The Macon Trax were a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Macon, Georgia. They played in the low minor league Atlantic Coast Hockey League (2002–03), World Hockey Association 2 (2003–04), and Southern Professional Hockey League (2004–05), playing their home games at the Macon Coliseum. They went to the championship finals in both the WHA2 and the SPHL, losing in each series to the league champion. This history prompted head coach Tommy Stewart to tell the Macon Telegraph that the team was "always a bridesmaid, never a bride."
The Trax were one of eight minor league hockey teams purchased or founded by real estate mogul David Waronker starting in 2003. By January 2007 all but one of those teams had ceased operations. Following the termination of the Trax in 2005, the team's players were dispersed by draft to the Pee Dee Cyclones and Florida Seals, two new teams entering the SPHL for the 2005–06 season. Stewart was given a coaching contract with the Florida team, which lost in the 2006 SPHL finals. The Seals would later suspend operations in January 2007.
Nearly a decade after the Trax folded, the SPHL returned to Macon during the 2015–16 season. The new team, the Macon Mayhem, was formerly known as the Augusta RiverHawks. The RiverHawks relocated to Macon after the ice refrigeration system at the James Brown Arena malfunctioned in late February 2013, forcing the team to suspend its operations.
2004–2005 season roster
Tom Wilson
Lou Dimasi
Chris Davidson
Art Mnatsakanov
Bob Macmillan
Chris Duggan
Steve Zoryk
Craig Miller
Jeff Roukes
Mark Allen
John Gurskis
Edan Welch
Dominick Dawes
Casey Handrahan
Craig Geerlinks
Mark Cairns
Ryan Rivard
David Deeves
Terry Denike
References
Defunct Southern Professional Hockey League teams
Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States
Ice hockey clubs established in 2002
Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2005
Ice hockey teams in Georgia (U.S. state) Sports in Macon, Georgia Atlantic Coast Hockey League (2002–03) teams World Hockey Association 2 teams 2002 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 2005 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)