Wichita Falls Wildcats
| Wichita Falls Wildcats | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Wichita Falls, Texas |
| League | NAHL |
| Division | South |
| Founded | 1993 (In the AFHL) |
| Home arena | Kay Yeager Coliseum |
| Colors |
Black, Red, and White |
| Owner(s) | Roy Davoult, Alex Shnayderman |
| General manager | Paul Baxter |
| Head coach | John LaFontaine (2014-Present) |
| Media | YouTube, FASTHockey |
| Franchise history | |
| 1993–1996 | Vail Avalanche |
| 1996–2002 | Butte Irish |
| 2002–2004 | Wichita Falls Rustlers |
| 2004–present | Wichita Falls Wildcats |
The Wichita Falls Wildcats are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's South Division. The Wildcats play out of the 7,380-seat Kay Yeager Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas. The head coach of the team for the 2015–16 season is John LaFontaine, his second season with the team.
History
Previously known as the Wichita Falls Rustlers (and before this, the Butte Irish of Butte, Montana and the Vail Avalanche of Vail, Colorado), the franchise was a part of the American Frontier/America West Hockey League prior to 2003, and became an NAHL team after the two leagues merged for the 2003–04 season. The Irish, Rustlers, and Wildcats are technically three separate franchises, but with a major overlap of players and coaches between the organizations, they are often listed together as one.
Broadcasting
The team's games are broadcast over the internet via FASTHockey. Audio Broadcasting is provided on the team's YouTube channel.
Season-by-season records
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs | Avg Attend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vail Avalanche (AFHL) | |||||||||||
| 1993–94 | Statistics unavailable | ||||||||||
| 1994–95 | Statistics unavailable | League Champions | |||||||||
| 1995–96 | Statistics unavailable | ||||||||||
| Butte Irish (AFHL) | |||||||||||
| 1996–97 | 60 | 38 | 17 | 5 | 81 | 264 | 181 | N/A | 2nd | Lost in Finals | |
| 1997–98 | 60 | 25 | 33 | 2 | 52 | 229 | 264 | N/A | 6th | Did not qualify | |
| Butte Irish (AWHL) | |||||||||||
| 1998–99 | 60 | 32 | 23 | 5 | 69 | 224 | 238 | N/A | 3rd | Lost in Semifinals | |
| 1999–00 | 58 | 23 | 32 | 3 | 49 | 205 | 263 | 1,283 | 6th | Lost in 1st Round | |
| 2000–01 | 60 | 6 | 51 | 3 | 15 | 166 | 345 | 1,969 | 8th | Lost in 1st Round | |
| 2001–02 | 56 | 21 | 28 | 7 | 49 | 214 | 240 | N/A | 8th | Lost in 1st Round | |
| Wichita Falls Rustlers (AWHL) | |||||||||||
| 2002–03 | 56 | 43 | 11 | 2 | 88 | 215 | 115 | 1,255 | 1st, South | Lost in Semifinals | |
| Wichita Falls Rustlers (NAHL) | |||||||||||
| 2003–04 | 56 | 29 | 20 | 7 | 65 | 200 | 172 | 1,039 | 3rd, South | N/A | |
| Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL) | |||||||||||
| 2004–05 | 56 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 63 | 206 | 218 | 1,163 | 4th, South | Lost 1st Round, 0-3 vs. Texas Tornado | 1,948 |
| 2005–06 | 58 | 26 | 28 | 4 | 56 | 171 | 189 | 1,045 | 4th, South | Lost 1st Round, 2-3 vs. Texas Tornado | 1,987 |
| 2006–07 | 62 | 22 | 34 | 6 | 50 | 175 | 227 | 1,126 | 5th, South | Did not qualify | 1,872 |
