 4-2.
In the fifth and deciding game the Ice Bears won comfortably on home ice 6-3. The championship, Best-of-Five, series started on April 10 with Knoxville coming out on top of the Jacksonville Barracudas
6-2. The scene switched to Jacksonville for game two on April 12 where the Ice Bears pulled out a hard fought 4-3 win. The brooms were out at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum the following night (April 13) and the Ice Bears didn’t disappoint as they jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but Jacksonville fought back to tie the game at 2-2 after 20 minutes. However, in the second period Tim Vitek scored to put Knoxville ahead to stay and added another in the third for the final score of 4-E2. Rookie goalie Kirk Irving took home playoff MVP honors. The President Cup title was the Ice Bears second in three years.
In 2008-2009 the Ice Bears again won the William B. Coffey Trophy. They headed to the 1st round where they faced the Huntsville Havoc. The Ice Bears won games 1 & 2 at home 6-4 and 4-2. The Ice Bears then lost games 3 & 4 on the road 4-2 and 4-3. The 5th and deciding game the Ice Bears went up 2-0 early. The Havoc came back and tied it at 2-2. At 11:48 of OT Tim Vitek scored and sent the Ice Bears to the SPHL Finals. In the Finals the Ice Bears faced rival Fayetteville in a Best 4 of 7 series. The Ice Bears won games comfortably 5-2. The Fire Antz tied the series up 1-1 with a 3-1 win the following night. The scene shifted to Fayetteville for games 3, 4 & 5. The Antz took 2 of 3 from Knoxville. In game 6, the cup on the line, The Ice Bears fell behind early. A tough battled game came down to the end. The Ice Bears trailing 4-3, they pulled the goalie. Tim Vitek scored at 18:49, with 1:11 left in the game. B. J. Pelkey then scored at 11:52 of OT to force a Game 7. In Game 7, The Ice Bears came out ready, scoring just 3:21 in. Fayetteville tied it up 1-1 at 15:05. It didn't take long as Chris Rebernik scored 2 unawnsered. The Ice Bears won the 3-1 and their second straight President's Cup.
On May 29, 2009, it was announced that head coach Scott Hillman had resigned to be the first coach of the Central Hockey League
's expansion team in Independence, Missouri
.
Marc Rodgers took over in June 2009 after the departure of Scott Hillman.
On March 27, 2010, a bench clearing brawl erupted between The Ice Bears and arch rival Fayetteville. There was a total of 19 players ejected. In the 3rd with the Ice Bears winning 5-3, little players were remaining. The Ice Bears took a 9-4 lead. The Game was declared a forfeit at 10:45 of the 3rd period as Fayetteville had 2 skaters remaining after several Fayetteville players intentionally drew penalties so their team wouldn't have enough players to play. There was total of 26 games in all suspensions.
In the 2009-10 season the Ice Bears finished 4th out of 7 teams. They went to the play-offs to face the Fire Antz in a Best 2 of 3 series in the 1st round. The Ice Bears fell big 7-1 in game 1. The scene shifted to Knoxville for Game 2. Shortly after the clock struck Midnight the Ice Bears dramatically extended their season with a 6-5 OT win. Easter Sunday 2010 brought the Ice Bears good luck. They overcame a 3-0 lead in the 1st period. With 2 goals by Tim Vitek and 2 goals by B.J. Pelkey. The Ice Bears won 4-3 in OT sending them to the 2nd round. The Ice Bears faced another rival in the Huntsville Havoc in a Best 2 of 3 Series. The Ice Bears lost game 1, 5-1 in Huntsville on Wednesday April 7, 2010. 2 days later the Ice Bears season was again on the line at home. Unfortunately the Ice Bears great back-2-back Regular season and League championship run came to an end on Friday April 9, 2010 as they were defeated 3-1 in game 2 by the eventual champions Havoc.
After the 2009-10 season Ice Bears star and SPHL All-time leading scorer Kevin Swider retired. On July 12, 2010 Swider was named Ice Bears Director of Hockey Operations and Youth Hockey School Director. Swider won every Scoring title from 2004-2010 all 6 years of the SPHL.
On June 29, 2010, head coach Marc Rodgers and the Ice Bears parted ways. It is still not clear if Rodgers was fired or resigned.
On August 2, 2010 The Ice Bears introduced Mike Craigen as head coach. Craigen, a Buckhorn, Ontario, Canada native was a former Ice Bears player and fan favorite from 2004-2008. He was a part of Knoxville's 2006 & 2008 President's Cup Championship teams.
