Georgia (state)

Georgia is state in the southeastern United States.

Its population is about 10,700,000.

Its capital and largest city is Atlanta.

History of hockey in Georgia

Hockey at Georgia Tech in 1956.

An ice skating rink, located in the administration building at Lakewood Park, opened in Atlanta on November 12, 1955. On February 13, 1956, the Macon Telegraph reported that two hockey teams of Georgia Tech students had been formed. A team known as the Atlanta All-Stars played the Birmingham All-Stars at the Parad-Ice rink in Alabama on February 26, losing 12-7. There was also a passage that appeared in the Raleigh News and Observer on May 16, stating that "A hockey game at Georgia Tech this year was the first in history here [in Atlanta]. It was promoted and organized by two Canadian students." The Silver Blades ice rink opened in Macon in October 1956, and there were plans to play hockey at the rink, but these did not materialize and the ill-fated facility went bankrupt a year later. There plans to build a rink in Columbus in this era, and it was hoped that hockey would be played there too, but it did not materialize. There were talks of an Atlanta team playing in Memphis in December 1956, but nothing came of them.

The Jacksonville Rockets of the Eastern Hockey League played six home games at the Macon Coliseum in 1968-69. Their first game at the Coliseum came on October 30, 1968, when they beat the Nashville Dixie Flyers 5-2. Macon was later home to the Whoopee, who started play in the Southern Hockey League in 1973 but disbanded mid-season due to poor attendance. A second incarnation of the Whoopee played in the Central Hockey League from 1996-2001 and the ECHL in 2001-02. The Macon Trax were active from 2002-2005, and finally the Macon Mayhem have played in the Southern Professional Hockey League since 2015.

The Atlanta Knights amateur hockey team was formed in late 1969. They practiced at the tiny Igloo rink, measuring 48' by 96', in the city, and played 5 games during their inaugural season, going 1-3-1. A PeeWee team was created the next year, though they didn't play their first game until February 1972, followed by a junior outfit. By November 1972, it was reported that the Knights had played 24 games since their foundation, and had a series against the University of Tennessee coming up in early December. The Atlanta Amateur Hockey Association was formed in January 1973, and a senior league was set up at the new Igloo rink.

Atlanta was awarded an NHL franchise, the Atlanta Flames, for the 1972-1973 season along with the New York Islanders as part of the battle between the NHL and the WHA. The NHL was trying to keep the WHA out of the newer arenas that were being built. The arena was being built for the Atlanta Hawks and the owner of the Hawks, Tom Cousins, purchased the expansion team. After eight, somewhat successful seasons in Atlanta, where the team qualified for the playoffs six times, the team was sold and moved to Calgary, Alberta and became the Calgary Flames. Amateur hockey continued to be played at the Flames' practice facility, the Marietta Ice Center.

The Atlanta Knights were purchased as an expansion team in the International Hockey League in 1992-93, and after four successful seasons in Atlanta, including a Turner Cup win in 1994, the team was moved to Quebec City in 1996 and became the Rafales (French for Gust of Wind), which ironically; is another former NHL city that had recently lost its team . This was done to make way for the demolition of the Omni Coliseum, the construction of the Phillips Arena on the same site, and for the Atlanta Thrashers franchise to join the National Hockey League for the 1999-2000 season.

The Thrashers franchise was formally granted on June 25, 1997. The team struggled on the ice and at the gate, only qualifying for the playoffs once in their history. The team was sold to Winnipeg based True North Sports and Entertainment in May of 2011, On June 21, 2011 the National Hockey League approved the sale and relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg to become the NHL's second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets.

Atlanta hosted the 2008 NHL All-Star Game, after the city was originally slated to host the 2005 event, which was cancelled due to the lockout which cancelled the entire season.

Presently, the only professional hockey team in the Atlanta metropolitan area is the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL, based in the northeast suburb of Duluth. The team has been in existence since 2003.

The Columbus Cottonmouths were in existence from 1996-2017, playing in the Central Hockey League (1996-2001), ECHL (2001-2004), and finally the SPHL (2004-2017).

The Augusta Lynx played in the ECHL from 1998-2008, and the Augusta River Hawks were members of the SPHL from 2010-2013. In late February 2013, the ice refrigeration system at the James Brown Arena malfunctioned, forcing the River Hawks to finish out their 2012-13 home schedule at their practice facility. After team officials and Augusta city officials failed to reach a settlement on the eight home games lost due to the ice system's failure as well as failing to reach an agreement on how the James Brown Arena's ice system would be replaced, the franchise went dormant for the 2013-14 SPHL season and subsequently moved to Macon, Georgia to become the Macon Mayhem for the 2015-16 season. The Columbus River Dragons have played in the Federal Hockey League since 2019. The Savannah Ghost Pirates joined the ECHL in 2022.

American States

US Capital: Washington, D.C.

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