see also North American Hockey League (1973–1977)

North American Hockey League

North American Hockey League
Sport	Ice Hockey
Founded	1975
Commissioner	Mark Frankenfeld
No. of teams	19
Country(ies)	United States
Most recent champion(s)	St. Louis Bandits(3)
Most championships	Compuware Ambassadors (11)
Official website	www.nahl.com

The North American Hockey League (NAHL) and the defunct America West Hockey League merged in 2003 to form a 21-team Junior A Tier II league, sanctioned by USA Hockey. The NAHL currently acts as an alternative to the United States Hockey League (USHL).

The league currently consists of four divisions with a total of 19 teams. The teams span the United States from Ohio in the east to Alaska in the West. It also spans from Alaska in the north to Texas in the south. The teams play a 58-game regular season, starting in mid-September and ending in early April. The winner of each division will join the host team of the Robertson Cup Tournament, a five team round-robin event.

[edit] 2009-10 teams

The 2009/2010 season has 19 teams playing in 4 divisions:

[edit] Central Division

• Albert Lea Thunder, Albert Lea, Minnesota
• Alexandria Blizzard, Alexandria, Minnesota
• Bismarck Bobcats, Bismarck, North Dakota
• North Iowa Outlaws, Mason City, Iowa
• Owatonna Express, Owatonna, Minnesota

[edit] North Division

• Alpena IceDiggers, Alpena, Michigan
• Janesville Jets, Janesville, Wisconsin
• Marquette Rangers, Marquette, Michigan
• Motor City Metal Jackets, Wyandotte, Michigan
• Traverse City North Stars, Traverse City, Michigan

[edit] South Division

• Springfield Jr. Blues, Springfield, Illinois
• St. Louis Bandits, Chesterfield, Missouri
• Texas Tornado, Frisco, Texas
• Topeka RoadRunners, Topeka, Kansas
• Wichita Falls Wildcats, Wichita Falls, Texas
• Chicago Hitmen, Rolling Meadows, Illinois (2010)

[edit] West Division

• Alaska Avalanche, Wasilla, Alaska
• Fairbanks Ice Dogs, Fairbanks, Alaska
• Kenai River Brown Bears, Soldotna, Alaska
• Wenatchee Wild, Wenatchee, Washington
• Dawson Creek Rage, Dawson Creek, British Columbia (2010)
• Fresno Monsters, Fresno, California (2010)

[edit] Scheduled to Begin Play in 2010-11

• Chicago Hitmen^[1]
• Dawson Creek Rage^[2]
• Fresno Monsters^[3]

[edit] Past teams

• Billings Bulls (Joined the NorPac)
• Bozeman Icedogs (Joined the NorPac)
• Capital Centre Pride
• Central Texas Blackhawks
• Central Texas Marshals
• Chicago Freeze
• Cleveland Jr. Barons
• Compuware Ambassadors
• Danville Wings (Moved to USHL)
• Dayton Gems
• Dearborn Heights Nationals (Relocated to become St. Louis Sting)
• Detroit Freeze (Moved to Chicago)
• Fargo-Moorhead Jets
• Fernie Ghostriders (Relocated to become Southern Minnesota Express)
• Gaylord Grizzlies (Moved to Grand Rapids)
• Grand Rapids Bearcats (Moved to Lansing)
• Helena Bighorns (Joined the NorPac)
• Lansing Capital Center Pride
• Lone Star Cavalry (Moved to Santa Fe)
• Mahoning Valley Phantoms (Moved to USHL)
• Minnesota Blizzard (Name changed to Alexandria Blizzard)
• Pittsburgh Forge
• Rochester Junior Americans
• Saginaw Gears (Moved to Gaylord)
• Santa Fe Roadrunners (Relocated to Topeka)
• Soo Indians
• Southern Minnesota Express (Relocated to become Motor City Machine)
• Springfield Spirit (Relocated to become Wasilla Spirit)
• St. Louis Sting (Moved to Springfield)
• Texarkana Bandits (Relocated to become St. Louis Bandits)
• Toledo IceDiggers (Moved to Alpena)
• US National Team Development Program (Moved to USHL)
• Wasilla Spirit (Name changed to Alaska Avalanche)
• Wichita Falls Rustlers
• Youngstown Phantoms (Moved to USHL)

[edit] League changes

In the 2006–2007 season, Bozeman Icedogs, Billings Bulls, and Helena 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: The 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.^[4] However, the Express' home city of Owatonna will get another NAHL team for 2008-09, which will become the Owatonna Express. ^[5]. The Express are joined by another new Minnesota NAHL franschise, the Albert Lea Thunder. ^[6] 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. ^[7] The Fargo-Moorhead Jets are approved for dormancy. .^[8]

2009-2010 season: The Janesville Jets are awarded an expansion franchise. ^[9] The Mahoning Valley Phantoms leave the league for the USHL. ^[10] The USNTDP also leave the league. ^[11] The Texas Tornado return to the league after taking a year off while their home arena was undergoing renovations. ^[12] The Motor City franchise's new ownership changes the team's nickname from Machine to Metal Jackets. ^[13]

[edit] Robertson Cup winners

• 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 Falcons
• 1984 - St. Clair 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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• North American Hockey League