The 2010-11 season saw the Ice Bears finish 6th out of 8 teams. Having clinched the final playoff spot the weekend before, the ice Bears went into the Playoffs as the last seeded team against the best Mississippi Surge
. The Ice Bears scored 5 goals in the 3rd period to rally to a 6-4 win in game 1. Game 2 was different as the Surge dominated to a 8-1 win. Games 3 and 4 were back in Knoxville in front of over 2,500 fans each night. Game 3 saw the Ice Bears score first, but fall 3-2 in OT. In Game 4, the Ice Bears faced elimination. The Ice Bears fell down early but came back with shorthanded and penalty shot goals and they never backed down. The Bears rolled to an easy 4-2 win to force a game 5. In game 5, the Bears took the lead with a late 1st period goal by Mike Bulawka. But unfortunately, the Ice Bears wouldn't score again and fell 3-1 and their season was done.
The Knoxville Ice Bears have won 4 William B. Coffey Trophy's as the Regular seaon champions and 3 President's Cup's as the playoff champions.
Name Number Position Height Weight D.O.B.
Josh Boyd 14 Forward 5'6" 155 4/27/1986
Jason Ford 16 Forward 5'9" 193 10/12/1985
Eric Satim 17 Forward 5'9" 170 5/5/1988
Emery Olauson 23 Forward 6'02" 195 7/23/1981
David Segal 28 Forward 5'10" 170 08/22/1985
Dan Bremner 8 Forward 5'11" 185 11/21/1986
BrettValliquett 20 Forward 6'1" 201 02/22/1989
Berkley Scott 21 Forward 6'03" 200 11/08/1990
Kyle Van Dermale 18 Center 6'00" 187 5/29/1986
Kevin Swider 12 Center 5'10" 177 11/17/1977
Eric Slais 19 Center 6'2" 187 08/06/1985
Defense
Name Number Position Height Weight D.O.B.
Jeremy Klaver 26 Defense 6'01" 176 01/24/1988
Jesse Kallechy 31 Goalie 5'08" 165 5/11/1990
Colin Ronayne 10 Defense 6'4" 225 11/3/1986
Steve Wiedler 7 Defense 6'00" 200 9/15/1986
Ricky Helmbrecht 6 Defense 5'10" 171 3/21/1985
Paul Holder 5 Defense 6'00" 185 6/6/1985
Mike Lane 4 Defense 6'02" 194 05/20/1985
Tyler Fletcher 24 Defense 6'2" 200 04/02/1985
Bryan Hince 57 Goalie 6'0" 170 04/09/1986
Mark Van Vliet 9 Defense 6'0" 170 03/11/1984
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team. The team competes in the Southern Professional Hockey League
Southern Professional Hockey League
The Southern Professional Hockey League is a low-level professional ice hockey league based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with teams located in the southeastern United States.- History :...
. They play their home games at James White Civic Coliseum
James White Civic Coliseum
General James White Memorial Civic Auditorium and Coliseum is a 7,141-seat multi-purpose arena, in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was built in 1961....
in Knoxville, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. In 2006 the Ice Bears defeated the Florida Seals
Florida Seals
The Florida Seals was a minor league ice hockey franchise, a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League . Originally based in Orlando, Florida, they later moved to Kissimmee, Florida, a suburb thirty miles south of Orlando in Osceola County...
to take the SPHL championship and the President's Cup
President's Cup (SPHL)
The President's Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the Southern Professional Hockey League.-Winners:...
. They have also won the Commissioner's Cup for the best record in the SPHL in the regular season the first two seasons of the SPHL's existence. In 2008, Knoxville did the double again winning both the Commissioner's and President's Cups.
History
The Knoxville Ice Bears were founded in 2002 as a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. After finishing as runner up to the Orlando Seals in the 2002-2003 season, the Ice Bears moved to the new South Eastern Hockey League. Again, they finished as a runner up in the playoffs to the Huntsville Channel CatsHuntsville Channel Cats
The Huntsville Channel Cats was a professional ice hockey team based in Huntsville, Alabama. The franchise was a member of several different leagues, the Southern Hockey League , the Central Hockey League and the South East Hockey League...
for 2003-2004. The team again moved hockey leagues and joined with the new Southern Professional Hockey League. In the SPHL's first season, the Ice Bears won the regular season championship Commissioner's Cup
Commissioner's Cup
The William B. Coffey Trophy is the trophy awarded to the regular-season champion of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Before the 2008-09 season, the award was called the Commissioner's Cup. It was renamed to honor the league's Director of Hockey Operations.-Winners:...
but lost in the second round (after a first round bye) to the eventual champions for 2004–2005, the Columbus Cottonmouths
Columbus Cottonmouths
The Columbus Cottonmouths are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Georgia. The team is nicknamed the Snakes, and play their home games at the Columbus Civic Center.-Central Hockey League : 1996-2001:...
.
