Dilbert Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Didnt see a thread for talk about the minor leagues here so I figured Id add one. AHL, ECHL, SPHL, FPHL I guess the junior leagues are welcome too. Anyway there seems to be some issues in the SPHL right now with the Vermilion County Bobcats. The team is in their second season and has never been good, drawn well or properly run. How they survived to this point, I dont know but anyway. The Bobcats may have played their final game. (Jan 22, a 5-2 loss at Peoria). The team had been scheduled off last weekend. But I guess there are some internal issues with the team right now. This weekend they were originally scheduled to play Friday and Saturday at Quad City. The league announce before Fridays game that there would be a change of opponents for the Storm. Peoria (who was off this weekend) would now be playing Friday and Saturday night at Quad City instead of Vermillion County. Peoria was originally scheduled to play at Vermilion County on Sunday. Quad City would instead play at Vermilion today instead. The Storm bused the team to Danville to take on Vermilion County this afternoon. The arena opened, the very few fans showed up and the Storm took to the ice for pregame warmups. The Bobcats never took the ice. A short time after the puck was supposed to drop, the league announced the game would be declared a forfeit. The Storm ended up staying for a while to do a skate with the fans. Nice of them to do that. Im not entirely sure whats going on with the team. The head coach, marketing director, broadcaster are no longer listed on their website. Their twitter has barely been active this season, the last being a like back in January, and before that in August of 2022. Today, their facebook page was deleted and rumors are that they have folded earlier this morning. No official word from the SPHL or the team as to whats going on but I think it may be safe to say they are done. Quote Signature intentionally left blank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YELDARBfield Posted February 6, 2023 Share Posted February 6, 2023 Yeah, the VC Bobcats are (and apparently have always been) an absolute dumpster fire. They've had issues with their building and ice, and at the beginning of this season they went off on specific people in building management on the team's Facebook page. And I just learned by reading their Wikipedia page that they had at least 4 head coaches in the 2021-22 season, including Hurricanes EBUG legend David Ayres. I've also seen reports of their players already legally voiding their contracts, moving on, etc. Abject disaster. When's the last time a professional team (or unprofessionally-run team in a professional league) folded midseason? Quote Twitter • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn • Tumblr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORLMagic86 Posted February 6, 2023 Share Posted February 6, 2023 25 minutes ago, YELDARBfield said: When's the last time a professional team (or unprofessionally-run team in a professional league) folded midseason? San Francisco Bulls of the ECHL and Williamsport Outlaws of the FHL (FPHL). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthStar74 Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 Didnt the IHL Albany Choppers fold as well midthru in 1990-91 I think..... Quote Ice Hockey International Winnipeg Braves (Bobby Hull Division 18-3-0 1st place as of March 14, 2011)2010-11 O'Brien Trophy for Bobby Hull Division championship & Jack Riley Cup for top team in league regular season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeypower Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 I'm so intrigued by this Bobcats story and now I'm down an Elite Prospects rabbit hole. Low level minor league hockey players fascinate me sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Needschat Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 1 hour ago, NorthStar74 said: Didnt the IHL Albany Choppers fold as well midthru in 1990-91 I think..... As did the Schenectady Chiefs (1981) and Troy Slapshots (1986) of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League, meaning all three of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy media market cities had teams that never made it through a season, but Glens Falls, with the Adirondack Red Wings, Ice Hawks, Frostbite, Phantoms, Flames, and Thunder haven't. Quote Oh what could have been.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilbert Posted February 7, 2023 Author Share Posted February 7, 2023 The Florida Seals folded in January 2007. They were also in the SPHL. Quote Signature intentionally left blank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YELDARBfield Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 Oddly enough, still no word from the league. From an AP write up: Quote Multiple messages seeking details, clarification and comment on the situation Sunday and moving forward sent to the SPHL, the team and owner Ellen Tully were not returned. https://apnews.com/article/sports-danville-hockey-2bfec23db57076d2e8bc607d3434d699 Quote Twitter • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn • Tumblr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilbert Posted February 9, 2023 Author Share Posted February 9, 2023 They are currently still scheduled to play at Huntsville on Friday. Although last Friday the SPHL announced only a few hours before puck drop of the opponent change for Quad City, so if the league pulls off the same stunt on Friday I wouldnt be surprised. Quote Signature intentionally left blank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilbert Posted February 9, 2023 Author Share Posted February 9, 2023 Bobcats are done. They announced on their twitter, which has been virtually inactive since last summer. Quote Signature intentionally left blank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YELDARBfield Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 16 hours ago, Dilbert said: They are currently still scheduled to play at Huntsville on Friday. Although last Friday the SPHL announced only a few hours before puck drop of the opponent change for Quad City, so if the league pulls off the same stunt on Friday I wouldnt be surprised. Schedule changes hit: https://www.thesphl.com/sphl-announces-vermilion-county-update-opponent-changes Quote Twitter • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn • Tumblr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.