Championships, special memories revived as Ice Flyers celebrate 15th anniversary on $5 ticket weekend
On a mid-January day in 2013, the Pensacola Ice Flyers' fourth season was in a momentary crisis.
The NHL player lockout had just ended. The league season was to resume. It triggered a seismic shift of players throughout the minor league systems, which greatly impacted the Ice Flyers.
“We lost eight players off our roster (to higher level minor leagues) in one day,” said Ice Flyers coach Gary Graham, who was in his first season that year as a head coach. “I remember telling (Ice Flyers owner) Greg (Harris), that I don’t know what to do. We were literally pulling guys off the couch to play.
“We had a circus show at the Bay Center at the time and it was like we had a circus within a circus.”
But one of those players Graham got from the couch at his home was Dan Buccella, the beloved former Ice Flyers captain, but a player Graham chose not to retain when hired.
Hard feelings were smoothed over. Buccella agreed to come back. And he helped lead the Ice Flyers to their first Southern Professional Hockey League championship – the first full-season, professional sports title of its kind in Pensacola history.
“That season of itself was just a wild, roller-coaster ride,” said Graham, who returned this season as Ice Flyers coach. “But we won the (SPHL President’s) Cup, it was so exciting to see (defenseman captain) Tyler Soehner picked up the Cup and hand it to Buccella to carry as the first player… that was such a powerful moment.
“It almost brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it right now.”
That season, that championship, those memories, are now in greater focus as the Ice Flyers celebrate their milestone 15th anniversary season this weekend with the ultra-popular $5 ticket weekend at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The Ice Flyers will play tonight against the Birmingham Bulls, then Saturday against the Macon Mayhem. Both games are expected sellouts. Less than 1,000 tickets remained in the arena on Thursday for tonight’s game. Less than 200 tickets remained as of 10 a.m. Friday for Saturday’s game.
Every year the Ice Flyers have offered a $5 ticket experience. This one will be even more impactful with the 15th anniversary theme, the return of former players, the viewing of various past seasons’ highlights on the video boards and all sorts of other activities.
“We were looking this season at when to do this… and we said let’s couple the five dollar weekend with our anniversary weekend,” said Harris, who has been the Ice Flyers owner for 13 of the 15 seasons. “Because we will have our season-ticket holders and are longtime, diehard fans, combining with a lot of families and people who are coming to their first Ice Flyers game, and they will instantly see what this organization is about.
“There will be different elements each game. So, no matter what game you come to, you will see different things. We’ll have a formal introduction. The guys will have some fun. Even some guys who were not able to come we’re getting (video tributes) from them.
“Our first Ice Flyers captain Chris Rebernik (2009-2010 season) will be here. It is a good mix of players throughout the 15 years representing each era of Ice Flyers hockey.”
The first Ice Flyers season revived hockey in Pensacola. After the Pensacola Ice Pilots ceased operations two years earlier, there was doubt that hockey would return.
It was an arduous process led by former Ice Pilots owner Tim Kerr to bring the sport back and create the Ice Flyers. Under Harris’ ownership, the franchise has won an SPHL-record tying four President’s Cup titles.
Last season, the Ice Flyers set franchise attendance records. This season, the organization is on pace to shatter those records. The Ice Flyers have currently drawn 84,049, which equates into 5,253 per-game.
Harris has hired an extraordinary talented front office staff and interns, who have combined to create a game experience that has made every home game a happening.
“In a moment like this, in a weekend like this, it’s definitely something to acknowledge and appreciate where we’ve come and how we’ve developed as an Ice Flyers organization on both the hockey side and the business side,” Harris said.
“For us it’s not just what’s on the ice, but what is the crowd, the community, and everyone is part of it,” said Harris, reflecting on what this weekend will mean to him. “In moments like this, you have to take pause to appreciate it. But in my mind, I want to be the first team to five (SPHL) championship. I want to have 8,000 every single game.”
The current Ice Flyers enter this weekend with a good vibe. They had their most successful road trip of the season a week ago, getting three of a possible four points with an overtime loss and overtime win against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, the defending SPHL champions.
The Ice Flyers (15-16, 2 overtime losses) are tied for sixth place in the league. After losing 4-3 in overtime last Friday, the Ice Flyers won 3-2 Saturday at Roanoke before a crowd of 7,000-plus.
“There was never really a moment in Saturdays game where we didn’t have momentum in all three periods,” Graham said. “And when (Roanoke) tied it up, there was a different sense of belief by our guys. When they scored that goal – we’ve been playing so good these last four games – and it was like we’re going to go get something right now, we’re going to make it happen.
“That was the thing that was different. And right now, with the new players in, they are starting to pick up the system over the last couple weeks. Our depth has gotten better. We have three lines that have developed chemistry. Our defenseman pairings have been stable now.”
This weekend will also enable Graham to revisit with a couple players from that first championship team in the only prior season he coached the Ice Flyers.
Sadly, of course, Buccella’s passing last year leaves a void and heavy hearts when thinking about that championship run and what it meant to the Ice Flyers future.
Graham remembers the moment he picked up the phone to call Buccella in January 2013. Buccella was working a job in Pensacola at the time. He was out of hockey. He knew Buccella and his wife, Tiffany, did not like him at the time. He knew it would start off as a difficult conversation.
But after airing differences, Buccella agreed to come back.
“I am so glad I made that call,” Graham said. “Bucky came in, he bought in right away and we had a great relationship and he really was the sparkplug to what happened. I really believe we don’t win that first championship without Dan Buccella. There was just something special that he brought.
“The guys all knew they were destined to win it that year. I just had to coach that group. I didn’t have to motivate that group which was nice. That team was so tight. That team was one of the tightest teams I have ever been around.”
This weekend promises to bring excitement and reflection for the people connected to the Ice Flyers and their loyal fan base.
“I think hearing the stories on what happened with the Ice Pilots … then the Ice Flyers coming back and then seeing how this organization and this community has grown together over 15 years is remarkable,” Harris said.
“I have been fortunate to have been here for 13 of them and just to see the growth and our impact and development throughout the years – not just as an organization but now as a city that has truly grown to love the Ice Flyers is very special. As the Ice Flyers owner, I am looking forward to celebrating many more of these special anniversaries.”
Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Ice Flyers to celebrate 15th anniversary over weekend
