On a mid-January day in 2013, the Pensacola Ice Flyers’ fourth season was in a momentary crisis.
The NHL player lockout had just ended. The league season was to resume. It triggered a seismic shift of players throughout the minor league systems, which greatly impacted the Ice Flyers.
“We lost eight players off our roster (to higher level minor leagues) in one day,” said Ice Flyers coach Gary Graham, who was in his first season that year as a head coach. “I remember telling (Ice Flyers owner) Greg (Harris), that I don’t know what to do. We were literally pulling guys off the couch to play.
“We had a circus show at the Bay Center at the time and it was like we had a circus within a circus.”
