Tallahassee Tiger Sharks

Ice hockey team in Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee Tiger Sharks

City| Tallahassee, Florida
League| ECHL
Founded| 1981 (In the CHL)
Operated| 1994–2001
Home arena| Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center
Head coach| Terry Christensen (1994–1998, 1999–2000)
Jeff Brubaker (1998–1999)
Gerry Fleming (2000–2001)
Franchise history
1981–1983| Nashville South Stars
1983–1990| Virginia Lancers
1990–1992| Roanoke Valley Rebels
1992–1993| Roanoke Valley Rampage
1993–1994| Huntsville Blast
1994–2001| Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
2001–2002| Macon Whoopee
2002–2003| Lexington Men O' War
2005–present| Utah Grizzlies

The Tallahassee Tiger Sharks were a minor league professional ice hockey team that played in Tallahassee, Florida, from 1994 to 2001 as members of the East Coast Hockey League. The Tiger Sharks home rink was the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center. While in Tallahassee, the franchise was affiliated with the NHL's New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, and Montreal Canadiens. Since the loss of the Tiger Sharks franchise, several attempts have been made by local residents to bring ice hockey back to Tallahassee. Thus far, none of these efforts have been successful.

## Franchise history

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The franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars in Nashville, Tennessee, in the Central Hockey League. Henry Brabham then took over the team in 1983 and relocated it mid-season to Vinton, Virginia, to become the Virginia Lancers. Brabham and the Lancers were then one of the founding members of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in 1988. The franchise remained in Vinton until 1993 when it relocated to Huntsville, Alabama, as the Huntsville Blast for one season.

In 1994, the Huntsville franchise relocated to Tallahassee and became the Tiger Sharks. The team adopted a new color scheme of black and gray, with white as an official accent color. Terry Christensen was named head coach of the Tiger Sharks, a position he held for five of the team's seven seasons in Tallahassee.[1] The Tiger Sharks qualified for the playoffs in each of its first three seasons. Christensen left the organization to coach the Miami Matadors hockey club in 1998. At the start of the 1998–99 ECHL season, the color scheme was changed to red, white, and black. Jeff Brubaker, a former NHL enforcer who won the ECHL's Riley Cup as the coach of the Greensboro Monarchs, coached the team during the 1998–99 season. Following the folding of the Miami Matadors after one season, Christensen returned to coach the Tiger Sharks again for the 1999–2000 season. During the 2000–01 season, the Tiger Sharks were coached by Gerry Fleming, a former enforcer who spent ten years with the Fredericton Canadiens as both a player and as an assistant coach. During the 2000–01 season, the team was in position to qualify for the playoffs after missing in the previous three seasons, but was penalized $50,000 and 15 points in the standings for violating the team salary cap and making improper payments to NHL and AHL teams to get assigned players.[2] After the conclusion of the 2000–01 season, the franchise was relocated to Macon, Georgia.[3]

## Playoffs

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* 1994–95: Defeated Hampton Roads 3–1 in first round; defeated Birmingham 3–1 in quarterfinals; lost to Richmond 3–2 in semifinals.
* 1995–96: Defeated Raleigh 3–1 in first round; defeated Richmond 3–1 in quarterfinals; lost to Charlotte 3–1 in semifinals.
* 1996–97: Lost to Pensacola 3–0 in first round.
* 1997–98: Did not qualify.
* 1998–99: Did not qualify.
* 1999–00: Did not qualify.
* 2000–01: Did not qualify.

## Mascot

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The Tiger Sharks' mascot was an ice-skating 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) gray tiger shark named Frenzy. Frenzy was immensely popular among Tiger Sharks fans (and Tallahasseans in general).

## Notable NHL alumni

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List of Tallahassee Tiger Sharks alumni who played more than 25 games in Tallahassee and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League.

* Kimbi Daniels
* Ben Guite
* Todd Reirden

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Pierson named Lynx assistant general manager". The Augusta Chronicle. April 23, 1998. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
2. ^ "ECHL fines Tallahassee $50K and 15 points in standings". The Trentonian. March 31, 2001. Retrieved September 11, 2020. [dead link‍]
3. ^ Kelly, Ryan; Keel, Fletcher (August 3, 2018). "Flashback Friday: The Tiger Sharks take Tallahassee". WCTV. Retrieved August 3, 2018.

## External links

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* Tallahassee Tiger Sharks at HockeyDB

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Relocated and defunct ECHL franchises

Relocated
(still active)|

* Alaska Aces (Maine Mariners)
* Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies (Adirondack Thunder)
* Bakersfield Condors (Norfolk Admirals)
* Birmingham Bulls (Adirondack Thunder)
* Carolina Thunderbirds (Wheeling Nailers)
* Columbus Chill (Reading Royals)
* Evansville IceMen (Jacksonville Icemen)
* Huntsville Blast (Utah Grizzlies)
* Johnstown Chiefs (Greenville Swamp Rabbits)
* Lexington Men O' War (Utah Grizzlies)
* Louisville RiverFrogs (Cincinnati Cyclones)
* Macon Whoopee (Utah Grizzlies)
* Miami Matadors (Cincinnati Cyclones)
* Mobile Mysticks (Atlanta Gladiators)
* Stockton Thunder (Adirondack Thunder)
* Tallahassee Tiger Sharks (Utah Grizzlies)
* Toledo Storm (Toledo Walleye)
* Winston-Salem Thunderbirds (Wheeling Nailers)
* Virginia Lancers (Utah Grizzlies)

Defunct|

* Arkansas RiverBlades
* Augusta Lynx
* Baton Rouge Kingfish
* Brampton Beast
* Charlotte Checkers
* Chesapeake Icebreakers
* Chicago Express
* Colorado Eagles
* Columbia Inferno
* Columbus Cottonmouths
* Dayton Bombers
* Elmira Jackals
* Erie Panthers
* Fresno Falcons
* Greensboro Generals
* Greensboro Monarchs
* Greenville Grrrowl
* Hampton Roads Admirals
* Huntington Blizzard
* Jackson Bandits
* Jacksonville Lizard Kings
* Knoxville Cherokees
* Las Vegas Wranglers
* Long Beach Ice Dogs
* Louisiana IceGators
* Louisville Icehawks
* Manchester Monarchs
* Mississippi Sea Wolves
* Nashville Knights
* Newfoundland Growlers
* New Orleans Brass
* Ontario Reign
* Pee Dee Pride
* Pensacola Ice Pilots
* Peoria Rivermen
* Phoenix RoadRunners
* Quad City Mallards
* Raleigh IceCaps
* Richmond Renegades
* Roanoke Express
* San Diego Gulls
* San Francisco Bulls
* Trenton Titans/Devils
* Texas Wildcatters
* Victoria Salmon Kings

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