ICE FLYERS BEGIN SEASON
by Gina Castro
icture this, you're in an Ice Flyers jersey singing “Sweet Caroline” with the same level of enthusiasm you had the first three times. Your favorite Ice Flyers player spreads some holiday cheer by decking the halls of an opponent’s face. Wonderful isn’t it? No one misses hockey season as much as Downtown Crowd. The wait is almost over. The Ice Flyers’ home opener is Dec. 30 at 7:05 pm.
“We're really looking forward to this season. We know our fans are definitely looking forward to watching live sports in a safe environment,” Greg Harris, owner of the Pensacola Ice Flyers hockey team, said. “This has not happened in a very long time, so we're definitely excited about it.” Earlier this year, the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) was cut short due to COVID-19. After months of safety and health regulations, many states, including Florida, are opening back up to full capacity. SPHL announced on Oct. 6 that the 2020-2021 season will feature a 42game regular season and a total of five teams: Birmingham Bulls, Huntsville Havoc, Knoxville Ice Bears, Macon Mayhem and Pensacola Ice Flyers. “Between the delayed start and the numerous cancelled events also booking replacement dates in 2021, there just was not enough time nor availability to have a full 56-game schedule without creating additional hardships for the
five teams attempting to play this season,” Doug Price, SPHL Commissioner, said in a Oct. 6 press release. Because of state and local restrictions related to the continuing pandemic, the Evansville Thunderbolts, Fayetteville Marksmen, Peoria Rivermen, Quad City Storm and Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs will sit out the upcoming season and prepare to return for the 2021-2022 campaign. All players named to a protected list
or signed to a training camp tryout will become free agents; however, the five teams not playing will be able to retain the rights to their protected list players for the 20212022 season. This year’s hockey season will look quite different. Face masks will be required to enter the Pensacola Bay Center and social distancing will be enforced. Even though businesses in Florida are able to open to 100 percent capacity, Harris stated that the Bay Center will be between 40 to 50 percent capacity. “Our priority is taking care of our fans. That's really what it comes down to,” Harris continued. “This is definitely not a decision we take lightly. It is very heavy on our minds and our hearts. We just want to make sure that everybody is taking the precautions that they need to so that way we can have live hockey.” Guests will be socially distanced by pods of up to six people. Groups of guests who plan to attend the game collectively can sit together up to six people, and the groups of guests will be socially distanced from other groups.
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