The Rockford IceHogs were a minor professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

team in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

. They were a member of the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Uni ...

from 1999 to 2007. The IceHogs played their home games at the MetroCentre. In 2007, the name and logo were purchased and applied to the current American Hockey League franchise. After the transfer of the name and logo to the AHL franchise was complete, the UHL IceHogs ceased operations. The IceHogs began play in October 1999. The team name, IceHogs, was selected during a "name-the-team" contest. The team came to Rockford when United Sports Ventures bought the rights of the

Thunder Bay Thunder Cats The Thunder Bay Thunder Cats was a minor professional ice hockey team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and a member of the United Hockey League. The team went through a number of different names prior to being the Thunder Cats, including ...

UHL franchise, one of the original franchises in the Colonial Hockey League in 1991 as the

Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks The Thunder Bay Thunder Cats was a minor professional ice hockey team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and a member of the United Hockey League. The team went through a number of different names prior to being the Thunder Cats, including ...

. On October 23, 2002, Tri Vision Sports purchased the franchise from United Sports Ventures. The IceHogs and

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

signed an affiliation agreement on December 13, 2005. The IceHogs supplied players to Nashville's primary affiliate, the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

. The IceHogs hired Steve Martinson as head coach for the 2004–05 season, and he led the IceHogs to their best season in franchise history, winning their first division championship. The IceHogs were also been named the 2004–05 and 2005–06 UHL Member Franchise of the Year for the club's success on and off the ice. During the 2006–07 season, the IceHogs played in the UHL's Western Division with the

Quad City Mallards The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named after the Mallards team ...

Chicago Hounds The Chicago Hounds were a minor professional ice hockey team in the United Hockey League (UHL) for the 2006–07 UHL season. They played their home games at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The new UHL team was approved for a new ...

Bloomington PrairieThunder The Bloomington PrairieThunder were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Bloomington, Illinois. They were a member of the Central Hockey League in the Turner Conference. The team was originally a member of the United Hockey League (later ...

, and

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League, the original Inte ...

. The Ice Hogs won their only Colonial Cup in game seven at home on May 24, 2007, by a score of 3–1 against the

Kalamazoo Wings The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate ...

. Every year the team held a "Jersey Night" during which the team wore a special, one-off alternate jersey and auctioned them off for charity. Many of the alternate jerseys were related to cultural icons such as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

and St. Patrick's Day, or were autographed by Rockford-area celebrities such as

Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, incl ...

. The UHL IceHogs were replaced by an American Hockey League team of the same name for the 2007–08 season. The MetroCentre purchased the IceHogs name and logo from Tri Vision Sports and applied them to the new AHL franchise. The new team had also signed a ten-year player development contract with the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Divisio ...

Season-by-season results

Season results were compiled fro
hockeydb.com
an

References

External links

Rockford IceHogs
{{IHL Defunct United Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in Illinois Icehogs UHL Ice hockey clubs established in 1999 Sports clubs disestablished in 2007 Ice hockey teams in Illinois 1999 establishments in Illinois 2007 disestablishments in Illinois Nashville Predators minor league affiliates fr:IceHogs de Rockford