re: Baton Rouge Kingfish

Yes they were. I’m not spending the time necessary, but head to head I’d bet that LA had the better record. Even overall I’d say they had more wins. So much fun spending so many nights in the cajundome with my dad. Had season tickets in the 200s for many years. I also started playing hockey at age 11/12 and played for 13 years. Favorite sport (also most difficult) by far that I played growing up.

Monroe moccasins would beat that arse

Really liked Blair and Chelios. Only two guys from the Kingfish that came through the Bugs that I know of.

Pro hockey was quite the hit in La when it started too bad it didnt last. The Bugs went Jr A bad it just isnt the same. Is the pay to play team still playing in the Gators old practice rink on 49? Bugs folded them the league did. Think the SPHL Ice Gators held out a little longer.

I remember the Pizza Hut guys running for their lives around the arena throwing personal slices out. For some reason it became tradition for kids to chase after them like insane dogs

Man, those were the days. My parents would bring my sister and me all the time. The games I'd go to on school nights was the best growing up, there's christmas pics of me unboxing Kingfish Souvenirs that I found the other day. Wish we'd have something similar to enjoy in the area now a days.

Whatever happened to the teams/leagues? I’m guessing they weren’t making enough money.

Brings back found old memories of the girl I dated in college. Girl's dad was the owner of the team before it folded.

Very smart guy (engineer) who had patents on drive-by-wire systems and other remote control systems.

Daughter was a lot of fun.

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The Baton Rouge Kingfish NEVER beat the IceGators. Like ever.

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This is completely false. You have a bad memory.
Sure, the Ice Gators were a much better team, but the Kingfish did win a few games against them.

That's pretty much it. By expanding minor leagues (in any sport) unless there are a few teams relatively close, travel expenses eat them up. As the attendance at the Gulf Coast clubs decreased, it was inevitable that this part of the ECHL would dry up.

In New Orleans, the Brass couldn't survive the arrival of the Hornets. SMG would have had to hire a third shift at the new arena to convert from hockey to basketball in a timely manner. They refused, so there was nowhere for the Brass to play. The city had already re-renovated the Municipal Auditorium back to its original state, without ice.

So. We lost a perfectly competitive hockey club, with great minor league credentials for developing players, and a coach in Ted Sator who was renowned for that.

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All it would take for me to get really into hockey is a team coming back in BR.

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I feel like the late 90s ECHL was ahead of its time. Support was decent but outside of Lafayette it wasn't packed. I think you'd get way better support everywhere else these days now that the niche sport culture is much more popular. They keep trying to bring minor league hockey back to the deep South but it's not successful because none of the leagues are as decent and established as the ECHL. It would have to be the ECHL coming back to the I-10 corridor for people to care.

They tried to revive the IceGators in a different, worse hockey league and it didn't have nearly the support the original ECHL team had.