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Bloomington Bison
The Bloomington Bison are an American minor league ice hockey team based in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 2024, the team made its debut in the ECHL in 2024–25. They are the ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the Hartford Wolf Pack. History On January 16, 2024, the ECHL awarded an expansion team to Bloomington, Illinois. The ownership group consists of Jim Hallett of Hallett Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Indy Fuel. The club will play in Grossinger Motors Arena, which is located in Bloomington, Illinois. On May 30, it was announced that a five-year affiliation with the New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ... had been signed. In addition, Phillip Barski was named as the team's first head coach and general manager. Season-by-season r ...
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Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the List of municipalities in Illinois, 13th-most populous city in Illinois and the fifth-most populous outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, Illinois, Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, which has a population of roughly 170,000. Bloomington is southwest of Chicago and northeast of St. Louis. Bloomington is home to Illinois Wesleyan University and the headquarters for State Farm and Country Financial. Bloomington is also home to the minor league hockey team Bloomington Bison. History The Bloomington area was at the edge of a large grove occupied by the Kickapoo people before the first Euro-American settlers arrived in the early 1820s.History of BloomingtonHistory of Bloomington ...
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ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The league serves as a farm system to the AHL and National Hockey League (NHL). The ECHL and the AHL are the only minor leagues recognized by the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), meaning any player signed to an entry-level NHL contract and designated for assignment must report to a club in either the ECHL or the AHL. Additionally, the league's players are represented by the Professional Hockey Players' Association (PHPA) in negotiations with the ECHL itself. At least 739 players have played at least one game in the NHL after appearing in the ECHL. As of the 2024–25 season, 30 of the 32 NHL teams held affiliations with an ECHL team, with only the Columbus Blue ...
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Grossinger Motors Arena
Grossinger Motors Arena (formerly known as U.S. Cellular Coliseum and simply the Coliseum) is an arena in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. It is on the southwest corner of Madison Street ( US-51) and Front Street. The arena opened to the public on April 1, 2006. Description Its seating capacity is approximately 6,000 for hockey and indoor football games and 7,000+ for concerts. The arena has 800 club seats, 24 luxury suites, and two party suites. The arena can play host to concerts, live performances, hockey, indoor football and basketball. The arena annually hosts several graduations for area high schools and Heartland Community College. Over the years, the venue has hosted concerts from top stars of many music genres, including the likes of Rod Stewart, REO Speedwagon, John Mayer, Jason Aldean, Alan Jackson, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Shinedown, Chevelle, Boston, Judas Priest, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Eric Church, Luke Combs ...
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New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, an arena they share with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). They are one of three NHL franchises located in the New York metropolitan area; the others being the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders. Founded in 1926 by Tex Rickard, the Rangers are one of the Original Six teams that competed in the NHL before its 1967 NHL expansion, 1967 expansion, along with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The team attained success early on under the guidance of Lester Patrick, who coached a team containing Frank Boucher, Murray Murdoch, and Bun Cook, Bun and Bill Cook to win the Stanley Cup in only their second s ...
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National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional ice hockey league in the world. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the Stanley Cup playoffs, league playoff champion at the end of each season. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) views the Stanley Cup as one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The NHL is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The National Hockey League was organized at the Windsor Hotel (Montreal), Windsor Hotel in Montreal on November 26, 1917, after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), which had been founded in 1909 at Renfrew, Ontario. The NHL immediately took the NHA ...
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Hartford Wolf Pack
The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the PeoplesBank Arena. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a series of relocations, the team moved to Hartford in 1997 as the Hartford Wolf Pack. It is one of the oldest professional hockey franchises in existence, and the oldest continuously operating minor league hockey franchise in North America. The franchise was renamed the Connecticut Whale in October 2010, in honor of the former Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League (NHL), but reverted to their current name after the 2012–13 AHL season. The Wolf Pack is the top affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and is one of the three professional Professional ice hockey in Connecticut, hockey teams in Connecticut. History The franchise that became the Wolf Pack was founded in 1926 in Providence, Rhode Island as the Providence Reds, ...
