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Central Hockey League
2011–12 CHL season
File:CHL Logo.jpeg
Sport Ice hockey
Founded 1992
No. of teams 14
Country(ies) United States
Most recent champion(s) Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
Most championship(s) (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.

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.

Turner Conference
Team Arena City/area Affiliate team(s)
Bloomington Blaze U.S. Cellular Coliseum Bloomington, Illinois
Dayton Gems Hara Arena Trotwood, Ohio
Evansville IceMen Ford Center Evansville, Indiana
Fort Wayne Komets Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, Indiana
Missouri Mavericks Independence Events Center Independence, Missouri Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Wolves
Quad City Mallards i wireless Center Moline, Illinois
Rapid City Rush Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Rapid City, South Dakota
Berry Conference
Team Arena City/area Affiliate team(s)
Allen Americans Allen Event Center Allen, Texas Colorado Avalanche, Lake Erie Monsters, Dallas Stars, Texas Stars
Arizona Sundogs Tim's Toyota Center Prescott Valley, Arizona Phoenix Coyotes, Portland Pirates
Laredo Bucks Laredo Energy Arena Laredo, Texas
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees State Farm Arena Hidalgo, Texas Florida Panthers, San Antonio Rampage
Texas Brahmas NYTEX Sports Centre North Richland Hills, Texas
Tulsa Oilers BOK Center Tulsa, Oklahoma
Wichita Thunder Intrust Bank Arena Wichita, Kansas

Defunct

Timeline

Bloomington BlazeQuad City MallardsFort Wayne KometsEvansville IceMenDayton GemsBloomington PrarieThunderMissouri MavericksAllen AmericansRapid City RushRocky Mountain RageArizona SundogsYoungstown SteelHoundsRio Grande Valley Killer BeesColorado EaglesLaredo BucksSan Angelo OutlawsOdessa JackalopesNew Mexico ScorpionsLubbock Cotton KingsTexas BrahmasEl Paso BuzzardsCorpus Christi IceRays (1997–2010)Bossier-Shreveport MudbugsAustin Ice BatsAmarillo GorillasBorder City BanditsTopeka TarantulasIndianapolis IceTopeka ScareCrowsFayetteville ForceNashville NighthawksMacon WhoopeeHuntsville Channel CatsColumbus CottonmouthsSan Antonio IguanasWichita ThunderTulsa OilersOklahoma City BlazersMississippi RiverKingsFort Worth FireDallas Freeze

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
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
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
2002–03 16 Laredo Bucks San Antonio Iguanas Amarillo Rattlers → Amarillo Gorillas
San Angelo Outlaws → San Angelo Saints
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
2009–10 15 Allen Americans
Missouri Mavericks
New Mexico Scorpions
Oklahoma City Blazers
Rocky Mountain Rage
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
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

References

  1. Treliving new Coyotes assistant GM. Azcentral.com (2007-07-19). Retrieved on 2010-05-07.
  2. News. centralhockeyleague.com (2008-06-17). Retrieved on 2010-05-07.
  3. CHL and IHL Make Major Announcement. Retrieved on June 28, 2010.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Scheide, Lee. "Central Hockey League: Jacks make move to North American Hockey League official", 23 March 2011. Retrieved on 14 June 2011. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. 
  • Stott, Jon C. (2006). Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd., 16–201. ISBN 1894974212. 


External links

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Central Hockey League. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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