DiMatteo returns to Pensacola after making his professional debut with the Ice Flyers during the 2025–26 season. The 6-foot-3 goaltender appeared in 16 games for Pensacola, posting a 10-4-0 record with a 2.84 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. His strong start to the season earned him recognition as the SPHL Player of the Week following the opening weekend, when he stopped 33 shots in regulation and overtime before turning aside all six shooters in a shootout victory over Macon.

“We’re thrilled to have Rico back in Pensacola,” said Head Coach Jeremy Gates. “Rico is a very talented goalie who has valuable experience and is the type of person looking continue to grow his game. We’ve seen his ability firsthand last season. He brings competitiveness, and is an important part of our team as a goalie and person. I look forward to hearing his name announced at The Hangar in front of our great fans.”

Following his strong start in Pensacola, DiMatteo earned an opportunity at the next level when he was loaned to the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush on December 26, 2025. He went on to make 12 appearances with Rapid City, finishing his ECHL campaign with a 3.96 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.

The Brasher Falls, New York, native also gained valuable experience during his time in the ECHL, including a standout professional debut in which he stopped 55 of 57 shots for the Rush. DiMatteo’s performance marked the highest save total by an ECHL goaltender in his first game that season and helped establish him as a reliable option in Rapid City’s crease.

Before turning professional, DiMatteo played NCAA Division I hockey at Northern Michigan University, Long Island University, and the University of New Hampshire. During his senior season at New Hampshire, he appeared in eight games, posting a 2.53 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. He also earned two Hockey East Goaltender of the Week honors.

After gaining experience at both the SPHL and ECHL levels during his first professional season, DiMatteo returns to Pensacola with another year of development under his belt and an opportunity to build on his strong rookie campaign.

“I’m calm, patient, and athletic,” said DiMatteo. “My goal this season is to be the top goaltender in the SPHL.”

The 2026–27 season will mark DiMatteo’s second professional season and his second campaign with the Ice Flyers.

The post Ice Flyers Welcome Back Goaltender Rico DiMatteo for 2026-27 Season first appeared on Pensacola Ice Flyers.

Koran joins the Ice Flyers after completing a four-year collegiate career at Ontario Tech University, where he appeared in 99 games and recorded 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points. During the 2025–26 season, the 6-foot, 201-pound forward registered seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 30 games, providing a consistent presence in the Ridgebacks’ lineup.

“Braiden is an exciting young player who bringing a heaviness to his game,” said Head Coach Jeremy Gates. “He developed in college starting as a role player to being more relied on in his later seasons. We really like his compete level, his attitude, and his willingness to learn. We believe Pensacola will be a great place for him to start his professional career, and we’re excited to help develop his game.”

A native of Kimberley, British Columbia, Koran joined Ontario Tech after developing through the junior ranks with the Humboldt Broncos of the SJHL. He spent four seasons with the Ridgebacks, establishing himself as a dependable forward while gaining valuable experience in both the regular season and postseason.

Koran also proved to be a productive postseason performer during his collegiate career, recording nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points in 44 career playoff appearances. His combination of size, left-handed shooting, and experience in high-pressure games adds another dimension to Pensacola’s forward group heading into the 2026–27 campaign.

“Pensacola is a beautiful place to play,” said Koran. “The Ice Flyers have a very passionate fan base and I want to help bring a Presidents Cup back to Pensacola anyway that I can.”

The 2026–27 season will mark Koran’s first professional campaign as he makes the transition from Ontario Tech University to the Southern Professional Hockey League.

The post Ice Flyers Sign Forward Braiden Koran for 2026-27 Season first appeared on Pensacola Ice Flyers.

IceFlyers.com Correspondent 

The Ice Flyers were hoping their scheduled home finale would put an Easter Sunday bow on a season of record-setting attendance and fan experience memories.  

But the Macon Mayhem had other ideas. 

On an afternoon that followed Macon’s overtime win Saturday night at Birmingham — thwarting the Bulls from clinching the league regular-season crown — the Mayhem jumped to a 4-1 lead in the second period Sunday and held on for a 4-3 victory against the Ice Flyers at the Pensacola Bay Center. 

A crowd of 3,609 on Friends and Family Day boosted the Ice Flyers season attendance to 148,588 for the 28-game home schedule. It was by far the largest season attendance in the team’s 15-year franchise history. 

