Mohawk Valley Comets (ACHL)
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Mohawk Valley Comets (ACHL)
The Mohawk Valley Comets were a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They were a member of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League from 1985 until the league suspended operations until 1987. History The Mohawk Valley Comets competed as the Mohawk Valley Stars in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League from 1981 to 1985. The Stars would win the inaugural Bob Payne Trophy, which was awarded to the ACHL playoff champions. By the time the 1982-83 ACHL season started, all but two teams from the previous season either left the league or folded due to financial difficulty. The Winston-Salem Thunderbirds rebranded themselves as the Carolina Thunderbirds, leaving the Stars as the only "original" ACHL team. The Stars would struggle over the next few years, including a season of 14 wins in 1984-1985. 1986-87 season The Comets started the season struggling, winning one game in their first nine. With the nearby Troy Slapshots failing to bring fans to the game (including one game that had ...
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Utica, New York
Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains, it is approximately west-northwest of Albany, New York, Albany, east of Syracuse, New York, Syracuse and northwest of New York City. Utica and the nearby city of Rome, New York, Rome anchor the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area comprising all of Oneida and Herkimer County, New York, Herkimer Counties. Formerly a river settlement inhabited by the Mohawk people, Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy, Utica attracted European-American settlers from New England during and after the American Revolution. In the 19th century, immigrants strengthened its position as a layover city between Albany and Syracuse ...
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New York (state)
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state by area. With 20.2 million people, it is the fourth-most-populous state in the United States as of 2021, with approximately 44% living in New York City, including 25% of the state's population within Brooklyn and Queens, and another 15% on the remainder of Long Island, the most populous island in the United States. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east; it has a maritime border with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the northwest. New York City (NYC) is the most populous city in the United States, and around two-thirds of the state's popul ...
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Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1981–87)
The Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) was a minor league hockey organization that operated between 1981 and 1987. The league was founded by Bill Coffey. The Bob Payne Trophy was awarded to the team who won the league playoff championship. According to a 1985 ''Montreal Gazette'' article, rookies were paid "$150 a week plus $35 for a victory" and veterans were paid "as much as $300 a week." League regulations also said that half the roster (eight out of fifteen players) must be rookie Americans. Formation The ACHL's roots can be traced back to the former Eastern Hockey League (EHL) of the late 1970s and early 1980s. With a meeting of several EHL owners, the league decided to fold on July 19, 1981, and reorganize as the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. Teams and cities that were previous members of the Eastern Hockey League were interested in rejoining the league. Because the Mohawk Valley team being the most northern, the league was interested in inviting a sixth team to bridge th ...
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Utica Memorial Auditorium
The Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium is a 3,860-seat multi-purpose arena in Utica, New York, with a capacity of 5,700 for concerts. Nicknamed the Aud, it is the home arena of the Utica Comets, the AHL affiliate of the NHL's New Jersey Devils, and Utica City FC of the MASL. In 2011, the Utica Memorial Auditorium was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in recognition of its innovative cable suspended roof. History The Utica Memorial Auditorium was conceived by then-Utica mayor John T. McKennan, who believed that the city needed a place for entertainment and sporting events. McKennan and the administration that he hired to plan out the process, led by Frank M. Romano, then hired Gilbert Seltzer, a well-known architect at that time, to draw up plans for the building. A site was found along the old Erie Canal, and groundbreaking took place April 15, 1957. The arena was constructed using the ...
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Ice Hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance and shoot a closed, vulcanized, rubber disc called a " puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender. Ice hockey is a full contact sport. Ice hockey is one of the sports featured in the Winter Olympics while its premiere international amateur competition, the IIHF World Championships, are governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for both men's and women's competitions. Ice hockey is also played as a professional sport. In North America as well as many European countries, the sport is known simply ...
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Bob Payne Trophy
The Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) was a minor league hockey organization that operated between 1981 and 1987. The league was founded by Bill Coffey. The Bob Payne Trophy was awarded to the team who won the league playoff championship. According to a 1985 ''Montreal Gazette'' article, rookies were paid "$150 a week plus $35 for a victory" and veterans were paid "as much as $300 a week." League regulations also said that half the roster (eight out of fifteen players) must be rookie Americans. Formation The ACHL's roots can be traced back to the former Eastern Hockey League (EHL) of the late 1970s and early 1980s. With a meeting of several EHL owners, the league decided to fold on July 19, 1981, and reorganize as the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. Teams and cities that were previous members of the Eastern Hockey League were interested in rejoining the league. Because the Mohawk Valley team being the most northern, the league was interested in inviting a sixth team to bridge th ...
