Mississippi Sea Wolves

The Mississippi Sea Wolves were a professional hockey team based in Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....

 and playing in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum

Mississippi Coast Coliseum

The Mississippi Coast Coliseum is a 11,500 reserved seating, 15,000 festival seating, multi-purpose arena in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was built in 1977. It hosted WCW Beach Blast 1993 and the Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball tournament in 1992 and 1993...

. The Sea Wolves were members of the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

.

The Sea Wolves were founded in 1996 and enjoyed considerable success over their 10 seasons in the ECHL. They reached the playoffs in five of their first seven years, and celebrated a league championship in 1999, when they defeated the Richmond Renegades

Richmond Renegades (ECHL)

The Richmond Renegades were an ECHL ice hockey team in Richmond, Virginia that played in the East Coast Hockey League from 1990 until 2003. The Renegades played at the Richmond Coliseum, which they marketed in later years as the Freezer....

 in a best of seven series to claim the Kelly Cup

Kelly Cup

The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the play-off champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup. The current cup is named after Patrick J. Kelly, the league's first commissioner. The cup is loaned to the winning...

.

Damages from Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

 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 caused by Hurricane Katrina. A second team, the Texas Wildcatters

Texas Wildcatters

The Texas Wildcatters, who took their name from Texas wildcatters, were an ECHL team based in Beaumont, Texas. They played their home games at the Ford Arena. They were the affiliate of the Florida Panthers in 2004–2005. The team played in Huntington, West Virginia and were known as the Huntington...

, was also granted a hardship provision because of Hurricane Rita for one year, and resumed play in 2006–07.

Hurricane Katrina resulted in extensive damage to the team’s home arena, including flood damage to team offices and locker rooms as well as the ice-making equipment and two Zambonis.

During the 2006–07 ECHL All-Star Game, the league officially welcomed back the Sea Wolves at the Board of Governors Meeting held during the festivities.

“The ECHL is delighted to officially welcome back the Sea Wolves for their belated 10th year in the ‘Den’. While much works remains to be done, there has been significant progress since Dec. 1, 2006 and we expect that momentum will continue throughout the spring and summer months,” said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna. “The ownership group is unanimously behind the team and now we need fans and sponsors to lend their support to ensure a successful return.”

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 pro hockey would continue to be played on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the form of the Mississippi Surge

Mississippi Surge

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".-History:...

 in the Southern Professional Hockey League

Southern Professional Hockey League

The Southern Professional Hockey League is a low-level professional ice hockey league based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with teams located in the southeastern United States.- History :...

. The team's management was able to keep the tradition going. The Surge will play at the Coast Coliseum beginning with the 2009–10 season.

