Columbus River Dragons
CityColumbus, Georgia
LeagueFederal Prospects Hockey League
DivisionContinental
Founded2019
Home arenaColumbus Civic Center
ColorsRed, black, teal, white
       
Owner(s)Ignite Pro Hockey, LLC
General managerJeff Croop[1]
Head coachJerome Bechard[2]
CaptainJosh Pietrantonio
WebsiteRDragons.com
Franchise history
2019–presentColumbus River Dragons
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2020–21)
Playoff championships1 (2021)

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.

History

In 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

  1. ↑ "Staff – Columbus River Dragons". Columbus River Dragons. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  2. ↑ "River Dragons announce 2019-20 coaching staff". Columbus River Dragons. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  3. ↑ Dean, Allie (April 22, 2019). "Pro hockey could come back to Columbus after two year gap". Ledger-Enquirer. McClatchy. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  4. ↑ "THE RIVER DRAGONS ARRIVE IN COLUMBUS MAY 21 2019". Columbus River Dragons. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  5. ↑ "FPHL Announces Plan to Restart on February 19 with 4 Teams; More Potentially to Follow". OurSports Central. February 11, 2021.
  6. ↑ "FPHL Announces 2021 Postseason Format, Teams to Play for Ignite Cup". OurSports Central. March 26, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Columbus River Dragons Win Ignite Cup Championship". WRBL. May 1, 2021.
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