North American Hockey League

This article is about the junior league in the United States. For the defunct professional leage, see North American Hockey League (1973–1977). For the Quebec-based professional league, see Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey.

North American Hockey League

File:North American Hockey League Logo.svg
Sport	Ice Hockey
Founded	1975
Commissioner	Mark Frankenfeld
No. of teams	24
Country(ies)	United States
Most recent champion(s)	Fairbanks Ice Dogs
Most titles	Compuware Ambassadors (11)
Official website	www.nahl.com

The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 39th season of operation in 2014-15. It is currently the only Junior A Tier II league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternative to the United States Hockey League (USHL). The NAHL is the oldest and largest junior hockey league in the United States.

The league currently consists of four divisions with a total of 24 teams. The teams span the United States from Pennsylvania in the East to Washington in the West; from Alaska in the North to Texas in the South. The teams play a 60-game regular season, starting in mid-September and ending in early April. The top two teams of the NAHL playoffs will meet in a predetermined location to play in the Robertson Cup Championship Tournament.

From its beginning in 1975, the NAHL was primarily a 6-12 team league based in the Midwest, known as The North American Junior Hockey League Jason Weber, of Livonia, Michigan, is the all-time leading scorer in the NAHL, tallying 65 goals and 115 assists for 180 points from 1990-1992. Other notable alums from the NAJHL include Pat Lafontaine, Mike Modano, Doug Weight, Pat Peake, Brian Rolston, Brian Holzinger, Brian Rafalski, and Todd Marchant. In 2003, the league merged with the defunct America West Hockey League to form a 19-team league, the NAHL, which has led to the current 24 teams playing in the 2014-15 season.

Current teams

The 2014-15 season has 24 teams playing in 4 divisions:

Central Division
Team	Arena	Location
Aberdeen Wings	Odde Ice Center	Aberdeen, South Dakota
Austin Bruins	Riverside Arena	Austin, Minnesota
Bismarck Bobcats	V.F.W. Sports Center	Bismarck, North Dakota
Brookings Blizzard	Larson Ice Center	Brookings, South Dakota
Minot Minotauros	Maysa Arena	Minot, North Dakota
Midwest Division
Team	Arena	Location
Coulee Region Chill	Green Island Ice Arena	La Crosse, Wisconsin
Fairbanks Ice Dogs	Big Dipper Ice Arena	Fairbanks, Alaska
Kenai River Brown Bears	Soldotna Sports Center	Soldotna, Alaska
Minnesota Magicians	Richfield Ice Arena	Richfield, Minnesota
Minnesota Wilderness	Northwoods Credit Union Arena	Cloquet, Minnesota
North Division
Team	Arena	Location
Janesville Jets	Janesville Ice Arena	Janesville, Wisconsin
Johnstown Tomahawks	Cambria County War Memorial Arena	Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Michigan Warriors	Perani Arena and Event Center	Flint, Michigan
Keystone Ice Miners	The Ice Mine	Connellsville, Pennsylvania
Springfield Jr. Blues	Nelson Center	Springfield, Illinois
Soo Eagles	Pullar Stadium	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
South Division
Team	Arena	Location
Amarillo Bulls	Amarillo Civic Center	Amarillo, Texas
Corpus Christi IceRays	American Bank Center	Corpus Christi, Texas
Lone Star Brahmas	NYTEX Sports Centre	North Richland Hills, Texas
Odessa Jackalopes	Ector County Coliseum	Odessa, Texas
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees	State Farm Arena	Hidalgo, Texas
Topeka RoadRunners	Landon Arena	Topeka, Kansas
Wenatchee Wild	Town Toyota Center	Wenatchee, Washington
Wichita Falls Wildcats	Kay Yeager Coliseum	Wichita Falls, Texas

