Monday, February 15, 2010
Legacy of hockey on solid ice in Knoxville
KNOXVILLE, TENN. - In a state where football is king and playing in a town colored in orange, the Knoxville Ice Bears are finally getting the recognition they deserve, both on and off the ice.
The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame has named the Ice Bears the 2009 Professional Sports Team of the Year and will present the prestigious award at the Hall’s annual banquet in Nashville on Friday, February 19.
“I feel it is a very rare, very special honor,” Knoxville General Manager Mike Murray said. “This is well deserved by the guys who have done something incredible by winning back-to-back championships.”
The TSHOF is a statewide, non-profit organization that was founded to honor and preserve outstanding sports achievements in Tennessee. The Ice Bears are just the second hockey team to gain admittance into the Hall of Fame, joining the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
“The Knoxville Ice Bears were selected as the 2009 Professional Sports Team of the Year for winning their second straight Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) President’s Cup championship,” TSHOF Executive Director Ryland Hoskins said.
Murray is very proud that hockey has become Knoxville’s premiere winter sport. It is also a nod to the legacy of a sport that has existed in the shadows of the University of Tennessee for decades.
The Ice Bears aren’t the first franchise to call Knoxville home. That distinction belongs to the Knoxville Knights who skated in the Eastern Hockey League from 1961-1968. The Ice Bears are however the most accomplished with three championships in the first five seasons of the SPHL and crowds that average about 3,000 fans each home game.
According to Murray, the reason that the Ice Bears are a hockey powerhouse is because it is run by a professional staff and owned by passionate hockey fans. One of those avid fans - and perhaps one of the most loyal supporters in the city - is John Langley.
Long before he was an owner of a professional hockey team, Langley was a fan. But he wasn’t just any fan - he was the very first season ticket holder for the Knoxville Cherokees when they began playing in the East Coast Hockey League in 1988.
Being one of them, Langley knows exactly what the fans want from their hockey team.
“Our goal is to produce a great product for the people of Knoxville to enjoy at a reasonable price and in a family-friendly environment,” Langley said. “We provide a very inexpensive option for fun.”
Langley believes that the real legacy of having a professional hockey team in Knoxville is to inspire youth to play the game and to continue to develop the sport. If the success of the Knoxville Amateur Hockey Association (KAHA) is any indication, the Ice Bears are definitely fueling the next generation of players and fans.
KAHA offers recreational and competitive hockey to the community and has strong ties with the Ice Bears. During the 2008-2009 season, KAHA trained 350 youth skaters and more than 300 adult skaters. Not bad for a town where college football dominates the landscape every weekend during the fall.
Many of the players who come to East Tennessee to play professional hockey have fallen in love with the beauty of the region and warmth of the people and stayed. Langley still keeps in touch with many of them.
“These guys chose to stay in Knoxville to give back to the community that supported them when they were players,” he said. “There are a lot of devoted hockey fans in Knoxville.”
Murray wholeheartedly agrees with Langley about how seriously the players take their responsibility to the community.
“The players really embrace their role in the community,” Murray said. “They are great role models and their presence in the community is priceless.”
The Knoxville Ice Bears have become great ambassadors for the sport and for the future of the SPHL. The statewide recognition the induction into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame might just be what is needed to bring additional hockey teams to the area. It is a possibility that hasn’t escaped Murray, who this year was installed as Chairman of the Board of Governors for the league.
“This recognition helps increase awareness of our league and could possibly help with expansion within the state,” he said.
The Ice Bears provide more than just a good source of sports entertainment. They have become a significant contributor to the city’s economic life through tourism dollars.
“Every time visitors travel into our community, they are spending money in our restaurants, gas stations, attractions, hotels and more. The money generated by tourist spending tremendously helps our economic bottom line,” Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation President and C.E.O. Gloria Ray said. “Knoxville has always enjoyed the reputation as being one of the nation’s premiere cities for sports. From the championship tradition at the University of Tennessee to the now championship tradition with the Ice Bears, it’s definitely safe to say that Knoxville is the home of champions.”
While Murray will be in Nashville to accept the award on behalf of the franchise, his team will be on the ice facing the Fayetteville FireAntz, who begin the week three points ahead of the Ice Bears in the SPHL standings. The Ice Bears and their fans hope that the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame award isn’t the last piece of hardware they bring home this spring.
For more information on the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, go to www.tshf.net.
Kristina Shands is an intern with the Knoxville Ice Bears.
Contact the author at kristina.shands@prohockeynews.com.
© Copyright 2010 by Prohockeynews.com
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