The rant that former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora delivered when a reporter asked what he thought of his team’s dwindling chances of making the 2001 NFL playoffs remains an all-time great sports sound bite:
“What’s that?” Mora wailed. “Playoffs? Don’t talk about playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game.”
A playoff game is exactly what will take place Tuesday night at Hitachi Energy Center in Wythe County when the second-year Blue Ridge Bobcats of the Federal Prospects Hockey League make their postseason debut in a win-or-go-home first-round game against the Baton Rouge (La.) Zydeco.
The 7:30 p.m. puck drop not only is the fledgling franchise’s first playoff appearance; according to one source, the game is the first professional playoff held in Wythe County in any sport.
Wytheville’s Withers Field was the home of seven Major League Baseball affiliates in the Appalachian League from 1953-1989, but playoffs were not held in that era.
Wytheville also had two minor league teams — the Pioneers and Statesmen — in the old Blue Ridge League in 1948-49. The Statesmen won a playoff series against Mt. Airy (N.C.) and eventually lost to North Wilkesboro (N.C.) in the league finals.
However, it appears both series were played in their entirety in North Carolina.
“I looked into this, we are the first to host [a playoff],” Bobcats director of media relations/communications Brett Wiseman said.
The Bobcats clinched their first playoff berth with a 6-0 victory over the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Venom. The team ultimately needed to finish the regular season on a franchise-best five-game win streak to nail down fourth place in the FPHL’s Continental Division with 92 points, one point ahead of fifth-place Baton Rouge.
The Wythe County team finished the season with a 29-27 overall record, an improvement by 13 games over the Bobcats’ debut season in 2023-24 in their arena overlooking Exit 77 of Interstate 81.
The 2024-25 season already has included several notable highlights:
- The Bobcats drew six home crowds of better than 2,000 spectators in the revamped area formerly known as the APEX Center, including 2,078 in regular-season finale.
- Former Bobcat forward Savva Smirnov became the first former ex-Blue Ridge player to receive a call-up to the East Coast Hockey League when he signed a contract with the Adirondack Thunder.
- Hunter Godmere became first Bobcat with a hat trick in back-to-back games (April 4-5).
- Bobcats set a franchise record with 76 shots on goal against Danville (Ill.) on April 11, the second-highest total in league history.
- Blue Ridge snapped defending FPHL champion Binghamton’s 18-game win streak.
- Greg Hussey, 35, became the oldest goaltender in FPHL history to record multiple shutouts in the same season.
Despite the highlights, the Bobcats won just twice in seven games this season against Baton Rouge, but the most recent meeting was a 2-1 Blue Ridge victory at home on March 22. Five of the seven games against the Zydeco were in Louisiana, including a three-game sweep by Baton Rouge Dec. 13-15.
Tuesday’s winner advances to a best-of-three Continental Division semifinal series against No. 1 seed Winston-Salem with games scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Bobcats won six of their 14 regular-season games against their neighboring rival.
BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS 2024-25 RESULTS
(28 regulation wins, 21 regulation losses)
(1 OT win, 6 OT losses)
(92 total points)
October
L — Athens (Ga.), 3-2, OT
L — Athens, 10-2
W — Winston-Salem (N.C.), 3-0
L — Winston-Salem, 5-1
November
W — Winston-Salem, 5-4, OT
L — Winston-Salem, 4-1
W — Biloxi (Miss.), 9-2
W — Biloxi, 6-2
L — Port Huron (Mich.), 4-1
L — Port Huron, 3-2, OT
W — Danville (Ill.), 6-3
W — Danville, 2-1
W — vs. Poughkeepsie (N.Y.), 4-0
W — vs. Poughkeepsie, 5-3
December
at Athens, ppd.
at Athens, ppd.
L — Baton Rouge (La.), 4-2
L — Baton Rouge, 2-1
L — Baton Rouge, 5-3
W — Winston-Salem, 5-4
W — Winston-Salem, 4-3
L — Columbus (Ga.), 7-4
W — Columbus, 2-1
L — Winston-Salem, 5-0
January
W — Baton Rouge, 5-4
L — Baton Rouge, 4-3, OT
W — Danbury (Conn.), 5-3
W — Danbury, 6-0
W — Winston-Salem, 4-2
L — Winston-Salem, 4-1
L — Monroe (La.), 5-4, OT
W — Monroe, 4-2
L — Winston-Salem, 1-0
February
L — Winston-Salem, 4-3
W — Fraser (Mich.), 6-3
W — Fraser, 7-1
L — Columbus, 3-1
L — Columbus, 4-1
W — Athens, 3-0
L — Athens, 5-3
W — Athens, 1-0
W — Poughkeepsie, 4-3
March
L — Poughkeepsie, 4-3, OT
L — Binghamton (N.Y.), 7-3
W — Binghamton, 5-2
L — Binghamton, 4-1
L — Poughkeepsie, 5-4, OT
W — Poughkeepsie, 6-1
L — Athens, 7-1
L — Baton Rouge, 3-2
W — Baton Rouge, 2-1
L — Winston-Salem, 3-0
L — Winston-Salem, 5-4
W — Winston-Salem, 5-1
April
W — Poughkeepsie, 6-0
W — Poughkeepsie, 10-1
W — Danville, 5-3
W — Danville, 6-1
Playoffs
15 — vs. Baton Rouge, 7:30 p.m.
FPHL STANDINGS
Continental Division
…………………………………..W………L…Pts
Winston-Salem (N.C.)…..41 (38)..15…124
Athens (Ga.)………………..43 (32)..13…121
Columbus (Ga.)……………34 (22)..20…100
WYTHEVILLE……………..29 (28)..27….92
Baton Rouge (La.)………..31 (23)..25….91
Monroe (La.)………………..22 (18)..34….71
Biloxi (Miss.)………………..11 (10)..45….36
Empire Division
Binghamton (N.Y.)………..49 (44)…7…143
Danbury (Conn.)………….33 (28)..23…102
Port Huron (N.Y.)………….32 (25)..24….95
Watertown (N.Y.)………….28 (23)..27….83
Fraser (Mich.)………………19 (13)..37….56
Poughkeepsie (N.Y.)…….14 (10)..39….41
Danville (Ill.)…………………..3 (2)…53….12
NOTE: Wins in regulation listed in parentheses; total wins include wins in overtime and shootout.
BOBCATS vs. OPPONENTS
Danville…4-0
Biloxi…2-0
Danbury…2-0
Frasier…2-0
Poughkeepsie…6-2
Binghamton…1-1
Winston-Salem…6-8
Athens…1-2
Baton Rouge…2-5
Columbus…1-3
Monroe…1-3
Port Huron…1-2
FPHL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
(First-round single elimination; division semifinals and finals best-of-three; Commissioners Cup finals best-of-five)
FIRST ROUND
April 15
Baton Rouge at Wytheville, 7:30 p.m.
Fraser at Watertown, 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION SEMIFINALS
April 16
Athens at Columbus, 7:05 p.m.
April 18
Danbury at Port Huron, 7:05 p.m.
Columbus at Athens, 7:05 p.m.
Winston-Salem at Wytheville-Baton Rouge winner, TBA
Binghamton at Fraser-Watertown winner
April 19
Port Huron at Danbury, 7:05 p.m.
Columbus at Athens, 7:05 p.m., if necessary
Wytheville-Baton Rouge winner at Winston-Salem, TBA
Fraser-Watertown winner at Binghamton
April 20
Port Huron at Danbury, 5 p.m., if necessary
Wytheville-Baton Rouge winner at Winston-Salem, TBA, if necessary
Fraser-Watertown winner at Binghamton, TBA, if necessary
