Tiger Sharks History! The First Four Seasons

Nothing Ron Spencer had ever seen in his many New York City visits was quite so breathtaking. As he sat in Madison Square Gardens in 1992, the director of the Leon County Civic Center saw an involved crowd like none he had ever seen at a rock concert. He saw a crowd totally enthralled with the action on center stage.

In watching his first professional ice hockey game, Spencer was convinced that Tallahassee residents should be exposed to the sport. He was convinced that a sport previously restricted to cold-weather cities, where is hockey is as much a part of the landscape as snow shovels, could play well in a warm-weather climate like Tallahassee, where football previously was the only game in town.

Six years and four seasons of Tallahassee Tiger Sharks hockey later, Spencer's vision proved to be quite remarkable. Twice the team advanced to the East Coast Hockey Leagues Semifinals, and once the club captured the league's South Division championship. More then the on-ice triumphs, Tallahassee proved ot be a smashing success as the test market for ECHL hockey in Florida and the deep South.

"I see ourselves as being very smart for being the first team to come into Florida," said Tiger Sharks co-owner Donna Tuttle, who along with Dave Elmore were convinced enough of Tallahassee's ice hockey potential that they agreed to play travel expenses to opponents during the inaugrial season of 1994-95.

When the Tiger Sharks averaged 5,546 fans per home game that season, the games opened for further forays into Florida and across the Interstate-10 corridor. Jacksonville, Louisiana and Mobile joined the ECHL for the 1995-96 season, following Mississippi, Pensacola and Baton Rouge in 1996-97, then New Orleans the following season. In 1998-99 the league expanded to Miami and Fort Myers.

Spencer's idea for ice hockey in Tallahassee was first rejected by the ECHL, whose team owners weren't certain that the city was big enough to support a francise and didn't believe the sport could develop a solid following in Florida. So Spencer went out locating 16 arena directors from across the Southeast to talk about forming a league of their own. That apparently threw a scare into ECHL officials who promptly offered Spencer and Tallahassee a franchise that needed to be moved out of Hunstville, Alabama.

By May of 1994, Tallahassee had secured its first professional sports frachise since the Tallahassee Rebles played minor-league baseball in the Florida International League in 1954. In the 40-year interim, the sports scene was dominated by Florida State University athletics. Few believed there would ever be room for a professional franchise to compete with FSU for the sports entertainment dollar.

The Voice of the Tiger Sharks - Kyle Schutlz

That all changed the night of October 19, 1994 when 6,237 fans filed into the Civic Center and were introduced to ice hockey. Not knowledgeable enough about the game and its rules, Tallahassee fans often cheered a the wrong times. But the knew a bonafide star when they saw one, and he was 5-foot-9 Russian right-winger Alexei Lojkin, who produced a hat trick in Tallahassee's 8-7 opening-night loss to Birmingham.

Lojkin stunned the Tiger Sharks the following morning when he packed up his skates and left the team. He and fellow Russian Dimitri Pankov, who previously was released by the Tiger Sharks, informed Coach Terry Christensen that they were headed to Canada to participate in junior-league hockey.

Tiger Sharks' assistant manager Tony Mancuso drove Lojkin to the airport with specific instructions for General Manager Tim Mouser.

"I told him to stop, buy a newspaper and make him see his name in headlines," Mouser said. "So, if he goes back there (to Canada) and has a bad year and it's 20 degrees below zero, he can appereciate what he had here."

Lojkin never returned to Tallahassee.

Perhaps the Tiger Sharks missed Lojkin, who clearly showed in the preseason that he would have been an offensive force. Or maybe Tallahassee players were trying to hard in an attempt to impress their new fans. Whatever the reason, the Tiger Sharks lost their first seven games before the home crowd. One-third ofthe way through the season and little was going right for the Tiger Sharks, who quickly secured the basement in the South Division with a 4-13-1 record.

"Being an owner, you learn that it takes time for a team to develop," said Elmore, one of the team's co-owners. "I expected them to start off slow, but I also expect them to get better and better as the season goes along."

Elmore had great faith in Christensen, a 39-year old coach wo carried an impressive resume to Tallahassee. In 10 years as an assistant coach at Michigan State university, Christensen was part of an NCAA championship. In four seasons as general manager and head coach of the Detroit Falcons of the Colonial Professional Hockey League, Christensen had a league title. With time and patience, Christensen's believed success could come to the Tiger Sharks as well.

In an effort to pique fan interest while Christensen was finding the right combinations, the Tiger Sharks accepted goalie Manon Rheaume on a 10-day loan from the Los Vegas Thunder of the International Hockey league. Rheaume was the first female to play in an NHL exhibition game and on November 23, became the first female to play in an ECHL game. In her only game for the Tiger Sharks, Rheaume faced 15 shots and allowed four goals ina 4-1 losss to Huntington before 5,946 fans at the Civic Center. Six days later, she was returned to Las Vegas.

