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International Hockey League (2007–2010)
IHL2007
International Hockey League logo
Sport Ice hockey
Founded 1991
Country(ies) Flag of the United States United States
Ceased 2010
Most championships Fort Wayne Komets & Muskegon Fury (4)
Official website www.ihl-hockey.com

The International Hockey League was a AA level professional league with teams in the United States. The league was headquartered in Rochester, Michigan prior to the merger, and as of its' last year, consisted of seven teams.

History[]

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 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. The Fort Wayne Komets were longstanding members of the original league. In addition, the Kalamazoo Wings and Flint Generals revived the names of the original Kalamazoo and Flint IHL teams. Many of the current IHL players have American Hockey League as well as European pro league experience.

On June 27, 2007, a dispersal draft was held among the six IHL teams, selecting players from the four 2006-2007 UHL franchises that were 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.

On June 1, 2010 the league announced that it would merge into the Central Hockey League.[1]

On July 13, 2010 the Central Hockey League merged with the IHL. The five remaining IHL teams, Bloomington PrairieThunder, Dayton Gems, Evansville IceMen, Fort Wayne Komets and Quad City Mallards franchises officially merged.

Colonial/Turner Cup champions[]

Colonialcup

The IHL's Colonial Cup, used through 2007.

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:

Season Regular Season Champions Colonial Cup/Turner Cup Champions
1991-92 Michigan Falcons Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks
1992-93 Brantford Smoke Brantford Smoke
1993-94 Thunder Bay Senators Thunder Bay Senators
1994-95 Thunder Bay Senators Thunder Bay Senators
1995-96 Flint Generals Flint Generals
1996-97 Flint Generals Quad City Mallards
1997-98 Quad City Mallards Quad City Mallards
1998-99 Muskegon Fury Muskegon Fury
1999-00 Flint Generals Flint Generals
2000-01 Quad City Mallards Quad City Mallards
2001-02 Quad City Mallards Muskegon Fury
2002-03 Fort Wayne Komets Fort Wayne Komets
2003-04 Fort Wayne Komets Muskegon Fury
2004-05 Muskegon Fury Muskegon Fury
2005-06 Kalamazoo Wings Kalamazoo Wings
2006-07 Fort Wayne Komets Rockford IceHogs
2007-08 Fort Wayne Komets Fort Wayne Komets
2008-09 Fort Wayne Komets Fort Wayne Komets
2009-10 Muskegon Lumberjacks Fort Wayne Komets

Teams[]

United Hockey League 1997-2007[]