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American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Canada. As of the 2024–25 AHL season, all 32 NHL teams held affiliations with an AHL team. Historically, when an NHL team does not have an AHL affiliate, its players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL franchises. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is Scott Howson. A player must be at least 18 years old and not belong to a junior ice hockey team to be eligible. The league limits the number of experienced professional players in a team's lineup during any given game; only five skaters can have accumulated more than 260 games played at the professional level (goaltenders are exempt from this rule). The annual playoff champion is awarded the Calder Cup, named for Frank ...
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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. Two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and Shot (ice hockey), shoot a vulcanized rubber hockey puck into the other team's net. Each Goal (ice hockey), goal is worth one point. The team with the highest score after an hour of playing time is declared the winner; ties are broken in Overtime (ice hockey), overtime or a Shootout (ice hockey), shootout. In a formal game, each team has six Ice skating, skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, including a goaltender. It is a contact sport#Grades, full contact game and one of the more physically demanding team sports. The modern sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, where the first indoor ice hockey game, first indoor game was play ...
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Indy Fuel
The Indy Fuel are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2014–15 season. Based in Fishers, Indiana, the Fuel play their home games at the Fishers Event Center, after having started play at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds. They are affiliated with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and the AHL's Rockford IceHogs. History On November 11, 2013, the ECHL's board of governors approved the expansion membership application of the Indy Fuel for admission to the league for the 2014–15 season. From 2013 to 2024, the club was based in Indianapolis, and played home games at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds. On October 17, 2014, the Fuel played their franchise opening game against the Fort Wayne Komets, reigniting the Indianapolis-Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio bord ...
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2024–25 ECHL Season
The 2024–25 ECHL season was the 37th season of the ECHL. The regular season began on October 18, 2024, and ended on April 13, 2025, with the 2025 Kelly Cup playoffs to follow. Twenty-nine teams affiliated with an NHL team in 22 states and one Canadian province played 72 games. On June 7, the Trois-Rivières Lions won their first Kelly Cup championship over the Toledo Walleye in five games. League changes The league will have two new teams this season: the Tahoe Knight Monsters and the Bloomington Bison. Coaching changes Affiliation changes Standings Eastern Conference – clinched playoff spot, – clinched regular season division title, – Brabham Cup (regular season) champion ''– indicates team has been eliminated from playoff contention'' Western Conference Postseason The top four teams in each division at the end of the regular season advanced to the 2025 Kelly Cup playoffs and were seeded one through four based on their en ...
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2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs
The 2025 Kelly Cup playoffs of the ECHL hockey league began on April 16, 2025, following the conclusion of the 2024–25 ECHL regular season and ended on June 7 with the Trois-Rivières Lions winning their first Kelly Cup championship over the Toledo Walleye in five games. Playoff format Since all 29 teams were able to complete all 72 games this season, the league went back to the points system, instead of the point percentage that was used the year prior. The top 4 teams in each division qualified for the playoffs based on highest point total earned in the season. The first two rounds of the playoffs are held within the division with the first seed facing the fourth seed and the second seed facing the third. The division champions then play each other in a conference championship. The Kelly Cup finals pits the Eastern Conference champion against the Western Conference champion. All four rounds are a best-of-seven format. The South Carolina Stingrays secured the top record, win ...
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ECHL Teams
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The league serves as a farm system to the AHL and National Hockey League (NHL). The ECHL and the AHL are the only minor leagues recognized by the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), meaning any player signed to an entry-level NHL contract and designated for assignment must report to a club in either the ECHL or the AHL. Additionally, the league's players are represented by the Professional Hockey Players' Association (PHPA) in negotiations with the ECHL itself. At least 739 players have played at least one game in the NHL after appearing in the ECHL. As of the 2024–25 ECHL season, 2024–25 season, 30 of the 32 NHL teams held affiliations with an ECHL team, with only t ...
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