Past teams

• Alaska Avalanche (Moved to Johnstown, PA, renamed Tomahawks)
• Albert Lea Thunder (Moved to Amarillo, TX, renamed Bulls).
• Alexandria Blizzard (Moved to Brookings, SD)
• Alpena IceDiggers (moved to Corpus Christi, TX, renamed IceRays).
• Billings Bulls (Joined the NorPac).
• Bozeman Icedogs (Joined the NorPac).
• Central Texas Blackhawks (renamed Central Texas Marshals).
• Chicago Freeze (folded after 2002-03 due to "increased operation costs and low attendance").
• Chicago Hitmen Folded on May 11, 2012
• Cleveland Jr. Barons.
• Dawson Creek Rage Ceased operations after 2011-2012 season
• Detroit Compuware Ambassadors.
• Danville Wings (Moved to USHL).
• Dayton Gems dissolved after 21 games, roster dispersed amongst remaining teams.
• Dearborn Heights Nationals (Relocated to become St. Louis Sting).
• Detroit Jr. Red Wings (later Detroit Freeze).
• Detroit Freeze (Moved to Chicago, became Chicago Freeze).
• Fargo-Moorhead Jets.
• Fernie Ghostriders (Franchise rights were sold to a Kalamazoo, Michigan based group in 2003; joined the KIJHL)
• Fresno Monsters (Relocated to Wenatchee Washington, become the Wenatchee WIld)
• Gaylord Grizzles (Moved to Grand Rapids, became Bearcats).
• Grand Rapids Bearcats (Became Rockets. Moved to Lansing, became Capital Centre Pride)
• Helena Bighorns (Joined the NorPac).
• Kalamazoo Jr. Wings (Moved to Danville).
• Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings (Ceased operations after 2012-13 season).
• Lone Star Cavalry (Moved to Santa Fe, NM, renamed RoadRunners).
• Marquette Rangers (Moved to Flint, renamed Michigan Warriors).
• Minnesota Blizzard (Name changed to Alexandria Blizzard).
• Motor City Metal Jackets (Moved to Jamestown, NY, renamed Ironmen).
• New Mexico Mustangs (Moved to Richfield, MN, renamed Minnesota Magicians)
• North Iowa Outlaws (Moved to Onalaska, WI, renamed Coulee Region Chill).
• Owatonna Express (Moved to Odessa, TX, renamed Jackalopes)
• Pittsburgh Forge (moved to Toledo, became Toledo IceDiggers).
• Port Huron Fighting Falcons (moved to Connellsville, PA, renamed Keystone Ice Miners)
• Royal Oak Royals (moved to Farmington Hills, Michigan Ice Dogs).
• Saginaw Jr Gears (moved to Gaylord, became Grizzles).
• Santa Fe RoadRunners (Moved to Topeka).
• Southern Minnesota Express (Relocated to become Motor City Machine).
• Springfield Spirit (Relocated to become Wasilla Spirit).
• St. Louis Bandits (Moved to Cloquet, MN, renamed Minnesota Wilderness)
• St. Louis Sting (Moved to Springfield).
• Texarkana Bandits (Relocated to become St. Louis Bandits).
• Texas Tornado (Relocated to become Lone Star Brahmas).
• Toledo IceDiggers (Moved to Alpena, MI).
• USA Hockey National Team Development Program (Moved to USHL).
• Wasilla Spirit (Name changed to Alaska Avalanche).
• Wenatchee Wild (Moved to Hidalgo, TX, renamed Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, Will return with the Fresno membership)
• Wichita Falls Rustlers (Name changed to Wichita Falls Wildcats).
• Youngstown Phantoms/Mahoning Valley Phantoms (Moved to USHL).

League changes

2006–2007 season: Bozeman Icedogs, Billings Bulls, and Helena Bighorns left the league for the Northern Pacific Hockey League. Cleveland Jr. Barons were granted inactive status for the season. Wasilla Spirit changed name to Alaska Avalanche. Minnesota Blizzard changed name to Alexandria Blizzard. Texarkana Bandits moved to Chesterfield, Missouri and changed name to St. Louis Bandits. Marquette Rangers were added to the league.

