The Billings Bulls were a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

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 h ...

organization based in

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

. They most recently played home games at the 550-seat

Centennial Ice Arena Centennial Ice Arena is a 550-seat ice arena in Billings, Montana, USA. From 2006 to 2017, the arena played host to the city's only junior league hockey club, the Billings Bulls. It also hosts youth hockey and has been the home ice for the Monta ...

and due to the arena's small size, the Bulls frequently sold out games. They previously played their home games in the Metrapark which had a max capacity of 9,000 for hockey games. However, a negotiating dispute with arena officials and local

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

commissioners resulted in the team losing its lease.

History

The Bulls joined the American Frontier Hockey League in 1993 which became the

America West Hockey League The America West Hockey League (AWHL) was a Tier II Junior A ice hockey league. The AWHL was formed in 1992 to offer junior ice hockey to the Rocky Mountain region of USA Hockey. It originally was called the American Frontier Hockey League (AFHL), ...

(AWHL) in 1998. The Bulls joined the Tier II Jr. A North American Hockey League in 2003 when the AWHL merged with the NAHL (keeping the NAHL name). The team played in the NAHL from 2003 to 2006 until the team and their rivals, the Bozeman Icedogs and Helena Bighorns, left to join the

Northern Pacific Hockey League The Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) was an American Tier III junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. Its championship trophy was the Cascade Cup. History Established in 2000 as the NorPac Junior Hockey League, the league was ...

(NorPac), a regional league in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

of the United States. When they joined the NorPac, the league was Tier III Junior B but promoted to Tier III Junior A by

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...

in 2007. In 2011, the Montana teams in the NorPac left the league to form the new regional

American West Hockey League The American West Hockey League (AWHL) was an American Tier III Junior 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 be ...

, made up of teams in Montana and Wyoming, including the Bulls. In March 2014, the new AWHL joined the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New Yo ...

(NA3HL) as the Frontier Division. On the opening weekend of the 2017–18 NA3HL season, the Bulls announced they would be going dormant due to lack of players. At the time, the Bulls were the second-oldest organization in the NA3HL, behind only the St. Louis Jr. Blues.

Previous leagues

*1993–1998 American Frontier Hockey League *1998–2003

*2003–2006 North American Hockey League *2006–2011

*2011–2014

*2014–2017

Season-by-season records

NHL alumni

The franchise developed a number of collegiate and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

players, but only two have played in 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 ...

* Chris Holt, G (

University of Nebraska-Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...

, last with

Braehead Clan Glasgow Clan (formerly ''Braehead Clan'') is a Scotland, Scottish professional ice hockey team. It was formed in 2010 as the UK Elite Ice Hockey League expanded into the west of Scotland market, and are based at the Braehead Arena in Renfrewshir ...

of the

EIHL The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

), formerly of the

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 home ...

and

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

. * Brian Lee, D retired, formerly of the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

and

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

Other notable alumni with professional or major college/junior experience

Jon Booras Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...

, last with

MAC Budapest MAC HKB Újbuda is a Hungarian ice hockey team that currently plays in the Erste Liga. They play their home games at Tüskecsarnok, located in Budapest. In their first year of competition they would finish second in the regular season, and would ...

of the

MOL Liga The Erste Liga (formerly the MOL Liga) is an international ice hockey league organized for clubs based in Hungary and Romania. It is sponsored by the Erste Group, Erste Bank Hungary. The games played between the Hungarian teams count towards th ...

) *Jacob Doty, F (currently with

of the

) *Brad Gorham, D (

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna College, and Pr ...

, last with the Alaska Aces of the

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 ...

) *Trevor Hammer, D (

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

, last played for

Florida Seals The Florida Seals were a minor league ice hockey franchise, a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Originally based in Orlando, Florida, as the Orlando Seals, they later moved to Kissimmee, Florida, a suburb thirty miles so ...

) *Jeff Hazelwood, F (last played for Las Vegas Wranglers) *Jordan Hines, F (

University of Findlay The University of Findlay (UF) is a private Christian university in Findlay, Ohio. It was established in 1882 through a joint partnership between the Churches of God General Conference and the city of Findlay. UF has nearly 80 undergraduate ...

, last played for

Fort Worth Fire The Fort Worth Fire were a professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League. Their home games were played in the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. They began operations in 1992 and ceased operations in 1999. At the conclusion of the ...

) *Dan Knapp, D (

, last played for

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Ontario, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings, the team plays ...

) *

Mathias Lange Mathias Robert Lange (born April 13, 1985) is an Austrian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He last played for the Iserlohn Roosters of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing career Lange joined the Roosters after previously playi ...

, G (last played for the

Iserlohn Roosters The Iserlohn Roosters are a professional ice hockey team based in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia. They are members of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) since 2000 and play their home games at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn which is also known as '' ...

of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga) *Tom Reimann, D (

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

, last played for Colorado Eagles) *Cam Strong, F (currently with Dartmouth,

NCAA Division 1 NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

) *Zach Tarkir, D (

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

, last played for

IF Troja/Ljungby IF Troja-Ljungby is a Swedish ice hockey club from Ljungby, Sweden. They are currently playing in the third highest league in Sweden, Hockeyettan Hockeyettan is the third tier of ice hockey in Sweden. As of the 2015–16 season, the league c ...

of the

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system (after the SHL). Since the 2009–10 season, the league consists of fourteen team ...

) *Kevin Ulanski, C (

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

, last played for the

Bentley Generals The Lacombe Generals were a Senior AAA ice hockey team from Lacombe, Alberta, Canada that played in the Chinook Hockey League. The Generals are four-time national champions, having won the Allan Cup in 2009 and 2016 in Steinbach, Manitoba, ...

) Stormy Knight, LW last played for Seattle Totems of the NPHL (current commisioner of The Mad House fantasy football league)

References

External links

Billings Bulls website

NA3HL Website
{{NAHL Sports in Billings, Montana Ice hockey teams in Montana American West Hockey League teams Defunct North American Hockey League teams 1993 establishments in Montana 2017 disestablishments in Montana Ice hockey clubs established in 1993 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2017