Jacksonville Barracudas The Jacksonville Barracudas were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Jacksonville , Florida , U . S . They were established in 2002 , and played in three different leagues before folding in 2008 : the Atlantic Coast Hockey League ( 2002 – 2003 ) , the World Hockey Association 2 ( 2003 – 2004 ) , and the Southern Professional Hockey League ( 2004 – 2008 ) . They won the WHA2 championship title in 2003 and went to the playoffs three times in the SPHL , advancing to the league finals in 2007 and 2008 . They suspended operations after the 2007 – 2008 season , after being unable to secure a suitable venue for the upcoming season . History . ACHL and WHA2 . The Barracudas began play in the second Atlantic Coast Hockey League ( ACHL ) in the 2002 – 2003 season . Their original owner was David Waronker , who owned three other teams in the league . Jacksonville ' s first professional hockey team since the Jacksonville Lizard Kings folded in 2000 , they played their first home games at the Jacksonville Coliseum . However , the ACHL ' s instability caused Waronker to lose confidence in the league . After the season , he announced he was withdrawing his four teams and creating a new league , the World Hockey Association 2 ( WHA2 ) , which was initially envisioned as a developmental league for a proposed revival of the World Hockey Association . Though the revived WHA never took the ice , the WHA2 did play its 2003 - 04 season . Jacksonville became the fledgling league ' s most successful team , taking the regular season title and being the only team to draw an average of over 3 , 000 fans per game . They began the season in the old Jacksonville Coliseum , and moved to the new Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena when it was completed . However , the WHA2 , which was largely controlled by Waronker , was struggling . It held no playoffs at the end of the season ; the ascendant Barracudas were declared league champions , bringing Jacksonville its only professional hockey championship . Shortly thereafter the WHA2 collapsed , and officials from the WHA2 and the South East Hockey League entered talks to create a new league ; this eventually became the Southern Professional Hockey League ( SPHL ) . SPHL . In 2004 group of Jacksonville investors organized to purchase the Barracudas from Waronker and join the newly formed SPHL . The team ended the 2004 – 2005 season with a third place finish and a semi - final loss in the playoffs , and finished the 2005 – 2006 season at the bottom of the SPHL standings . Attendance was modest in the first two years in the SPHL ; they drew an average of just below 3 , 000 in 2005 – 2006 . The Barracudas improved both their record and their attendance the following season ; under new coach Rick Allain , they finished the regular season sixth in the league with a 25 - 24 - 7 record . This qualified them for the 2007 playoffs , where they defeated the Columbus Cottonmouths 3 - 1 in the semi - final series , vaulting Jacksonville into the SPHL Finals for their first time . They were ultimately defeated by the Fayetteville FireAntz 3 – 1 in the finals series . Their on - ice success , combined with schedule changes that allowed them to play more home games after football season , saw their attendance improve measurably for the 2006 - 07 season . Still , however , management at the 15 , 000 - seat Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena worried that the team ' s revenues were too low to justify the expense of setting up the facility for ice hockey . After the season the Arena proposed an increase in the team ' s yearly lease , but this was too much for the team to afford . For the 2007 – 2008 season they relocated to Jacksonville Ice , a local 1 , 200 - seat recreational ice rink . They continued their on - ice success , qualifying for the playoffs and advancing to the league finals for the second year in a row , ultimately losing to the Knoxville Ice Bears . However , the new venue was too small for the team to be financially viable , and unable to secure any other arena lease , the Barracudas suspended operations after the season .