We Speak Sports

Ten Seasons of Icemen Hockey and Jacksonville Is Just Getting Warmed Up

Published

3 minutes ago

November 8, 2026

Jacksonville Icemen players celebrate together on the ice on Game Day at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in downtown Jacksonville.

Jacksonville Icemen players celebrate on the ice on Game Day against the Florida Everblades at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Photo via @jaxicemen.

There is a particular sound a hockey building makes in Florida when the home team is rolling, and Jacksonville has been perfecting it for a decade. The Jacksonville Icemen are in their 10th season of ECHL hockey at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in downtown Jacksonville, and the club that arrived in 2017 has grown into one of the South Division’s fixtures, a development team with a loyal building and a season that is already delivering drama by the week.

The Icemen play in the ECHL, the premier AA level of North American minor league hockey, and this season brought a fresh pipeline to town. Jacksonville is now the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and the AHL’s Iowa Wild, a partnership announced in May 2026 that replaced the club’s previous affiliation with Buffalo and Rochester. Players move between Jacksonville, Iowa and Minnesota as the season demands, which means Icemen fans regularly watch skaters who are one phone call away from the American Hockey League and two from the National Hockey League.

The start to 2026-27 has been pure Jacksonville hockey, which is to say nothing has come easy and almost everything has come down to the final minutes. Through Saturday, November 7, the Icemen stand at 3-3-3 with nine points, fourth in the South Division. The early story of the season was overtime. Jacksonville ripped off three consecutive overtime victories, capped by a 3-2 home win over the Savannah Ghost Pirates on Tuesday, November 3, when Jacques Bouquot scored the winner and Cameron Rowe made 29 saves. Jaden Condotta had opened the run with two goals, including an overtime winner, in a 3-2 comeback at Orlando. A four-game point streak carried the Icemen into a heavyweight weekend series against the defending Kelly Cup champion Florida Everblades, who took the first two games of the set in Jacksonville, edging the Icemen 2-1 in overtime on Friday before winning 4-1 on Saturday.

The good news for Jacksonville is that the home stand keeps rolling, and the building on A Philip Randolph Boulevard is about to be busy. The home dates ahead:

Sunday, November 8: Florida Everblades, 3:00 PM, Publix Family Funday, the series finale against the champions.

Friday, November 13: Greenville Swamp Rabbits, 7:00 PM, Pucks and Paws and Teacher Appreciation night.

Saturday, November 14: Savannah Ghost Pirates, 7:00 PM, Women in Sports night with the Lunas against the Sirens theme.

Friday, November 20: Orlando Solar Bears, 7:00 PM, Cars Night, against the club’s in-state rivals from Orlando.

One more home date follows on Wednesday, November 25, when Greenville returns at 7:00 PM.

Ten seasons in, the formula is established. A downtown arena, a development pipeline that now runs through Iowa to Minnesota, a roster that plays nail biters as a matter of habit and a fan base that treats November hockey like a civic event. The Icemen have a point streak to rebuild and a building full of home dates to do it with. Jacksonville hockey is in season, and the Icemen intend to make some noise.

Senden Strikes Twice Early and the Icemen’s Push Runs Out of Time Against Florida

Published

45 seconds ago

November 8, 2026

We Speak Media

A Jacksonville Icemen player battles a Florida Everblades player for the puck at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, with the final score JAX 1, FLA 4.

Jacksonville Icemen in action against the Florida Everblades at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on November 7. Photo via @jaxicemen.

The Jacksonville Icemen spent Saturday night chasing a game that got away from them in the first period, and against the defending Kelly Cup champions, the chase came up short. Mark Senden scored twice in the opening frame and the Florida Everblades beat Jacksonville 4-1 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, handing the Icemen a second straight loss in the weekend series and ending their four-game point streak.

Jacksonville actually started brightly, earning early power plays and generating chances, but the home team could not convert and Florida punished the waste. Senden opened the scoring at 9:49 of the first period, finishing a play set up by Jesse Lansdell and Maleek McGowan. The period also featured the night’s first fight, with Florida’s Sean Allen and Jacksonville’s AJ Schlepp dropping the gloves at 7:59. Senden struck again at 14:32, this time on the power play with assists from Jack Horbach and Jordan Sambrook, and the Icemen skated to the intermission down 2-0.

The Icemen found their answer in the second period, and it came from the slot. On a Jacksonville power play, Tanner Kelly fired a quick touch pass from the left-wing side that found Adam McMaster in front, and McMaster rifled the puck home at 6:33 to cut the deficit to 2-1. Bennett MacArthur picked up the second assist. Just as on Friday night, Jacksonville trailed by a single goal entering the third period, and the building had every reason to believe.

This time, the equalizer never came. Lansdell restored Florida’s two-goal lead at 4:16 of the third, converting assists from Senden and McGowan to complete a three-point night for Senden. Seconds later, the game turned feisty again as Jacksonville’s Tyler Schleppe and Florida’s Tiernan Shoudy fought at 4:29. The Icemen pulled goaltender Cameron Rowe for an extra attacker late, but a shattered Jacksonville stick killed a quality chance to draw within one, and Devon Paliani scored into the empty net at 18:43 to close the scoring.

Rowe finished with 24 saves on 27 shots for Jacksonville, which sent 26 shots at Florida goaltender Cam Johnson. The Icemen fell to 3-3-3 on the season, while Florida, at 7-1-0, showed exactly why it carries the Kelly Cup champion label. The series wraps up on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 PM, and Jacksonville gets one more crack at the champions on home ice.