Sapergia: Losing not an option for IceGators

LAFAYETTE, LA – When Ron Handy stepped down as Louisiana IceGators head coach, his longtime friend, former teammate and now boss Brent Sapergia wasn’t about to stop him from doing so. At 0-3 to start the season, Sapergia, in the role of team president and general manager, knew that something needed to be done to stop the skid before it went further. Now Sapergia, who has added the title of interim coach to his resume, has the task of fixing what is wrong with the team while at the same time finding a new head coach to replace his friend. “I played 13 years. I won championships making the playoffs with four days left in the regular

season. I’ve won them from first place. Nobody’s ordering the rings this time of year,” Sapergia said. “I guarantee you this (losing streak) won’t continue. Losing is not an option with me.” Sapergia’s playing career, like that of Handy, spanned the 1980s through the early-to-mid 1990s. At that time, the game’s personality was one of rugged checking and intimidation – very much an “old school” mentality. It was that way when the IceGators, the Pensacola Ice Pilots and the Mississippi Sea Wolves met in ECHL games. It was the reason why the rivalries between the three teams were some of the fiercest in minor league hockey. It was also what Sapergia and Handy expected to see when the trio of franchises joined the SPHL. As it turned out, however, the pair didn’t expect that the reduction of available roster spots due to team failures in higher leagues would spice up the SPHL than the three-team expansion. “Quite frankly, we both felt that the performance in the games that we lost, that this team needed to be completely readjusted, redone, whatever you want to say,” he said. “I think that with all the double-A teams that folded last year, I think the quality of the hockey in this league (SPHL) has improved by 40 percent because the film I watched of the finals between Fayetteville and Knoxville to get myself familiar with this league, is nothing like the quality that I’ve seen in this league. I’ve only seen two teams (Mississippi and Pensacola) but both of those teams would have beaten Fayetteville and Knoxville handily.” Although the 3-2, 6-2 and 4-2 losses might not indicate it on paper, Sapergia said that the IceGators’ play in the three contests left much to be desired. “We honestly believed that it wasn’t so much the scores as it was the way we played. I just think our talent level was down,” he said. “We honestly both believed that this team needed to be completely torn apart. We built the wrong kind of a team.” When asked if he thought Handy’s self-assessment was correct in that he misjudged the level of talent due to being away from the pro game for so long, Sapergia did assert that he was just as responsible for the failure. He also indicated that big changes are in store, maybe as soon as the coming weekend. “For starters, I take 100 percent of the responsibility for this. I recruited most of this team,” he said. “I thought we were taking a step up from last year and the league took two steps up. I mean we’ve gotten rid of five guys already and on an 18-man roster, we’ll probably have nine new players in here by the weekend possibly.”
Sapergia feels that now that they have a better handle on where the league is going, the team can search for more appropriate players.
“Now we’re recruiting from where we need to be recruiting. Like I said, I think with the teams that folded last year, there’s probably a hundred double-A guys in the league now – and that’s not counting the cream of the crop from the SPHL,” he said.
As for Handy, Sapergia is excited to have the former head coach more involved with the off-ice growth of the team. Sapergia said Handy will be using his connections in the community to boost sales, increase the number of community relations opportunities and act as a customer service liason.
“He’s been here 14 years. He’s well known in the community. Everybody knows him,” Sapergia said about Handy. “He’s obviously an asset to the organization.”
As promised, Sapergia brought in two new players, Jim Jensen and Casey Russell, for Friday night’s home game against Pensacola. The rest of the IceGators took the cue from the week of changes and won their first game under their interim coach by a 3-2 final.
The changes may not be done quite yet but at least so far, Sapergia’s moves are perfect.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com