The Erie Panthers were a professional ice hockey team, and one of the founding members in the

East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

(ECHL). Based in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

, from 1988 to 1996, they were one of the most prolific teams in the ECHL. The Panthers were known for their ability to score goals quickly and often, as well as for the over-aggressive style of play that led to an abundance of fights. They currently hold records in 15 different categories in the ECHL and are in the top five of 38 different categories.

History

The Panthers were created by Henry Brabham, who was also an intricate part of the creation of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

itself. Erie was chosen as a location due to the success of the former Erie Golden Blades. The Panthers enjoyed success earlier on in their existence with five straight playoff appearances. Though never winning the league championship, the team was named the regular season champs for the 1989–90 season. The next three years would bring about the end of the Panthers franchise with three straight losing seasons. In 1996, the team would be moved to

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

and renamed the

Baton Rouge Kingfish The Baton Rouge Kingfish were a minor professional ice hockey team in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a member of the East Coast Hockey League. The franchise arrived in Baton Rouge in 1996 after relocating from Erie, Pennsylvania, where they had playe ...

. There the team's struggles continued, making the playoffs in only one of seven seasons in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. In 2004, the franchise again relocated, this time moving 4,400 miles northwest to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. The franchise continued operation there as the

Victoria Salmon Kings The Victoria Salmon Kings were a professional ice hockey team based in Victoria, British Columbia, and members of the ECHL. The team debuted in the 2004–05 season and folded after the 2010–11 season. The Chilliwack Bruins of the major jun ...

, garnering a Division Championship in the 2007–08 season. The franchise finally ceased operations following the 2010–11 ECHL season, making way for the WHL's

Victoria Royals The Victoria Royals are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Victoria, British Columbia. The Royals play in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team began play during the 2011–12 WHL ...

. This marked the end of a 23-year franchise run, the longest in the league behind the

Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...

(

Carolina Thunderbirds The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. ...

) and the

Greenville Swamp Rabbits 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 Gr ...

(

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 th ...

), both of which continue to operate.

Jersey and Logos

The Panthers' jerseys were black, white, and grey. The Home jersey had a white background, while the away jersey had a black background. The original logo was that of a grey panther and a

hockey stick A hockey stick is a piece of sports equipment used by the players in all the forms of hockey to move the ball or puck (as appropriate to the type of hockey) either to push, pull, hit, strike, flick, steer, launch or stop the ball/Hockey puck, puc ...

. During the 1991–92 season, the use of an alternate logo was added. This logo was the face of a growling panther in dark blue. The 1994–95 season saw the last logo change for the Panthers. This logo was a

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

of a panther, under the word "Erie". Also used during the 1994–95 season was a "20th Anniversary of Hockey in Erie" patch.

The Erie Insurance Arena

The home of the Erie Panthers was the newly constructed Civic Center, now known as the Erie Insurance Arena, located in downtown

. The five-year-old arena held roughly 5,500 fans and served as one of the loudest places to play in the

for eight years. Despite being a fairly new building, the Tullio Arena lacked a proper sound dampening system with the playing surface being surrounded on all sides by uncovered concrete walls. This design allowed the already loud noise of the crowd to be amplified throughout the building.

Coaches

1989–95:
Head coach: Ron Hansis
Asst. Coach: Barry Smith
1995–96:
Head coach: Barry Smith

Players

Over the course of the eight seasons in Erie, 225 players suited up for the Panthers, with sixty-eight of those having already been drafted in the NHL Entry Draft or NHL Supplemental Draft. Only three players have played in the NHL ''after'' playing for the Panthers. Former players typically took one of two paths after leaving the team. They either played out their career in European hockey leagues, or joined the

Roller Hockey International Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey. History League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in ...

league.

NHL alumni

Individual awards

1989

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

: Ron Hansis
1989 MVP Award: Daryl Harpe
1989 Leading Scorer: Daryl Harpe
1989 Defenseman of the Year: Kelly Szauter
1990 MVP Award: Bill McDougall
1990 Rookie of the Year: Bill McDougall
1990 Leading Scorer: Bill McDougall
1995 Rookie of the Year: Kevin McKinnon
1995 Leading Scorer: Scott Burfoot

Season by season results

Playoffs

*1988–89: Lost to Carolina 4-0 in semifinals. *1989–90: Defeated

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

3-2 in quarterfinals; lost to

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

2-0 in semifinals. *1990–91: Lost to Johnstown 3-2 in quarterfinals. *1991–92: Lost to Johnstown 3-1 in first round. *1992–93: Defeated

1-0 in first round; lost to Toledo 3-1 in quarterfinals.

Championships

1988–89 Henry Brabham Cup (Regular season points champions)

Team records

League Records

The Erie Panthers are ranked in the Top 5 of 38 categories kept track of by the

. Of those, they are ranked #1 in 15 categories. Below is only a partial list of these records. ''See Also:'' List of Erie Panthers League Records. ''Most penalty minutes (Career)''
#1: 2,425 - Cam Brown (

Chill In computing, CHILL (an acronym for CCITT High Level Language) is a procedural programming language designed for use in telecommunication switches (the hardware used inside telephone exchanges). The language is still used for legacy systems ...

91-93, Panthers 93-96, Kingfish 96-02, Gladiators 02-06) ''Most goals, both teams (One game)''
#1: 21 - Erie Panthers (13) vs.

(8), Dec. 21, 1988
#2: 20 -

Richmond Renegades The Richmond Renegades were a professional ice hockey team in Richmond, Virginia that played in the East Coast Hockey League from 1990 until 2003. The Renegades played at the Richmond Coliseum, which they marketed in later years as ''the Freeze ...

(15) vs. Erie Panthers (5), Dec. 23, 1990
#3: 19 - Erie Panthers (11) vs. Knoxville Cherokees (8), Mar. 18, 1989 ''Highest goals-per-game average (One season)''
#1: 5.95 - Erie Panthers, 1989-90 (357 goals in 60 games)
#4: 5.45 - Erie Panthers, 1988-89 (327 goals in 60 games) ''Fastest three goals''
#1: 21 seconds - Doug Stromback (12:19), Daryl Harpe (12:29) and Hank Banas (12:40 of 3rd period), Erie vs. Knoxville, Nov. 29, 1988 ''Most penalty minutes, both teams (One game)''
#1: 244 -

Toledo Storm The Toledo Storm were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the ECHL from 1991 to 2007. The Storm played their home games at the venerable Toledo Sports Arena along the eastern banks of the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio. The team colors w ...

(124) vs. Erie (120), Mar. 22, 1993

References

General referenceHockeyDB.com
br
ECHL.com
{{Defunct Pennsylvania sports teams Defunct ECHL teams Defunct ice hockey teams in Pennsylvania Sports in Erie, Pennsylvania Ice hockey clubs established in 1988 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1996 1988 establishments in Pennsylvania 1996 disestablishments in Pennsylvania