Finally, in 2005-2006, the Ice Bears secured the Commissioner's Cup
Commissioner's Cup
The William B. Coffey Trophy is the trophy awarded to the regular-season champion of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Before the 2008-09 season, the award was called the Commissioner's Cup. It was renamed to honor the league's Director of Hockey Operations.-Winners:...
and the President's Cup
President's Cup (SPHL)
The President's Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the Southern Professional Hockey League.-Winners:...
by beating the Florida Seals
Florida Seals
The Florida Seals was a minor league ice hockey franchise, a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League . Originally based in Orlando, Florida, they later moved to Kissimmee, Florida, a suburb thirty miles south of Orlando in Osceola County...
in Game 4 of a best-of-5 series. In 2006-2007 the team was eliminated in the league semifinals with two straight losses to the Fayetteville FireAntz
Fayetteville FireAntz
The Fayetteville FireAntz are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. They currently play in the Southern Professional Hockey League . They play their home games in the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum....
. In 2007-2008, the Ice Bears once again secured the Commissioners Cup, now renamed the William B. Coffey Trophy. In the 2008 President Cup playoffs the Ice Bears faced the Columbus Cottonmouths in the opening round after winning the first two games in Knoxville (4-2 & 5-2) the Ice Bears dropped the next two in Columbus by the identical score of 4-2.
In the fifth and deciding game the Ice Bears won comfortably on home ice 6-3. The championship, Best-of-Five, series started on April 10 with Knoxville coming out on top of the Jacksonville Barracudas
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 , the World Hockey Association 2 , and the Southern Professional Hockey League , before folding in 2008.They won...
6-2. The scene switched to Jacksonville for game two on April 12 where the Ice Bears pulled out a hard fought 4-3 win. The brooms were out at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum the following night (April 13) and the Ice Bears didn’t disappoint as they jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but Jacksonville fought back to tie the game at 2-2 after 20 minutes. However, in the second period Tim Vitek scored to put Knoxville ahead to stay and added another in the third for the final score of 4-E2. Rookie goalie Kirk Irving took home playoff MVP honors. The President Cup title was the Ice Bears second in three years.
In 2008-2009 the Ice Bears again won the William B. Coffey Trophy. They headed to the 1st round where they faced the Huntsville Havoc. The Ice Bears won games 1 & 2 at home 6-4 and 4-2. The Ice Bears then lost games 3 & 4 on the road 4-2 and 4-3. The 5th and deciding game the Ice Bears went up 2-0 early. The Havoc came back and tied it at 2-2. At 11:48 of OT Tim Vitek scored and sent the Ice Bears to the SPHL Finals. In the Finals the Ice Bears faced rival Fayetteville in a Best 4 of 7 series. The Ice Bears won games comfortably 5-2. The Fire Antz tied the series up 1-1 with a 3-1 win the following night. The scene shifted to Fayetteville for games 3, 4 & 5. The Antz took 2 of 3 from Knoxville. In game 6, the cup on the line, The Ice Bears fell behind early. A tough battled game came down to the end. The Ice Bears trailing 4-3, they pulled the goalie. Tim Vitek scored at 18:49, with 1:11 left in the game. B. J. Pelkey then scored at 11:52 of OT to force a Game 7. In Game 7, The Ice Bears came out ready, scoring just 3:21 in. Fayetteville tied it up 1-1 at 15:05. It didn't take long as Chris Rebernik scored 2 unawnsered. The Ice Bears won the 3-1 and their second straight President's Cup.
On May 29, 2009, it was announced that head coach Scott Hillman had resigned to be the first coach of the Central Hockey League
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....
's expansion team in Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
.
Marc Rodgers took over in June 2009 after the departure of Scott Hillman.
On March 27, 2010, a bench clearing brawl erupted between The Ice Bears and arch rival Fayetteville. There was a total of 19 players ejected. In the 3rd with the Ice Bears winning 5-3, little players were remaining. The Ice Bears took a 9-4 lead. The Game was declared a forfeit at 10:45 of the 3rd period as Fayetteville had 2 skaters remaining after several Fayetteville players intentionally drew penalties so their team wouldn't have enough players to play. There was total of 26 games in all suspensions.
In the 2009-10 season the Ice Bears finished 4th out of 7 teams. They went to the play-offs to face the Fire Antz in a Best 2 of 3 series in the 1st round. The Ice Bears fell big 7-1 in game 1. The scene shifted to Knoxville for Game 2. Shortly after the clock struck Midnight the Ice Bears dramatically extended their season with a 6-5 OT win. Easter Sunday 2010 brought the Ice Bears good luck. They overcame a 3-0 lead in the 1st period. With 2 goals by Tim Vitek and 2 goals by B.J. Pelkey. The Ice Bears won 4-3 in OT sending them to the 2nd round. The Ice Bears faced another rival in the Huntsville Havoc in a Best 2 of 3 Series. The Ice Bears lost game 1, 5-1 in Huntsville on Wednesday April 7, 2010. 2 days later the Ice Bears season was again on the line at home. Unfortunately the Ice Bears great back-2-back Regular season and League championship run came to an end on Friday April 9, 2010 as they were defeated 3-1 in game 2 by the eventual champions Havoc.
