The Fayetteville Marksmen will be kicking off their season this month, and our local hockey team is ready to face every team in the Southern Professional Hockey League.
The Marksmen will be facing their rival team, the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, at their home at the Berglund Center on Friday, Oct. 21. The very next day on Saturday, Oct. 22, they will face off again on our home turf at the Crown Coliseum at 6 p.m.

The Marksmen defeated Roanoke 11 times in 17 tries last season, including a pair of overtime/shootout wins. The Marksmen will see Roanoke 13 times this upcoming season, more than any other opponent.

“This is a rivalry we wanted to keep going,” said Marksmen owner Chuck Norris in a press release. “No one likes playing them and they don’t like playing us, but those battles are great for our fans.”

Last season, the Marksmen set the Fayetteville franchise record for most regular season wins and the most standings points in a single season.
In addition, forward Taylor Best was named to the SPHL all-rookie team, while Don Olivieri took home first-team all-star honors.

Behind the bench, Cory Melkert was named league coach of the year honors finalist.

This year, the Marksmen will face every team in the SPHL, hosting seven of them at the Crown Coliseum.

“After the success of last season, it’s a challenge for us to embrace facing everyone but one that we’re excited for, and one we hope the fans are excited for too,” said team president Alex Wall.

Fayetteville will host five games in November and five games in December at the Crown Coliseum. There will be five games at home in January, February and March. The Marksmen will play three games in April at the season's close.

This season's schedule offers opportunities for a variety of days and times. The Marksmen will play three-weekday games this season, nine games on Fridays, 12 games on Saturdays, and four games on Sundays. The Marksmen have also announced that all weekday games will occur at 7:15 p.m. this season. Saturdays will still be played at 6:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. As part of Opening Night, the Marksmen will be giving away free magnet schedules and have a post-game skate.

For the post-game skate, guests are allowed to bring their own skates, or rent skates there while sizes last. The post-game skate will last 45 minutes and the cost to skate, regardless of skate rental, is just $10.

Other home game themes will include Nickelodeon Night, Pirates & Princesses Night, Wizardy Night, College Night, Superhero Night, Dr. Suess Night, Luck O’ The Irish Night, Peanuts Night, Disney Night, Star Wars Night and four Salutes to Service Nights. Each themed game will have special promotional items, a post-game jersey auction, and characters for kids to meet.

To secure tickets for the 2022-23 season, visit www.marksmenhockey.com and click the tickets tab.