2014-15 NAHL Season

This is the 2014-15 North American Hockey League season. This is the league's 31st season.

The season featured the longest game in league history to start the Robertson Cup Final with the Minnesota Wilderness outlasting the Austin Bruins 2-1 in 4 overtimes with the game ending early the next morning, combined with a victory later that day gave the Wilderness a rather unusual doubleheader sweep of the series.

The league also made a record 222 NCAA commitments during the 2014-15 season.



Franchise changes

 * The Port Huron Fighting Falcons relocated to Connellsville, Pennsylvania and were renamed the Keystone Ice Miners.  The team would be taken over by the league in December as the owner forfeited their membership in the league.
 * The Jamestown Ironmen, which had sat out the 2013-14 season,  folded prior to the season.
 * The Flint-based Michigan Warriors will probably be relocated after the 2014-15 season as the Perani Arena and Event Center was sold late in 2014 and the new ownership informed the franchises lease will not be renewed.  The USNTDP Juniors based out of Ann Arbor, MI and playing in the USHL were announced to be moving to the arena of the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League and in turn  the Whalers announced plans in January 2015 to be moving to the Perani Arena and Event Center, the team was announced on March 16, 2015 as being named the Flint Firebirds.  The Warriors ended up folding.
 * On May 1, 2015 the league announced the addition of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights organization from the Eastern Hockey League for the 2015-16 season.

Standings
Central Division Team              GP  W  L OTL  GF  GA  PIM  P  Austin Bruins      60 38 11  11 210 136 1066 87 Minot Minotauros  60 37 17   6 184 137  856 80 Bismarck Bobcats  60 30 26   4 185 185 1029 64 Aberdeen Wings    60 27 31   2 142 165  788 56 Brookings Blizzard 60 19 32  9 141 206  968 47 Midwest Division Team                   GP  W  L OTL  GF  GA  PIM  P  Fairbanks Ice Dogs      60 40 16  4  238 167 1035 84 Minnesota Wilderness   60 39 15  6  209 152 1200 84 Coulee Region Chill    60 28 23  9  176 182  987 65 Minnesota Magicians    60 21 35  4  160 221 1062 46 Kenai River Brown Bears 60 16 42 2  132 244  963 34 North Division Team                 GP  W  L OTL  GF  GA  PIM   P  Janesville Jets       60 49  9  2  215 114  867 100 Keystone Ice Miners  60 31 24  5  153 140  838  67 Soo Eagles           60 31 25  4  182 185 1248  66 Michigan Warriors    60 25 26  9  148 183  994  59 Johnstown Tomahawks  60 25 27  8  166 191 1167  58 Springfield Jr. Blues 60 23 31 6  126 184  815  52 South Division Team                         GP  W  L OTL  GF  GA  PIM  P  Lone Star Brahmas             60 40 12  8  208 130 1182 88 Topeka RoadRunners           60 39 15  6  199 140  837 84 Wichita Falls Wildcats       60 39 16  5  242 182  858 83 Corpus Christi Ice Rays      60 31 24  5  186 196 1348 67 Wenatchee Wild               60 27 26  7  177 171  808 61 Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 60 25 25 10 153 184 1290 60 Amarillo Bulls               60 25 31  4  174 222 1493 54 Odessa Jackalopes            60 15 38  7  172 261 1492 37

Format
Eighteen teams qualify for the playoffs. The top four teams in the Central, Midwest, and North Divisions and the top six teams in the South Division qualify for the playoffs. The first round consists the South Division having the 3rd place team playing 6th and 4th playing 5th in best-of-three first round series. Those teams are re-seeded 3 and 4. The best-of-five division semifinal round consist of the first place team playing the fourth place team and the second place team playing the third place team. The division semifinal winners meet in the best-of-five division final. The four division winners will be reseeded by record. The top seed will play the fourth seed and the second seed will play the third seed in a best-of-three series. The semifinal winners advance to the best-of-three Championship round scheduled May 14 to 17, 2015 at the rink of the higher seeded team.

South Division Play-In Series

 * Wichita Falls defeated Rio Grande Valley 2 games to none (4-2, 5-4)
 * Wenatchee defeated corpus Christi 2 games to none (3-2 (ot), 3-2)

Central Division Semifinals

 * Austin defeated Aberdeen 3 games to none (8-5, 4-0, 4-3)
 * Minot defeated Bismarck 3 games to none (4-1, 4-2, 2-1)

Midwest Division Semifinals

 * Fairbanks defeated Minnesota Magicians 3 games to none (5-4 (ot), 4-0, 4-1)
 * Minnesota Wilderness defeated Coulee Region 3 games to 2 (2-4, 1-3, 5-4, 9-1, 9-1)

North Division Semifinals

 * Janesville defeated Michigan 3 games to none (8-1, 6-2, 7-4)
 * Soo defeated Keystone 3 games to none (6-1, 1-0 (ot), 3-1)

South Division Semifinals

 * Lone Star defeated Wenatchee 3 games to none (2-1 (2ot), 2-1, 3-1)
 * Topeka defeated Wichita Falls 3 games to 1 (6-2, 0-7, 3-2, 5-3)

Central Division Final

 * Austin defeated Minot 3 games to 2 (2-3, 4-1, 4-1, 3-4, 4-3

Midwest Division Final

 * Minnesota Wilderness defeated Fairbanks 3 games to none (2-1, 4-2, 6-3)

North Division Final

 * Janesville defeated Soo 3 games to 1 (5-0, 5-1, 0-4, 6-2)

South Division Final

 * Lone Star defeated Topeka 3 games to 1 (1-5, 5-4 (ot), 3-2, 3-2 (ot))

Robertson Cup Semifinals

 * Minnesota Wilderness defeated Janesville 2 games to none (2-1, 2-1(ot))
 * Austin defeated Lone Star 2 games to 1 (3-1, 1-3, 3-2 (ot))

Robertson Cup Final
The Minnesota Wilderness win the Robertson Cup
 * Minnesota Wilderness defeated Austin 2 games to none (2-1 (4ot), 4-0)