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Carolina Thunderbirds
The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. The team played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League from 1981 to 1987, the All-American Hockey League during 1987–88 and finally moved into the newly created East Coast Hockey League in 1988. The Carolina Thunderbirds were one of five teams that played during the inaugural season of East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). The Thunderbirds won the first ever ECHL championship and were awarded the Riley Cup for the 1988–89 ECHL season. The team changed its name to the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds before the start of 1989–90 season and the team remained in the ECHL until the end of the 1991–92 season when it was announced by co-owner Ed Broyhill that Winston-Salem would move to West Virginia to play as the Wheeling Thunderbirds. Team histor ...
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Troy Slapshots
The Troy Slapshots were a professional ice hockey team based in Troy, New York. They were a member of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League in the 1985–86 season. History The Slapshots were based out of Staten Island during their inaugural season. By the time the 1985–86 ACHL season started, an arena had not been built so the Slapshots played all of their games on the road. The Phil Esposito Sports & Entertainment Center, located in Staten Island's Travis section, was scheduled to be the home of the Slapshots and was supposed to be operational by their December 7 home opener, but the start of construction was delayed until early November. The arena ended up never being built. Instead, they opened their season in New Jersey and finished their season playing their "home" games primarily in Virginia, competing as a traveling team. The New York Slapshots were coached by Dave Schultz, a former NHL veteran who spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Flyers during their Br ...
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Virginia Lancers
The Virginia Lancers were a minor league hockey team that played in several leagues from 1983 until 1990. Their home ice was the Vinton Sports Complex, which held 3400 people. Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1983–1987) The Virginia Lancers were founded as the result of the Nashville South Stars relocating in December 1983, halfway into the 1982–83 season of the ACHL. They continued to play in the ACHL from 1983 until 1987. John Tortorella, a former Lancer forward, stepped behind the bench in the 1986–87 season, leading the team to the league's best record and the Bob Payne Trophy, which is given to the team who wins the league championship. All-American Hockey League (1987–1988) The Lancers transferred to the All-American Hockey League (AAHL) for the 1987-88 season. Coach Tortorella led the team to a 37-5-0-1 record and the best record in the league, but they lost the league championship to Carolina Thunderbirds. After the season, both Virginia and Carolin ...
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American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL season, 2010–11 season, every team in the league has an affiliation agreement with one NHL team. When NHL teams do not have an AHL affiliate, players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL teams. Twenty-six AHL teams are located in the United States and the remaining six are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is Scott Howson. In general, a player must be at least 18 years of age to play in the AHL or not currently be beholden to a junior ice hockey team. The league limits the number of experienced professional players on a team's active roster during any given game; only five skaters can have accumulated four full seasons of play or more at the professional level ...
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Maine Mariners (AHL)
The Maine Mariners were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Portland, Maine, at the Cumberland County Civic Center. History First franchise Once the Cumberland County Civic Center began construction in 1976, there was discussion of the building hosting a minor league hockey franchise. Three franchises eventually made bids to play hockey in Portland: the WHA's Quebec Nordiques, the American Hockey League's Providence Reds, and the Philadelphia Flyers from the National Hockey League. Quebec, who had already a farm team in nearby Lewiston (the Maine Nordiques of the North American Hockey League), was considering supporting affiliates in Portland as well. Rhode Island, who were an established AHL franchise, didn't want to relocate to Portland, but instead proposed scheduling a dozen regular season games there. Philadelphia was the only franchise that wanted to utilize Portland as their team's sole top-level farm club, and in 1977, the agre ...
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Utica Devils
The Utica Devils were a professional ice hockey team of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was based in Utica, New York, and played its home games at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. History The Utica Devils were AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils from 1987 to 1993. The franchise was moved from Portland, Maine, at the end of the 1986–87 season, where it played as the Maine Mariners. The Utica Devils displaced the Mohawk Valley Comets of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League that had played there since 1985. Utica was coached by Tom McVie for four seasons from 1987 to 1991, followed by Herb Brooks in 1991–92 and Robbie Ftorek in 1992–93. Notable players who at one time were Utica Devils include Martin Brodeur, Bill Guerin, Kevin Todd, Corey Schwab, Bobby Holik, Claude Vilgrain, Valeri Zelepukin, Jason Smith, and Jim Dowd. In 1993, the NHL's Calgary Flames purchased the Utica Devils franchise from the New Jersey Devils and subsequently relocate ...
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