The Virginia Lancers were a minor league hockey team that played in several leagues from 1983 until 1990. Their home ice was the Vinton Sports Complex, which held 3400 people.
19-671: The Virginia Lancers were founded as the result of the Nashville South Stars relocating in December 1983, halfway into the 1982–83 season of the ACHL . They continued to play in the ACHL from 1983 until 1987. John Tortorella , a former Lancer forward, stepped behind the bench in the 1986–87 season, leading the team to the league's best record and the Bob Payne Trophy , which is given to
38-656: A professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League (CHL) for the 1981–82 season. They then played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) for the 1982–83 season and part of the 1983–84 season before the franchise relocated to become the Virginia Lancers . It had been 10 years since Nashville 's last hockey team, the Nashville Dixie Flyers , played as part of
57-476: Is unknown if a winner was ever announced. The Bob Payne Trophy was awarded to the playoff champion at the end of each season. The trophy is named after Bob Payne, an executive with several teams in the Southern Hockey League and Eastern Hockey League. The trophy was loaned to the winning team for one year and was returned at the start of the following year's playoffs. The Carolina Thunderbirds were
76-522: The Eastern Hockey League . The South Stars were founded by Larry Schmittou , who was a principal owner of the Nashville Sounds minor-league baseball team. The team played at Nashville Municipal Auditorium , where the hockey seating configuration was such that spectators seated more than a row back in the seats that were above and behind the goal lines could not see the nets. The team was
95-722: The Macon Whoopee for one season. Poor attendance and lack of corporate sponsorship caused the Whoopee to fold and the rights to the franchise were transferred to what eventually became the Lexington Men O' War . Attendance was also a problem in Lexington and the franchise went dormant in 2003. In 2005, the franchise was transferred and is currently playing as the Utah Grizzlies . Nashville South Stars The Nashville South Stars were
114-686: The 1992–93 season, the franchise was moved to Alabama and became the Huntsville Blast . The Blast remained in Huntsville for one season before transferring to Tallahassee and being renamed the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks , where they played until the 2000–01 season. The Tiger Sharks ceased operations in 2001 but leased the team to the Macon Sports Group in Macon, Georgia and played as
133-793: The Baltimore Skipjacks. The Raiders and Stars played in the league final, with the Mohawk Valley Stars defeating the Raiders for the Bob Payne Trophy. On July 24, 1987, Commissioner Ray Miron announced that the league would be suspending operations for the 1987–88 season. The Troy Slapshots had folded earlier in the previous season, and the Mohawk Valley Comets in Utica, NY had been replaced with an American Hockey League team . This left
152-480: The Red Wings and were the intended sixth team but due to the owner being ill, they were removed from the list. Richmond expressed interest, but due to questions about the financial stability of the league, they also dropped out. The Boston Bruins, along with several investors, were approached about putting a team in nearby Cape Cod . After an investor dropped out, Cape Cod Coliseum and WWF owner Vince McMahon purchased
171-650: The late 1970s and early 1980s. With a meeting of several EHL owners, the league decided to fold on July 19, 1981, and reorganize as the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. Teams and cities that were previous members of the Eastern Hockey League were interested in rejoining the league. Because the Mohawk Valley team being the most northern, the league was interested in inviting a sixth team to bridge the gap. Johnstown previously had an EHL team affiliated with
190-495: The league denied his loan, McMahon folded his franchise. With the league now down to 4 teams, the league decided to end the season early and set the playoffs by geographical area to save on expenses. Coincidentally, the matchups did end up having the first and fourth place teams meet, along with the second vs third place teams. The Salem Raiders defeated the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds, and the Mohawk Valley Stars defeated
209-655: The league with only three teams—Erie, Virginia, and Carolina—not enough for it to make sense to operate. Erie would cease operations, but the Lancers and Thunderbirds would transfer to the All-American Hockey League . Two teams from the current ECHL have roots tracing back to the Atlantic Coast Hockey League Wheeling Nailers: Utah Grizzlies: In December 1985, Recreational Ice of North Carolina (RINC)
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#1732856206712228-593: The newly-formed Johnstown Chiefs and the AAHL folded a season later. With a new coach and a new league, the Lancers found themselves outside of the postseason in their initial ECHL season. Finishing 22-30-8 put them in fifth place out of five teams. The Lancers found a replacement coach in Dave Allison for the 1989 season, and the team responded by finishing 36-18-6 with 76 points. The Lancers finished in third place out of four teams and faced fourth place Greensboro Monarchs in
247-414: The next season in December 1983. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1981%E2%80%9387) The Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) was a minor league hockey organization that operated between 1981 and 1987. The league was founded by Bill Coffey . The Bob Payne Trophy
266-610: The playoffs. The Lancers lost the best-of-five series three games to one, which included back to back losses at Greensboro in Games 3 and 4. Prior to the 1990–1991 season, the name was changed to the Roanoke Valley Rebels . They used this name for two seasons, and then became the Roanoke Valley Rampage for the 1992–93 season. Despite the name changes, the franchise remained in the same location throughout. After
285-435: The rights to the franchise for $ 15,000. The ACHL opened with seven teams: From the opening night of the season, McMahon was not happy with how the league was run. Schenectady and Fitchburg were owned by the same person. Fitchburg was placed under a league suspension and would fold after 6 games. Schenectady would fold after 9 games. In January 1982, McMahon tried to borrow $ 15,000 from the league, citing "slow cash flow". When
304-534: The team who wins the league championship. The Lancers transferred to the All-American Hockey League (AAHL) for the 1987-88 season. Coach Tortorella led the team to a 37-5-0-1 record, the best record in the league and won the league championship against the Carolina Thunderbirds . After the season, both Virginia and Carolina left the league to form the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), along with
323-803: The top affiliate of the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League and was coached by Gene Ubriaco, who would later coach the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL. The South Stars reached the CHL playoffs, but lost in the first round to the Wichita Wind . The Nashville South Stars played only for one season in the CHL before joining the Atlantic Coast Hockey League for the 1982–83 season. The franchise would relocate to Vinton, Virginia during
342-413: Was awarded to the team who won the league playoff championship. According to a 1985 Montreal Gazette article, rookies were paid "$ 150 a week plus $ 35 for a victory" and veterans were paid "as much as $ 300 a week." League regulations also said that half the roster (eight out of fifteen players) must be rookie Americans. The ACHL's roots can be traced back to the former Eastern Hockey League (EHL) of
361-627: Was granted an ACHL franchise. RINC general manager Bob Ohrablo had planned to put the franchise in Asheville, North Carolina . The team was to play in a newly built arena, the 3200-seat Asheville Ice Garden. The arena was to be completed in October 1986 and the team was supposed to start play during the 1986–87 season. A name the team contest was to be held in February 1986, with the winner to be announced in March. It
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