Editing Worcester IceCats

{{Short description|Former American ice hockey team}}
{{Pro hockey team
| bg_color = background:#003366; border-top:#001479 5px solid; border-bottom:#339999 5px solid;
| text_color = Black
| team        = Worcester IceCats
| logo        = Worcester-Ice-Cats.png
| logosize    = 150px
| city        = [[Worcester, Massachusetts]]
| league      = [[American Hockey League]]
| operated    = 1994–2005
| arena       = [[Worcester Centrum]]
| colors      = Teal, blue, silver<br />{{color box|#339999}} {{color box|#001479}} {{color box|silver}}
| owner       =  
| GM          =   
| coach       =   
| captain     =  
| media       =  
| affiliates  = [[St. Louis Blues]] ([[National Hockey League|NHL]]),<br>[[Ottawa Senators]]<!-- 1994–1996 --> (NHL),<br>[[New York Islanders]] (NHL)
<!---Franchise history--->
| name1       = [[Quebec Castors|Quebec Beavers]]
| dates1      = 1932–1935
| name2       = [[Springfield Indians]]
| dates2      = 1935–1951
| name3       = [[Springfield Indians|Syracuse Warriors]]
| dates3      = 1951–1954
| name4       = [[Springfield Indians]]
| dates4      = 1954–1967
| name5       = [[Springfield Indians|Springfield Kings]] 
| dates5      = 1967–1974
| name6       = [[Springfield Indians]]
| dates6      = 1974–1994
| name7       = '''Worcester IceCats'''
| dates7      = 1994–2005
| name8       = [[Peoria Rivermen (AHL)|Peoria Rivermen]] 
| dates8      = 2005–2013
| name9       = [[Utica Comets]]
| dates9      = 2013–2021
| name10       = [[Abbotsford Canucks]]
| dates10      = 2021–present
<!---Championships--->
| reg_season_titles = '''1''':  ([[2000–01 AHL season|2000–01]])
| division_titles   = '''2''': ([[1996–97 AHL season|1996–97]], [[2000–01 AHL season|2000–01]])
| conf_titles       = 
| championships     = 
| calder_cups       = 
}}
The '''Worcester IceCats''' were a professional [[ice hockey]] team in the [[American Hockey League]]. They played in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], at the [[Worcester Centrum]] (Renamed to the [[DCU Center]] in 2004). In 2005 the team was renamed the [[Peoria Rivermen (AHL)|Peoria Rivermen]] and moved to [[Peoria, Illinois]].

==History==
The IceCats got their start when original [[New York Islanders]] owner [[Roy Boe]] purchased the [[Springfield Indians]] AHL franchise and moved it to Worcester in the summer of 1994. The team began play in the Fall of 1994 with a collection of free-agent players but as yet with no [[National Hockey League]] team affiliation.<ref name=UPICats>{{cite news |title=Blues announce affiliation with Worcester |date=1995-05-23 |agency=[[United Press International]] |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/05/23/Blues-announce-affiliation-with-Worcester/9760801201600/ |access-date=2024-05-04}}</ref> Immediately following the end of the 1994–95 season, Boe and head coach/General Manager [[Jim Roberts (ice hockey, born 1940)|Jim Roberts]] closed an affiliation deal with the [[St. Louis Blues]].<ref name=UPICats/> From that point on the IceCats would be the Blues' premier minor league team. The [[Peoria Rivermen (ECHL)|Peoria Rivermen]] of the [[East Coast Hockey League]], in turn, became the IceCats' minor league affiliate in 1998, having been with St. Louis before the 1994 Worcester deal. During the 2000–01 season, Boe sold the IceCats to the [[St. Louis Blues]]. The team celebrated its tenth season in the AHL in fall 2003.

