Mississippi Sea Wolves Explained

Bg Color:background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#C80815 5px solid; border-bottom:#00004d 5px solid
Team:Mississippi Sea Wolves
Logosize:190px
City:Biloxi, Mississippi
League:ECHL
Founded:1996
Operated:1996–2009
Arena:Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Colors:Red, blue, and white
Reg Season Titles:2002–03
Division Titles:2002–03
Kelly Cups:1998–99
Division:Continental
Website:mississippiseawolves.com

The Mississippi Sea Wolves were a professional hockey team based in Biloxi, Mississippi, and play in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Sea Wolves were members of the ECHL.

The Sea Wolves were founded in 1996 and had considerable success over their 10 seasons in the ECHL. They reached the playoffs in five of their first seven years and a league championship in 1999, when they defeated the Richmond Renegades in a best-of-seven series to claim the Kelly Cup.

Damages from Hurricane Katrina to the Mississippi Coast Coliseum forced the team to suspend operations for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons under the ECHL's hardship provisions. Hurricane Katrina resulted in extensive damage to the team’s home arena, including flood damage to team offices, locker rooms, ice-making equipment, and two Zambonis. During the 2006–07 ECHL All-Star Game, the league officially confirmed the Sea Wolves would return in 2007–08.[1]

On March 30, 2009, the Sea Wolves announced that the organization would be suspending operations again for the 2009–10 season, but a little more than a month later the team's management announced that professional hockey would continue to be played on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the form of the Mississippi Surge in the Southern Professional Hockey League. The Surge played at the Coast Coliseum from the 2009–10 season through 2013–14.[2]

In 2021, the Federal Prospects Hockey League hosted three neutral site games in Biloxi. Biloxi Pro Hockey sold 20,163 tickets in the month of December and an announcement was made on December 30 that a new Sea Wolves team would return in 2022.[3] The new team began play in the 2022–23 FPHL season.

History

League champions Division championsPlayoff berth
ECHL
SeasonDivisionRegular seasonStatisticsPostseason resultsCoach
South 34 26 10 78 .557 241 245 2082 Bruce Boudreau
Southwest 34 27 9 77 .550 225 224 1909 did not qualify Bruce Boudreau
Southwest 41 22 7 89 .636 251 215 1357 align=left bgcolor="#FFCCCC"Bruce Boudreau
Southwest 35 27 8 78 .557 241 221 1773 Marc Potvin
Southwest 34 33 5 73 .507 221 218 1310 did not qualify Al Pedersen
Southwest 41 26 5 87 .604 251 232 1706 Bob Woods
Southwest 44 24 4 92 .639 250 211 2159 Bob Woods
Central 45 20 7 97 .674 256 200 1632 Bob Woods
South 39 24 4 5 87 .604 223 215 1372 Bob Woods
Inactive due to arena damages from Hurricane Katrina
2006–07
South 29 40 1 2 61 .424 204 262 1462 Steffon Walby
South 28 35 7 1 64 .451 203 256 1242 did not qualify Steffon Walby

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: January 22, 2007. The ECHL officially announces the Sea Wolves return. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080228055624/http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news&cat=1&id=9800. February 28, 2008. February 28, 2008. ECHL.
  2. Web site: May 7, 2009. SOUTHERN PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE COMES TO THE COAST. May 11, 2009. Southern Professional Hockey League.
  3. Web site: Professional hockey team returning full-time to Biloxi . supertalk.fm . January 3, 2022.