The Rochester Mustangs were an American junior A ice hockey team that was located in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

. The Mustangs were in existence from 1986 to 2002. Prior to 1986, the organization was located in Austin, Minnesota, and was known as the Austin Mavericks. The Mavericks played from 1974 until 1977 in the Midwest Junior Hockey League, before moving to the United States Hockey League in 1978. The Mustangs played their home games in the

Rochester Recreation Center Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent **HM Prison ...

, which seated approximately 2,500. The Recreation Center was home to the Mustangs for 17 years. The team ceased operations at the end of the 2001–02 season because of poor attendance numbers and an old arena. The Mustangs won the American National Junior "A" championship in 1987, 1988, and 1998. After ceasing operations, the dormant franchise appears to have changed hands on a number of occasions until it was purchased by the ownership of the Danville Wings, the Mervis family. The Mervis family had purchased the franchise to use as a new USHL team on the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

campus in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metrop ...

, and the family sold the Wings to

Paul Skjodt Paul Skjodt (born June 28, 1958) is an American-Canadian businessman, and former ice hockey player. Early life Paul Skjodt was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on June 28, 1958. Ice hockey career From 1975, he played ice hockey for the Kitchene ...

. Skjodt relocated that team to create the

Indiana Ice The Indiana Ice was a Tier I junior ice hockey team and member club of the United States Hockey League (USHL) that was formed in 2004 when the Danville Wings were purchased and moved from their location in Danville, Illinois, to Indianapolis, I ...

in 2004. The Mervis family focused on starting the Champaign team, however, the new proposed arena project never took off and the family began to look elsewhere such as

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census ...

, Battle Creek, Michigan, and

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

. The franchise was eventually reactivated as an expansion team in 2010 as the

Muskegon Lumberjacks The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Mercy Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League franch ...

Notable alumni

* Keith Aldridge – competed in four games for the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

of the

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

* Jozef Balej – played three season in the NHL for the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

, and

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Ralph Barahona Ralph Joseph Barahona (born November 16, 1965) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played six games in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins. He scored two goals and two assists for four points in his brief NHL ...

– played six games for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

. *

Peter Markle Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

– played in a World Hockey exhibition between

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

Shjon Podein Shjon Walter Podein (born March 5, 1968) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues. He ...

– played in eleven NHL seasons for the Blues, Flyers,

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and ear ...

, and

Oilers Oiler may refer to: Ships * Replenishment oiler * Tanker (ship) Sports * Cape Breton Oilers, a former American Hockey League team * City Oilers, Ugandan basketball team * Edmonton Oilers, a National Hockey League team based in Edmonton, Alberta ...

References

{{Reflist United States Hockey League teams Sports in Rochester Ice hockey teams in Minnesota Ice hockey clubs established in 1985 1985 establishments in Minnesota