Minnesota Moose

The Minnesota Moose was an ice hockey team in the International Hockey League from 1994-1996. They played in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA at the Saint Paul Civic Center. The team also played some home games at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The Moose left after two seasons and they were a representative of professional hockey in Minnesota at a time when the hopes of the state for recovering an NHL team had all but vanished. The Moose were moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba and are now the Manitoba Moose

History
The state of Minnesota was long entrenched in NHL hockey history as the Minnesota North Stars had made the hockey state their home from the NHL's Great Expansion in 1967 until their departure to Dallas in 1993. The North Stars were moved to Texas as a result of owner Norman Green's failure to reach a stadium agreement in Minneapolis or St. Paul combined with poor attendance and a string of losing seasons.

The North Stars departure after 25 seasons in the Twin Cities created a large void in the hockey state. Despite only being a few seasons removed from an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1991, the North Stars became the Dallas Stars at the start of the 1993-94 NHL season.

In 1994, pro hockey made a comeback in Minnesota when the Moose were granted as an expansion team in the International Hockey League. The name "Moose" was picked in a name-the-team contest and edged out the name Mustangs. Fans in Minnesota were eager to support the new pro team, yet the Moose had a very up and down inaugural season. Coached by former NCAA coach Frank Serratore, the Moose compiled a 34-35-12 record earning a playoff spot in their first season before losing out to the Denver Grizzlies in the preliminary round of the playoffs.

During the 1995-96 season, the Moose and the NHL's Winnipeg Jets worked out a deal to be affiliates with each other. However, the Jets themselves were in trouble and rumour went around that the two cities would swap teams, the Moose would move to Winnipeg and the Jets would come to the Twin Cities. However, the Jets were sold and moved to Phoenix to become the Phoenix Coyotes while the Moose were moved to Winnipeg leaving the hockey state without a professional hockey team until 2000, with the arrival of the Minnesota Wild.

Team records
Goals: 38 🇺🇸 Dave Christian (1994–95) Assists: 81 🇨🇦 Stephane Morin (1994–95) Points: 114 🇨🇦 Stephane Morin (1994–95) Penalty Minutes: 181 🇨🇦 Brad Miller (1994–95) GAA: 3.31 🇺🇸 Parris Duffus (1995–96) SV%: .895 🇺🇸 Parris Duffus (1995–96) Career Goals: 60 🇨🇦 Stephane Morin Career Assists: 132 🇨🇦 Stephane Morin Career Points: 192 🇨🇦 Stephane Morin Career Penalty Minutes: 351 🇨🇦 Brad Miller Career Wins: 25 🇨🇦 Tom Draper Career Shutouts: 1 🇨🇦 Tom Draper, 🇺🇸 Parris Duffus Career Games: 161 🇨🇦 Stephane Morin

Links

 * The Internet Hockey Database - Minnesota Moose
 * Vintage Minnesota Hockey - Minnesota Moose