Central Hockey League
| Current season or competition: 2010–11 CHL season |
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Central Hockey League logo |
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
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| Founded | 1992 |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Country(ies) | United States |
| Most recent champion(s) | Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs |
| Most titles | (tie) Wichita Thunder, Oklahoma City Blazers, Memphis RiverKings, Laredo Bucks, & Colorado Eagles (2) |
| Official website | www.centralhockeyleague.com |
The Central Hockey League (CHL) is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs.
The current Central Hockey League was created in 1992 as a centrally owned league, owned by Ray Miron and Bill Levins. The league was operated by Ray and Monte Miron and funded by Chicago businessman and minor league sports entrepreneur Horn Chen.
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History
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was revived in 1992 by Bill Levins and Ray Miron under the idea of central ownership of both the league and the teams. Both men were from hockey backgrounds. Miron had been general manager of what is now the New Jersey Devils and had briefly been president of the previous Central Hockey League in 1976.
In the inaugural 1992–93 season the league had six teams, including the Oklahoma City Blazers, the Tulsa Oilers, the Wichita Thunder, the Memphis RiverKings, the Dallas Freeze and the Fort Worth Fire. With the move of the RiverKings to the SPHL, the Thunder and the Oilers are the last of the league's original teams still extant.
In 1996-97 the Huntsville Channel Cats, along with the planned 1996–97 Southern Hockey League expansion teams Columbus Cottonmouths, Macon Whoopee, and Nashville Nighthawks, joined the Central Hockey League following the SHL's demise.
After Levins died, the league's championship trophy (awarded to the winner of the CHL playoffs) was renamed the Levins Cup. After running the league for eight years, Miron retired in 2000 and sold the league. The Levins Cup was renamed the Ray Miron President's Cup.
After several experiments in expansion and a long battle for players and markets with the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL), the CHL merged with the WPHL in 2001.
The CHL commissioner is currently Duane Lewis, who succeeded Brad Treliving on an interim basis after Treliving took a position with the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes following the 2006-2007 season. Treliving co-founded the WPHL in 1996, and after the 2001 merger, served with the CHL for seven years.[1] Lewis was named the permanent commissioner in June 2008.[2]
On June 1, 2010 the league announced that it would merge with the International Hockey League.[3] Originally touted as a "merger," the effect was for the IHL's Bloomington, Dayton, Fort Wayne and Quad City franchises to join the CHL; the IHL quietly folded thereafter.
Teams
Current
The CHL is divided into two Conferences. Teams compete annually for the Ray Miron President's Cup.
Defunct
- Amarillo Gorillas (WPHL 1996–2001, CHL 2001–2010; team known as Amarillo Rattlers 1996–2002)
- Austin Ice Bats (1996–2008, began play in WPHL before moving to CHL in 2001)
- Border City Bandits (Texarkana, TX; 2000–01 season only, suspended by league on 2/20/01)
- Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (Bossier City–Shreveport, LA; WPHL 1997–2001, CHL 2001–2011; folded on June 10, 2011)
- Bloomington Prairie Thunder (Bloomington, IL; 2006-2007 UHL, 2007-2010 IHL, 2010-2011 CHL. team failed to contact U.S Cellular coliseum for an Extended lease. in result, a new hockey Franchise replaced them. officially ceased operation on July 3rd, 2011)
- Colorado Eagles (Loveland, CO; 2003–2011, moved to ECHL)
- Columbus Cottonmouths (Columbus, GA; 1996–2001, moved to ECHL from 2001–04 and SPHL from 2004)
- Corpus Christi IceRays (2001–2010, replaced by NAHL franchise of same name)
- Dallas Freeze (1992–1995)
- El Paso Buzzards (WPHL 1996–2001, CHL 2001–2003)
- Fayetteville Force (1997–2001)
- Fort Worth Fire (1992–1999)
- Huntsville Channel Cats (began in Southern Hockey League 1995–96, moved to CHL from 1996–1999, changed name to Huntsville Tornado in 1999–2000)
- Indianapolis Ice (began play in IHL from 1988–1999, moved to CHL from 1999–2004. Franchise was sold and moved to Topeka, KS where they played as the Topeka Tarantulas for 2004–05)
- Lubbock Cotton Kings (1999–2007)
- Macon Whoopee (1996–2001, moved to ECHL for 2001–02)
- Mississippi RiverKings (1992–2011, known as Memphis RiverKings from 1992–2007, moved to SPHL for 2011–12.)
- Nashville Nighthawks (1996–97, changed name to Nashville Ice Flyers for 1997–98. The Ice Flyers looked into the possibility of relocating to Albany, Georgia, after the 1997–98 season following the announcement that the Nashville Predators were joining the NHL for the 1998–99 season. For whatever reason that relocation never occurred)
- New Mexico Scorpions (Rio Rancho, NM; WPHL 1996–2001, CHL 2001–2009)
- Odessa Jackalopes (1997–2010, replaced by NAHL franchise of the same name. Another source says the same team switched leagues[4])
- Oklahoma City Blazers (1992–2009, folded on July 2, 2009)
- Rocky Mountain Rage (Broomfield, CO; 2006–2009)
- San Antonio Iguanas (1994–1997, 1998–2002)
- San Angelo Outlaws (WPHL 1997–2001, CHL 2001–02, changed name to San Angelo Saints from 2002–2005)
- Topeka ScareCrows (1998–2001)
- Youngstown SteelHounds (2005–2008, CHL suddenly announced they would no longer be playing in that league, team looked to join IHL or ECHL, but the market was replaced by the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League.)
