International Hockey League (2007–) Explained

Pixels:	150px
Sport:	Ice hockey
Founded:	1991
Teams:	6
Champion:	Fort Wayne Komets
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 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 a longstanding member 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 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.

The IHL owns a minor league: The All American Hockey Association

2008–09 Teams

Team	Founded	Home Arena	City	AHL affiliate (higher)	AAHA affiliate (lower)
Bloomington PrairieThunder	2006	U.S. Cellular Coliseum	Bloomington, Illinois	Peoria Rivermen Quad City Flames	Chi-Town Shooters
Flint Generals	1993	Perani Arena and Event Center	Flint, Michigan	Grand Rapids Griffins	Chicago Blaze
Fort Wayne Komets	1952	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum	Fort Wayne, Indiana
Kalamazoo Wings	1999	Wings Stadium	Kalamazoo, Michigan	Grand Rapids Griffins	Evansville IceMen
Muskegon Lumberjacks	1992	L. C. Walker Arena	Muskegon, Michigan	Grand Rapids Griffins	Evansville IceMen
Port Huron Icehawks	2007	McMorran Arena	Port Huron, Michigan	Detroit Red Wings (NHL)

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 - First Winners of new Turner Cup era
2007 - Rockford IceHogs - Last team to hold Colonial Cup
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

Expansion

Year	Teams	Expansion	Defunct	Suspended	Return from Hiatus	Relocated	Name Changes
1991	ALIGN=CENTER	5	VALIGN=TOP	Brantford Smoke Flint Bulldogs Michigan Falcons Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks St. Thomas Wildcats
1992	ALIGN=CENTER	7	VALIGN=TOP	Chatham Wheels Muskegon Fury					VALIGN=TOP	Detroit Falcons (Michigan) Thunder Bay Thunder Cats (Thunder Hawks)
1993	ALIGN=CENTER	8	VALIGN=TOP	Flint Generals				VALIGN=TOP	Flint → Utica Bulldogs	VALIGN=TOP	Thunder Bay Senators (Thunder Cats)
1994	ALIGN=CENTER	8					VALIGN=TOP	Chatham → Saginaw Wheels St. Thomas → London Wildcats	VALIGN=TOP	Flint Generals (Bulldogs) Utica Blizzard (Bulldogs)
1995	ALIGN=CENTER	9	VALIGN=TOP	Quad City Mallards Madison Monsters		VALIGN=TOP	London Wildcats
1996	ALIGN=CENTER	10	VALIGN=TOP				VALIGN=TOP	London Wildcats	VALIGN=TOP	Detroit → Port Huron Border Cats London → Dayton Ice Bandits	VALIGN=TOP	Saginaw Lumber Kings (Wheels) Thunder Bay Thunder Cats (Senators)
1997	ALIGN=CENTER	10	VALIGN=TOP	B.C. Icemen Winston-Salem IceHawks	VALIGN=TOP	Utica Blizzard	VALIGN=TOP	Dayton Ice Bandits	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP
1998	ALIGN=CENTER	11	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP	Dayton Ice Bandits	VALIGN=TOP	Brantford → Asheville Smoke Dayton → Mohawk Valley Prowlers	VALIGN=TOP	Saginaw Gears (Lumber Kings)
1999	ALIGN=CENTER	14	VALIGN=TOP	Fort Wayne Komets Madison Kodiaks Missouri River Otters	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP	Madison → Knoxville Speed Saginaw → Ohio Gears Thunder Bay → Rockford Icehogs Winston-Salem → Adirondack IceHawks	VALIGN=TOP
2000	ALIGN=CENTER	15	VALIGN=TOP	Elmira Jackals New Haven Knights	VALIGN=TOP	Mohawk Valley Prowlers (mid-season) Ohio Gears	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP	Madison → Kalamazoo Wings	VALIGN=TOP
2001	ALIGN=CENTER	14	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP
2002	ALIGN=CENTER	10	VALIGN=TOP	Port Huron Beacons	VALIGN=TOP	Asheville Smoke B.C. Icemen Knoxville Speed New Haven Knights Port Huron Border Cats	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP
2003	ALIGN=CENTER	12	VALIGN=TOP	Columbus Stars Richmond RiverDogs	VALIGN=TOP	Columbus Stars (mid-season)	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP
2004	ALIGN=CENTER	14	VALIGN=TOP	Danbury Thrashers Kansas City Outlaws Motor City Mechanics	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP	Adirondack Frostbite (IceHawks)
2005	ALIGN=CENTER	14	VALIGN=TOP	Port Huron Flags	VALIGN=TOP	Kansas City Outlaws	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP	Port Huron → Roanoke Valley Vipers	VALIGN=TOP
2006	ALIGN=CENTER	10	VALIGN=TOP	Bloomington PrairieThunder	VALIGN=TOP	Adirondack Frostbite Danbury Trashers Missouri River Otters Motor City Mechanics Roanoke Valley Vipers	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP	Richmond → Chicago Hounds	VALIGN=TOP
2007	ALIGN=CENTER	6	VALIGN=TOP	Port Huron Icehawks	VALIGN=TOP	Chicago Hounds Elmira Jackals Port Huron Flags Quad City Mallards Rockford IceHogs	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP
2008	ALIGN=CENTER	6	VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP		VALIGN=TOP

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

References

"Investors have an interest in the UHL," Portland Press Herald, May 28, 2000
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/05/15/news/local/doc464a3e0694b79469104694.txt Report: AHL hockey team moving from Omaha to the Quad-Cities / QCTimes.com
"Lockout's true victims cry out," Sunaya Sapurji, Toronto Star, November 17, 2004
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/05/23/news/local/doc4654e4c9ad9bc691549463.txt Mallards call conference / QCTimes.com
http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Sports/2007/1/4/Put_theUHL_on_a_dead_pool_list Chicago News, Events and Culture | Chi-Town Daily News | Put theUHL on a dead pool list
http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/story/2362 Gauntlet Sports - The improbable and fantastic journey of Drayton Valley's Eric Schneider
"IBL team has to play it just right," Krista Latham, Detroit Free Press, February 3, 2005
Jackals moved to ECHL - http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news&cat=1&id=10749
Had assets bought out by Rockford IceHogs of American Hockey League - http://www.theahl.com/news/league/index.html?article_id=7559