- Columbus Cottonmouths
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Columbus Cottonmouths 
City Columbus, Georgia League Southern Professional Hockey League Founded 1996 Home arena Columbus Civic Center Colors Blue, Yellow, Black
Owner(s) Wanda Amos, Jacob Amos General manager Jerome Bechard Head coach Jerome Bechard Media SportsRadio 1580 The Zone Franchise history 1996–present Columbus Cottonmouths The Columbus Cottonmouths are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Georgia. The team is nicknamed the Snakes, and play their home games at the Columbus Civic Center.
Contents
History
Central Hockey League (CHL): 1996-2001
In 1996, the Columbus Cottonmouths started play in the Central Hockey League, joining the Macon Whoopee and Nashville Nighthawks as expansion entries that were originally slated to be in the Southern Hockey League before its demise in the summer of 1996. Along with the Memphis RiverKings, an established CHL franchise, and the Huntsville Channel Cats, the SHL champion in 1996 and the lone surviving franchise from that league, Columbus and the other two expansion SHL teams formed the new Eastern Division of the CHL in the 1996-97 season. In 1998, the team won the CHL championship, defeating the Wichita Thunder in a four-game sweep. The Cottonmouths were in the CHL playoffs each of their five seasons in the league, making it to the league finals in 2000 before losing to Indianapolis and in 2001 before falling to the Oklahoma City Blazers. In the summer of 2001, the CHL merged with the Western Professional Hockey League and geographic rivalries in Huntsville and Macon were lost, leading the Cottonmouths to seek and obtain entry into the East Coast Hockey League. DVA Sports, composed of owners Salvador Diaz-Verson and Shelby Amos, purchased the defunct Hampton Roads Admirals ECHL franchise, relocating it to Columbus under the Cottonmouths name and logo.
East Coast Hockey League (ECHL): 2001-2004
From 2001-2004 the Columbus Cottonmouths played in the ECHL, bringing with them their longtime Captain Jerome "Boom-Boom" Bechard and Head Coach Bruce Garber. In the three seasons that Columbus spent in the ECHL, they failed to make the playoffs. Mid-way through their second season in the ECHL, Garber, the only coach in team history, resigned. General Manager Phil Roberto took over for the remainder of the season. Their best season in the ECHL was their last. Prior to the 2003-04 season the team announced the signing of their new Coach, former NHL tough guy Brian Curran. They finished with a 37-27-8 record, tied with the Greensboro Generals for the best record by a non-playoff team that season. In April 2004, the Cottonmouths management announced their intentions to move their ECHL franchise to the Bradenton-Sarasota area in Florida. The team, which was later named the Gulf Coast Swords, would never come to fruition as financial setbacks delayed the construction of their to-be home arena. Finally, after foreclosure on the arena property and numerous delays, the ECHL revoked the Swords franchise in the league in the summer of 2006.
Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL): 2004-present
Since 2004 the Columbus Cottonmouths have played as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Led by first year Coach, and Columbus hockey legend Jerome Bechard, the team won the inaugural SPHL championship in April 2005 by first winning a one game playoff against the Fayetteville FireAntz by a 4-2 score. They next swept the regular season champion Knoxville Ice Bears to advance to the league finals, which they won against the Macon Trax with two straight victories, ending with a 3-2 overtime win. The Snakes' victory capped an undefeated postseason in which they won five games without losing a single contest.
In 2006, the Cottonmouths finished with the second-best regular season record in the league but were ousted in the first round of the playoffs two games to one by the Huntsville Havoc.
In 2007 the Columbus team won the SPHL Commissioner's Cup as the team with the best season record, but was ousted in the first round of playoffs by the Jacksonville Barracudas, who won three games to the Cottonmouths' one victory.
In 2008, the Cottonmouths ironically relied on the team that would oust them from the playoffs to get them into the playoffs. On the last day of the regular season, the Knoxville Ice Bears defeated the Huntsville Havoc to give the Snakes the sixth and final playoff berth, which would pit them against first-place Knoxville. The home team won every contest of the best-of-five series with Columbus recovering from an 0-2 deficit with a pair of home wins before losing the deciding contest in Knoxville. The Snakes' 22-24-6 regular-season record was a Columbus hockey team's first losing record since 2002-03 and the first one by a non-ECHL Cottonmouths squad.