Timeline
Expansion
| Year | Teams | Expansion | Defunct | Suspended | Return from Hiatus | Relocated | Name Changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–91 | 6 | Dallas Freeze Fort Worth Fire Memphis RiverKings Oklahoma City Blazers Tulsa Oilers Wichita Thunder |
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| 1993–94 | 6 | ||||||
| 1994–95 | 7 | San Antonio Iguanas | |||||
| 1995–96 | 6 | Dallas Freeze | |||||
| 1996–97 | 10 | Columbus Cottonmouths Huntsville Channel Cats Macon Whoopie Nashville Nighthawks |
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| 1997–98 | 10 | Fayetteville Force | San Antonio Iguanas (went to IHL) | Nashville Nighthawks → Nashville Ice Flyers | |||
| 1998–99 | 11 | San Antonio Iguanas Topeka Scarecrows |
Nashville Ice Flyers | ||||
| 1999–00 | 11 | Indianapolis Ice | Fort Worth Fire | ||||
| 2000–01 | 12 | Border City Bandits | Border City Bandits (defunct mid-season) | Huntsville Channel Cats → Huntsville Tornado | |||
| 2001–02 | 16 | Amarillo Rattlers (from WPHL) Austin Ice Bats (from WPHL) Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (from WPHL) Corpus Christi Icerays (from WPHL) El Paso Buzzards (from WPHL) Fort Worth Brahmas (from WPHL) Lubbock Cotton Kings (from WPHL) New Mexico Scorpions (from WPHL) Odessa Jackalopes (from WPHL) San Angelo Outlaws (from WPHL) |
Columbus Cottonmouths (to ECHL) Fayetteville Force Huntsville Tornado Macon Whoopie (to ECHL) Topeka Scarecrows |
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| 2002–03 | 16 | Laredo Bucks | San Antonio Iguanas | Amarillo Rattlers → Amarillo Gorillas San Angelo Outlaws → San Angelo Saints |
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| 2003–04 | 17 | Colorado Eagles Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees |
El Paso Buzzards | ||||
| 2004–05 | 17 | Indianapolis Ice → Topeka Tarantulas | |||||
| 2005–06 | 15 | Youngstown SteelHounds | San Angelo Saints Topeka Tarantulas |
New Mexico Scorpions | |||
| 2006–07 | 17 | Arizona Sundogs Rocky Mountain Rage |
Texas Brahmas | New Mexico Scorpions | Fort Worth Brahmas → Texas Brahmas | ||
| 2007–08 | 17 | Lubbock Cotton Kings | Texas Brahmas | Memphis RiverKings → Mississippi RiverKings | |||
| 2008–09 | 16 | Rapid City Rush | Austin Ice Bats Youngstown Steelhounds |
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| 2009–10 | 15 | Allen Americans Missouri Mavericks |
New Mexico Scorpions Oklahoma City Blazers Rocky Mountain Rage |
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| 2010–11 | 18 | Bloomington PrairieThunder (from IHL) Dayton Gems (from IHL) Evansville IceMen (from IHL) Fort Wayne Komets (from IHL) Quad City Mallards (from IHL) |
Amarillo Gorillas Corpus Christi IceRays |
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| 2011–12 | 14 | Bloomington Blaze | Bloomington Prairie Thunder Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Colorado Eagles (to ECHL) Mississippi RiverKings (to SPHL) Odessa Jackalopes (to NAHL[4]) |
League champions
- 1993 - Tulsa Oilers
- 1994 - Wichita Thunder
- 1995 - Wichita Thunder
- 1996 - Oklahoma City Blazers
- 1997 - Fort Worth Fire
- 1998 - Columbus Cottonmouths
- 1999 - Huntsville Channel Cats
- 2000 - Indianapolis Ice
- 2001 - Oklahoma City Blazers
- 2002 - Memphis RiverKings
- 2003 - Memphis RiverKings
- 2004 - Laredo Bucks
- 2005 - Colorado Eagles
- 2006 - Laredo Bucks
- 2007 - Colorado Eagles
- 2008 - Arizona Sundogs
- 2009 - Texas Brahmas
- 2010 - Rapid City Rush
- 2011 - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
References
- ^ "Treliving new Coyotes assistant GM". Azcentral.com. 2007-07-19. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0719coyotes0719.html. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "News". centralhockeyleague.com. 2008-06-17. http://www.centralhockeyleague.com/pressroom/news/index.html?article_id=2459. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "CHL and IHL Make Major Announcement". http://www.centralhockeyleague.com/pressroom/news/index.html?article_id=4670. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
- ^ a b Scheide, Lee (23 March 2011). "Central Hockey League: Jacks make move to North American Hockey League official". Odessa American. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5zRdnwAxU. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- Stott, Jon C. (2006). Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd.. pp. 16–201. ISBN 1894974212.
See also
External links
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