Less then a month later, Tallahassee fans again were introduced to the fickle nature of the sport when the Tiger Sharks team captain was traded. Wade Bartley, believed to be a solid block in building the team's foundation during the early season, was dealt to the Raleigh Ice Caps on December 14 in exchange for Todd Reirden and Rodrigo Lavinsh.

Bartley was stunned by the trade.

"I was part of the history in Tallahassee," Bartley said. "I was the first player to sign, the first captain in history. I want fans to know leaving wasn't something I wanted to happen. I didn't want to go anywhere. Tallahassee is somewhere I want to be. I'll be back there someday, hockey or no hockey."

The trade was a sure sign to Tallahassee fans that the Tiger Sharks were serious about winning.

"This is the business side of hockey, and I'll do whatever I can to make us successful," Christensen said. "If management is willing to trade the team captain, it's willing to trade anybody on the team."

The trade apparently lit a fire under the Tiger Sharks. Darren Schwartz, Don Parsons, Greg Geldart and Tom Neziol established themselves as a potent scoring foursome. Schwartz often showed off his powerful shot, and Parsons was feared for his great stick-handling and skating. Geldart, the lone holdover from the Huntsville franchise, proved to be a valuable replacement for Lojkin at center. At the same time, goalie Mark Richards began to close all holes around the net and would allow only 2.9 goals per game to ECHL Player of the Year honors.

At once, everything seemed to click.

A 5-3 victory over Birmingham on January 8 was perhaps a sign of things to come for the Tiger Sharks. A "Pack the House Night" crowd of 9,123 shook the rafters as Tallahassee rallied from a 3-0 second period deficit.

In February, the Tiger Sharks pieced together an eight-game win streak. In March, they managed a six-game streak. No longer was a playoff berth in doubt as Tallahassee took hold of second place in the South Division and never let go.

Tiger Sharks fans were fast joining the joy ride. On back-to-back weekend nights in late January, crowds of 10,023 and 9,987 filed into the Civic Center. Three other crowds topped 8,000 down the stretch, including 9,018 in the regular season finale.

On February 26, the 5,794 fans at the Civic Center got more then just an ice hockey game with their price of admission. During the first intermission of Tallahassee's game against Birmingham, Donell Dunaway and Chari Trent of Tallahassee were married at center ice. Dunaway became a hockey fan on opening night, and later coaxed Trent into attending a game. She became the biggerfan of the two and suggested the hockey-game wedding.

The first sure sign that Tallahassee fans had become knowledgeable about ice hockey came when the Tiger Sharks hosed Hampton Roads in the first round of the ECHL playoffs. Most of the third-game crowd of 5,426 at the Civic Center wore white as part of an age-old tradition for playoff hockey.

The Tiger Sharks made quick work of the Admirals in four games, then eliminated Birmingham in four games in the second round. But evenutally, Riley Cup champion Richmond proved too much for Tallahassee in the semifinals, winning the decisive game 4-0 in Richmond, Va.

"What we did to establish credibility in this year is something I don't think a lot of teams are able to do as a first-year organziation," Christensen said. "The players built a great foundation for the team to operate from going into next season."

Goalie Mark Richards, winger Darren Schwartz and center Greg Geldart proved to be the foundation that returned for a second season. Richards again was outstanding in goal, allowing 3.49 goals per game over the season. Schwartz and Geldart didn't have to carry the scoring load because they got plenty of support of the likes of forward Cal Ingraham, winger Mark Deazely and defenseman Rod Aldoff.

The Tiger Sharks again had trouble getting out of the gate and stood at 8-10 by the first week of December. At that point,Tallahassee played as well as any team in the league in winning 34 of 46 games.

Former Tiger Shark Dies in Car Crash

About the only thing Tallhassee could not deal with was the weather. In early November, a tornado ripped through downtown Tallahassee and took with it the Civic Center roof. That left the Tiger Sharks homeless for about a week and forced the postponement of one game. In February, the Tiger Sharks could not get through a crippling ice storm to Birmingham, Alabama, and that night's game was postponed. Once in Birmingham, Tallahasseewas stranded, so the next night's game in Tallahassee was postponed.

When the Tiger Sharks did hit the Civic Center ice on January 13, they were followed closely by the TV cameras of WTXL Channel 27. A crowd of 8,126 watched in person and several thousand other watched from their lviing rooms as Tallahassee defeated Nashville 5-4 in a shootout in the first televised game in Tiger Sharks history. Afterward, Richards credited the frequent TV timeouts for helping slow Nashville's speed offinsive game.

Ten days later, Tallahassee and the Civic Center hosted the annual ECHL All-Star Game. Former Tiger Shark Don Parsons, a member of the Johnstown Chiefs, earned MVP honors with two goals and an assist as the North Divison defeated the South Division 10-7 before 5,576 fans. Tallahassee's Ingraham matched Parsons with two goals and an assist for the South.

While Ingraham was winning the hearts of Tallahassee fans since he often played much bigger then his 5-foot-3 frame, Schwartz and Trevor Jobe were winning accolades after reaching career milestones. On February 26, Schwartz became only the third player in ECHL history to score 500 points. On both goals he scored against South Carolina that evening, Schwartz received an assist from Jobe. Less then a month later, on March 5, Jobe became the first player in ECHL history to score 600 points. The Tiger Sharks acquired Jobe in February from the Johnstown Chiefs in exchange for forward Alexander Savchenkov.