| 2007–08 | 58 | 38 | 18 | 2 | 78 | 221 | 181 | 1,715 | 3rd, South | Lost 1st Round, 1-3 vs. Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 1,890 |
| 2008–09 | 58 | 24 | 25 | 9 | 57 | 163 | 203 | 1,695 | 3rd, South | Lost 1st Round, 2-3 vs. Topeka RoadRunners | 1,826 |
| 2009–10 | 58 | 18 | 34 | 6 | 42 | 175 | 251 | 1,530 | 5th, South | Did not qualify | 1,907 |
| 2010–11 | 58 | 26 | 27 | 5 | 57 | 189 | 190 | 1,527 | 4th, South | Lost Div. Semifinals, 2-3 vs. Topeka RoadRunners | 1,894 |
| 2011–12 | 60 | 20 | 35 | 5 | 45 | 149 | 204 | 1.134 | 6th, South | Did not qualify | 2,038 |
| 2012–13 | 60 | 26 | 30 | 4 | 56 | 183 | 200 | 955 | 5th, South | Did not qualify | 1,895 |
| 2013–14 | 60 | 31 | 25 | 4 | 66 | 170 | 157 | 1,170 | 4th, South | Lost Div. Semifinals, 0-3 vs. Amarillo | 1,506 |
| 2014–15 | 60 | 39 | 16 | 5 | 83 | 242 | 182 | 858 | 3rd, South | Won Play-in series, 2-0 vs. Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees Lost 1st Round, 1-3 vs. Topeka RoadRunners | 1,593 |
| 2015–16 | 60 | 44 | 11 | 5 | 93 | 224 | 141 | 1,093 | 1st, South | Won Div. Semifinals, 3-0 vs. Odessa Jackalopes Won Div. Finals, 3-0 vs. Topeka RoadRunners TBD RCC Semifinals, 0-0 vs. pending | 1,659 |
2015–16 roster
Goaltenders
30 Sime, Julian
31 Kapelmaster, Justin
Defensemen
2 Cronin, Holden
4 Dalton, Jake
5 Gilreath, Noah
6 Cypas, Domantas
8 Hines, Matt
11 Russell, Rourke
16 Baum, Jeff
23 Rounds, Michael
Forwards
7 Lown, Ben
9 VanWyhe, Garrett
12 Goodsir, Adam
17 Burnett, Ryan
18 Beaulieu, Austin
20 Pison, Andre
21 Poikola, Aleksi
22 Lazarus, Jonathan
24 Rosa, Nick
25 Litviak, Nikita
26 Jaeger, Erich
27 Albrecht, Austin
28 Dillinger, Trent
Notable alumni
- Zach Trotman (Boston Bruins NHL)
- Evan Cowley (Florida Panthers NHL)
- Dan Sexton (HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL)
- Dakota Klecha (Orlik Opole, Poland)
- Luke Salazar (Manchester Storm, EIHL)
- Cal Heeter (Hamburg Freezers, DEL)
- Jack Wolgemuth (Melbourne Mustangs, AIHL)
- Chad Costello (Allen Americans ECHL)
- Andrew Conboy (Elmira Jackals ECHL)
- Kyle Kraemer (Ontario Reign, ECHL)
- Daniel Gentzler (Elmira Jackals, ECHL)
- Anthony Iaquinto (Toledo Walleye, ECHL)
- J.J. Waldrop (Bakersfield Condors, ECHL)
- Brett Hartung (Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL)
- Kyle De Laurell (Bakersfield Condors, ECHL)
- Shea Walters (South Carolina Stingrays, ECHL)
- Chris Nutini (Utah Grizzlies, ECHL)
- Zack Josepher (Huntsville Havoc, SPHL)
- Steven Hoshaw (Fayetteville FireAntz, SPHL)
- Chris Rial (Columbus Cottonmouths, SPHL)
- Nick Klaren (Mississippi Surge, SPHL)
- Wade Bennett (Denver)
- Sean Duddy (Ohio State)
- Jeff McNeil (Ohio State)
- Adam Cardwell (Alaska)
- Michael Hill (Alaska)
- Ricky Doriott (Michigan Tech)
- Kyle McMahon (Michigan State)
- Aaron Quick (Air Force)
- Nick Shkreli (Lake Superior State)
- Zach Ledford (Bentley)
- Brandon Stroud (Sacred Heart)
- Brian Sheehan (Sacred Heart)
- Brent Sarcone (Rochester Institute of Technology)
- Dan Dileo (Cornell University)
- Chris Ochoa (University of Connecticut)
- Kyle Gallegos (Tufts University)
- Mike Henderson (Army)
- P.J. Musico (Penn State)
References
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
