The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies were an

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

team in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

from 2001 to 2005. The team's venue was the historic

Boardwalk Hall Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose arena in Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlanti ...

, which seats 6,979. In 2001, the franchise played its inaugural season in Atlantic City after relocating from

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, where it was known as the Birmingham Bulls. In 2003, the team won the

Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

, beating the

Columbia Inferno The Columbia Inferno were an ECHL team based in Columbia, South Carolina. Beginning in 2008, the team went on voluntary suspension awaiting construction of a new arena in suburban Lexington County, South Carolina. However, the ECHL dropped Columb ...

in the finals. They also qualified for the playoffs, and earned at least 90 (with no less than 92 to be exact) points in the standings during each of their four seasons Atlantic City. Their biggest rivals were the in-state

Trenton Titans The Trenton Titans were a professional minor league ice hockey team that played in the ECHL. The team last played in the Atlantic Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Titans played their home games at the Sun National Bank Center in Tren ...

, whom they met three times in the postseason (with every series between the two teams ending in a sweep, as the Boardwalk Bullies would win the first two, while the Titans emerged victorious during the third and final playoff matchup), while annually competing for the Garden State Cup, which would be awarded to whatever team in between the two that won the regular season series. Former Boardwalk Bullies, and Titans head coach

Mike Haviland Mike Haviland (born July 24, 1967) is the former head coach for the Colorado College Tigers of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, NCHC from 2014 to 2021. Previously he was head coach of the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. Prev ...

would also coach the victor of the three playoff matchups between the two clubs, while also never losing a postseason game in the process all three times the Boardwalk Bullies & Titans competed against each-other during postseason play. Even though the Bullies found success on the ice, the team's attendance was poor. In its championship season, attendance averaged slightly above 3,000 per game. The attendance would also drop to an all time low, slightly below an average of 2500 in their fourth, and final season. During the 2005 season, the franchise was sold to an ownership group from

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. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

. The team moved and was renamed the

Stockton Thunder The Stockton Thunder were a minor league professional ice hockey team that was based in Stockton, California, and a member of the ECHL. The Stockton Arena was their home ice, with a capacity of 9,737. The team was an affiliate team of the New Yor ...

for the 2005–06 season until the end of the 2014–15 season. Before the 2015–16 season the franchise relocated again to

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls refe ...

to play as the

Adirondack Thunder The Adirondack Thunder are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2015–16 season. The team is based in Glens Falls, New York, and affiliated with the NHL's New Jersey Devils. The Thunder play their home games at the ...

References

Defunct ECHL teams Sports in Atlantic City, New Jersey Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 2001 Sports clubs disestablished in 2005 Ice hockey teams in New Jersey New York Islanders minor league affiliates 2001 establishments in New Jersey 2005 disestablishments in New Jersey Boardwalk Hall {{NewJersey-sport-team-stub