HUNTERSVILLE, NC (May 18, 2023) – The Southern Professional Hockey League and its member teams mourn the loss and express their condolences to the family and friends of former Knoxville Ice Bears head coach Jim Bermingham, who passed away on Wednesday.
Bermingham concluded his 11-year playing career with the Ice Bears during the team’s lone season in the ACHL in 2002-03, putting up 66 points in 56 games. He was named the second coach in franchise history the following season and served as Knoxville’s bench boss for four years.
Under Bermingham, the Ice Bears went 129-85-10. Knoxville won the regular season title in 2005 and swept the regular season and President’s Cup championships in 2006.
A 1991 draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, Bermingham spent most of his playing career in the ECHL where he appeared in 500 games and finished as one of the top ten scorers in league history at the time with 588 career points. He was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2019. Bermingham also played 69 games in the AHL.
