Billings Bulls

Last updated
Billings Bulls
BillingsBulls logo.png
City Billings, Montana
League NA3HL
DivisionFrontier
Founded1993 (In the AFHL)
Home arena Centennial Ice Arena
ColorsBlue, red, white, and gold
    
Owner(s)Chris Dunbar
Joe Robilard
General managerCory Thorson
Head coachCory Thorson [1]
Media Billings Gazette (Greg Rachac)
Website billingsbulls.com
Franchise history
1993–2017Billings Bulls
Championships
Regular season titles5 1993-94, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2002-03, 2003-04
Gold Cup appearances5 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2002-03
Borne Cups5 (AFHL/AWHL/NAHL) 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99
Cascade Cups0 (NorPac)

The Billings Bulls were a junior ice hockey organization based in Billings, Montana. They most recently played home games at the 550-seat Centennial Ice Arena and due to the arena's small size, the Bulls frequently sold-out games. 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.

Contents

History

The Bulls joined the American Frontier Hockey League in 1993 which became the America West Hockey League (AWHL) in 1998. [2] 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. [3]

On the opening weekend of the 2017–18 NA3HL season, the Bulls announced they would be going dormant due to lack of players. [4] At the time, the Bulls were the second-oldest organization in the NA3HL, behind only the St. Louis Jr. Blues.

Previous leagues

Season-by-season records

SeasonGPWLOTLPtsGFGAPIMRegular Season FinishPlayoffs
North American 3 Hockey League
2014–154725166561611406104th of 7, Frontier Div.
16th of 31, NA3HL		Lost Div. Semifinal, 0–2 vs. Great Falls Americans
2015–16479326241212376866th of 7, Frontier Div.
27th of 34, NA3HL		Did not qualify
2016–174754111110435614496th of 8, Frontier Div.
46th of 48, NA3HL		Did not qualify

NHL alumni

The franchise developed a number of collegiate and professional players, but only two have played in the NHL [5]

Other notable alumni with professional or major college/junior experience

Stormy Knight, LW last played for Seattle Totems of the NPHL (current commissioner of The Mad House fantasy football league)

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References

  1. ↑ "Billings Bulls name Thorson as new head coach". NA3HL. June 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Standings for the Billings Bulls of the AWHL at hockeydb.com". Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  3. ↑ "AWHL to join NA3HL in 2014-15". North American Tier III Hockey League (NA3HL).
  4. ↑ "NA3HL's Billings Bulls Shot In The Head". The Junior Hockey News. September 9, 2017.
  5. ↑ "NORPAC Billings Bulls Hockey Club | Alumni". Archived from the original on 2010-08-13. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
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