Allan Harvie has done more than just announce plans to suspend the operation of the Richmond Renegades for the 2009-2010 season. Harvie has offered another example that Richmond is not a sports town. If the Renegades don’t receive an infusion of cash from an investor or investors, Harvie said yesterday, they will not play next season.

Allan B. Harvie Jr., president and general manager of the Southern Professional Hockey League team, said at a news conference yesterday that he will request permission from the SPHL to suspend operations for one year—barring an infusion of money from a major investor or the sale of the team.

Since the Richmond Renegades played more games than anyone in the Southern Professional Hockey League during the first two-thirds of the season, they’ve gotten a bit of a break down the stretch. Can playing two games on a weekend instead of three, for example, be beneficial over the final month of the season? “It helps us for sure. Gives us a chance to get a little healthy,“ said Richmond coach Brian Goudie. “Gives us a little more practice time, where we can get sharper on things. Not having to play three in three nights all the time helps with the wear and tear on you.“

The Richmond Renegades have called a news conference for this morning at the Richmond Coliseum, and all signs point to a major announcement by the Southern Professional Hockey League team. Neither Allan B. Harvie Jr., president and general manager of the club, nor Dolly Vogt, general manager of the Coliseum, returned telephone calls yesterday.

Trevor Karasiewicz capped a five-point night with an empty-net goal in the closing seconds to ice a come-from-behind, 7-5 victory for the Richmond Renegades over Huntsville on Friday night in Huntsville, Ala. Karasiewicz added four assists for the Renegades (26-21-2), who moved one point ahead of the Havoc (24-20-5) into second place in the Southern Professional Hockey League standings.

Richmond’s eight-game road trip didn’t get off to the kind of start that coach Brian Goudie had in mind Tuesday night in Fayetteville, N.C., and the special teams were mostly to blame. The Renegades gave up three power-play goals (in six chances) to the FireAntz and failed to convert any of the six opportunities they had in a 7-3 loss that snapped a five-game winning streak.

The Richmond Renegades put season tickets for 2009-10 on sale over the weekend. Does that mean the Southern Professional Hockey League team will be back? “That’s the plan right now,“ Allan B. Harvie Jr., president and general manager of the club, said yesterday. “I wouldn’t have put season tickets on sale if that wasn’t the plan.“ Harvie had indicated a couple of weeks ago that he wasn’t sure if the 3-year-old franchise would return for a fourth season because of a decline in attendance and a lack of major sponsors because of the recession.

There was a blissful atmosphere at the Coliseum on Valentine’s Day, in part because of a wedding on the ice about 45 minutes before faceoff. But there was no love lost between the Fayetteville FireAntz and Richmond Renegades when the puck was dropped before a crowd of 3,559. In a chippy affair, the Renegades got a pair of goals from Ryan Busby and three assists from defenseman Cody Cole to knock off the FireAntz 5-2 for their fifth straight victory.

Lori Donati and Brandon Hawkins have decided on a hockey theme for their special day. Merry Donati missed the season opener for the Richmond Rifles on Oct. 23, 1980, because her daughter, Lori, was born that day. Lori and Brandon Hawkins are getting married tomorrow, but Merry will have the chance to see at least some of the Richmond Renegades game against Fayetteville at the Coliseum.

a closer look Sometimes Matt Larke has to pinch himself. The right wing is playing professional hockey for a living. Doing something he’s enjoyed almost since his stepfather first threw him on the ice when he was 3. “I cried and said I don’t want to do it again,“ Larke recalled. “Then, the next day I loved it.“ It may only be the Richmond Renegades—in the Southern Professional Hockey League, lowest rung on the pro ladder—but it beats the alternative of finding a real job.

Have the Richmond Renegades finally gotten the message? After spinning their wheels around the .500 mark for the past two months, the Renegades have put together a three-game winning streak for the first time since early December. Just in time, it would appear, for a run at a high seeding in the Southern Professional Hockey League playoffs. Richmond enters the week tied for second with Huntsville, although the Havoc has a game in hand.

With second place in the Southern Professional Hockey League hanging in the balance last night, the score was tied with 13 minutes left. Rather than allowing the opposition to take over, as they’ve done so often this season, the Richmond Renegades dominated the rest of the way and posted a 5-2 victory over Huntsville before 3,082 at the Coliseum.

Twin City’s bus broke down on the way to Richmond yesterday, and the Cyclones didn’t arrive until about 20 minutes before the opening faceoff. That meant the start of the Southern Professional Hockey League game had to be delayed 30 minutes, and the Renegades took full advantage of their opponent’s sluggishness. Twin City was a step slow on defense all night, allowing Richmond to score early and often, en route to a sloppy, 9-7 victory in front of 2,295 at the Coliseum.

Next season would mark the 20th consecutive year that professional hockey has been entertaining and frustrating local fans. But will the Richmond Renegades be around to celebrate that milestone?

Richmond without hockey would upset several area Renegades fans. “We would really miss hockey,“ said Robbie Watson of Mechanicsville, who has gone to games for a number of years with his wife, Lisa. “I think they ought to promote it more than they do,“ Lisa Watson said. “They need to do more advertising. You hardly ever hear any advertising on radio or TV about the games. And the local TV stations should devote more time to the hockey team. We have to take care of our teams. Look what happened to the Braves.“