The Amarillo Bulls were a Tier II junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team based in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

. They were a member of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

's South Division and played home games in the

Amarillo Civic Center The Amarillo Civic Center is a multi-purpose convention center in Amarillo, Texas. It consists of multiple facilities including: * A 2,848-seat auditorium with 2,324 permanent seats used for concerts, Broadway shows and other events. * The Ca ...

History

The franchise joined the NAHL as the Albert Lea Thunder, located in

Albert Lea, Minnesota Albert Lea ( ) is a city in Freeborn County, Minnesota, Freeborn County, in southern Minnesota. It is the county seat. Its population was 18,492 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is at the junction of Interstates Intersta ...

, in 2008. During the second season, issues with ownership forced the league to step in to keep the team playing. On May 11, 2010, it was reported that the team had found new owners and would relocate to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

for the 2010–11 season. Their franchise and roster were officially sold to the Amarillo ownership on May 26, 2010. On June 18, the team announced the new name, logo and colors of the team after a name-the-team contest. The Amarillo Bulls announced their inaugural coach as Denis Williams, former

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I coach at

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

. On May 13, 2013, the Bulls captured their first

Robertson Cup The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, an ...

Championship defeating the

Wenatchee Wild The Wenatchee Wild are an American major junior ice hockey team based in Wenatchee, Washington, and playing in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1996 as the Edmonton Ice, the franchise was known as the Winnipeg Ice from 2019 until 2023, wh ...

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 The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

, a

Tier I The WTA Tier I tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis elite tournaments held from 1990 until the end of the 2008 season. From 1988 to 1990, the different levels of WTA tournaments were referred to by the term 'Category', and there ...

team and a recent addition to the Consolidated Sports Holdings portfolio. In 2019, the team was sold to F&S Management Company LLC led by majority owner Alberto Fernandez. On March 5, 2021, it was announced that the team would relocate to

Mason City, Iowa Mason City is a city and the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,338 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mason City is known for its musical heritage, a significant ...

, starting in the 2021–22 season as the

North Iowa Bulls The North Iowa Bulls are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League (NAHL). They play their home games at the Mason City Multipurpose Arena in Mason City, Iowa. The organization also operates a Tier III junior team in t ...

, an organization that had been operating in the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, ...

and also owned by Fernandez. The Bulls were replaced in Amarillo by the Amarillo Wranglers in the 2021–22 season.

Season-by-season records

Playoffs

*2011 :Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated

Texas Tornado The Texas Tornado were a Junior A hockey team located in Frisco, Texas, USA. The team joined the North American Hockey League's Central division in 1999 (and moved into the newly formed southern division three years later) while located in Nor ...

, ''3-games-to-1'' :Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated

Topeka RoadRunners Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

, ''3-games-to-2'' :Robertson Cup Round Robin – Amarillo Bulls (2–1) - Qualify for Semifinal Game ''(W, 5–2 vs.

Warriors A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

; W, 5-3 vs. RoadRunners; L, 1–2 vs. Ice Dogs)'' :Robertson Cup Semifinal Game – Michigan Warriors defeated Amarillo Bulls, ''6–2'' *2012 :Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated

Odessa Jackalopes The Odessa Jackalopes are a Junior ice hockey#Tier II, Tier II junior ice hockey team playing in the North American Hockey League (NAHL). The team is based in Odessa, Texas and plays their home games at Ector County Coliseum. History The fra ...

, ''3-games-to-1'' :Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated

, ''3-games-to-1'' :Robertson Cup Round Robin – Amarillo Bulls (1–2) - Qualify for Semifinal ''(OTW, 3–2 vs.

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

; L, 1-3 vs. Ice Dogs; L, 2-6 vs.

Bobcats The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus ''Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the con ...

)'' :Robertson Cup Semifinal Game – St. Louis Bandits defeated Amarillo Bulls, ''3–2'' *2013 :Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Corpus Christi IceRays, ''3-games-to-1'' :Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated

, ''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.

; L, 0-7 vs.

Wild Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildlife, an undomesticated organism * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild ...

)'' :Robertson Cup Final – Amarillo Bulls defeated

, ''5-0'' :Robertson Cup Champions *2014 :Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Wichita Falls Wildcats, ''3-games-to-0'' :Division Finals –

defeated Amarillo Bulls, ''3-games-to-2'' *2019 :Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Corpus Christi IceRays, ''3-games-to-2'' :Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated

Shreveport Mudbugs The Shreveport Mudbugs are a Junior ice hockey#Tier II, Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, as a member of the North American Hockey League. The new Mudbugs replaced a former professional team that played in the area fr ...

, ''3-games-to-2'' :Robertson Cup Semifinals –

Aberdeen Wings The Aberdeen Wings are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based out of Aberdeen, South Dakota, that began play for 2010–11. A member of the North American Hockey League in the Central Division, the Wings play their home games in the Odde Ice Ce ...

defeated Amarillo Bulls, ''2-games-to-1 *2021 :Division Semifinals –

defeated Amarillo Bulls, ''3-games-to-1''

References

External links

Official website
{{NAHL Defunct North American Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in Texas Sports in Amarillo, Texas Ice hockey clubs established in 2010 2010 establishments in Texas Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2021 2021 disestablishments in Texas