Unfortunately for the Ice Flyers, they weren’t able to close it out with a win. They will now finish the 56-game schedule on the road next weekend at Fayetteville, which is battling to hold on to fourth place and home-ice for the first round of the playoffs. 

Both teams were playing in their third game in three days. The Ice Flyers (25-25,4 OT losses) split their two-game series against Evansville the previous nights at the Bay Center, while Macon (15-32, 7 OT losses), which is battling with Knoxville to stay out of last place in the 10-team Southern Professional Hockey League, split two games at Birmingham.

“We got outplayed by a team that shouldn’t have outplayed us,” said Ice Flyers coach Gary Graham. “It’s unacceptable. It was a very disappointing weekend to lose two home games. I care a lot about it. It’s frustrating. I just don’t feel that level was there (Sunday) from our group.”

The game recap:

FIRST PERIOD

The game’s first penalty led to the Ice Flyers first goal. 

Macon’s Sacha Roy was whistled for tripping twice in the same sequence with 13:55 remaining. And 45 seconds later, Reggie Millette wristed a shot into the net, following a faceoff won by Garrett Milan in the Mayhem zone. Milan got the puck to Zac Herrmann, who found Millette open for the shot. 

Less than two minutes later, Macon tied the game.

David Nippard rifled a shot that bounced off Ice Flyers’ goaltender Reid Cooper’s chest protector and the puck went over his shoulder and rolled into the net. 

Cooper became a pro hockey buzz last April when the Washington Capitals signed the former NCAA Division III star goaltender to a contract — and he dressed for an NHL game as the backup goaltender. 

Cooper was making his first start for the Ice Flyers. He played a total of 14 pro games, all in the higher level ECHL in 2023 and earlier this season before the Ice Flyers signed him. 

Exactly three minutes later, the Mayhem took a 2-1 lead into the intermission when Roy’s shot from inside the blueline got through traffic and past Cooper with 8:40 remaining. 

The Ice Flyers’ Spencer Kennedy created the other noteworthy moment of the period. He got tangled with Macon’s Dan Winslow, took to a hold around his neck and dropped Winslow with a flurry of punches. Teammate Billy Jerry jumped in, and Kennedy threw some punches at him as well.

It produced seven minutes in penalties for Kennedy and gave Macon a five-minute power play that the Ice Flyers killed off. 

SECOND PERIOD

This is when the game was ultimately decided. 

The Mayhem scored two goals less than two minutes apart and it caused Graham to pull Cooper from the game after Macon took a 4-1 lead with 13:46 remaining. He faced 16 shots, stopping 12. 

The Ice Flyers No. 1 goalie, Stephen Mundinger, who played between the pipes the previous two nights, was unexpectedly summoned to finish the game. Mundinger stopped all 14 shots he faced to help get the Ice Flyers re-energized. 

Houston Wilson started the momentum with his shot through traffic with 2:54 remaining in the period, cutting the deficit to 4-2 at second intermission.

THIRD PERIOD

Less than three minutes into the period, Macon thought they had scored when a shot hit the pipe and the goal lamp came on. After the officials stopped play for video review, their initial decision of no goal was confirmed. 

This led to the Ice Flyers’ Reggie Millette putting home a rebound on a shot from Mitch Atkins with 14:26 remaining. Suddenly, the crowd was making an impact and the Ice Flyers seemed positioned for a complete comeback. 

But in the final four minutes, the Ice Flyers managed just three shots on goal, including the final 1:19 when Mundinger was pulled during a timeout for an extra attacker. 

It was Macon’s fourth win against the Ice Flyers in the 10 games between the teams.

NOTABLES

— With Sunday’s attendance, the Ice Flyers finished their 28 home games with an average of 5,307 per-game. Only the Huntsville Havoc, the league’s attendance leader, has a better per-game average and total attendance in the SPHL.  

— Following the game, the Ice Flyers signed autographs for fans on the second-level concourse. 

— During the first intermission, the Ice Flyers front office staff had their moment in a contest shooting pucks from the blue line into an empty net. 

— The Ice Flyers have clinched the No. 7 seed in the playoffs and will face either Birmingham or Peoria in the first round of the playoffs that can begin the week of April 8-14.

