The Texas Wildcatters, who took their name from Texas wildcatters, were a professional minor league

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

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 ...

based in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

. They played their home games at the Ford Arena. The franchise previously played in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

, from 1993 to 2000 as the Huntington Blizzard playing at the Huntington Civic Arena. The Wildcatters relocated to

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

, and were renamed

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena. The fra ...

. The franchise's last game as the Wildcatters was a 1–4 loss to the Columbia Inferno on April 25, 2008, at Ford Arena.

History

During the 2004–05 season, they were affiliated with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

and the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was so ...

. On October 7, 2005, the

Jefferson County, Texas Jefferson County is a county in the Coastal Plain or Gulf Prairie region of Southeast Texas. The Neches River forms its northeastern boundary. As of the 2020 census, the population was 256,526. The county seat is Beaumont. Jefferson County ...

, Commissioners announced that the team would not be allowed to use Ford Arena for the 2005–06 season because the site was being used for

Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico, tying with Hurricane Milton in 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, 2024, as well as being the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the ...

relief. There was no suitable temporary facility in the area, forcing the Wildcatters to cancel the season. They resumed play in 2006–07 as affiliates of the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

of the

NHL 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 ...

and the AHL's Houston Aeros. After the 2007–08 season, the team moved to

as the

and affiliated with the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

. According to a Beaumont TV report, there was a local group attempting to secure a

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

(CHL) franchise for Beaumont in time for the 2008–09 season. After the Austin Ice Bats suspended operations, there was an attempt to move that franchise to Ford Arena for 2008–09. However, there was insufficient time to do this before the CHL needed a commitment to play.

Season records

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Texas Wildcatters official site
{{ECHLdefunct Defunct ECHL teams Houston Aeros (1994–2013) Anaheim Ducks minor league affiliates Minnesota Wild minor league affiliates Florida Panthers minor league affiliates Sports in Beaumont, Texas Defunct ice hockey teams in Texas Ice hockey clubs established in 2003 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2008 2003 establishments in Texas 2008 disestablishments in Texas