2007–2008 season: Santa Fe Roadrunners moved to Topeka, Kansas. The Topeka Roadrunners now play at Landon Arena. The Kenai River Brown Bears started playing in the league.

2008-2009 season: The Southern Minnesota Express moved to Detroit and changed their name to the Motor City Machine. However, the Express' home city of Owatonna was granted another NAHL team for 2008-09, named the Owatonna Express. The Express are joined by another new Minnesota NAHL franschise, the Albert Lea Thunder. The Texas Tornado franchise will go dark for a year as they await renovations on their arena. Wenatchee, Washington has been awarded an expansion franchise for the 2008-09 season. The Fargo-Moorhead Jets are approved for dormancy. .

2009-2010 season: The Janesville Jets are awarded an expansion franchise. The Mahoning Valley Phantoms leave the league for the USHL. The USNTDP also leave the league. The Texas Tornado return to the league after taking a year off while their home arena was undergoing renovations. The Motor City franchise's new ownership changes the team's nickname from Machine to Metal Jackets.

2010-2011 season: The NAHL Board of Governors accepted membership of several new teams to play this season in the league. The Fresno Monsters are awarded an expansion franchise. The Monsters played in the Tier III A Western States Hockey League before getting switched over to the North American Hockey League for the 2010-2011 season. They will play at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California. The Corpus Christi IceRays are awarded an expansion franchise. The IceRays were known as the Alpena IceDiggers and Toledo in the North America Hockey League [the same league, no new league change, just name change]. They will play in the South Division at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Chicago Hitmen joined the North Division and will play starting this season at West Meadows Ice Arena in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The Marquette Rangers moved to Flint, Michigan and changed their name to Michigan Warriors. The Michigan Warriors will play in the North Division at the Perani Arena and Event Center. Port Huron joined the North Division and will play starting this season at McMorran Place in Port Huron, Michigan. The Coulee Region Chill joined the Central Division and will play at Onalaska OmniCenter in Onalaska, Wisconsin. The Aberdeen Wings joined the Central Division and will play at the Odde Ice Center in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The Austin Bruins joined the Central Division and will play at the Riverside Arena in Austin, Minnesota. The Dawson Creek Rage joined the West Division and will play at EnCana Events Centre in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. The Amarillo Bulls joined the South Division and will play at Amarillo Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas. The New Mexico Mustangs joined the South Division and will play at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

2014-2015 season: The Port Huron Fighting Falcons were relocated to Connellsville, Pennsylvania to become the Keystone Ice Miners, remaining in the North Division, and the Wenatchee Wild moved from the Midwest Division to the South Division.

Robertson Cup winners

• 2014 - Fairbanks Ice Dogs
• 2013 - Amarillo Bulls
• 2012 - Texas Tornado
• 2011 - Fairbanks Ice Dogs
• 2010 - Bismarck Bobcats
• 2009 - St. Louis Bandits
• 2008 - St. Louis Bandits
• 2007 - St. Louis Bandits
• 2006 - Texas Tornado
• 2005 - Texas Tornado
• 2004 - Texas Tornado
• 2003 - Pittsburgh Forge
• 2002 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 2001 - Texas Tornado
• 2000 - Danville Wings
• 1999 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 1998 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 1997 - Springfield Jr. Blues
• 1996 - Springfield Jr. Blues
• 1995 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 1994 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 1993 - Kalamazoo Jr. K Wings
• 1992 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 1991 - Kalamazoo Jr. K Wings
• 1990 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 1989 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 1988 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 1987 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 1986 - Compuware Ambassadors
• 1985 - St. Clair Shores Falcons
• 1984 - St. Clair Shores Falcons
• 1983 - Paddock Pools
• 1982 - Paddock Pools
• 1981 - Paddock Pools
• 1980 - Paddock Pools
• 1979 - Paddock Pools
• 1978 - Paddock Pools
• 1977 - Paddock Pools
• 1976 - Little Caesars

External links

• North American Hockey League

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