The Roanoke Valley Vipers were a professional ice hockey

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 located in Roanoke, Virginia

Roanoke, Virginia

Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...

. They were formed for the 2005-06 season, mainly to fill the gap after 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...

's Roanoke Express

Roanoke Express

The Roanoke Express were a team in the ECHL from 1993 until 2004. Home games were played at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia.-History:...

 disbanded and to provide a travel partner near the Richmond RiverDogs

Richmond RiverDogs

The Richmond RiverDogs were a professional minor league ice hockey franchise based in Richmond, Virginia. They played at the Richmond Coliseum....

. They were a member of the United Hockey League

United Hockey League

The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

 and played in the Roanoke Civic Center. They were formed in 2002 as the Port Huron Beacons

Port Huron Beacons

The Port Huron Beacons were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the United Hockey League that played from 2002 to 2005. The team was based in Port Huron, Michigan, and played at the McMorran Arena. The Beacons departed in 2005 to become the Roanoke Valley Vipers.President, General...

 and played there in McMorran Arena in Port Huron, Michigan

Port Huron, Michigan

Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administratively autonomous. It is joined by the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River to Sarnia,...

 through the end of the 2004-05 season. They were unsuccessful on and off the ice, with a losing record in their lone season in Virginia and an average attendance of about 1,000 fans in an arena with a capacity of over 9,000. Local fans complained about high ticket prices and a lower level of play than the ECHL. The midwestern focus of the UHL also made rivalries less intense than they had been with the southeastern and mid-atlantic teams of the ECHL. The owners and their marketing plans were frequently criticized by local media. Local interest in hockey had also failed to recover after the demise of the Express. The Vipers folded on May 15, 2006, shortly after the RiverDogs departed Richmond and became the Chicago Hounds

Chicago Hounds

The Chicago Hounds were a professional ice hockey team in the United Hockey League for the 2006-07 UHL season. They played their home games at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The Hounds franchise was officially a relocation of the Richmond RiverDogs franchise, which played in...

.

The Southern Professional Hockey League

Southern Professional Hockey League

The Southern Professional Hockey League is a low-level professional ice hockey league based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with teams located in the southeastern United States.- History :...

 is possibly looking to bring hockey back to the Roanoke Valley

Roanoke Valley

The Roanoke Valley in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west...

 in the near future.

Background

Professional ice hockey has been played in the Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

n towns of Roanoke

Roanoke, Virginia

Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...

, Salem

Salem, Virginia

Salem is an independent city in Virginia, USA, bordered by the city of Roanoke to the east but otherwise adjacent to Roanoke County. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 24,802 according to 2010 U.S. Census...

 and Vinton

Vinton, Virginia

Vinton is a town in Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 7,782 at the 2000 census. It hosted teams by three names in the ECHL in a custom built facility known as the LancerLot; after the roof collapsed during the Blizzard of 1993, the franchise moved to the Roanoke Civic...

 since 1967. Teams have been members of the All-American Hockey League

All-American Hockey League

The All-American Hockey League was a minor league hockey organization formed in 1972 with teams based in the Upper Midwest and Great lakes regions of the United States as the Continental Hockey League. In 1986 the league folded and the Danville, Dayton, Troy went on to form the All-American Hockey...

, the Atlantic Coast Hockey League

Atlantic Coast Hockey League

The Atlantic Coast Hockey League was a minor league hockey organization that operated between 1981 and 1987. The league was founded by Bill Coffey....

 , 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...

 and the Southern Hockey League. The Virginia Lancers

Virginia Lancers

The Virginia Lancers were a minor league hockey team that played in several leagues from 1983 until 1990. Their home ice was the Vinton Sports Complex, which held 3400 people.-Atlantic Coast Hockey League :...

 were a charter member of the East Coast Hockey League in 1988, later known as the Roanoke Valley Rebels

Roanoke Valley Rebels

The Roanoke Valley Rebels were a minor league hockey franchise in the ECHL from 1990-92. The Rebels played their games at the LancerLot in Vinton, Virginia...

 and Roanoke Valley Rampage

Roanoke Valley Rampage

The Roanoke Valley Rampage were a minor league hockey franchise in the ECHL during the 1992-93 season. The Rampage played their games at the LancerLot in Vinton, Virginia...

 before moving to Huntsville, Alabama after the 1992-93 season. That franchise is still alive today as the ECHL's Utah Grizzlies

Utah Grizzlies

The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play out of West Valley City, Utah, United States, with their home games at the Maverik Center.- Franchise history :...

. The Roanoke Express

Roanoke Express

The Roanoke Express were a team in the ECHL from 1993 until 2004. Home games were played at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia.-History:...

 filled the gap, joining the ECHL for the 1993-94 season and playing through the 2003-04 season. In the spring of 2005, the United Hockey League

United Hockey League

The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

 awarded an expansion franchise to Roanoke.

Notable players

• David-Alexandre Beauregard
  David-Alexandre Beauregard
  David-Alexandre Beauregard is a Canadian professional ice hockey player, currently playing for the Nottingham Panthers of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Beauregard has had a remarkable 14-year professional career in the minor leagues.-Early years:From a very young age Beauregard had been a scorer...
  
  
• Matt Elich
  Matt Elich
  Matthew Elich is an American professional ice hockey winger. He was drafted in the third round, 61st overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft...
  
  
• Alexander Erofeev
• Rob Kapuscinski
  Rob Kapuscinski
  Robert Kapuscinski is a Canadian ice hockey player.- Playing career :Kapuscinski played his junior career with the Oakville Blades, Bramalea Blues and Vaughan Vipers of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League from 1998-2001...
  
  
• Sean Starke
  Sean Starke
  Sean Starke is a Canadian retired former professional ice hockey player, who last played for the Manchester Phoenix. He has played a high level of hockey since 1999, where he played for Bowdoin College in New England for four seasons, providing a decent return of 101 points in that time...