In 1995, two doctors in Knoxville, Tennessee, John Staley and John Minchey, created a new hockey franchise in Huntsville to join the newly expanded Southern Hockey League.[2] The Channel Cats won the league's first and only championship, as the SHL folded later that year. The Channel Cats then joined the Eastern Division of the Central Hockey League for the 1996–97 season.[3] The Channel Cats remained with the CHL for five seasons winning the CHL championship (Ray Miron President's Cup) in 1999.
New ownership (2000–2004)
Logo of the Huntsville Tornado (2000–2001)
Following the 1999 championship win the team was sold to a Boaz, Alabama, businessman, John Cherney. Cherney felt that the team had a bad name with the local business community and changed the name of the team to the Huntsville Tornado along with the team colors to red and white.[4] Many fans took offense to the new name that referenced a tornado that struck South Huntsville in 1989, killing 21 people. The new 2000–01 seasons saw many fan favorites leave the team, and a drop down in the standings which resulted in a drop in attendance. Amid concerns over sharing arena space and weekend dates with the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers hockey team and the new NBDLHuntsville Flight basketball team, as well as the CHL's desire to contract to more south-central US markets, the team did not compete in the next two seasons. Cherney had also threatened to move the team to Madison, a suburb of Huntsville, if he did not get the dates he wanted, to no avail.
In 2002, Cherney became involved in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL), but in 2003 founded a new league named the South East Hockey League (SEHL). After the formation of the league, he asked the Huntsville hockey community if he would re-establish a team what name they would like to see play, the Tornado or Channel Cats. The public responded with the Channel Cats. The Channel Cats were revived for the 2003–04 season and win the only SEHL league championship in the four-team league.
End of a dynasty
Following the 2003–04 season, both the SEHL and World Hockey Association 2 (WHA2) fell into disarray. Keith Jeffries, president of HSV Sports, LLC and whose company had been contracted to run the Channel Cats front office during the 2003–04 season (and also operated the Tennessee Valley VipersAF2 franchise) made a bid to have a new hockey team in the upstart Eastern Hockey League (later to be renamed the Southern Professional Hockey League before the league's first season) be placed in Huntsville. The new league would join teams from the now-defunct WHA2 and soon to be defunct SEHL. The Von Braun Center chose to accept the new franchise over the Cats, bringing an end to the Channel Cats name. Other teams from the SEHL soon followed Huntsville's lead and joined the SPHL as well. The new franchise was named the Huntsville Havoc, and successfully carried on the history of pro hockey in Huntsville.
Retired by the Huntsville Havoc on November 4, 2006
Chris George
17
January 4, 2004
John Gibson
23
November 8, 2003
Derek Puppa
30
End of the 1999 season and again on November 8, 2003
Trivia
Won at least one championship in each league of which it was a member.
After their SHL win in 1996 until the end of the 1999–2000 season, before each game Huntsville, Alabama was referred to as "the hockey capital of the South".
The mascot of the Huntsville Channel cats (and Huntsville Tornado) was a channel catfish named Finley. She wore a Huntsville Hockey jersey, gloves, helmet and ice skates.
The Huntsville Channel Cats was featured on the nationally televised No Opportunity Wasted. On that show United States Postal Service letter carrier Mike Orsini lived his dream of playing professional hockey. The game was on March 17, 2004 and in 29 minutes of play as a goalie allowed only one goal and got the win. It was also the last regular season game played by the Channel Cats.