On November 9, 2004, the [[St. Louis Blues]] announced the sale of the IceCats to the owners of their ECHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. The new owners moved the franchise to [[Peoria, Illinois]], for the 2005–06 season.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 9, 2004|title=Blues Agree to Sell Worcester IceCats|url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/blues-agree-to-sell-worcester-icecats/n-3099733|access-date=October 19, 2021|website=OurSports Central|language=en}}</ref>

:This franchise was previously known as: [[Springfield Indians]] (1926–1994)
:The franchise became known as: [[Peoria Rivermen (AHL)|Peoria Rivermen]] (2005–2013)
:This franchise was replaced by: [[Worcester Sharks]] (2006–2015)

Affiliates:
* [[St. Louis Blues]] (1995–2005)
* [[New York Islanders]] (1995–1996)
* [[Ottawa Senators]] (1996–1998)

==Season-by-season results==

===Regular season===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|- 
!Season!! Games !!Won!!Lost!!Tied!!OTL!!SOL!!Points!! Goals<br />for !! Goals<br />against !!Standing
|- 
|[[1994–95 AHL season|1994–95]]||80||24||45||11|| 0||—|| 59||234||300||6th, North
|- 
|[[1995–96 AHL season|1995–96]]||80||36||28||12|| 4||—|| 88||242||244||2nd, North
|- 
|[[1996–97 AHL season|1996–97]]||80||43||23|| 9|| 5||—||100||256||234||'''1st, New England'''
|- 
|[[1997–98 AHL season|1997–98]]||80||34||31|| 9|| 6||—|| 83||267||268||4th, New England
|-  
|[[1998–99 AHL season|1998–99]]||80||34||36|| 8|| 2||—|| 78||237||260||4th, New England
|-  
|[[1999–2000 AHL season|1999–00]]||80||34||31||11|| 4||—|| 83||249||250||3rd, New England
|-  
|[[2000–01 AHL season|2000–01]]||80||48||20|| 9|| 3||—||108||264||205||'''1st, New England'''
|-  
|[[2001–02 AHL season|2001–02]]||80||39||33|| 7|| 1||—|| 86||245||218||3rd, North
|- 
|[[2002–03 AHL season|2002–03]]||80||35||27||15|| 3||—|| 88||235||220||3rd, North
|- 
|[[2003–04 AHL season|2003–04]]||80||37||27||13|| 3||—|| 90||207||186||3rd, Atlantic 
|- 
|[[2004–05 AHL season|2004–05]]||80||39||34|| 3|| 4||—|| 85||212||223||5th, Atlantic 
|}

===Playoffs===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|- 
!Season!!1st round!!2nd round!!3rd round!!Finals
|-
|[[1994–95 AHL season|1994–95]] ||colspan="4"|Did not qualify
|-
|[[1995–96 AHL season|1995–96]] ||L, 1–3, [[Portland Pirates|Portland]] ||—||—||—
|-
|[[1996–97 AHL season|1996–97]] ||L, 2–3, [[Providence Bruins|Providence]] ||—||—||—
|-
|[[1997–98 AHL season|1997–98]] ||W, 3–1, [[Springfield Falcons|Springfield]] ||L, 3–4, [[Hartford Wolfpack|Hartford]] ||—||—
|- 
|[[1998–99 AHL season|1998–99]] ||L, 1–3, [[Providence Bruins|Providence]] ||—||—||—
|- 
|[[1999–2000 AHL season|1999–00]] ||W, 3–1, [[Portland Pirates|Portland]] ||L, 1–4, [[Hartford Wolfpack|Hartford]] ||—||—
|- 
|[[2000–01 AHL season|2000–01]] ||W, 3–1, [[Lowell Lock Monsters|Lowell]] ||L, 3–4, [[Providence Bruins|Providence]] ||—||—
|- 
|[[2001–02 AHL season|2001–02]]<sup>†</sup>||L, 1–2, [[Manitoba Moose|Manitoba]]<sup>†</sup>||—||—||—
|-
|[[2002–03 AHL season|2002–03]] ||L, 0–3, [[Binghamton Senators|Binghamton]] ||—||—||—
|- 
|[[2003–04 AHL season|2003–04]] ||W, 4–2, [[Manchester Monarchs (AHL)|Manchester]] ||L, 0–4, [[Hartford Wolfpack|Hartford]] ||—||—
|- 
|[[2004–05 AHL season|2004–05]] ||colspan="4"|Did not qualify
|}

<sup>†</sup> Lost in preliminary round.

