It’s been a season to forget for the Mississippi Sea Wolves. Coming into the year, the Sea Wolves had refreshed their identity to go closer to the beachside vibes of the area, and the team had a brand new coach, their second of the off-season with David Heeps.

The team got off to a slow start, and things unraveled. Heeps was fired in November, to be replaced by ex-NHL goaltender Rich Parent. Players have come and gone, including goaltender Sam Best, who was let go for Parent’s son Richie, and the team has been well out of the playoff race since New Year’s.

However, earlier this week, a Sea Wolves fan put out a post on Facebook, urging fans in the area to boycott the team, claiming the Sea Wolves had committed to offsetting travel costs for the Mississippi Sea Wolves Youth Travel Baseball team, who were sponsored by the team, while also alleging a few different things against the team as well.

It also seems that Joe Pace, the man who helped bring hockey back to the Gulf Coast, is no longer involved with the organization. While he’s still listed as CEO of the team on the club’s website, Pace removed any mention of the Sea Wolves from his Instagram bio. Pace shared Sellars’ post saying that he stands with him, which drew a discussion from fans in Biloxi.

This is one in a long list of moments throughout the team’s three-year history which has been a rollercoaster, to say the least. Pace moved his family from Port Huron to Mississippi to help start the team and support his son Scout, who was diagnosed with autism, which has become part of the Sea Wolves experience as the team had Scout’s Sensory Zone inside the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

After crushing FPHL attendance records at the end of 2021 with three neutral site games, the Sea Wolves were brought back, and the first order of business was to find a Head Coach. The franchise made arguably the biggest move of the 2022 offseason by bringing in former Commissioners Cup Champion coach and all-time winningest coach in the league, Phil Esposito. Espo only lasted 13 games, as he was let go after a 2-9-2 start, and that situation was rocky if anything as well. 

The team brought in Yianni Liarakos, and in his almost two seasons in Mississippi, he led the team in almost every statistical category. But on February 24, 2024, Liarakos was shockingly suspended indefinitely by the team and league for “conduct that is unacceptable, and in violation both of the terms of his Standard Agreement and the “Sea Wolves” internal policies intended to promote professional and safe work environments.”

This shifted the team’s season from a potential third-place finish to fourth and being swept easily. There is obviously speculation on what happened, and I won’t go there, but this was one of the major turning points in the team’s run so far.

Fast forward to this season, and attendance is down about 400 fans per game from each of the team’s first two seasons. Biloxi was considered a crown jewel of a market for the league when they rolled into it. This year is the first of three option years for the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, which means they can opt out of the team’s lease after this season. 

Early today, at the time of writing, Maria Barr, wife of team captain Justin Barr, made an urge to fans to support the team.

Mississippi currently sits at the bottom of the Continental Division, which is where they have been more times than not over the last three years. 

The Sea Wolves have ten home games left on the year, concluding on April 5th against Danbury.

We here at Minor Pro Hero want to see improvement with the team, not only on the ice, but off the ice. For the players, and importantly, the fans.