IceMen bring hockey back to Jacksonville

Team will play in East Coast Hockey League in 2017-18 season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Minor league hockey is returning to Jacksonville. The Jacksonville IceMen will play in the ECHL in 2017-18.

The team is relocating from Evansville, Indiana and has not played in the 2016-17 season, which is underway now. Opening night is set for October when the IceMen will begin a 36 game home schedule.

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Ron Geary is the CEO, and Bob Ohrablo serves as team president. Those two are joined by Jacksonville-based Frank Ruperto to make up the ownership group of the team.

"Jacksonville is a natural fit for professional hockey," Geary said. "We look at the enthusiastic support current teams receive here and are excited to join them in providing Jacksonville fans with solid family-priced sports entertainment."

The franchise began its history as the Muskegon Fury in 1992. They rebranded to the Muskegon Lumberjacks in 2008 before moving to Evansville in 2010. The team had been granted approval to relocate to Owensboro, Kentucky, but that city could not receive financing for the renovations needed at their building.

The Icemen will be the 28th team in the ECHL and will join the Orlando SolarBears and Florida Everblades who play their home games in Estero, Fla., near Ft. Myers, as team in the Sunshine State.

The team also announced a local advisory group that includes UNF president and former Mayor John Delaney, developer Toney Sleiman, Ruperto, Mike Moses of Michaelson Group Real Estate; Gilles Richard of Jax Ice and Sportsplex (where the team will practice); Dr. Ted Wetzork of Kernan Chiropractic Centre; Bill Adams of Gunster Law; Neptune Beach Mayor Elaine Brown and Eric Andeer, of Morgan and Morgan.

"The city of Jacksonville is thrilled to welcome the Jacksonville IceMen to our sports and entertainment landscape," said Mayor Lenny Curry. "Jacksonville is a great sports city and we are excited about the opportunity to bring professional hockey to our Veterans Memorial Arena."

The team hasn't announced its NHL affiliation yet. They expect to hire a new coach over the next few months. They are also partnering with UNF for interns.

The Icemen are the latest in a long line of minor league hockey teams to call Jacksonville home. The Jacksonville Lizard Kings competed in the ECHL for five seasons from 1995-96 through 1999-2000, reaching the Riley Cup Finals in its first season. More recently, the Jacksonville Barracudas competed in three different leagues from 2002-2008. Jacksonville has a pro hockey history dating back to 1964, when the Jacksonville Rockets joined the Eastern Hockey League.