It was just over ten years ago when Lafayette, Louisiana was the talk of the hockey world. News crews were coming from all over the continent to see for their own eyes, that what was happening on the ice of the Cajundome Arena wasn’t just a myth or some far-fetched story. Millions of Canadians couldn’t believe the wild Louisiana hockey fans that they saw on Don Cherry’s Coaches Corner on Hockey Night in Canada. Viewers of ESPN’s Sportscenter thought the video about the success of this team in the ECHL was just a hoax. But it was all real, and we loved every minute of it!

We came to the rink every night, prepared to do whatever it took to win for our fans. In every game, great passes were made, magical goals were scored, crushing body checks were administered and unbelievable saves were made by the boys. And to top it all off we never backed down from a fight, to the delight of our loyal fans. It was our honour to play in front of the great people of Lafayette, and for most of us those were the greatest years of our professional hockey careers. The arena that had become known as the “Frozen Swamp” was averaging over 11,000 rabid fans for every single home game. Faces were painted, the Gator Girls were dancing, team apparel was mandatory and the “CHOMP” was an epidemic. It was official, the city of Lafayette, Louisiana had fallen in love with their hockey team and we as players had fallen in love with our fans. We had become one big family.

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