The 2008–09 NAHL season was the 25th season 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 ...

. The regular season ran from September 2008 to March 2009 with a 58-game schedule for each team. The St. Louis Bandits won the regular season championship and went on to defeated 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 ...

3 to 2 in overtime to capture the Robertson Cup.

Member changes

* In February, 2008 the NAHL approved

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. ...

for an expansion franchise. By May, the team's name was revealed as the

. * On March 24, 2008 the NAHL approved the relocation of the Southern Minnesota Express to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. The team would rebrand as the Motor City Machine. Less than two months later, the league approved of an expansion team in the Machine's former home of

Owatonna, Minnesota Owatonna ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,420 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County F ...

. The new team would be called the Owatonna Express. * Due to renovations at their home arena, the

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 ...

sat out this previous season. * After the

USHL 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 ...

announced the addition of a new franchise in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

, the NAHL attempted to find a new home for the Fargo-Moorhead Jets. When nothing materialized, the franchise suspended operating on May 19, 2008. * In June, the NAHL approved the addition of the Albert Lea Thunder as an expansion team.

Regular season

The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows: ''Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title''

Standings

Central Division

North Division

South Division

West Division

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games.

Leading goaltenders

''Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage ''

Robertson Cup playoffs

Five teams qualified for the Round Robin semifinal, the host (North Iowa) and the four division champions. If North Iowa won the Central division final, the runner-up would receive the final qualifying spot. For the round robin semifinal, ties were broken first by head-to-head matchup and then by goal differential. Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

References

NAHL reference

External links

Official website of the North American Hockey League
{{DEFAULTSORT:NAHL season, 2008–09 North American Hockey League seasons

NAHL Nahl or NAHL may refer to: * Nahl (surname) * National Accident Helpline, a British personal injury lawyer service * North American Hockey League, an American junior hockey league * North American Hockey League (1973–1977), an American profession ...