Billings Bulls
| Billings Bulls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Billings, Montana |
| League | NA3HL |
| Division | Frontier |
| Founded | 1993 (In the AFHL) |
| Home arena | Centennial Ice Arena |
| Colors |
Blue, Red, White, and Vegas Gold |
| Owner(s) |
Chris Dunbar Joe Robilard |
| Head coach | Michael Richardson |
| Media | Billings Gazette (Greg Rachac) |
| Website | billingsbulls.com |
| Franchise history | |
| 1993–present | Billings Bulls |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 5 1993-94, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2002-03, 2003-04 |
| Gold Cup appearances | 5 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2002-03 |
| Borne Cups | 5 (AFHL/AWHL/NAHL) 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 |
| Cascade Cups | 0 (NorPac) |
The Billings Bulls are a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team currently playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The Bulls are based in Billings, Montana and play home games at the 550-seat Centennial Ice Arena. Due to the arena's small size, the Bulls frequently sell out games and broadcast their games on internet radio. They previously played their home games in the Metrapark which had a max capacity of 9,000 for hockey games. However, a negotiating dispute with arena officials and local county commissioners resulted in the team losing its lease.
History
The Bulls joined the American Frontier Hockey League in 1993 which became the America West Hockey League (AWHL) in 1998.[1] The Bulls joined the Tier II Jr. A North American Hockey League in 2003 when the AWHL merged with the NAHL (keeping the NAHL name). The team played in the NAHL from 2003 to 2006 until the team and their rivals, the Bozeman Icedogs and Helena Bighorns, left to join the Northern Pacific Hockey League (NorPac), a regional league in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. When they joined the NorPac, the league was Tier III Junior B but promoted to Tier III Junior A by USA Hockey in 2007. In 2011, the Montana teams in the NorPac left the league to form the new regional American West Hockey League, made up of teams in Montana and Wyoming, including the Bulls. In March 2014, the new AWHL joined the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) as the Frontier Division.[2]
Previous leagues
- 1993–1998 American Frontier Hockey League
- 1998–2003 America West Hockey League
- 2003–2006 North American Hockey League
- 2006–2011 Northern Pacific Hockey League
- 2011–2014 American West Hockey League
- 2014–present North American 3 Hockey League
Season-by-season records
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North American 3 Hockey League | |||||||||||
| 2014–15 | 47 | 25 | 16 | 6 | 56 | 161 | 140 | 610 | 4th of 7, Frontier Div. 16th of 31, NA3HL | Lost Div. Semifinal, 0-2 vs. Great Falls Americans | |
| 2015–16 | 47 | 9 | 32 | 6 | 24 | 121 | 237 | 686 | 6th of 7, Frontier Div. 27th of 34, NA3HL | Did not qualify | |
NHL alumni
The franchise has developed a number of collegiate and professional players, but only two have played in the NHL[3]
- Chris Holt, G (University of Nebraska-Omaha, recently with Braehead Clan) of the EIHL, formerly of the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues.
- Brian Lee, D retired, formerly of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators.
Other notable alumni with professional experience
- Jake Doty, F (currently with Chicago Wolves of the AHL)
- Jon Booras, F (Lake Superior State University, currently with DVTK Jegesmedvék of the MOL Liga)
- Brad Gorham, D (University of Alaska Anchorage, last with the Alaska Aces of the ECHL)
- Mathias Lange, G (currently with Iserlohn Roosters of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga)
- Zach Tarkir, D (Northern Michigan University, last played for IF Troja/Ljungby of the HockeyAllsvenskan)
- Jeff Hazelwood, F (last played for Las Vegas Wranglers)
- Kevin Ulanski, C (University of Denver, last played for the Bentley Generals)
- Tom Reimann, D (University of Maine, last played for Colorado Eagles)
- Dan Knapp, D (University of Nebraska-Omaha, last played for Ontario Reign)
- Jordan Hines, F (University of Findlay, last played for Fort Worth Fire)
- Trevor Hammer, D (University of North Dakota, last played for Florida Seals)
References
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||
