The Dayton Ice Bandits were a minor professional

Colonial Hockey League Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

team that played from 1996 to 1997 in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. The franchise was originally the

St. Thomas Wildcats The St. Thomas Wildcats were a minor professional ice hockey team in the Colonial Hockey League (CoHL) and played at the St. Thomas-Elgin Memorial Centre in St. Thomas, Ontario. The team was a founding member of the league and was owned by Dou ...

in St. Thomas, Ontario, one of the original franchises in the

(CoHL). The team eventually moved from St. Thomas to neighboring

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, which was a market ten times bigger than St. Thomas. The team still struggled to draw fans, and the franchise suspended operations. The team sat out the 1995–96 season, but relocated to

Hara Arena Hara Arena was a 5,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Trotwood, Ohio suburb of Dayton. The facility began as a ballroom in 1956, added an arena in 1964 and grew to a six-building complex which closed in August 2016. At various times, it ...

in Dayton for the 1996–97 season to replace the

Dayton Bombers The Dayton Bombers were an ECHL ice hockey team located in Dayton, Ohio. The team most recently was in the North Division of the ECHL's American Conference. The Bombers originally played at Hara Arena from 1991 to 1996. The team moved to the Ervi ...

of the

East Coast Hockey League 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 ...

, which had move to the larger

Nutter Center The Nutter Center is a multi-purpose arena located at Wright State University, in Fairborn, Ohio. It mainly serves as the home court of the Wright State Raiders men's and women's basketball teams. It is also regularly used as a music venue for ...

across town. The team was coached by Dan Belisle, former head coach of the Indianapolis Jr. Ice (

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

) and

Jacksonville Bullets The Jacksonville Bullets were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They played in the Sunshine Hockey League, later renamed the Southern Hockey League, from 1992–1996. They played their games at Jacksonvil ...

( Southern Hockey League). The club still did not draw well, finished last in the league standings, and suspended operations after only one season in Dayton. There was interest in buying the franchise and relocating the team to

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 1997 following the relocation of the

Utica Blizzard The Utica Blizzard were a professional ice hockey team from Utica, New York, and member of the Colonial Hockey League (CoHL) from 1994 to 1997. The Blizzard replaced the Utica Bulldogs after the team had to be taken over by the league in the midd ...

and the franchise then moved again to become the

Mohawk Valley Prowlers The Mohawk Valley Prowlers were a minor professional ice hockey based in Utica, New York, as a member of the United Hockey League (UHL) that played from 1998 to 2001. The Dayton Ice Bandits' franchise was purchased and relocated following the reloc ...

in 1998.

References

Defunct United Hockey League teams Colonial Hockey League Ice hockey teams in Dayton, Ohio Ice hockey teams in Ohio Ice hockey clubs established in 1996 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1997 1996 establishments in Ohio 1997 disestablishments in Ohio {{Ohio-sport-team-stub