QUOTABLES

Ice Flyers Coach Gary Graham:

“The first two (Macon) goals were very lucky. The shots went off a player and went into the net. So, they had a little bit of puck luck early. And again, for the new goalie (Cooper), his first game when I had to pull him, he didn’t get a chance to do a lot for us. 

“And any goalie is going to be upset which is normal. They are passionate guys, they are competitors, which I respect. For me, it wasn’t his play, it was more about trying to wake my team up. Sometimes for a coach it’s a gut feel, and we did start playing a little bitter out of that. I’m upset that his first game was like that, but I have a lot of confidence in both of them, so that’s not going to waver at all moving forward.

On Ice Flyers Struggles:

“For me it’s the same thing over and over again. You look at a team, Macon, they shoot the puck from everywhere. They have two of the top five goal scorers in the league. They shoot and shoot and they get to the net. Every game, we have chances in the slot, we look for something cute on the back post, it’s been the same problem all year. We don’t have pure goal scorers on this team. We don’t have guys who want to shoot the puck.”

WANT TO GO?

WHO: Ice Flyers vs. Fayetteville Marksmen

WHEN: April 5-6

WHERE: Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, N.C. 

ONLINE STREAMING: www.flohockey.com (subscription required).

GAME LIVE STATS: www.thesphl.com 

PLAYOFF HOME GAME: Playoffs can start on April 8 and first games can be played April 8-10

TICKETS: Available through www.iceflyers.com/tickets or at Bay Center box office on Saturday.

The post Ice Flyers Comeback Attempt In Home Finale Foiled By Macon Mayhem In 4-3 Loss  first appeared on Pensacola Ice Flyers.

ICE FLYERS FOUNDATION’S 50/50 WEEKEND JACKPOT

It’s your chance to win big with the Ice Flyers Foundation’s 50/50 Weekend Jackpot! The lucky winner will be announced during Saturday’s game, on social media and at iceflyersfoundation.org. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to join in the fun and have a shot at a fantastic prize!

Purchase raffle tickets: https://icefly.co/5050Raffle

50/50 Weekend Benefactor – Rally Gulf Coast

WIN BIG WITH BERÉ JEWELERS THIS WEEKEND

Raffle tickets for the Beré Jewelers Shopping spree are available for purchase now. One lucky winner will win a $5,000 shopping spree at Beré Jewelers. Raffle tickets are $50 per ticket. All proceeds benefit the Ice Flyers Foundation. A winner will be announced at the Ice Flyers game on Saturday, February 3.

Enter to win: icefly.co/48euEfu

A CELEBRATION 15 YEARS IN THE MAKING

The team will be kicking off their 15th Anniversary Celebration in style with commemorative 15th Anniversary jerseys being worn by players and specialty jerseys and merchandise being sold the entire weekend.

Game Raffles – Fans can purchase Shirt-Off-His-Back Raffle and Fan Raffle tickets at the Coca-Cola Concierge located above section 111. #49 Ivan Bondarenko’s jersey will be up for grabs in the Shirt-Off-His-Back Raffle with an alumni signed 15th anniversary jersey being the night’s fan raffle prize.

Jersey Auctions – Select player worn jerseys will be available to bid online HERE until Sunday, February 4 (ending at 4:00 p.m. CT). Saturday’s game will feature a live jersey auction immediately after the game for remaining jerseys.

The post Game Notes: February 2 vs Birmingham Bulls first appeared on Pensacola Ice Flyers.

ICE FLYERS FOUNDATION’S 50/50 WEEKEND JACKPOT

It’s your chance to win big with the Ice Flyers Foundation’s 50/50 Weekend Jackpot! The lucky winner will be announced during Saturday’s game, on social media and at iceflyersfoundation.org. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to join in the fun and have a shot at a fantastic prize!

Purchase raffle tickets: https://icefly.co/5050Raffle

50/50 Weekend Benefactor – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida.

GAME RAFFLES

Fans can purchase Shirt-Off-His-Back Raffle and Fan Raffle tickets at the Coca-Cola Concierge located above section 111. #16 Reggie Millette’s jersey will be up for grabs in the Shirt-Off-His-Back Raffle with a team signed Batman™ jersey being the night’s fan raffle prize.

Winners will be notified during the game on the videoboard ribbon. 

