History
The franchise began as the Louisville River Frogs in 1995. Robert Snyder bought the team in February 1998 with intentions of moving the team to South Florida. Upon buying the team, he made the team a family business of sorts. His wife Michelle Dannin was named Vice President Of Communications, and his father Richard Snyder handled the team's legal matters.
On May 12, 1998, Matadors Owner-President Robert Snyder signed a five year agreement with Miami Arena that would allow the arena to host 35 games from October until April 4. A coaching decision was made several days later when Snyder would name former Tallahassee Tiger Sharks head coach Terry Christensen as their head coach on May 16, 1998. Prior to the start of the 1998-99 ECHL season, the Matadors would announce that they would be the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Florida Panthers
On October 16, 1998, the Matadors made their ECHL debut against the South Carolina Stingrays. Fans that attended the opening night game received a Miami Matadors cape. With an opening night crowd of 3,368 fans, the Matadors lost to the Stingrays 5-2
In their only season as an ECHL franchise, the Matadors finished with a 28-32-10 record, finishing seventh in the ECHL's Southeast Division. The team's leading scorer was ex-Brown University center Michael Flynn, with 20 goals and 50 assists; center Greg Clancy was the leading goal scorer with 28. Among other notable Matadors were veteran minor league star Sheldon Gorski and goaltender Brent Belecki.
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