Lafayette, here comes the SPHL

ORLANDO, FLA – The Southern Professional Hockey League’s march along Interstate 10 is about to reach into Cajun country.
Late Thursday afternoon, the league announced that a press conference will be held on Friday, May 15 at 2 P.M. CDT in Lafayette, Louisiana by a local investor who has contacted the SPHL about joining the five year old league. Fans and media have been invited to attend.
Expected to be at the press conference at the Wingate by Wyndham Hotel are Jim Combs, SPHL commissioner, and Ron Handy, who had been rumored to be involved with an investor group looking into reviving hockey in Lafayette. Members of the new team’s front office staff are also expected to attend.
Handy, 46, has a long and storied background in professional hockey. A third round draft choice (57th overall pick) of the New York Islanders in 1981, Handy has played at every pro level in North America, including with the Islanders and the St. Louis Blues in the NHL. Along the way, he won the IHL’s N.R. “Bud” Poile Trophy as Turner Cup playoffs most valuable player with the Kansas City Blades in 1992 and the CHL’s President’s Trophy as the “key player in the playoffs” in 1994 and 1995 while with the Wichita Thunder.
Handy’s ties to Lafayette come from having played with the ECHL Louisiana IceGators from 1995-1997. The IceGators played in the ECHL from 1995 to 2005 and set many attendance records at the 12,068-seat Cajundome. Financial issues forced the franchise to shut its doors after the 2004-2005 season.
During that time, The IceGators had intense rivalries with the Mississippi Sea Wolves in Biloxi, MS and the Pensacola Ice Pilots in Pensacola, FL. Both Biloxi and Pensacola have already announced intentions to join the SPHL for the 2009-2010 season. Ironically, the Ice Gators’ last coach was Todd Gordon who will be the general manager and head coach of the Pensacola IceFlyers this fall.
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Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com