==Team records==

===Single season===
*'''Goals:''' 38 [[Eric Boguniecki]] and [[Justin Papineau]] (2001–2002)
*'''Assists:''' 46 Eric Boguniecki (2001–2002)
*'''Points:''' 84 Eric Boguniecki (2001–2002)
*'''Penalty minutes:''' 337 [[Sylvain Blouin]] (1999–2000)
*'''GAA:''' 2.13 [[Curtis Sanford]] (2003–2004)
*'''SV%:''' 0.929 [[Dwayne Roloson]] (2000–2001)

===Career===
*'''Career goals:''' 79 [[Marc Brown (ice hockey)|Marc Brown]]
*'''Career assists:''' 154 [[Terry Virtue]]
*'''Career points:''' 210 Terry Virtue
*'''Career penalty minutes:''' 1083 Terry Virtue
*'''Career goaltending wins:''' 65 Curtis Sanford
*'''Career shutouts:''' 10 Curtis Sanford
*'''Career games:''' 455 Terry Virtue

===Franchise scoring leaders===

These are the top ten point-scorers in IceCat's franchise history.

'''''Note:''' Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points;

{| class="wikitable"
|-  style="text-align:center; font-weight:bold; background:#ddd;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Player || Pos || GP || G || A || Pts
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Terry Virtue]] || D || 455 || 56 || 154 || '''210'''
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#eee;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Jame Pollock]] || D || 270 || 63 || 104 || '''167'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Marc Brown (ice hockey)|Marc Brown]] || LW || 303 || 79 || 81 || '''160'''
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#eee;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Eric Boguniecki]] || C || 141 || 69 || 86 || '''155'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Jeff Panzer (ice hockey)|Jeff Panzer]] || C || 210 || 62 || 84 || '''146'''
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#eee;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Justin Papineau]] || C || 162 || 66 || 77 || '''143'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Stephane Roy (ice hockey, born 1976)|Stephane Roy]] || C || 208 || 61 || 78 || '''139''' 
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#eee;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Daniel Corso]] || C || 187 || 54 || 85 || '''139'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Marty Reasoner]] || C || 122 || 57 || 68 || '''125'''
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#eee;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Blake Evans]] || C || 253 || 52 || 73 || '''125'''
|}

==Team captains==
* Jim Nesich, 1994–1995
* Roy Mitchell, 1995–1996
* David Williams, 1996–1997
* [[Terry Virtue]], 1997–1998
* [[Ricard Persson]], 1997–1998
* [[Geoff Smith (ice hockey)|Geoff Smith]], 1998–1999
* [[Jason Widmer]], 1998–2000
* [[Bryan Helmer]], 1999–2000
* [[Ed Campbell (ice hockey)|Ed Campbell]], 2000–2002
* [[Eric Nickulas]], 2002–2003
* Jeff Panzer, 2003–2004
* [[Mike Mottau]], 2004–2005

==Notable IceCats==
{{columns-list|colwidth=16em|
* [[Eric Boguniecki]]
* [[Jim Campbell (ice hockey)|Jim Campbell]]
* [[Rory Fitzpatrick]]
* [[Michal Handzuš]]
* [[Jochen Hecht]]
* [[Barret Jackman]]
* [[Andreas Johansson (ice hockey)|Andreas Johansson]]
* [[Brent Johnson]]
* [[Jamal Mayers]]
* [[Jay McClement]]
* [[Jamie McLennan]]
* [[Mike Mottau]]
* [[Ladislav Nagy]]
* [[Tyson Nash]]
* [[Justin Papineau]]
* [[Marty Reasoner]]
* [[Pascal Rheaume]]
* [[Dwayne Roloson]]
* [[Mark Rycroft]]
* [[Bryce Salvador]]
* [[Curtis Sanford]]
* [[Steve Staios]]
* [[Mike Van Ryn]]
* [[Dennis Wideman]]
}}

== References ==
<references />
==External links==
*[http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/teamseasons.php?tid=305 The Internet Hockey Database - Worcester IceCats]

{{Abbotsford Canucks}}
{{Defunct AHL}}
{{Worcester, Massachusetts}}

[[Category:Worcester IceCats| ]]
[[Category:1994 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:2005 disestablishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Defunct ice hockey teams in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 1994]]
[[Category:Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2005]]
[[Category:Ice hockey teams in Worcester, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Ottawa Senators minor league affiliates]]