BILOXI, Miss. � The group Wolf Pack, LLC announced today they have exercised their option and purchased the Mississippi Sea Wolves professional hockey team from Mississippi Hockey, LLC.
Wolf Pack, LLC is headed by President Bo McMurphy and partners Tom Brosig, Erroll Hotard, A.J. McMurphy Jr., Pat Peck and Mike Rogers.
�When we formed our ownership group, we didn�t know one another. But I�m happy to say that we have come to depend on one another,� said McMurphy. �The community should be happy as well with the long-term commitment this group has to keep professional hockey in south Mississippi.�
The official announcement was made in front of Sea Wolves Season Ticket Holders at Grand Casino, Gulfport.
In June 2002, Wolf Pack entered into a one-year lease of the team and made a commitment to deliver a quality product.
Mississippi is in first place in the Southwest Division and has eclipsed numerous team records, both on and off the ice this season. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Sea Wolves are led by second-year coach Bob Woods, player / assistant coach Steffon Walby along with director of player development Chuck Thuss.
The team has set a number of team records including new standards for most points in a season (90), most wins in a season (43), longest home unbeaten streak (18), most consecutive home victories (12) and highest number of regular season home wins (26).
Team records have also been set by a number of Mississippi players this season:
* Captain Steffon Walby has scored 17 power play goals, seven shorthand goals and 10 game-winning goals.
* Defenseman Jim Baxter has collected 58 assists and 74 points and leads all East Coast Hockey League defensemen in scoring.
* Forward Dave Paradise has scored the most goals by a center in one season (37).
* Forward Mike Scott has set the rookie records for goals (26), assists (40) and points (66).
* Forward Kent Davyduke set the ECHL record for the fastest overtime goal in league history (scoring five seconds into overtime against Louisiana on December 8, 2002).
* Forward Stu Pietersma set the record for most fighting majors in one season (32).
* Goaltender Greg Gardner has set the team records for appearances in a season (53) and wins in a season (31).
Sea Wolves also set a team record with four selections to the ECHL All-Star Game. Players Steffon Walby (named starter and team captain for Southern Conference), Jim Baxter (named starter and alternate captain for the Southern Conference) and Kent Davyduke also made the team. In addition, Mike Kelly served on the radio broadcast for the All-Star Game.
Wolf Pack pledged to the public that they wanted to keep the team on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to continue to provide affordable family entertainment and for the children to be able to play hockey.
Wolf Pack also stated that they wanted as much respect in the front office as the locker room. The ownership restructured the front office and kicked off a new marketing effort. The new ownership re-ignited the spirit in the Wolves Den, which has seen the attendance go from an average of 2,700 in October to over 4,000 in March.
Management hired Michelle Boynton as the community relations director and she has spearheaded the effort to get the team back into the community. From September to March, the Sea Wolves have visited 42 schools, speaking in front of 14,555 children. The team has also attended 93 events including civic and charitable organizations. The Sea Wolves have been in the community doing 4,136 hours worth of community service and donated $25,758 worth of team merchandise. For non-profit organizations, the Sea Wolves raised a total of $83,325. The team-high was for two pediatric cancer charities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Caps for Kids and Candlelighters, in the amount of $54,025.10. Wolf Pack, LLC is committed to continue its work in the community, and committed to the on-ice excellence the team has achieved this season.
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