PENSACOLA, FLA – The Pensacola Ice Flyers managed to snap an 8-game losing streak on Sunday by shutting out Knoxville 3-0 at the Hangar. Still, the avalanche of losses has knocked the once dynasty-looking team off its gilded perch, all the way down to sixth place in the SPHL.
These are the times when it’s good to have fans like Denise Jo Hemenway and Tori Craft.
Denise and Tori take the concept of team boosters to a whole new level. On the day after Christmas, Denise,Tori, and a few friends chartered a limousine from Pensacola to Huntsville, Alabama – a 350 mile party on wheels – for a weekend series that saw the Ice Flyers suffer their worst loss of the season in the Friday contest. That didn’t deter them from cheering them on at Probst Arena and encouraging them after the game. Pensacola settled the score in the Saturday game, albeit by a much smaller margin.
On January 25th, Denise and Tori hit the green with the team in an Ice Flyers’ golf tournament at Pensacola’s Tiger Point and on January 31st, the party duo celebrated in flamboyant fashion by going out on the ice for the Mardi Gras on Ice parade and helping the Flyers throw the traditional trinkets to a jubilant crowd of 5,537. Peoria rained on the festivities by topping the Flyers 4-3 in OT, but it didn’t seem to dampen spirits much. In fact, nothing seems to.
Ice Flyer loyalty has become somewhat of an enigma. Two factors besides consistent losses that could have affected crowd numbers – a new fee for parking in the lots across from the Bay Center and the inability to renegotiate with Circle K for $10 general admission ticket sales – has had no effect on turnout. In fact the Ice Flyers’ average attendance as of home game number 19 is 4004, the highest in the SPHL. Even with the team perched precariously on the ledge of playoff qualification, fans in Pensacola vigorously hang on to the 3-peat dream.
And blanking the second place Ice Bears is certainly a promising step up that very long stairwell.
“Ice Flyers Hockey fans represent a small slice of the community, much like a family,” Hemingway said. “This niche fan base is tight; not through blood ties but through passion for the sport, it’s traditions, and players.” 
“I love our team,” Craft said. “There are some amazing guys in our organization who are crazy fun. I love being able to say I’m a hockey fan from the South!”
We asked the dynamic duo what they thought a fitting title for them would be for this story. They wanted “Hockey Hooligans”. Maybe if the story was set for St Patrick’s Day. However, this is Valentine’s Day so it is more appropriate to celebrate Denise and Tori’s love for the Ice Flyers.
Photos Courtesy of Vanessa Johnson, Denise Hemenway, and Tori Craft
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