International Hockey League (2007–)

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International Hockey League (2007–)
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1991
No. of teams	6
Country(ies)	United States
Most recent champion(s)	Fort Wayne Komets
Official website	www.ihl-hockey.com

The International Hockey League is a low-level professional ice hockey league with teams in the United States.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]} The league is headquartered in Rochester, Michigan, and consists of six teams.

The IHL was originally formed in 1991 as the Colonial Hockey League, intended to fill the Great Lakes region niche abandoned by the original International Hockey League as it went upmarket. It had teams in Brantford, Ontario; Detroit, Michigan; Flint, Michigan; St. Thomas, Ontario; and Thunder Bay, Ontario. As the ECHL moved westward (into Toledo, Dayton, and Peoria), the CoHL moved eastward, into places like the Adirondacks, Danbury, CT, Binghamton, NY, and Richmond, VA. During that expansion, the league was renamed the United Hockey League in 1997, before renaming itself to the International Hockey League in 2007.

The name change was intended to evoke the original IHL (1945-2001), which had long-standing franchises in the Great Lakes region, and indeed the Fort Wayne Komets and Kalamazoo Wings were originally members of that league. The current Flint Generals also revived the name of the original Flint Generals (IHL) team. Many of the current IHL players have American Hockey League as well as European pro league experience.

On June 27th, 2007, a dispersal draft was held among the six IHL teams, selecting players from the four 2006-2007 UHL franchises that are no longer part of the newly-named league. Currently, Paul Pickard serves as President and CEO of the IHL; he is also president of Stadium Management Corporation.

Contents 1 2007–08 teams 2 Colonial/Turner Cup champions 3 Defunct teams 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] 2007–08 teams

Team	Founded	City	Affiliation(s)	Home Arena
Bloomington PrairieThunder	2006–2007	Bloomington, Illinois		U.S. Cellular Coliseum
Flint Generals	1993–1994	Flint, Michigan	Detroit Red Wings	Perani Arena and Event Center
Fort Wayne Komets	1952–1953	Fort Wayne, Indiana		Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
Kalamazoo Wings	1999–2000	Kalamazoo, Michigan		Wings Stadium
Muskegon Fury	1992–1993	Muskegon, Michigan	Grand Rapids Griffins	L. C. Walker Arena
Port Huron Icehawks	2007–2008	Port Huron, Michigan	Detroit Red Wings	McMorran Arena

[edit] Colonial/Turner Cup champions

The Turner Cup is awarded to annual playoff championship. The name Turner Cup has been restored as of September 24, 2007 as a tribute to the original IHL. Before this, the trophy given to the league playoff champions was known as the Colonial Cup. The past winners are:

• 2008 - Fort Wayne Komets
• 2007 - Rockford IceHogs
• 2006 - Kalamazoo Wings
• 2005 - Muskegon Fury
• 2004 - Muskegon Fury
• 2003 - Fort Wayne Komets
• 2002 - Muskegon Fury
• 2001 - Quad City Mallards
• 2000 - Flint Generals
• 1999 - Muskegon Fury
• 1998 - Quad City Mallards
• 1997 - Quad City Mallards
• 1996 - Flint Generals
• 1995 - Thunder Bay Senators
• 1994 - Thunder Bay Senators
• 1993 - Brantford Smoke
• 1992 - Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks

[edit] Defunct teams

Adirondack Frostbite 2004–2006 Adirondack IceHawks 1997–2004, later Adirondack Frostbite Asheville Smoke 1998–2002 Arctic Xpress 2000–2001 (did not play), later Canton Xpress B.C. Icemen 1997–2002 Brantford Smoke 1991–1998, later Asheville Smoke Canton Ice Patrol 2002 (did not play) Canton Xpress 2001–January 28, 2002 (did not play), later Canton Ice Patrol Chatham Wheels 1992–1994, later Saginaw Wheels Chicago Hounds 2006–2007 Columbus Stars 2003–January 9, 2004 Danbury Trashers 2004–2006 Dayton Ice Bandits 1996–1997, later Mohawk Valley Prowlers Detroit Falcons 1992–1996 Elmira Jackals 2000–2007 [8] Flint Bulldogs 1991–1993, later Utica Bulldogs Kansas City Outlaws 2004–2005 Knoxville Speed 1999–2002 Lehigh Valley Xtreme 2000(did not play) London Wildcats 1994–1995, later Dayton Ice Bandits Madison Kodiaks 1999–2000, later Kalamazoo Wings Madison Monsters 1996–1999, later Knoxville Speed Michigan Falcons 1991–1992, later Detroit Falcons

