Knoxville Knights
Encyclopedia
The Knoxville Knights were a minor professional ice hockey
team based in the James White Civic Coliseum
in Knoxville
, Tennessee
. The Knights played for seven seasons in the Eastern Hockey League
from 1961 to 1968. The Knights folded after the end of the 1967-68 season.
The Knights had the distinction of having the youngest player in EHL history appear in a game during their existence. On March 13, 1966 in a game against the Jacksonville Rockets
, Knights head coach Doug Bentley inserted his son Doug, Jr. into the lineup after a rash of injuries hit the team a few days before. Doug, Jr, was born June 1, 1951, making him 14 years of age at the time of his Knights debut.
They were followed in Knoxville by the Knoxville Cherokees
of the ECHL
from 1988 to 1997, the Knoxville Speed
of the UHL
from 1999 to 2002, and the Knoxville Ice Bears
of the ACHL, the SEHL, and the SPHL from 2002 to the present.
.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team based in the James White Civic Coliseum
James White Civic Coliseum
General James White Memorial Civic Auditorium and Coliseum is a 7,141-seat multi-purpose arena, in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was built in 1961....
in Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The Knights played for seven seasons in the Eastern Hockey League
Eastern Hockey League
-Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972...
from 1961 to 1968. The Knights folded after the end of the 1967-68 season.
The Knights had the distinction of having the youngest player in EHL history appear in a game during their existence. On March 13, 1966 in a game against the Jacksonville Rockets
Jacksonville Rockets
The Jacksonville Rockets were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They played in the Eastern Hockey League from 1964–1972, when they folded. They were the first professional hockey team to be based in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida...
, Knights head coach Doug Bentley inserted his son Doug, Jr. into the lineup after a rash of injuries hit the team a few days before. Doug, Jr, was born June 1, 1951, making him 14 years of age at the time of his Knights debut.
They were followed in Knoxville by the Knoxville Cherokees
Knoxville Cherokees
The Knoxville Cherokees were an East Coast Hockey League team based in Knoxville, Tennessee.-History:The franchise was formed in 1988 along with the ECHL...
of the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
from 1988 to 1997, the Knoxville Speed
Knoxville Speed
The Knoxville Speed was a UHL team which played from 1999-2002 in Knoxville, Tennessee with home ice at the James White Civic Coliseum. They were formerly the Madison Monsters, and in April 1999 team owner Andrew Wilhelm announced that the franchise would relocate to Knoxville due to low attendance...
of the UHL
United Hockey League
The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...
from 1999 to 2002, and the Knoxville Ice Bears
Knoxville Ice Bears
The Knoxville Ice Bears are a professional ice hockey team. The team competes in the Southern Professional Hockey League. They play their home games at James White Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 2006 the Ice Bears defeated the Florida Seals to take the SPHL championship and the...
of the ACHL, the SEHL, and the SPHL from 2002 to the present.
Knights in the NHL
Former members of the Knights include several players who played in the NHLNational Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
.
Season-by-season results
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | Points | Goals For | Goals Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-62 | 68 | 30 | 35 | 3 | 63 | 216 | 256 |
| 1962-63 | 68 | 37 | 28 | 3 | 77 | 295 | 245 |
| 1963-64 | 72 | 40 | 31 | 1 | 81 | 340 | 287 |
| 1964-65 | 72 | 34 | 36 | 2 | 70 | 281 | 284 |
| 1965-66 | 72 | 34 | 36 | 2 | 70 | 278 | 261 |
| 1966-67 | 72 | 27 | 42 | 3 | 57 | 232 | 268 |
| 1967-68 | 72 | 23 | 43 | 6 | 52 | 250 | 294 |