History

League Champions

Division Champions

Playoff Berth

Season	Division	Regular season							Statistics			Postseason results	Coach
		W	L	T	OTL	SOL	Points	Pct.	Goals For	Goals Against	Penalty Mins
Mississippi Sea Wolves
1996–97 1996–97 ECHL season The 1996-97 ECHL season was the ninth season of the ECHL. Before the start of the season, two franchises relocated, one was renamed, and two expansion franchises were founded...	South	34	26	10	--	--	78	.557	241	245	2082	Lost First Round (0-3)	Bruce Boudreau
1997–98 1997–98 ECHL season The 1997-98 ECHL season was the tenth season of the ECHL. Before the start of the season, the league saw the Knoxville Cherokees move to Florence, SC and welcomed expansion teams in New Orleans, LA and Upper Marlboro, MD...	Southwest	34	27	9	--	--	77	.550	225	224	1909	--	Bruce Boudreau
1998–99 1998–99 ECHL season The 1998-99 ECHL season was the 11th season of the ECHL. Before the start of the season, the league saw the Louisville River Frogs move to Miami, FL and the Raleigh Icecaps move to Augusta, GA as well as welcoming two new franchises in Estero, FL and Greenville, SC...	Southwest	41	22	7	--	--	89	.636	251	215	1357	Kelly Cup Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the play-off champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup. The current cup is named after Patrick J. Kelly, the league's first commissioner. The cup is loaned to the winning...  Champions (14-4)	Bruce Boudreau
1999–00 1999–2000 ECHL season The 1999-2000 ECHL season was the 12th season of the ECHL. Before the start of the season, the Miami Matadors and Columbus Chill suspended operations, the Chesapeake Icebreakers, who originally suspended operations, moved to Jackson, MS...	Southwest	35	27	8	--	--	78	.557	241	221	1773	Lost Quarterfinals (3-4)	Marc Potvin
2000–01 2000–01 ECHL season The 2000-01 ECHL season was the 13th season of the ECHL. Before the season, the league lost three members as the Huntington Blizzard and the Jacksonville Lizard Kings ceased operations and the powerhouse Hampton Roads Admirals moved up to the American Hockey League as the Norfolk Admirals, the...	Southwest	34	33	5	--	--	73	.507	221	218	1310	--	Al Pedersen
2001–02 2001–02 ECHL season The 2001-02 ECHL season was the 14th season of the East Coast Hockey League. Before the start of the season, the league saw one expansion franchise and five relocations, three of which were through the buying of the franchise rights of former clubs that had ceased operations...	Southwest	41	26	5	--	--	87	.604	251	232	1706	--	Bob Woods
2002–03	Southwest	44	24	4	--	--	92	.639	250	211	2159	Lost Division Finals (3-3)	Bob Woods
2003–04	Central	45	20	7	--	--	97	.674	256	200	1632	Lost Division Semifinals (2-3)	Bob Woods
2004–05	South	39	24	9	--	--	87	.604	223	215	1372	Lost Conference Quarterfinals (1-3)	Bob Woods
2005–06	Inactive due to arena damages from Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
2006–07
2007–08	South	29	40	--	1	2	61	.424	204	262	1462	Lost First Round (1-3)	Steffon Walby
2008–09 2008–09 ECHL season The 2008-09 ECHL season was the 21st of the ECHL. The league welcomed one new franchise, the Ontario Reign, which will relocate from Beaumont, Texas and will play at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA. Two teams, the Columbia Inferno and the Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz, will voluntary...	South	21	25	--	6	0	48	.459	154	196	992	TBD Stats compiled as of 2/19/09	Steffon Walby
All-Time Totals		397	294	64	7	2	867	.567	2517	2439	17754	Kelly Cup Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the play-off champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup. The current cup is named after Patrick J. Kelly, the league's first commissioner. The cup is loaned to the winning... Champion 24-23 postseason record

Current roster

As of March 30, 2009. Data taken from ECHL website.http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/roster.php?step=&sub=&season_id=9&team_id=28

Goaltenders
#	Player	Catches	Date of birth	Place of birth
1		Ryan Munce	L	April 16, 1985	Mississauga, ON, Canada
31		John Murray	L	July 4, 1987	Lancaster, PA, USA

Defensemen
#	Player	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth
4		Chris Zarb	R	January 11, 1985	Waterford, MI, USA
5		Kyle Peto	L	September 10, 1982	Lethbridge, AB, Canada
7		Mike Nesdill	R	February 7, 1984	Phoenix, AZ, USA
15		Pat Oliveto	R	June 9, 1984	Rochester, NY, USA
17		Bill LeClerc	R	April 26, 1984	Acton, MA, USA
22		Martin Frechette	R	July 11, 1986	Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
27		Matt Deschamps	R	April 23, 1980	Poughkeepsie, NY, USA

Forwards
#	Player	Position	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth
6		Jason Tejchma	F	L	May 13, 1983	Muskegon, MI, USA
9		Mark Rooneem	F	L	January 9, 1983	Grande Cache, AB, Canada
10		Mike Berry	RW	L	June 28, 1983	Kanata, ON, Canada
14		Jeremy Hall	LW	L	May 3, 1983	Mays Landing, NJ, USA
16		Ryan Cruthers	F	R	July 4, 1984	Farmingdale, NY, USA
19		Jeff Kyrzakos	C	R	February 6, 1985	Mississauga, ON, Canada
23		Ryan Menei	RW	R	July 31, 1986	Winnipeg, MB, Canada
26		Evan Kotsopoulos	LW	L	March 24, 1984	Unionville, ON, Canada
33		Kyle McAllister	C	L	April 7, 1981	Cornwall, ON, Canada
71		Alexandre Parent	C	L	October 4, 1984	Boisbriand, QC, Canada
91		Mathieu Melanson	RW	L	August 31, 1985	Shediac, NB, Canada

Staff
Title	Staff member
Head coach	Steffon Walby
Assistant coach	Stephane Neron
Athletic trainer	B.J. Leyser
Equipment manager	Donny White
Broadcaster	Leif Skodnick

External links

• Sea Wolves Home Page
  • Team Press Releases
• ECHL Home Page
  • The ECHL officially announces the Sea Wolves return.
• Mississippi Coast Coliseum