The Columbus River Dragons are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Georgia. The team is a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League and plays at the Columbus Civic Center.
| Columbus River Dragons | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Columbus, Georgia |
| League | Federal Prospects Hockey League |
| Division | Continental |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Home arena | Columbus Civic Center |
| Colors | Red, black, teal, white |
| Owner(s) | Ignite Pro Hockey, LLC |
| General manager | Jeff Croop[1] |
| Head coach | Jerome Bechard[2] |
| Captain | Kirk Underwood |
| Website | RDragons.com |
| Franchise history | |
| 2019–present | Columbus River Dragons |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 2 (2020–21,2023-24) |
| Playoff championships | 1 (2021) |
History
editIn 2017, the Columbus Cottonmouths, a longtime Civic Center tenant, folded after 21 years. This left the Civic Center without a hockey tenant for the first time in its existence. Almost two years later in April 2019, the Columbus city council voted to award a five-year lease to Ignite Pro Hockey, LLC at the Civic Center.[3] On May 21, 2019, it was announced that the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) had awarded an expansion team to Columbus, Georgia, and would be called the Columbus River Dragons.[4] Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the River Dragons' inaugural season was curtailed after the team had clinched the fourth-seeded Western Division playoff position.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, a shortened 2020–21 season was delayed until starting February 19 consisting of four teams: the Carolina Thunderbirds, Columbus River Dragons, Elmira Enforcers, and Port Huron Prowlers, with Carolina playing all games on the road. The league announced an end-of-season tournament, but it would instead be called the Ignite Cup and not the Commissioner's Cup due to the unusual season format.[5] The Ignite Cup consists of a five-game series between the top two teams that had played at least 16 regular season games.[6] Columbus finished with the best regular season record, qualifying to face the second-seeded Elmira Enforcers in the Ignite Cup where they won the league championship three-games-to-none.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Staff – Columbus River Dragons". Columbus River Dragons. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ "River Dragons announce 2019-20 coaching staff". Columbus River Dragons. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ Dean, Allie (April 22, 2019). "Pro hockey could come back to Columbus after two year gap". Ledger-Enquirer. McClatchy. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ "THE RIVER DRAGONS ARRIVE IN COLUMBUS MAY 21 2019". Columbus River Dragons. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ "FPHL Announces Plan to Restart on February 19 with 4 Teams; More Potentially to Follow". OurSports Central. February 11, 2021.
- ^ "FPHL Announces 2021 Postseason Format, Teams to Play for Ignite Cup". OurSports Central. March 26, 2021.
- ^ "Columbus River Dragons Win Ignite Cup Championship". WRBL. May 1, 2021.