Hockey season starts again this week, and Danville finds itself in a new league. This is the highest level of hockey they've ever played in Danville, so it might be worth looking at all these new teams that will be coming through town for those not familiar with the Southern Professional Hockey League. The league is still not affiliated with the NHL, but takes care of its players more like that system as opposed to the Federal League the Dashers were in. There were quite a few stories of players taking call ups to the SPHL just so they could get some medical stuff done. So, who is the SPHL? Here is a quick overview of the teams for the 21-22 SPHL season. Attendance numbers are taken from hockeydb.com and averaged for the lifetime of the franchise. The inaugural year is their first season in the SPHL. Several teams do have histories that predate joining the SPHL. Birmingham BullsFrom: Birmingham, Alabama Population: 207,235 City, 1,151,801 Metro Home Arena: Pelham Civic Center Capacity: 4100 Avg. Attendance: 2263 20-21 Record: 12-23-7 Inaugural Year: 2017 0 Championships, 1 Finals Appearance (2019) Evansville ThunderboltsFrom: Evansville, Indiana Population: 117,429 City, 358,676 Metro Home Arena: Ford Center Capacity: 9000 Avg. Attendance: 2236 20-21 Record: 25-14-3 Inaugural Year: 2016 0 Championships, 0 Finals Appearances Fayetteville MarksmenFrom: Fayetteville, North Carolina Population: 200,782 City, 526,719 Metro Home Arena: Crown Coliseum Capacity: 10,000 Avg. Attendance: 3139 19-20 Record: 31-6-5 Inaugural Year: 2004 1 Championship (2007), 2 Finals Appearances (2009) Founded as Fayetteville FireAntz. Became Marksmen in 2017. Huntsville HavocFrom: Huntsville, Alabama Population: 215,006 City, 492,000 Metro Home Arena: Von Braun Center Capacity: 10,000 Avg. Attendance: 3709 20-21 Record: 19-22-1 Inaugural Year: 2004 3 Championships (2010, 2018, 2019), 4 Finals Appearances (2013) Knoxville Ice BearsFrom: Knoxville, Tennessee Population: 190,740 City, 868,546 Metro Home Arena: Knoxville Colisuem Capacity: 6500 Avg. Attendance: 3393 20-21 Record: 24-14-3 Inaugural Year: 2004 4 Championships (2006, 2008, 2009, 2015), 4 Finals Appearances Macon MayhemFrom: Macon, Georgia Population: 153,159 City, 228,914 Metro Home Arena: Macon Coliseum Capacity: 7182 Avg. Attendance: 1905 20-21 Record: 32-6-2 Inaugural Year: 2015 1 Championship (2017), 2 Finals Appearances (2021) Pensacola Ice FlyersFrom: Pensacola, Florida Population: 51,923 City, 497,883 Metro Home Arena: Pensacola Bay Center Capacity: 8049 Avg. Attendance: 3466 20-21 Record: 18-18-2 Inaugural Year: 2009 4 Championships (2013, 2014, 2016, 2021), 5 Finals Appearnces (2012) Peoria RivermenFrom: Peoria, Illinois Population: 115,007 City, 373,590 Metro Home Arena: Carver Arena Capacity: 9919 Avg. Attendance: 3788 19-20 Record: 33-8-1 Inaugural Year: 2013 0 Championships, 3 Finals Appearances (2016, 2017, 2018) Quad City StormFrom: Moline, Illinois Population: 43,471 City, 381,342 Metro Home Arena: TaxSlayer Center Capacity: 9200 Avg. Attendance: 3080 19-20 Record: 16-20-6 Inaugrual Year: 2018 0 Championships, 0 Finals Appearances Roanoke Rail Yard DawgsFrom: Roanoke, Virginia Population: 100,011 City, 315,251 Metro Home Arena: Berglund Center Capacity: 8672 Avg. Attendance: 3380 19-20 Record: 16-22-6 Inaugural Year: 2016 0 Championships, 0 Finals Appearances Vermilion County BobcatsFrom: Danville, Illinois Population: 33,027 City, 81,625 Metro Home Arena: Palmer Center Capacity: 2350 Avg. Attendance: 866 (Federal League) Inaugural Year: 2021 Comments are closed.
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