Fayetteville FireAntz
An Ice Hockey Wiki article.
| Fayetteville FireAntz | |
 | |
| City: | Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States |
|---|---|
| League: | Cape Fear FireAntz Atlantic Coast Hockey League (2002-03) South East Hockey League (2003-04) Fayetteville FireAntz Southern Professional Hockey League (2004-Present) |
| Founded: | 2002 |
| Home Arena: | Cumberland County Crown Coliseum |
| Colors: | black, red, gold |
| General Manager: | Kevin MacNaught |
| Head Coach: | Tommy Stewart |
| Media: | Fayetteville Observer |
| Franchise history | |
| 2002 - 2004: | Cape Fear Fireantz |
| 2005 - Present: | Fayetteville FireAntz |
| Championships | |
| SPHL President's Cup: | 2006-07 |
The Fayetteville FireAntz are a minor-professional ice hockey team, playing in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States. The team began play in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) as the Cape Fear Fireantz. They play their home games at Cumberland County Crown Coliseum.
In 2007, under the guidance of head coach John Marks, the FireAntz advanced to the finals of the league's postseason playoffs for the first time in team history. The first two games of the best-of-five final series were won by Fayetteville on the FireAntz' home ice, before the series returned to Jacksonville, where the Barracudas won Game 3 of the series by a 3-2 score. On April 18, 2007 the FireAntz won the fourth game of the series by a score of 5-3 to win the SPHL President's Cup. It was the first championship for the FireAntz, and Fayetteville's first professional sports championship in 51 years.
The Fireantz' first coach was Shawn Ulrich. The team played the the 2003-04 season in the South East Hockey League (SEHL) with Scott Rex behind the bench. In 2004 the team changed it's name to "Fayetteville Fireantz," abandoning the reference to the nearby Cape Fear River, and joined the newly-formed SPHL.
Derek Booth took over as head coach in 2004. He continued in that position for two seasons, leaving in 2006 to coach the Bloomington Prairie Thunder of the United Hockey League (UHL). John Marks assumed the helm for the 2006-07 season, resigning after the team's championship run to take the head coach position with the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the ECHL.
Shortly after Marks' resignation the FireAntz announced that former Florida Seals coach, Tommy Stewart, had been hired to coach the team for the 2007-08 season.
Contents |
[edit] Current Season Standings
| Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville Havoc | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Columbus Cottonmouths | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Mississippi Surge | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Knoxville Ice Bears | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Louisiana IceGators | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Pensacola Ice Flyers | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Fayetteville FireAntz | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
[edit] Championships
| Year | League | Trophy |
|---|---|---|
| 2006-2007 | SPHL | President's Cup |
[edit] Honors
| 2004-2005 | SPHL | Derek Booth | Coach of the Year |
| 2004-2005 | SPHL | Chad Collins | Rookie of the Year |
| 2005-2006 | SPHL | Mike Clarke | Defenseman of the Year |
| 2006-2007 | SPHL | Tim Velomerovich | Rookie of the Year |
| 2006-2007 | SPHL | Rob Sich | SPHL MVP |
| 2006-2007 | SPHL | John Marks | Coach of the Year |
| 2006-2007 | SPHL | Chad Collins | SPHL Playoff MVP |
[edit] Retired Numbers
| # | Name | Retired |
|---|---|---|
| 34 | Mike Fournier 2002-2006, 2007-2008 |
[edit] External links
| Southern Professional Hockey League |
| Teams: Columbus Cottonmouths (GA) • Fayetteville FireAntz (NC) • Huntsville Havoc (AL) • Knoxville Ice Bears (TN) Louisiana IceGators (2009) (Lafayette) • Mississippi Surge (Biloxi) • Pensacola Ice Flyers (FL) |
| Looking to relocate (Suspended Operations for the 2009-10 season): Twin City Cyclones (Winston-Salem, NC) |
| Former Teams: Macon Trax (GA) • Winston-Salem Polar Twins (NC) • Asheville Aces (NC) • Florida Seals (Orlando) Jacksonville Barracudas (FL) • Pee Dee Cyclones (Florence, SC) • Richmond Renegades (VA) |
 Ice hockey in United States
|
| National Hockey League |
| High Level: American Hockey League |
| Mid Level: ECHL • Central Hockey League • International Hockey League |
| Low Level: Mid-Atlantic Hockey League • Southern Professional Hockey League |
| Semi-Professional: North Eastern Hockey League |
| Collegiate: National Collegiate Athletic Association |
| Men's National Team • Women's National Team |
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Fayetteville FireAntz. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
