History
The early 1970s saw an unprecedented boom in the popularity of hockey in the greater Boston area, fueled by the success of the Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito-led Boston Bruins. The Bruins had sold out all of their home games at the Boston Garden for years, and the team owners thought that placing their minor-league affiliate in the same arena made sense on several levels. Previously, the Bruins' top affiliates were the Hershey Bears of the AHL and the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League.
The team was named after the eponymous National League baseball team that had played in Boston until 1953 — which had been owned by Charles F. Adams, founder of the Bruins, during the 1930s. The first season of the AHL Braves, under coach Bep Guidolin, was wildly successful. Behind a powerful club led by future NHL stars Dan Bouchard and Rich Leduc, and with other veteran minor-leaguers and future NHL players such as Doug Roberts, Terry O'Reilly, Ross Brooks, Nick Beverley, Garry Peters and Don Tannahill, the club tied for first place in its division with the powerful Nova Scotia Voyageurs with a 41-21-14 mark, while proving popular enough in Boston to set league records for single-game and single-season attendance that survived for decades.
In its second season, however, competition from the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) served to saturate the market. Furthermore, NHL expansion cost the team its best player, Bouchard, who had been picked by the Atlanta Flames, while WHA defections caused the recall of Brooks to the parent club and the departure of Roberts and Peters to the rival league. While scoring declined only slightly, the defense was notably poorer. The team still finished second in the division with a 34-29-13 mark, but attendance had nearly halved.
In the Braves' third and final season, the defense collapsed to the point where the team finished out of the playoffs after a 23-40-13 record. With attendance dwindling further and the ebbing of the hockey boom itself in New England, Bruins' management decided to suspend the team; the next season saw the Bruins affiliating with the Rochester Americans (whose coach and general manager, Don Cherry, had just become the Bruins' head coach.)
The Bruins maintained the franchise's existence for many years, paying a nominal fee to the league to keep it dormant, finally selling its rights to the Winnipeg Jets in 1987 so that the Jets could move it to the Maritimes to become the Moncton Hawks.
The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with the New York Islanders, the Flames were created in 1971 as part of the NHL's conflict with the rival World Hockey Association (WHA). The team enjoyed modest success on the ice, qualifying for the playoffs in six of its eight seasons, but failed to win a playoff series and won only two post-season games total. The franchise struggled to draw fans and, after averaging only 10,000 per game by the 1979–80 season and was sold and relocated to Alberta to become the Calgary Flames.
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Joseph Denis Stéphan Bégin ; born June 14, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in 13 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons. He was a second-round selection of the Calgary Flames, 40th overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, and played with the Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators in his NHL career. After missing a full season due to injury, Bégin made a successful comeback by rejoining the Flames in 2012–13 before another injury forced his retirement.
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Daniel Hector Bouchard is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Atlanta Flames, Calgary Flames, Quebec Nordiques, and original Winnipeg Jets.
Edward Joseph "Terrible Ted" Green was a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and player. Green played defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins and in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the New England Whalers and Winnipeg Jets, and was noted for his physical play. Green served as a head coach with the Edmonton Oilers, and was an assistant coach with the Oilers and the New York Rangers.
Richard David "Nifty" Middleton is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League.
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James Duncan Wiemer is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1983 and 1993.
The New Haven Nighthawks were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the New York Islanders (1972–1973), Minnesota North Stars (1972–1977), New York Rangers, and Los Angeles Kings (1981–1991). The team played their home games at New Haven Coliseum.
The Philadelphia Firebirds were a minor league professional ice hockey team that played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1974 to 1979, and later the franchise moved to Syracuse, New York, and played one final season as the Syracuse Firebirds. From 1974 to 1977 the Firebirds were a member club of the North American Hockey League. The Firebirds won the Lockhart Cup as NAHL playoff champions in 1976. When the NAHL folded in 1977, the Firebirds then played the American Hockey League from 1977 to 1980.
Robert Brian Ftorek is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was enshrined as member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.
Robert Allan Murray is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is the head coach of the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL. Murray played much of his career as captain of the American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons. He holds team records in single season penalty minutes (373), career assists (157), penalty minutes (1529), and games (501). His number 23 was retired by the Falcons, and remains honored by the successor team in the market, the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Peter W. Douris is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League from 1985 to 1998.
Réjean M. "Reggie" Lemelin is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and coach. Lemelin played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Flames, Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins. He is perhaps best known for leading the Bruins over the Montreal Canadiens for the first time since 1943, a span of 45 years and 18 series, in the 1988 playoffs. After his playing career, Lemelin spent 13 years as a goaltending coach for the Philadelphia Flyers, who had originally drafted him into the NHL.
Robert Richard Sheehan is an American former professional ice hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1969 and 1982 as a center.
Gordon Corson Clark and raised in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada) is a retired ice hockey right winger. He played 8 games in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins and 21 in the WHA for the Cincinnati Stingers between 1974 and 1979. He was the assistant coach for the Boston Bruins for a few years in the early 1990s. He is currently a scout for the Montreal Canadiens. He won a Calder Cup as a member of the American Hockey League (AHL) champion Maine Mariners.
