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 Nort ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team based in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

. They began play in the

Southern Professional Hockey League The SPHL (formerly the Southern Professional Hockey League) 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 Indian ...

(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 SPHL. They play their home games at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 2006, the Ice Bears defeated the Florida Seals to take their f ...

. 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 metropol ...

, 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, is known a ...

. Unable to reach a new lease agreement with the

Florence Civic Center The Florence Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose 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 WWE In Your House pay-per-view in 1996, dur ...

, 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.

References

External links

The Southern Professional Hockey League website
Defunct SPHL teams Defunct 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 2007 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2009 2007 establishments in South Carolina 2009 disestablishments in North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-sport-team-stub