^McCarter, Mark (March 25, 2015). "Von Braun Center has celebrated much sports success, but also been graveyard for some franchises". The Huntsville Times. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^Griffith, Mike (September 5, 2009). "Holloway followed QB path". Knoxville News-Sentinel. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^"Channel Cats now the Tornado". The Oklahoman. April 30, 2000. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
January 07, 2023
huntsville, channel, cats, huntsville, tornado, redirects, here, tornadoes, that, have, struck, huntsville, alabama, huntsville, alabama, tornado, professional, hockey, team, based, huntsville, alabama, franchise, member, several, different, leagues, southern,. Huntsville Tornado redirects here For tornadoes that have struck Huntsville Alabama see Huntsville Alabama Tornado The Huntsville Channel Cats was a professional ice hockey team based in Huntsville Alabama The franchise was a member of several different leagues the Southern Hockey League 1995 1996 the Central Hockey League 1996 2001 and the South East Hockey League 2003 2004 They played their home games at Von Braun Center Arena in downtown Huntsville 1 Huntsville Channel CatsCityHuntsville AlabamaLeagueSouthern Hockey League 1995 96 Central Hockey League 1996 2001 South East Hockey League 2003 04 Operated1995 2004Home arenaVon Braun CenterColorsteal black and whiteHead coachLarry Floyd 1996 1998 Chris Stewart 1998 1999 Pat Bingham 1999 2000 Craig Coxe 2000 2001 Brad Gratton 2001 John Gibson 2003 2004 Franchise history1995 2000Huntsville Channel Cats2000 2001Huntsville Tornado2003 2004Huntsville Channel CatsChampionshipsRegular season titles2003 04 SEHL Division titles1996 97 CHL 1998 99 CHL Playoff championships1995 96 President s Cup SHL 1998 99 Ray Miron President s Cup CHL 2003 04 President s Championship Cup SEHL Contents 1 Early years 1995 1999 2 New ownership 2000 2004 3 End of a dynasty 4 Year by year results 5 Records 5 1 Team 5 2 Single season 5 3 Play offs 5 4 Career 5 5 Retired numbers 6 Trivia 7 Other Huntsville professional hockey teams 8 ReferencesEarly years 1995 1999 EditIn 1995 two doctors in Knoxville Tennessee John Staley and John Minchey created a new hockey franchise in Huntsville to join the newly expanded Southern Hockey League 2 The Channel Cats won the league s first and only championship as the SHL folded later that year The Channel Cats then joined the Eastern Division of the Central Hockey League for the 1996 97 season 3 The Channel Cats remained with the CHL for five seasons winning the CHL championship Ray Miron President s Cup in 1999 New ownership 2000 2004 Edit Logo of the Huntsville Tornado 2000 2001 Following the 1999 championship win the team was sold to a Boaz Alabama businessman John Cherney Cherney felt that the team had a bad name with the local business community and changed the name of the team to the Huntsville Tornado along with the team colors to red and white 4 Many fans took offense to the new name that referenced a tornado that struck South Huntsville in 1989 killing 21 people The new 2000 01 seasons saw many fan favorites leave the team and a drop down in the standings which resulted in a drop in attendance Amid concerns over sharing arena space and weekend dates with the Alabama Huntsville Chargers hockey team and the new NBDL Huntsville Flight basketball team as well as the CHL s desire to contract to more south central US markets the team did not compete in the next two seasons Cherney had also threatened to move the team to Madison a suburb of Huntsville if he did not get the dates he wanted to no avail In 2002 Cherney became involved in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League ACHL but in 2003 founded a new league named the South East Hockey League SEHL After the formation of the league he asked the Huntsville hockey community if he would re establish a team what name they would like to see play the Tornado or Channel Cats The public responded with the Channel Cats The Channel Cats were revived for the 2003 04 season and win the only SEHL league championship in the four team league End of a dynasty EditFollowing the 2003 04 season both the SEHL and World Hockey Association 2 WHA2 fell