The Fresno Monsters are 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 hock ...

team based in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. The team is a member of the

United States Premier Hockey League The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States fielding teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), ...

and plays in the Premier Division. The Monsters' home venue is

Gateway Ice Center Gateway often refers to: *A gate or portal Gateway or The Gateway may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Gateway'' (film), a 1938 drama * ''The Gateway'' (2015 film), a horror film * ''The Gateway'' (2017 film), a science-fict ...

History

The Monsters were announced in spring 2009, filling a void for hockey in

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

after the

Fresno Falcons The Fresno Falcons were a minor league hockey team. They were charter members of several long standing leagues in the western United States including the Pacific Southwest Hockey League and the West Coast Hockey League. In their final years, the ...

folded. The team began play in mid-September 2009, playing in the Tier III Jr. A

Western States Hockey League The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 19 ...

(WSHL). On December 15, 2009, the Monsters announced the organization was given expansion approval into the Tier II

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 ...

(NAHL) for the 2010–11 season and Fresno would host two levels of junior hockey for the first time. On May 23, 2013, it was revealed the Monsters' North American Hockey League franchise would move to

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

, and become the second

Wenatchee Wild The Wenatchee Wild is a Junior A ice hockey team in the British Columbia Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Washington. Initially, the team was part of the North American Hockey League ...

. The Monsters would continue to field a team in the Western States Hockey League, now sanctioned under

United Hockey Union The United Hockey Union (UHU), founded in 2012, is a group of ice hockey leagues in North America. The UHU is overseen and insured by the Amateur Athletic Union. Neither body is recognized by USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, or the International Ice Hoc ...

(UHU) instead of

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 Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

, with the same ownership of David White and Shoot the Puck, Inc. In 2015, the UHU promoted the WSHL and Monsters to their own level of Tier II. On March 22, 2016, after six seasons coaching the WSHL Monsters, head coach and general manager Bryce Dale stepped down from his positions with the organization. In June 2016, David White sold the Monsters to the Central Valley Community Sports Foundation, led by Jeff Blair. Former Monsters' assistant coach, Jason Rivera, was then named head coach but was replaced by former NHL

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

, Kevin "Killer" Kaminski prior to the season. In January 2018, the team announced it would begin to occasionally play games again at the larger

Selland Arena Selland Arena is a multi-purpose arena built in 1966 that makes up part of a four-venue complex of the Fresno Convention and Entertainment Center in Fresno, California. It is named after former Fresno mayor Arthur L. Selland and has had over ...

, their home while the organization also had a NAHL franchise. The following season, the Monsters moved back to Selland Arena for 21 of their 23 scheduled home games. After three seasons, coach Kaminski left to become the head coach of the

La Ronge Ice Wolves The La Ronge Ice Wolves are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey team based out of La Ronge, Saskatchewan. They play out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and play their homes games at the Mel Hegland Uniplex which has a seating capacity of 1, ...

in his home province of Saskatchewan. He was replaced by Trevor Karasiewicz from the

Watertown Wolves The Watertown Wolves are a minor professional hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) based in Watertown, New York, and play home games at the Watertown Municipal Arena. The team was on hiatus during the 2015–16 season while ...

in the

Federal Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. Do ...

. In 2020, the Monsters left the WSHL and joined another independent junior hockey league, the

(USPHL), in the Premier Division.

Season-by-season records

WSHL/USPHL team (2009–present)

North American Hockey League team (2010–2013)

References

External links

* http://www.fresnomonsters.com Defunct North American Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in California Sports in Fresno, California Ice hockey clubs established in 2009 2009 establishments in California {{California-sport-team-stub