Missouri River Otters 1999–2006 Mohawk Valley Prowlers 1998– January, 2001 Motor City Mechanics 2004–2006 New Haven Knights 2000–2002 Ohio Gears December 20, 1999–2000, later Arctic Xpress Port Huron Beacons 2002–2005, later Roanoke Valley Vipers Port Huron Border Cats 1996–2002 Port Huron Flags 2005–2007 Quad City Mallards 1995–2007 Richmond RiverDogs 2003–2006, later Chicago Hounds Roanoke Valley Vipers 2005–2006 Rockford IceHogs 1999–2007 [9] Saginaw Gears 1998–December 19, 1999, later Ohio Gears Saginaw LumberKings 1996–1998, later Saginaw Gears Saginaw Wheels 1994–1996, later Saginaw LumberKings St. Thomas Wildcats 1991–1994, later London Wildcats Thunder Bay Senators 1993–1996, later Thunder Bay Thunder Cats Thunder Bay Thunder Cats 1996–1999, later Rockford IceHogs Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks 1991–1993, later Thunder Bay Senators Utica Bulldogs 1993–1994 Utica Blizzard 1994–1997 Winston-Salem IceHawks 1997–1999, later Adirondack IceHawks

[edit] See also

• Sports league attendances

[edit] References

1. ^ "Investors have an interest in the UHL," Portland Press Herald, May 28, 2000
2. ^ Report: AHL hockey team moving from Omaha to the Quad-Cities / QCTimes.com
3. ^ "Lockout's true victims cry out," Sunaya Sapurji, Toronto Star, November 17, 2004
4. ^ Mallards call conference / QCTimes.com
5. ^ Chicago News, Events and Culture | Chi-Town Daily News | Put theUHL on a dead pool list
6. ^ Gauntlet Sports - The improbable and fantastic journey of Drayton Valley's Eric Schneider
7. ^ "IBL team has to play it just right," Krista Latham, Detroit Free Press, February 3, 2005
8. ^ Jackals moved to ECHL - http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news&cat=1&id=10749
9. ^ Had assets bought out by Rockford IceHogs of American Hockey League - http://www.theahl.com/news/league/index.html?article_id=7559

[edit] External links

• Official IHL website
• UHL Yearly Standings

v • d • e International Hockey League (IHL, UHL, CoHL) IHL teams Bloomington PrairieThunder • Flint Generals • Fort Wayne Komets • Kalamazoo Wings • Muskegon Fury • Port Huron Icehawks UHL teams (1997-2007) Adirondack Frostbite • Adirondack IceHawks • Asheville Smoke • B.C. Icemen • Brantford Smoke • Chicago Hounds • Columbus Stars • Danbury Trashers • Elmira Jackals • Kansas City Outlaws • Knoxville Speed • Madison Kodiaks • Madison Monsters • Missouri River Otters • Motor City Mechanics • Ohio Gears • Port Huron Beacons • Port Huron Border Cats • Port Huron Flags • Quad City Mallards • Richmond RiverDogs • Roanoke Valley Vipers • Rockford IceHogs • Saginaw Gears • Saginaw LumberKings • Thunder Bay Thunder Cats • Winston-Salem IceHawks CoHL teams (1991-1997) Brantford Smoke • Chatham Wheels • Dayton Ice Bandits • Detroit Falcons • Flint Bulldogs • London Wildcats • Madison Monsters • Michigan Falcons • Mohawk Valley Prowlers • New Haven Knights • Port Huron Border Cats • Quad City Mallards • Saginaw LumberKings • Saginaw Wheels • St. Thomas Wildcats • Thunder Bay Senators • Thunder Bay Thunder Cats • Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks • Utica Blizzard • Utica Bulldogs Proposed teams Arctic Xpress / Canton Xpress / Canton Ice Patrol • Lehigh Valley Xtreme Related articles: Colonial Cup  · Huber Trophy  · Other Professional Hockey leagues

v • d • e Professional ice hockey leagues in North America National Hockey League Minor Leagues High Level: American Hockey League Mid Level: ECHL • CHL • IHL Low Level: EPHL  • SPHL  • MAHL  • LNAH  • MWHL Related article: List of ice hockey leagues