The Fifth Anniversary digital program for the Columbus River Dragons - Volume 3
WATCHING MADE FOR HOCKEY
OFFICIAL SOFT DRINK OF THE RIVER DRAGONS
FEBRUARY 10 - YOUTH HOCKEY NIGHT MARCH 16 - FAITH AND FAMILY NIGHT APRIL 12 - FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT
COLUMBUS CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT Georgia’s First Consolidated Government Post Office Box 1340 Columbus, Georgia 31902-1340 B.H. “Skip” Henderson III Mayor Telephone (706) 225-4712 Fax (706) 653-4970
Welcome River Dragons Fans,
On behalf of the Citizens of the City of Columbus and as Mayor, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the City of Columbus, the Columbus Civic Center, and River Dragons hockey. To those visiting from outside Columbus, welcome to Fountain City, and to our residents, we are glad you can enjoy one of our city’s great facilities. I applaud the commitment and hard work it takes to become a professional athlete and we welcome the players and their families to our city. We are honored that you live in our community and know you will do a great job representing our city. To the visiting team, we hope you enjoy our famous southern hospitality, even if our River Dragons are not generous providing you with many wins here in Columbus. I know the ownership group, Ignite Sport, takes pride in representing our community, whether the Chatt-a-Hoots baseball team or the Dragons. Our city has so much to offer through our many world-class amenities and, as you will discover, hospitality that flows through our city like the Chattahoochee River. We are honored to be home to Fort Moore and the National Infantry Museum, voted one of the Top Ten Best by USATODAY. We hope you have a chance to visit our many museums and enjoy our recreation outlets like the Dragon Fly Trail. Whether you have a chance to zip line across or raft the whitewater of the river, partake in a great meal at our many fine eating establishments, enjoy our famous art scene, or visit our music and entertainment venues, I know you’ll find something amazing while in Columbus! Go Dragons!
Very best regards,
B.H. “Skip” Henderson III Mayor
“An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Organization"
Home Game Start Times: Wed: 7:05pm, Fri: 7:35pm, Sat: 7:05pm, Sun: 4:05pm
FPHL CONTINENTAL
FPHL EMPIRE
Blue Ridge Bobcats Carolina Thunderbirds Mississippi Sea Wolves Columbus River Dragons Baton Rouge Zydeco
Binghamton Black Bears
Danbury Hat Tricks
Elmira River Sharks
Watertown Wolves Motor City Rockers
Port Huron Prowlers
The Federal Prospects Hockey League League’s 2023-24 will be its 13 th full season as a professional hockey league. Lead by Commissioner Don Kiran, who started the league and Andrew “Sarge” Richards, the FPHL has grown as an attractive option to play unaf fi liated pro hockey. The league now consists of eleven teams located in the Midwest, Northeast and Southern United States. The league is looking forward to continuing to add more members in the 2024-25 season also!
2023-24 Ac4ve Teams
Team (Division)
Founded
Home Arena
Capacity
City
Baton Rouge Zydeco (C)
2023
Raising Cane’s River Center
8,900
Baton Rouge, LA
Binghamton Black Bears (E)
2021
Visions Veterans Memorial Arena
5,000
Binghamton Black Bears
Blue Ridge Bobcats (E)
2023
Appalachian Regional Exposi4on
3,000
Wytheville, VA
Carolina Thunderbirds (C)
2017
Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex
3,050
Winston-Salem, NC
Columbus River Dragons (C)
2019
Columbus Civic Center
7,259
Columbus, GA
Danbury Hat Tricks (E)
2019
Danbury Ice Arena
3,050
Danbury, CT
Elmira River Sharks (E)
2023
First Arena
3,784
Elmira, NY
Motor City Rockers (C)
2022
Big Boy Arena
2,900
Fraser, MI
Mississippi Sea Wolves (C)
2022
Mississippi Coast Coliseum
8,900
Biloxi, MS
Port Huron Prowlers (C)
2015
McMorran Place
2,200
Port Huron, MI
Watertown Wolves (E)
2013
Municipal Arena
1,500
Watertown, NY
Points/Standing The FPHL uses the Olympic scoring system when awarding points based on game results. This means that a team receives three (3) points for a regulation win, two (2) points for overtimes win, one (1) point for an overtime loss and no points (0) for a regulation loss. Wins and losses in the shootout are treated as overtime wins and losses. This season all teams will play a schedule that consists of 28 home and 28 away for a total of 56 regular season games. The league will have two divisions, the Continental, and the Empire, with the top four team in each division advancing to the Commissioners Cup Playoffs. Playoffs The 2024 Commissioners Cup Playoffs will feature the four top teams in each division advancing to the 1 st round of the playoffs with the higher seed having home ice advantage in the best of three series. The division winners with then advance to the Division Champion in a best of three series with the winners advancing to the playoff championship round. The Empire & Continental playoff champions are then scheduled to play in the league playoffs in a best of fi ve series.
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Joseph Largeman
Dr. Joseph Largeman andour team of dental professionals would like to welcome you to visit our cosmetic and general dentistry practice located in Columbus, Georgia. Our comprehensive dental services include cosmetic dentistry, restorative dentistry, prosthetic dentistry and preventative oral treatment. You may have endured discolored, chipped, or unevenly spaced teeth for years. But now, with the latest technology and techniques, you can have a dazzling smile more easily than ever.
