Amarillo Bulls

Amarillo Bulls
City Amarillo, Texas
League NAHL
Division South
Founded 2008
Home arena Amarillo Civic Center
Colors Scarlet Red, Navy Blue, and Gold
              
Owner(s) Consolidated Sports Holdings USA, Inc. (Bill Yuill, CEO; Gary Gelinas, President)
General manager Rick Matchett (2013–14)
Head coach Matt Nicholson (2015–16)
Media Denis Puska
Franchise history
2008–2010 Albert Lea Thunder
2010–present Amarillo Bulls
Championships
Playoff championships Robertson Cup
1 (2012–13)

The Amarillo Bulls are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based out of Amarillo, Texas. A member of the North American Hockey League's South Division, the team plays their home games in the Amarillo Civic Center.[1]

History

The franchise joined the NAHL as the Albert Lea Thunder, located in Albert Lea, Minnesota in 2008. During the second season, issues with ownership forced the league to step in to keep the team playing.[2] On May 11, 2010, it was reported that the team had found new owners and would relocate to Texas for the 2010–11 season.[3] Their franchise and roster was officially sold to the Amarillo, TX ownership on May 26, 2010. On June 18, 2010 the team announced the new name, logo and colors of the team after a name-the-team contest.[4]

The team announced the new coach as Denis Williams, former NCAA Division I coach at Bowling Green.[5] On May 13, 2013, the Bulls captured their first Robertson Cup Championship defeating the Wenatchee Wild 5-0 in the championship game. Following the 2013–14 season Coach Williams was named as the head coach of the expansion Bloomington Thunder of the United States Hockey League, a Tier I team and a recent addition to the Consolidated Sports Holdings portfolio.

Season-by-season records

Season GP W L OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
Albert Lea Thunder
2008–09 58 4 49 5 13 112 309 1,497 5th of 5, Central Did not qualify
2009–10 58 19 34 5 43 153 231 1,345 4th of 5, Central Lost in 1st Round
Amarillo Bulls
2010–11 58 36 16 6 78 209 171 1,637 2nd of 6, South Lost Robertson Cup Semifinal
2011–12 60 46 7 7 99 263 136 1,550 1st of 7, South Lost Robertson Cup Semifinal
2012–13 60 46 7 7 99 248 118 1,268 1st of 6, South Robertson Cup Champions
2013–14 60 40 15 6 86 207 120 1,395 1st of 7, South Lost in Division Finals
2014–15 60 25 31 4 54 174 222 1,493 7th of 8, South Did not qualify
2015–16 60 13 43 4 30 133 218 1,211 6th of 6, South Did not qualify

Playoffs

First Round – Bismarck Bobcats defeated Albert Lea Thunder, 3-games-to-0
Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Texas Tornado, 3-games-to-1
Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Topeka RoadRunners, 3-games-to-2
Robertson Cup Round Robin – Amarillo Bulls (2-1) - Qualify for Semifinal Game, (W, 5-2 vs. Warriors; W, 5-3 vs. RoadRunners; L, 1-2 vs. Ice Dogs)
Robertson Cup Semifinal Game – Michigan Warriors defeated Amarillo Bulls, 6-2
Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Odessa Jackalopes, 3-games-to-1
Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Topeka RoadRunners, 3-games-to-1
Robertson Cup Round Robin – Amarillo Bulls (1-2) - Qualify for Semifinal, (OTW, 3-2 vs. Tornado; L, 1-3 vs. Ice Dogs; L, 2-6 vs. Bobcats)
Robertson Cup Semifinal Game – St. Louis Bandits defeated Amarillo Bulls, 3-2
Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Corpus Christi IceRays, 3-games-to-1
Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Texas Tornado, 3-games-to-0
Robertson Cup Round Robin – Amarillo Bulls (2-1) - Qualify for Championship Game, (OTW, 2-1 vs. Ironmmen; OTW, 2-1 vs. Bobcats; L, 0-7 vs. Wild)
Robertson Cup Final – Amarillo Bulls defeated Wenatchee Wild, 5-0
Robertson Cup Champions
Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Wichita Falls Wildcats, 3-games-to-0
Division Finals – Topeka RoadRunners defeated Amarillo Bulls, 3-games-to-2

References

  1. ↑ http://www.nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=1616
  2. ↑ NAHL finds Thunder guilty of pay-to-play
  3. ↑ Albert Lea, Mason City Lose NAHL Teams
  4. ↑ http://www.nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=1643
  5. ↑ http://www.nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=1641

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 11, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.