The Adirondack Flames were a professional
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 in the
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 Cana ...
(AHL). The team was based in
Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,83 ...
, and played at the 4,794 seat
Glens Falls Civic Center. They were the top affiliate of the
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...
of the
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 Cana ...
(NHL), and made their debut in the
2014–15 AHL season
The 2014–15 AHL season was the 79th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began in October 2014 and ended in April 2015. The 2015 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season. Team and NHL affiliation c ...
after relocating from
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a city in British Columbia next to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver, and the Fraser River. With a census population of 153,569 people (2021), it is the most populous municipality in the province outside metropol ...
, where the team was known as the
Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...
. Former
Portland Pirates managing owner and CEO
Brian Petrovek served as the team's president. For the
2015–16 season, the Adirondack Flames moved to
Stockton, California
Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...
, and became the
Stockton Heat.
History
After playing five seasons in
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a city in British Columbia next to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver, and the Fraser River. With a census population of 153,569 people (2021), it is the most populous municipality in the province outside metropol ...
, as the
Abbotsford Heat, the city of Abbotsford terminated its contract with the Heat on April 15, 2014, and on May 5, 2014, the
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 Cana ...
(AHL)'s board of governors announced its approval to relocate the team to Glens Falls for the
2014–15 season. The contract between the city of Glens Falls and the Calgary Flames ran for three seasons with an option to renew for two more seasons.
The relocation of Calgary's AHL team ensured that AHL hockey continued uninterrupted in Glens Falls for the
2014–15 season, despite the departure of Glens Falls' previous AHL team, the
Adirondack Phantoms, who relocated to
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...
, following
2013–14 AHL season
The 2013–14 AHL season was the 78th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 4, 2013, and ended on April 19, 2014. The 2014 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season. The Calder Cup was ...
to become the
Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
The team's logo pays homage to the former NHL team the
Atlanta Flames
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 t ...
, which relocated to
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
, Alberta, in 1980 to become the current
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...
.
The team earned a certain degree of notoriety when its mascot, "Scorch", was introduced. In what a number of Flames fans saw as poor taste, an introductory video showed Scorch, supposedly the last unextinguished flame from a fire that devastated Glens Falls in 1846, overpowering a firefighter and knocking him to the ground. The ensuing controversy prompted the Flames to discontinue Scorch shortly after he was introduced. On June 24, 2014, it was announced
Ryan Huska, former head coach of the
Kelowna Rockets
The Kelowna Rockets are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing their home games at Prospera Place. The Rockets a ...
of the
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...
(WHL), would be the team's first head coach.
On February 10, 2015, the Adirondack Flames routed the
Syracuse Crunch
The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...
by a franchise-high score of 10–0.
Sven Baertschi recorded his first professional
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
.
Turner Elson added two goals, and
Kenny Agostino (1G-2A),
Mark Cundari (1G-2A),
Markus Granlund (1G-1A),
Ben Hanowski (2A),
Garnet Hathaway (3A),
Brian McGrattan (2A) and
Tyler Wotherspoon (2A) all posted multi-point efforts. In total, 13 Flames skaters posted at least one point. It was the first time since 2002 a score has reached double-digits in the AHL.
Relocation and replacement
On January 29, 2015, it was confirmed by the AHL via press conference that the Adirondack Flames would relocate from Glens Falls to
Stockton, California
Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...
, and become the
Stockton Heat. In turn, the Calgary Flames acquired the
Stockton Thunder of the
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 ...
and relocated that team to Glens Falls as the
Adirondack Thunder for the
2015–16 season.
Season result
Players
Head coach
*
Ryan Huska (2014–15)
References
{{Defunct AHL
Calgary Flames minor league affiliates
Defunct ice hockey teams in New York (state)
Ice hockey clubs established in 2014
Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2015
2014 establishments in New York (state)
2015 disestablishments in New York (state)
Sports in Glens Falls, New York