(706) 322-6581 • www.largemandental.com 3808 Gentian Blvd., Columbus
columbus river dragons 2023-24 staff listing
River dragons front office
jeff croop - ignite sports coo, governor and interim general manager
richard bates - ignite sports and entertainment vice president, alternate governor
kristen buley - chief financial officer
kirtley adams - assistant general manager
jay croop - assistant general manager, alternate governor, assistant coach
kirk underwood - director of sales
tom callahan - director of broadcasting and communications
olivia crew - communications manager
amelia stalter - community relations and game operations manager
haleigh carnes - ticket sales manager
mattie miller - merchandise manager
noah shelton - associate broadcaster/sales
taylorann yaughn - outbound sales
taylor st. jacques - special projects coordinator
gwen herron - special projects
kevin mcdonald - team chaplain
trent davidson - team life coach
single game tickets - ticketmaster.com groups, season tickets, info - rdragons.com
The original crowd pleaser
Scan for catering menu items
Chick-fil-A ® is a registered trademark of CFA Properties.
Text DRAGONS to 22322 to get a $10 Car Wash!
FPHL RULES AND REGULATIONS
RINK The playing surface that is surrounded by the "boards" is known as the rink. The ice surface is generally 0.8 to 1.2 inches thick with the markings painted underneath the top most layer. The rink is divided in half by the center red line and divided by three with two blue lines separating the attacking zone (where you are attempting to score), the neutral zone and the defending zone (where your goalie is).
TEAMS Each team starts with a maximum of 18 players in a Federal Hockey League game (16 skaters, two goalies). The game begins with the following players on the ice. GOALTENDER The goaltender, or goalie as he is more commonly known, has the responsibility of keeping the puck out of his team’s net. Goalies do not stray too far from their net and are granted certain protections when they are inside their “crease”. The crease is the blue painted area in front of the goal mouth. Goalies can use any method they prefer to stop the puck from going in except for throwing their stick. Goalies are not allowed to play the puck past the center red line. Because of this teams will pull their goalie off the ice to allow for an extra skater in certain situations, like if a delayed penalty is called against the other team or if it is late and they desperately need a goal. Goaltenders bear a lot of responsibility on a team. They are out there for all 60 minutes with no shift changes except for the occasional time they are pulled off the ice and intermissions. They often have the weight of the game on their shoulders and stop 100+ MPH shots without even flinching, they truly are a special breed. Because of their unique position, teams value their goaltenders highly. Don’t believe us? Watch what happens when someone gets a little too close or even touches an opposing goalie after a whistle. It makes for some interesting between play viewing.
DEFENSEMAN There are two defensemen on the ice, one to cover the left side of the ice and another to cover the right. Very rarely will you not see two defensemen on the ice during play. A 4-on- 3 power play or 3-on-3 play is perhaps the most common times a team will only have one player playing defense. Defensemen are tasked with forcing turnovers out of the opponent's forwards and keep the line of sight clear for the goalie, so he can see and stop shots coming his way. Defensemen are also asked to block shots frequently to prevent them from getting to the goaltender. In the offensive zone you will see defensemen guarding what are known as the "points". The "point" refers to the area where the blue line meets the boards inside an attacking zone. The next time you hear a broadcaster say "shoots from the point" this is the "point" he's usually referring to. Not only are defensemen usually the toughest guys on the ice (enduring the most body checks from opponents, blocking shots without goalie gear, skating more minutes on average than a forward) they also can possess some of thehardest slap shots on the team. This makes defensemen perfect for putting hard slap shots in on net from the point position. They are far enough away that they can get the shot off, and they hit the shot so hard that even if a goalie sees the defenseman he may not see the shot whizz right by him.
FORWARDS In a normal situation of 5-on-5 hockey there will be three forwards on the ice, a center, a left wing and a right wing. The center’s job is to take the faceoffs attempting to win control for his team right away on any given play and act as a rover of support between more offensive minded players and the defensive minded players. Wingers are more offensively based players who will use the flanks to create havoc on an opponent’s defensive core to try and score goals. Depending on the zone a line expects to play in or what kind of situation the game is in (power play, penalty kill etc.) it may be more beneficial to have an “off-handed” winger, which is a left-handed shot playing right wing. It all goes into a coach’s strategy on how he chooses to set up his lines. Three forwards are usually kept together throughout the game, so they can build good chemistry while on the ice. If a team goes down a man because of a penalty you will often see less forwards on the ice. A 5-on- 4 power play would see the team playing shorthanded utilize two forwards and two defensemen. Conversely, a team on the power play could send out more forwards to try and capitalize on the man advantage.
EXCELLENCE IN ORTHOPAEDICS & SPORTS MEDICINE SINCE 1949
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OFFICIALS On-ice officials oversee the game and oversee that all rules are being followed and keep players safe while on the ice. Officials are broken into two subcategories, linesmen and referees. Linesmen are responsible for dropping all pucks on faceoffs, breaking up fights, and enforcing non-penalty infractions like offsides, icing and playing the puck with a high stick. Referees award goals on the ice and assess penalties to players that impact manpower on the ice. You can tell the difference between a referee and a linesman by the orange sleeve on their jerseys. If a penalty is severe enough and one of the orange banded men did not see it, a linesman can report the infraction to the referee at a stoppage of play and a penalty can be assessed if deemed appropriate. There are also off-ice officials at all hockey games who oversee the more administrative side of things. The scorekeeper, timekeeper, goal judges and penalty box attendants are all examples of different off-ice officials that are crucial to making a hockey game run smoothly .
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