Schwartz, Jobe, Ingraham and Richards helped put the Tiger Sharks in position to capture the South Division championship with a season-ending win at Louisiana. Instead, Tallahassee lost 4-3 in a shootout and finished in third place.

Determined to move one step further in the playoffs this season, the Tiger Sharks made quick work of Raleigh in four games and Wheeling in four games. But evenutally, champion Charlotte disposed of Tallahassee in four games in the Riley Cup semifinals.

The Rise and Fall of Tony Mancuso

Reversing a trend established in the first two season, Tallahassee opened fast this go round and never looked back. The Tiger Sharks bolted to a 14-4 record that ultimately led to the South Division regular-season championship. During one remarkable stretch in late November and early December, Tallahassee won nine of 11 games over 16 days.

Mark Richards was again outstanding as the Tallahassee goaltender, allowing 3.28 goals per game. This season, Richards shared the goaltending load with Sonny Mignacca, who had a 3.23 goals against average. Each goalie started 38 games.

Cal Ingraham clearly established himself as the star of the team and led the Tiger Sharks in goals (34), assists (58) and points (92). This hardly was a one-man team though. It was the deepest of Christensen's first three teams with the likes of Dan Lupo, Matt Johnson, Greg Geldart, Rob Dumas, Jed Fiebelkorn, Rodrigo Lavinsh, Kevin Malgunas, Dennis Maxwell, Jim Paradise, Mark Deazley, Matt Osiecki and Louis Bedard all making solid contributions.

The Tiger Sharks were particularly tough at home, winning their first 13 games at the Civic Center. At season's end, with the South Division title on the line, Tallahassee reeled off six straight home wins.

Perhaps the biggest winner at the Civic Center was 35-year-old Dave Muntean, a transport engineer in Leon County. On January 31, Muntean stunned a crowd of nearly 5,000 during the second intermission when he shot a three-inch puck from center ice and through a hold 3 1/2 inches wide. With the winning shot, Muntean earned the right to drive a Ford Mustang for one year, compliments of Tallahassee Ford.

Late in the season, another Tallahassee reesident got his moment in the spotlight as well. Andy Borggaard, a 25-year-old Florida State University student, filled a roster spot for the Knoxville Cherokees at the Civic Center. Borggaard, who plaed parts of three seasons in the ECHL, had not participated in a game in more then a year due to his studies. He played 10 shifts, or about 12 minutes, for the Cherokees, was whistled for a penalty, then returned to studying after the game.

There were two big setbacks for Tallahassee during the regular season. The first was a grueling six-game road trip to Peoria, Louisville, Columbus, Huntington, Wheeling and Johnstown that netted four losses and two ties. The other was the late February departure of assistant coach Jack Capuano, who after two seasons beside Christensen on the Tallahassee bench, bacame the head coach of the Knoxville Cherokees.

When the Tiger Sharks closed the regular seson with eight straight wins, it appeared they were primed to challenge for the Riley Cup title. Instead, Tallahassee suffered a stunning first-round sweep at the hands of Pensacola.

"I can't even think clearly right now," Malgunas said afterward. "I'm in deep depression right now. I have never been this depressed after a season because I know we had the team to make a good run at it."

When Tallahassee opened the season with four straight wins and was 7-2 after nine games, it appeared that the Tiger Sharks were ready to again challenge for a division championship and a strong run in the Riley Cup playoffs.

Fast starts can be deceiving.

After the 7-2 beginning, the Tiger Sharks never again won more then one game in a row. A five-game losing streak at mid-season and an 11-game skid near the end of the season sealted Tallahassee's fate as the worst team in the ECHL with a 24-44 record.

The Tiger Sharks never established an consistency on defense and played most of the season with a pair of inexperienced, rookie goaltenders.

The season was not without highlights, and for a third straight year Cal Ingraham was sensational. He broke his Tallahassee single-season scoring record with 93 points on 40 goals and 53 assists, and he joined defenseman Shawn Reid as the Tiger Sharks' representatives in the League All-Star game. At season's end, Ingraham also won the coveted ECHL Sportsmanship Award.

In late January, the Tiger Sharks used a five-goal second period to defeat Carlotte 9-5 before 5,271 fans on Guaranteed Win Night." Had Tallahssee lost, every fan would have been admitted free to the next home game.

In early March, Tallahassee and Louisiana engaged in a wild brawl of the Civic Center that later was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter. The brawl, which included players from both teams leaving the penalty box, produced 176 penalty minutes and numerous suspensions. The longest of the suspensions was eight games for Tallahassee's John Badduke.

"If you're in the business long enough, you're going to experience a season like this," said coach Terry Christensen, who's contract was not renewed following the season.

"Our fans continued to support us with the team we had," Bedard said. "They almost never booed us. It was awesome. They showed us a lot of respect".

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