Year-by-year record
Central Hockey League
Year GP W L RT PTS Finish Playoffs 1996-97 66 32 28 6 70 4th, East Lost in Quarter Finals 1997-98 70 51 13 6 108 1st, East Won Levins Cup 1998-99 70 42 21 7 91 2nd, East Lost in Division Finals 1999-00 70 39 20 11 89 2nd, East Lost Miron Cup Finals 2000-01 70 41 21 8 90 2nd, East Lost Miron Cup Finals East Coast Hockey League
Year GP W L RT PTS Finish Playoffs 2001-02 72 24 37 11 59 8th, Southeast Out of playoffs 2002-03 72 25 39 8 58 7th, Southeast Out of playoffs 2003-04 72 41 21 8 82 5th, Central Out of playoffs Southern Professional Hockey League
Year GP W L OTL PTS Finish Playoffs 2004-05 56 30 26 - 60 5th Won President's Cup 2005-06 56 34 16 6 74 2nd Lost Quarter Finals 2006-07 56 36 18 2 74 1st Lost Quarter Finals 2007-08 52 22 24 6 50 6th Lost Quarter Finals 2008-09 60 31 22 7 69 2nd Lost Semi-Finals 2009-10 56 22 27 2 48 6th Lost First Round 2010-11 56 29 27 0 58 4th Lost Semi-Finals Roster
Updated January 20, 2011[1]
# Player Pos Height Weight Date of Birth Hometown 1 Andrew Loewen G 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) February 20, 1985 4 Bret Tyler D 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 182 lb (83 kg) June 28, 1984 5 David Cianfrini D 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) June 12, 1985 Dundas, Ontario 6 Jeff MacPhee D 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) March 6, 1985 Calgary, Alberta 7 Tom Maldonado D 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 195 lb (88 kg) February 24, 1985 9 Daryl Moore RW 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 160 lb (73 kg) March 17, 1983 10 Jordan Braid LW 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 199 lb (90 kg) July 29, 1989 11 Orrin Hergott LW 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 160 lb (73 kg) June 15, 1982 14 Mitch Wall LW 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 209 lb (95 kg) January 25, 1989 17 Brett Hammmond LW 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 195 lb (88 kg) September 8, 1980 19 Levi Lind C 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) February 2, 1988 22 Kyle Lundale D 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 210 lb (95 kg) November 1, 1986 24 Sam Bowles C 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) January 25, 1985 26 Jesse Cole RW 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) November 18, 1984 27 Matt Kinnunen RW 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 200 lb (91 kg) November 2, 1989 28 Peter MacDougall G 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) November 11, 1985 Lumsden, Saskatchewan 40 Ian Vigler G 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) November 23, 1982 42 Will Barlow D 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) September 20, 1982 Staff Name Date of Birth Head Coach Jerome Bechard Championships
Year League Trophy 2006–2007 SPHL Commissioner's Cup (Regular season Champion) 2004–2005 SPHL President's Cup 2000–2001 CHL Eastern Division Champions 1999–2000 CHL Eastern Division Champions 1997–1998 CHL William “Bill” Levins Memorial Cup 1997–1998 CHL Adams Cup (Regular season Champion) 1997–1998 CHL Eastern Division Champions References
External links
Southern Professional Hockey League Teams Augusta Riverhawks • Columbus Cottonmouths • Fayetteville FireAntz • Huntsville Havoc • Knoxville Ice Bears • Louisiana IceGators • Mississippi RiverKings • Mississippi Surge • Pensacola Ice FlyersArenas Cajundome (Louisiana) • Columbus Civic Center (Columbus) • Cumberland County Crown Coliseum (Fayetteville) • DeSoto Civic Center (Mississippi RiverKings) • James Brown Arena (Augusta) • James White Civic Coliseum (Knoxville) • Mississippi Coast Coliseum (Mississippi Surge) • Pensacola Civic Center (Pensacola) • Von Braun Center (Huntsville)Seasons 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09 • 2009–10 • 2010–11President's Cup • William B. Coffey Trophy • Other Professional Hockey leagues Sports teams based in Georgia Baseball 
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(NCAA Division I)Categories:- Southern Professional Hockey League teams
- Sports clubs established in 1996
- Defunct ECHL teams
- Defunct Central Hockey League teams
- Ice hockey teams in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Sports in Columbus, Georgia
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