The Jacksonville Icemen are 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 ...

team in the

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 ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...

, that began play in the 2017–18 season. The team is affiliated with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

and plays their home games at

VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (originally Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Jacksonville, Florida. It currently serves as the home arena of the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL, the Jacksonville Giants o ...

History

The Icemen were formerly known as the

Muskegon Fury Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expans ...

from 1992 to 2008, the

Muskegon Lumberjacks The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Mercy Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League franchi ...

from 2008 to 2010, and the

Evansville IceMen The Evansville IceMen were a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Evansville, Indiana. The franchise was originally a member of the United Hockey League before it merged into the Central Hockey League in 2010. The franchise has won four po ...

from 2010 to 2016. On November 16, 2015, Evansville IceMen owner Ron Geary wrote a letter to the fans that the team's operating lease with the Ford Center was ending after the 2015–16 season. Despite attempts to negotiate a lease extension with the city since February 2015, the two parties had not yet come to an agreement on new terms. The City of Evansville and Geary were unable to come to an agreement. Geary then agreed to terms with the city of

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of L ...

, to relocate the team to the

Owensboro Sportscenter The Owensboro Sportscenter is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Owensboro, Kentucky. It is the home of the basketball teams of Kentucky Wesleyan College and Owensboro Catholic High School. It has been the home to three minor-pro basketball teams ...

if the IceMen were forced to leave the Ford Center. On February 8, 2016, the City of Evansville announced that it had secured an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

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 midw ...

to play at the Ford Center beginning in the 2016–17 season, thus displacing the IceMen franchise from Evansville. Finally, on March 14, the IceMen and the ECHL announced the franchise's relocation to Owensboro had been approved but the franchise would have to go dormant for the 2016–17 season to allow time for the necessary renovations on the Owensboro Sportscenter to be completed. However, by September 2016, Geary still had not taken over management of the Sportscenter and the City of Owensboro announced a different management company would take over the Sportscenter on October 1. On the September 30 deadline, Geary sent a letter to mayor Ron Payne stating he would not be purchasing the Sportscenter because of too much cost to convert and refurbish the arena. In January 2017, Geary sold part of the franchise to an ownership group based out of

, and the relocation was approved by the ECHL on February 8, 2017. Geary remained as the primary owner. The team hired

Jason Christie Jason Christie (born April 25, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is currently an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. He was previously the head coach of the Bloomington PrairieThunde ...

as their first head coach and then affiliated with the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

(NHL) and the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets ...

(AHL), the organization familiar with Christie from his time as the head coach of the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

. In the team's second season in Jacksonville, the franchise qualified for the ECHL playoffs for the first time since it joined the league in 2012. Following the season, Geary sold his shares of the team and the controlling interest was acquired by SZH Hockey LLC, a group led by Andrew Kaufmann on July 16, 2019. On December 1, 2020, the team added three members of SZH Hockey LLC, all past or present NFL players with a connection to the area: Tim Tebow,

Myles Jack Myles David Jack (born September 3, 1995) is an American football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA and was named the top freshman player in the Pac-12, receiving ho ...

, and

Reggie Hayward Reginald Joseph Hayward Jr. (born March 14, 1979) is a former American football defensive end who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at Iowa State U ...

. After four seasons as affiliates of the Jets, the Icemen switched their affiliation to the

of the NHL and their AHL affiliate, the

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a ...

, beginning with the 2021–22 season. On July 29, 2021, head coach Jason Christie was hired by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, alon ...

as an assistant coach and was replaced by Nick Luukko as head coach of the Icemen.

Season-by-season records

Players

Current roster

As of December 19, 2022.

References

External links