Team name City Arena Years Comments
B.C. Icemen Binghamton, New York Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena 1997-2002 folded when city gets American Hockey League team
Brantford Smoke Brantford, Ontario Brantford Civic Centre 1997-1998 relocated to Asheville, North Carolina; renamed Asheville Smoke
Flint Generals (1993–2010) Flint, Michigan IMA Sports Arena 1997-2007 join International Hockey League (2007-2010)
Madison Monsters Madison, Wisconsin Dane County Coliseum 1997-1999 relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee; renamed Knoxville Speed
Muskegon Fury Muskegon, Michigan L.C. Walker Arena 1997-2007 join International Hockey League (2007-2010)
Port Huron Border Cats Port Huron, Michigan McMorran Arena 1997-2002 folded; replaced by Port Huron Beacons
Quad City Mallards (1995–2007) Moline, Illinois The MARK of the Quad Cities 1997-2007 folded when city gets American Hockey League team
Saginaw Lumber Kings Saginaw, Michigan Wendler Arena 1997-1998 renamed Saginaw Gears (UHL)
Thunder Bay Thunder Cats Thunder Bay, Ontario Fort William Gardens 1997-1999 moved to Rockford, Illinois; renamed Rockford IceHogs (UHL)
Winston-Salem IceHawks Winston-Salem, North Carolina LJVM Coliseum Annex 1997-1999 relocated to Glens Falls, New York; renamed Adirondack IceHawks
Asheville Smoke Asheville, North Carolina Asheville Civic Center 1998-2002 folded
Mohawk Valley Prowlers Utica, New York Utica Memorial Auditorium 1998-2001 folded February 21, 2001
Saginaw Gears (UHL) Saginaw, Michigan Wendler Arena 1998-1999 moved to North Canton, Ohio December 20, 1999; renamed Ohio Gears
Adirondack IceHawks Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls Civic Center 1999-2004 renamed Adirondack Frostbite
Fort Wayne Komets Fort Wayne, Indiana Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 1999-2007 join International Hockey League (2007-2010)
Knoxville Speed Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville Civic Coliseum 1999-2002 folded
Madison Kodiaks Madison, Wisconsin Dane County Coliseum 1999-2000 relocated to Kalamazoo, Michigan; renamed Kalamazoo Wings
Missouri River Otters St. Charles, Missouri Family Arena 1999-2006 folded
Rockford IceHogs (UHL) Rockford, Illinois Rockford MetroCentre 1999-2007 fold when city get American Hockey League team
Ohio Gears North Canton, Ohio Center Ice Sports Complex 1999-2000 folded after sitting out waiting on planned arena in Massillon, Ohio to come to fruit, which didn't happen
Elmira Jackals Elmira, New York Coach USA Center 2000-2007 fold when league was in proces of being renamed International Hockey League (2007-2010)
Kalamazoo Wings Kalamazoo, Michigan Wings Stadium 2000-2007 join International Hockey League (2007-2010)
New Haven Knights New Haven, Connecticut New Haven Coliseum 2000-2002 fold when arena closes
Port Huron Beacons Port Huron, Michigan McMorran Arena 2002-2005 relocated to Roanoke, Virginia; renamed Roanoke Valley Vipers
Columbus Stars Columbus, Ohio Ohio Expo Center Coliseum 2003-2004 folded January 9, 2004
Richmond Riverdogs Richmond, Virginia Richmond Coliseum 2003-2006 relocated to Hoffman Estates, Illinois; renamed Chicago Hounds
Adirondack Frostbite Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls Civic Center 2004-2006 folded
Danbury Trashers Danbury, Connecticut Danbury Ice Arena 2004-2006 folded
Kansas City Outlaws Kansas City, Missouri Kemper Arena 2004-2005 folded
Motor City Mechanics Fraser, Michigan Great Lakes Sports City Superior Arena 2004-2006 folded
Port Huron Flags (UHL) Port Huron, Michigan McMorran Arena 2005-2007 join International Hockey League (2007-2010) as Port Huron Icehawks
Roanoke Valley Vipers Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke Civic Center 2005-2006 folded
Bloomington PrairieThunder Bloomington, Illinois U.S. Cellular Center 2006-2007 join International Hockey League (2007-2010)
Chicago Hounds Hoffman Estates, Illinois Sears Centre 2006-2007 fold when league was in process of being renamed International Hockey League (2007-2010)

International Hockey league (2007-2010)[]

Team name City Arena Years Comments
Bloomington PrairieThunder Bloomington, Illinois U.S. Cellular Center 2007-2010 join Central Hockey League
Flint Generals (1993–2010) Flint, Michigan IMA Sports Arena 2007-2010 fold pro team; join North American Hockey League as Michigan Warriors
Fort Wayne Komets Fort Wayne, Indiana Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 2007-2010 join Central Hockey League
Kalamazoo Wings Kalamazoo, Michigan Wings Stadium 2007-2009 join ECHL
Muskegon Fury Muskegon, Michigan L.C. Walker Arena 2007-2008 renamed Muskegon Lumberjacks (1992-2010)
Port Huron Icehawks Port Huron, Michigan McMorran Arena 2007-2010 fold pro team;
Muskegon Lumberjacks (1992-2010) Muskegon, Michigan L.C. Walker Arena 2008-2010 fold pro team; join United States Hockey League as Muskegon Lumberjacks (2010–)
Dayton Gems (2009-) Dayton, Ohio Hara Arena 2009-2010 join Central Hockey League
Quad City Mallards (2009–2018) Moline, Illinois The MARK of the Quad Cities 2009-2010 join Central Hockey League

External links[]


This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at International Hockey League (2007–2010). 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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