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Mississippi Surge

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Mississippi Surge
CityBiloxi, Mississippi
LeagueSouthern Professional Hockey League
Founded2009
Home arenaMississippi Coast Coliseum
ColorsBlue, Gold, Metallic Silver, White
       
Owner(s)Coast Hockey, LLC (Richard Dedaux, Dr. Mike Diaz, Bo Lindsay, Jason Ondriezek, Chuck Thuss and Steffon Walby)
General managerSteffon Walby
Head coachSteffon Walby
MediaThe Sun Herald
Franchise history
2009–PresentMississippi Surge
Championships
Playoff championships1 [2010-11]

The Mississippi Surge is a professional team in the Southern Professional Hockey League that began play in the 2009-10 season. Based in Biloxi, home games are played at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum also known as "The Power Plant".[1]

History

The Mississippi Surge began play 2009 following the suspension of operations of the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the East Coast Hockey League. The disbandment of the Sea Wolves left South Mississippi without a hockey team or a professional sports team. A new team was announced to begin play in 2009 and the team held a name-the-team contest on their temporary webpage. On June 17, the Surge unveiled their name, logo, and colors.[2] The team was to be coached by long time Sea Wolves player and coach Steffon Walby.

In the franchise's first season in the SPHL the Surge had great success. After finishing first in the league at 34-14-8 at the end of the regular season, the Surge were presented the William B. Coffey Trophy as the regular season champions. The Surge advanced to the play-offs and faced the Columbus Cottonmouths in a series that they won 3-1. In the championship round the Surge were defeated by the Huntsville Havoc. In addition to winning the William B. Coffey Trophy, the Surge also won many of the league’s player awards. Steffon Walby was chosen as Coach of the Year, Steve Weidlich was chosen as Defenseman of the Year and was named team captain the following season, and Bill Zaniboni was chosen as the Goalie of the Year.

In the team's second year of operation, the Surge facing adversity with numerous injuries and call-ups of key players, again managed to finish the season in first place with a over-all record of 37-19. The Mississippi Surge were again crowned the Regular Season Champions and received the 2010-2011 William B. Coffey Trophy for their second year in a row. The Surge played the Knoxville Ice Bears in Round 1 of the 2010-2011 Play-offs and advanced to the SPHL Finals after winning the series 3-2. In the SPHL Finals the Surge were matched up against the 2nd Seed Augusta Riverhawks and swept the series 3-0 claiming their first President's Cup.

Moving into the Surge's 3rd year of operation a deal was struck and Tim Kerr, who also owns the Pensacola Ice Flyers, became the new team owner. In late July, Tim Kerr and the Surge announced they had fired former Coach of the Year Steffon Walby. This was met with much dissatisfaction by fans as well as players and staff as Coach Walby had won two Commissioner's Cups and one President's Cup along with a "Coach of the Year" award in just two seasons with the Surge. The move left a majority of fans, players, and staff members stunned, team owner Tim Kerr has yet to release a reason for the termination.

Season-by-Season record

Year Position GP W L OTL Pts Pct GF GA PIM Coach Result
2009-10 1st 56 34 14 8 76 0.607 168 139 1344 Steffon Walby Lost in Finals
2010-11 1st 56 37 19 * 74 0.660 207 157 1059 Steffon Walby Champions

  • Do to a rule change, no points are given for OTL

2010/11 Roster

Forwards
No. Player Pos. Shoots Height Weight Place of Birth
7 Canada Michael Richard C 5' 9" 190 lbs. Saint-Constant, Quebec, Canada
9 Canada Matt Zultek LW L 6' 4" 210 lbs. Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
11 United States Chris Chambers F 6' 3" 200 lbs. Crofton, Maryland, USA
13 Canada Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn LW L 5' 11" 190 lbs. Sharon, Ontario, Canada
14 United States Rob Campbell F 5' 10" 175 lbs. Reading, Massachusetts, USA
15 United States Rusty Masters C L 6' 0" 185 lbs. Grafton, Ontario, Canada
16 Adam Bartholomy F 5' 11" 216 lbs.
23 United States Jeff Grant F 6' 0" 165 lbs. Burlington, Massachusetts, USA
26 United States Jason Beeman RW R 5' 11" 213 lbs. Los Angeles, California, USA
28 Canada Ryan McCarthy C 5' 10" 185 lbs. Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Defensemen
# Player Pos. Shoots Height Weight Place of Birth
2 United States Shane Wagner D 6' 0" 190 lbs. Stillwater, Minnesota, USA
3 Canada Jeff Winchester D L 6' 2" 205 lbs. Dalhousie, New Brunswick, Canada
5 Canada Greg Moore D 5' 10" 200 lbs. Châteauguay, Quebec, Canada
22 United States Glenn Cacaro D L 6' 0" 190 lbs. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
25 United States Jack Wolgemuth D 6' 3" 185 lbs. Anchorage, Alaska, USA
27 United States Nick Klaren D 6' 1" 200 lbs. North St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
42 Canada Steve Weidlich D L 6' 2" 210 lbs. Edmonton, Alberta, USA
Goaltenders
# Player Pos. Catches Height Weight Place of Birth
31 Canada Dan Earles G 5' 11" 175 lbs. Penetang, Ontario, Canada
33 United States Bill Zaniboni G R 6' 1" 210 lbs. Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
  • Head Coach: Steffon Walby
  • Player-Assistant: Steve Weidlich

References

  1. ^ "SOUTHERN PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE COMES TO THE COAST". TheSPHL.com. May 7, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2009. [dead link]
  2. ^ "Coast Hockey announces new team name". The Sun Herald. June 17, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2009. [dead link]
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