Central Hockey League

The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a mid-level professional hockey league in the United States. It is owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. It was started in 1992.

History

The first CHL season was in 1992-1993. It started with six teams, including the Oklahoma City Blazers, the Tulsa Oilers, the Wichita Thunder, the Memphis RiverKings, the Dallas Freeze and the Fort Worth Fire.

In 1996-97, the Huntsville Channel Cats, along with the planned 1996–97 Southern Hockey League (SHL) expansion teams Columbus Cottonmouths, Macon Whoopee, and Nashville Nighthawks, joined the Central Hockey League after the SHL ended.

The CHL came together with the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) in 2001.

The CHL commissioner is now Duane Lewis, who succeeded Brad Treliving on an temporary 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 come together with the International Hockey League.[3]

Current teams

The CHL is divided into two Conferences. Teams compete every year for the Ray Miron President's Cup.

Turner Conference
Team Arena City/area Affiliate team(s)
Bloomington PrairieThunder U.S. Cellular Coliseum Bloomington, Illinois
Colorado Eagles Budweiser Events Center Loveland, Colorado
Dayton Gems Hara Arena Trotwood, Ohio
Evansville IceMen Swonder Ice Arena Evansville, Indiana
Fort Wayne Komets Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, Indiana Columbus Blue Jackets, Springfield Falcons
Missouri Mavericks Independence Events Center Independence, Missouri
Quad City Mallards i Wireless Center Moline, Illinois
Rapid City Rush Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Rapid City, South Dakota
Wichita Thunder Intrust Bank Arena Wichita, Kansas
Berry Conference
Team Arena City/area Affiliate team(s)
Allen Americans Allen Event Center Allen, Texas Dallas Stars, Texas Stars
Arizona Sundogs Tim's Toyota Center Prescott Valley, Arizona Phoenix Coyotes
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs CenturyTel Center Bossier City, Louisiana
Laredo Bucks Laredo Energy Arena Laredo, Texas
Mississippi RiverKings DeSoto Civic Center Southaven, Mississippi
Odessa Jackalopes Ector County Coliseum Odessa, Texas New York Islanders, Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees State Farm Arena Hidalgo, Texas
Texas Brahmas NYTEX Sports Centre North Richland Hills, Texas
Tulsa Oilers BOK Center Tulsa, Oklahoma Colorado Avalanche, Lake Erie Monsters

League champions

References

  1. "Treliving new Coyotes assistant GM". Azcentral.com. 2007-07-19. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  2. "News". centralhockeyleague.com. 2008-06-17. Archived from the original on 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  3. "CHL and IHL Make Major Announcement". Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2010.

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