Courtesy the Evansville Courier & Press

(July 16, 2010) Ron Geary's first step toward moving the Evansville IceMen to Double-A professional hockey was to find a voice for the franchise. He did that Friday with the hiring of veteran hockey broadcaster Terry Ficorelli.

Ficorelli will have the position of vice president of communications/broadcasting for the IceMen, who are moving to the International Hockey League and will play in the combined 18-team "super league" being formed by the IHL and the Central Hockey League.

Ficorelli was the voice of the Muskegon Lumberjacks the past two seasons, but he also has done play-by-play of six other teams in five leagues. He has broadcast 3,278 consecutive games.

"He's the ironman of hockey (broadcasting)," said Geary. "He's been with eight teams that have won championships. He knows what it means to be with the best and that's our goal."

Said Ficorelli: "I'm really looking forward to being a part of this community and an active part."

One of his first duties will be to acquire a flagship radio station that will broadcast all IceMen games live, home and away. He also wants to have a Monday night show devoted to the team and have daily updates broadcast every day.

"I'm looking forward to developing, building and growing professional hockey in Evansville."

Geary said the team expects to announce the hiring of a combined coach/general manager within two weeks. The team already has reached agreement with five players who played for the Muskegon Lumberjacks last season. That team has decided to exit the IHL and became a juniors league franchise.

The IceMen will play in the Northern Division of the IHL/CHL combined league with the Bloomington (Ill) PrairieThunder, Colorado Eagles, Fort Wayne Komets, Missouri Mavericks, Quad City Mallards, Rapid City Rush and Wichita Thunder.

The IceMen won the championship of the All American Hockey League, a Single-A league, last season.

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