IceGators prepare to take bite of SPHL

LAFAYETTE, LA – For ten years, the Cajundome in Lafayette rocked and rolled with the sights and sounds of hockey on the bayou in the form of the Louisiana IceGators. Fans by the thousands packed into the ‘Dome to see the IceGators take on ECHL rivals. Then in 2005, it all went away. Beginning Thursday night, the “chomp” is back as the new SPHL version of the IceGators take to the ice at the Blackham Coliseum in their first regular season game. The “Blackout in Blackham” as the team is calling opening night against the Mississippi Surge is expected to draw a raucous crowd reminiscent of the ECHL days. “It’s been fantastic. I’ve been very impressed with the ability of these players,”

IceGators head coach Ron Handy said about his first SPHL training camp. “The speed, the puck control. I’ve been impressed with the level of hockey we’ve had here.” The buzz about the rebirth of the IceGators started almost from the moment that owner Danny Smith, general manager Brent Sapergia and Handy stepped away from the podium at the initial press conference. It grew by leaps and bounds last weekend when the team hosted a special “Fighting For 15” alumni game to benefit the family of former IceGator captain Rob Weingartner who is fighting cancer. “We had 2,500 show up for the event and down here in Louisiana it’s word-of-mouth. Everybody was impressed with how we cleaned the building (Blackham Coliseum) up, how the rink fits in there, how there’s not a bad seat in the building,” Handy said. “Right now I’m sitting at our office because we needed more people to answer the phone and sell tickets. We’ve gotten some good coverage on TV and in the paper. I think everybody’s embracing it so far and waiting for the outcome on Thursday. The buzz is around town.” Handy said that getting down to the 18-man roster limit has been “one of the toughest things” he’s had to do because of all of the talent that the players exhibited. One of the first players the coach noted was the team’s first signee, veteran forward Frank Littlejohn. Littlejohn’s pro resume dates back to 1999 and has taken him through the WPHL, ECHL, UHL, AHL and most recently the IHL. In 67 total games split between Muskegon and Flint last year, he posted 25 goals and 21 assists to go right along with 245 penalty minutes. All told, he has 281 career goals and 2,389 penalty minutes on his stat sheet. “He’s well known around the minor hockey league scene. He’s come in and been a great leader on the ice and off the ice,” Handy said about Littlejohn, who he named captain. “I’m looking to him to carry our team as much as he can. He’s great for the younger kids.” Another forward who surprised Handy was Luc Boissonnaeult. He attended the IceGators’ open tryout camp and drew an invite to the main camp. Two faces SPHL fans will recognize up front will be Ben Manny and Daryl Moore. Entering his fifth year in the SPHL, Manny had 25 goals, 39 points and 182 penalty minutes in 55 games with the Twin City Cyclones. Moore, who also comes to Lafayette from Twin City, spent most of last season in the CHL with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. In 118 career SPHL games, Moore has 69 goals and 74 assists to his credit. One other forward who caught Handy’s eye was Kazuma Takahashi. Handy said he had heard good things about the 30-year old but was impressed even more seeing him in person. “He’s another one up front that never seems to tire. He’s in top physical condition,” Handy said. “He’s 30 years old but he plays like he’s 21 years old out there. He really brings up the speed of our team. He’s the kind of guy I’m going to use on the penalty kill that’s going to torment the other teams in the league.” The IceGators’ defensive corps according to Handy will be a young but eager group. Leading the way will be Swedish-born Tobias Karlsson who showed great conditioning and stamina throughout camp. Drew Baker, who was sent to Handy by former teammate and now NHL official Dan O’Rourke, also showed great talent and made the IceGators’ staff take notice. Goaltending was Handy’s biggest problem. Initially he brought in four net minders to battle for the two spots on the roster. In the end, none of them worked to the coach’s satisfaction so he brought in three more goalies who had been casualties of higher league cuts to join one holdover from the original set for a two-day “mini camp” that Handy hoped would provide him with two good goalies just before the league roster deadline of Wednesday afternoon. Handy, who throughout his long playing career that included two short stints in the NHL (N.Y. Islanders and St. Louis) was a better than average scorer, said that when he was looking for players to invite to camp, he sought out guys who were offensive thinking types – much like he was. “My thing, and I’ve seen it in the past few years, is that a lot of coaches go by HockeyDB (player stats web site) and the word of agents and of course every agent has the best player that you need,“ he said. “I’m kind of an old school player that I believe that a good offense makes for a good defense because I was an offensive (style) player. Other players look at is as a good defense is a good offense and that defense wins you hockey games. I’ve always believed in scoring a lot of goals and puck control. I’m kind of molding the team after the way I played.” As far as what the IceGators’ fan can expect on the ice, Handy thinks that everyone will find something they like. “I’ve talked to a lot of fans down here and everybody loves a different position. Some people like the hitters. Some people like goaltenders. Some like the goal scorers. I think on my team right now I’ve got a little of bit of something for everybody to like,” he said. “I’ve got a bunch of kids that are willing to go out in the community and promote the IceGators but also promote the Southern Professional Hockey League in a positive way.” Sounds like perfect Cajun hospitality – hockey style. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com