into disarray Keith Jeffries president of HSV Sports LLC and whose company had been contracted to run the Channel Cats front office during the 2003 04 season and also operated the Tennessee Valley Vipers AF2 franchise made a bid to have a new hockey team in the upstart Eastern Hockey League later to be renamed the Southern Professional Hockey League before the league s first season be placed in Huntsville The new league would join teams from the now defunct WHA2 and soon to be defunct SEHL The Von Braun Center chose to accept the new franchise over the Cats bringing an end to the Channel Cats name Other teams from the SEHL soon followed Huntsville s lead and joined the SPHL as well The new franchise was named the Huntsville Havoc and successfully carried on the history of pro hockey in Huntsville Year by year results EditSeason League GP W L T OTL Pts Pct GF GA PIM Coach Finish Playoffs1995 96 SHL 60 25 31 2 0 56 0 467 274 294 2191 Larry Floyd 4th Won championship 4 1 Winston Salem 1996 97 CHL 66 39 24 3 0 81 0 614 311 297 2111 Larry Floyd 1st East Lost in round 2 2 4 Memphis 1997 98 CHL 70 40 22 8 0 88 0 629 333 281 2374 Larry Floyd 3rd East Lost in round 1 0 3 Nashville 1998 99 CHL 70 47 19 0 4 98 0 671 310 251 2313 Chris Stewart 1st East Won championship 4 2 Oklahoma City 1999 00 CHL 70 37 27 0 6 80 0 529 242 244 2350 Pat Bingham 3rd East Lost in round 1 2 3 Columbus 2000 01 Tornado CHL 70 31 36 0 3 65 0 443 217 275 1972 Craig Coxe 52 games Kent Hawley 18 games 5th East Did not qualify2003 04 SEHL 56 43 13 0 0 86 0 768 233 164 1671 John Gibson 1st Won championship 3 0 Knoxville Records EditTeam Edit as of the 2006 2007 season these records are tied with other teams or are still held by Huntsville Most consecutive wins in a season Tied with other teams in the CHL 12 1996 1997 HuntsvilleMost penalty minutes one team in a game CHL 241 11 05 1999 HuntsvilleMost penalty minutes both teams in a game CHL 438 11 05 1999 Fayetteville and HuntsvilleSingle season Edit Goals Chris George 65 98 99 Assists Jonathan DuBois 92 97 98 Points Jonathan DuBois 129 97 98 Penalty minutes Mike Degurse 346 97 98 GAA Matt Carmichael 2 74 03 04 SV Matt Carmichael 922 03 04 Wins Derek Puppa 39 98 99 Play offs Edit Wins Derek Puppa 11 98 99 Career Edit Goals Chris George 234 Assists Jonathan DuBois 323 Points Jonathan DuBois 453 Penalty minutes Mike Degurse 1312 Goaltending wins Matt Carmichael 66 Shutouts Brent Belecki 3 Games Chris George 333Retired numbers Edit Name Number Date Phil Daigle 21 November 8 2003 Mike Degurse 33 Retired by the Huntsville Havoc on November 4 2006 Chris George 17 January 4 2004 John Gibson 23 November 8 2003 Derek Puppa 30 End of the 1999 season and again on November 8 2003Trivia EditWon at least one championship in each league of which it was a member After their SHL win in 1996 until the end of the 1999 2000 season before each game Huntsville Alabama was referred to as the hockey capital of the South The mascot of the Huntsville Channel cats and Huntsville Tornado was a channel catfish named Finley She wore a Huntsville Hockey jersey gloves helmet and ice skates The Huntsville Channel Cats was featured on the nationally televised No Opportunity Wasted On that show United States Postal Service letter carrier Mike Orsini lived his dream of playing professional hockey The game was on March 17 2004 and in 29 minutes of play as a goalie allowed only one goal and got the win It was also the last regular season game played by the Channel Cats Other Huntsville professional hockey teams EditHuntsville Blast ECHL 1993 1994 Huntsville Havoc SPHL 2004 presentReferences Edit McCarter Mark March 25 2015 Von Braun Center has celebrated much sports success but also been graveyard for some franchises The Huntsville Times Retrieved March 14 2019 Griffith Mike September 5 2009 Holloway followed QB path Knoxville News Sentinel Retrieved March 14 2019 Buckley Bill Grisamore Ed 1998 Once Upon a Whoopee A Town a Team a Song a Dream Mercer University Press p 126 ISBN 978 0 8655 4625 7 Channel Cats now the Tornado The Oklahoman April 30 2000 Retrieved March 14 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Huntsville Channel Cats amp oldid 1097517467, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