After the 2009-10 season Ice Bears star and SPHL All-time leading scorer Kevin Swider retired. On July 12, 2010 Swider was named Ice Bears Director of Hockey Operations and Youth Hockey School Director. Swider won every Scoring title from 2004-2010 all 6 years of the SPHL.
On June 29, 2010, head coach Marc Rodgers and the Ice Bears parted ways. It is still not clear if Rodgers was fired or resigned.
On August 2, 2010 The Ice Bears introduced Mike Craigen as head coach. Craigen, a Buckhorn, Ontario, Canada native was a former Ice Bears player and fan favorite from 2004-2008. He was a part of Knoxville's 2006 & 2008 President's Cup Championship teams.
The 2010-11 season saw the Ice Bears finish 6th out of 8 teams. Having clinched the final playoff spot the weekend before, the ice Bears went into the Playoffs as the last seeded team against the best Mississippi Surge
Mississippi Surge
The Mississippi Surge is a professional team in the Southern Professional Hockey League that began play in the 2009-10 season. Based in Biloxi, home games are played at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum also known as "The Power Plant".-History:...
. The Ice Bears scored 5 goals in the 3rd period to rally to a 6-4 win in game 1. Game 2 was different as the Surge dominated to a 8-1 win. Games 3 and 4 were back in Knoxville in front of over 2,500 fans each night. Game 3 saw the Ice Bears score first, but fall 3-2 in OT. In Game 4, the Ice Bears faced elimination. The Ice Bears fell down early but came back with shorthanded and penalty shot goals and they never backed down. The Bears rolled to an easy 4-2 win to force a game 5. In game 5, the Bears took the lead with a late 1st period goal by Mike Bulawka. But unfortunately, the Ice Bears wouldn't score again and fell 3-1 and their season was done.
General Manager history
- Preston Dixon - 2002 - 2006
- Mike Murray - 2006 - present
Coaching history
- Tony Martino - 2002-03
- Jim Bermingham - 2003-07
- Scott Hillman - 2007-09
- Marc Rodgers - 2009-10
- Mike Craigen - 2010–present
Captain history
- Steve Zoryk - 2002-03
- Craig Desjarlais - 2003-04
- Todd MacIsaac - 2004-05
- Doug Searle - 2005-06
- Kevin Swider - 2006-10
- Mike Bulawka - 2010 - 2011
Championships
| Year | League | Trophy |
|---|---|---|
| 2005–2006 | SPHL | President's Cup President's Cup (SPHL) The President's Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the Southern Professional Hockey League.-Winners:... |
| 2007–2008 | SPHL | President's Cup President's Cup (SPHL) The President's Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the Southern Professional Hockey League.-Winners:... |
| 2008–2009 | SPHL | President's Cup President's Cup (SPHL) The President's Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the Southern Professional Hockey League.-Winners:... |
The Knoxville Ice Bears have won 4 William B. Coffey Trophy's as the Regular seaon champions and 3 President's Cup's as the playoff champions.
2010-11 Roster
orwardsName Number Position Height Weight D.O.B.
Josh Boyd 14 Forward 5'6" 155 4/27/1986
Jason Ford 16 Forward 5'9" 193 10/12/1985
Eric Satim 17 Forward 5'9" 170 5/5/1988
Emery Olauson 23 Forward 6'02" 195 7/23/1981
David Segal 28 Forward 5'10" 170 08/22/1985
Dan Bremner 8 Forward 5'11" 185 11/21/1986
BrettValliquett 20 Forward 6'1" 201 02/22/1989
Berkley Scott 21 Forward 6'03" 200 11/08/1990
Kyle Van Dermale 18 Center 6'00" 187 5/29/1986
Kevin Swider 12 Center 5'10" 177 11/17/1977
Eric Slais 19 Center 6'2" 187 08/06/1985
Defense
Name Number Position Height Weight D.O.B.
Jeremy Klaver 26 Defense 6'01" 176 01/24/1988
Jesse Kallechy 31 Goalie 5'08" 165 5/11/1990
Colin Ronayne 10 Defense 6'4" 225 11/3/1986
Steve Wiedler 7 Defense 6'00" 200 9/15/1986
Ricky Helmbrecht 6 Defense 5'10" 171 3/21/1985
Paul Holder 5 Defense 6'00" 185 6/6/1985
Mike Lane 4 Defense 6'02" 194 05/20/1985
Tyler Fletcher 24 Defense 6'2" 200 04/02/1985
Bryan Hince 57 Goalie 6'0" 170 04/09/1986
Mark Van Vliet 9 Defense 6'0" 170 03/11/1984