Amarillo Gorillas

The Amarillo Gorillas were a minor league hockey team based in Amarillo, Texas. The team was affiliated with the Central Hockey League. The Gorillas began play in the Western Professional Hockey League in 1996 as the Rattlers, the name they would carry until an ownership change in 2002. As the Rattlers, the team frequently finished at the bottom of the WPHL and CHL divisions, but they made the playoffs four straight years as the Gorillas through the 2006-2007 season. The Amarillo Gorillas played in the Amarillo Civic Center. The team's most recent head coach was Brian Pellerin.

On May 19, 2010, the Gorillas announced they had ceased operations. However, hockey will remain in Amarillo, as the North American Hockey League, a Junior A league affiliated with USA Hockey, named the Amarillo Bulls will start play for the 2010-2011 season.

2007-2008 Season
The Amarillo Gorillas franchise seemed to look like it was falling apart coming into this season. Coach Jim Wiley waited until the last minute to sign players, with the majority of them being rookies. The Gorillas would find huge talent in All-Stars David Nimmo, Shaun Arvai, and Nate Fornataro. 2nd year players Bill Vandermeer and Chris Lipsett would add too the talent. The Gorillas finished the season with a 22-32-10 record, their worst ever. They finished just 6 points shy of the Austin Ice Bats for the final playoff spot.

2008-2009 Season
The Amarillo Gorillas fell into the off-season upset, and confused after falling short of their 6th straight playoff appearance. Coach Jim Wiley was cut, and the new boss Tom Coolen was brought in by new owner Randy Sanders. Coolen has breathed a little fresh air into the Gorillas franchise as he brings in a good coaching record with him. Tom has already begun stocking up on some players and prospects for the 08-09 season.

October
Record: 1–6–0; Home: 1–5–0; Road 0–1–0:

November
Record: 4–6–0; Home: 2–1–0; Road: 2–5–0

December
Record: 4–7–0 ; Home: 1–5–0 ; Road: 3–2–0

January
Record: 0–0–0 ; Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0

February
Record: 0–0–0 ; Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0

March
Record: 0–0–0 ; Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0