Monroe Moccasins

The Monroe Moccasins were a minor league hockey team played out of the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana. They joined the WPHL during the league’s second season, when the league literally doubled in size from six teams to 13. The Moccasins were part of an ice hockey boom in Louisiana during this time. Today, there are only two active teams in the state but in the late 90s there were seven! Unfortunately, the Moccasins were part of an over expansion of hockey not only in Louisiana but the WPHL itself. 

Right off the bat, the team’s original owners bailed within weeks of securing the expansion rights from the league. New owners were found quickly, but they only had three months to put together a franchise. When the season started, the arena’s ice wasn’t ready so the Moccasins played their first seven games on the road. It was a rocky start to say the least. On the ice, the Moccasins were pretty good, though! 

In their first season, they went 35-32-2 despite all the off-ice issues and averaged over 3,000 fans per game which was around half full for their arena. In their second full seasons, they won 37 games and made the second round of the playoffs as well. Unfortunately, things started to take a turn in their third and fourth seasons with one playoff appearance and dropping to an average of around 2,000 fans per game. But that wasn’t all - the team was in default on their rent and only finished out the 2000-01 season because the WPHL picked up the tab. The Moccasins would fold, although there was an unsuccessful campaign to keep the team going. The WPHL itself wasn’t doing much better as it had over-expanded and merged with the CHL in 2001.