All proceeds from Friday’s game raffles will benefit the Ice Flyers Foundation: iceflyersfoundation.org

The post Game Notes: Batman™ Night first appeared on Pensacola Ice Flyers.

Game Raffles

Shirt-Off-His-Back and the team’s game raffles have moved to the Coca-Cola Concierge above section 111. 

Fans will have the chance to win the jersey off of #67 Malik Johnson’s back or a team signed jersey with our fan raffle. 

Winners will be notified during the game on the videoboard ribbon. 

All proceeds from Friday’s game raffles will benefit the Ice Flyers Foundation: iceflyersfoundation.org

Win BIG By Entering the Ice Flyers Foundation’s Weekend 50/50 Raffle

The Ice Flyers Foundation’s 50/50 just got BIGGER! Enter the 50/50 raffle tonight for a chance to win the weekend jackpot! 

50/50 Raffle tickets are available for purchase online now here: icefly.co/5050Raffle

Tickets can also be purchased at the team’s raffle kiosks located above sections 105 and 120.

This weekend’s 50/50 will benefit Canine Companions.

The post Game Notes: Wiener Dog Race Night first appeared on Pensacola Ice Flyers.

Game Raffles

Shirt-Off-His-Back and the team’s game raffles have moved to the Coca-Cola Concierge above section 111.

Fans will have the chance to win the jersey off of #91 Lucas Herrmann’s back or a team signed jersey with our fan raffle.

Winners will be notified during the game on the videoboard ribbon.

All proceeds from Friday’s game raffles will benefit the Ice Flyers Foundation: iceflyersfoundation.org

Win BIG By Entering the Ice Flyers Foundation’s Weekend 50/50 Raffle

The Ice Flyers Foundation’s 50/50 just got BIGGER! Enter the 50/50 raffle tonight or tomorrow night for a chance to win the weekend jackpot!

50/50 Raffle tickets are available for purchase online now here: icefly.co/5050Raffle

Tickets can also be purchased at the team’s raffle kiosks located above sections 105 and 120.

This weekend’s 50/50 will benefit Canine Companions.

The post Game Notes: Hockey Night in Pensacola first appeared on Pensacola Ice Flyers.

Game Raffles

Shirt-Off-His-Back and the team’s game raffle for Thursday’s game are available for purchase online: icefly.co/Jan4Raffles

Fans will have the chance to win the jersey off of #6 Zac Herrmann’s back or a team signed jersey.

Winners will be notified during the game on the videoboard or emailed if not in attendance.

All proceeds from Thursday’s game raffles will benefit the Ice Flyers Foundation: iceflyersfoundation.org

Win BIG By Entering the Ice Flyers Foundation’s 50/50 Raffle

Thursday night’s 50/50 Raffle tickets are available for purchase online now here: icefly.co/5050Raffle

Tickets can also be purchased at the team’s raffle kiosks located above sections 105 and 120.

Thursday night’s 50/50 will benefit Escambia County Sheriff’s Foundation.

The post Game Notes: Hometown Heroes Night first appeared on Pensacola Ice Flyers.

Game Raffles

Shirt-Off-His-Back and the team’s game raffle for Saturday’s game are available for purchase online: https://icefly.co/Dec30Raffles

Fans will have the chance to win the jersey off of #10 Garrett Milan’s back or a team signed jersey.

Winners will be notified during the game on the videoboard or emailed if not in attendance.

All proceeds from Saturday’s game raffles will benefit the Ice Flyers Foundation:  https://iceflyersfoundation.org

Win BIG By Entering the Ice Flyers Foundation’s 50/50 Raffle

Saturday night’s 50/50 Raffle tickets are available for purchase online now here: icefly.co/5050Raffle

Tickets can also be purchased at the team’s raffle kiosks located above sections 105 and 120.

Saturday night’s 50/50 will benefit Rally Gulf Coast.

The post Game Notes: Military Appreciation Night first appeared on Pensacola Ice Flyers.

Our game day raffles have moved online! Fans can purchase raffle tickets for the jersey raffle and shirt off his back now HERE. 

50/50 tickets can also be purchased ahead of tonight’s game HERE. 

There will be a live auction with select players after the game in sections 103-104. Online bidding has already started, click HERE to register and bid!

The post Game Notes: Peanuts Night first appeared on Pensacola Ice Flyers.