The Iron Range Yellow Jackets were a Junior "B"

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 from

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. This defunct hockey team was a part of the

Minnesota Junior Hockey League The Minnesota Junior Hockey League (MnJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey league operated out of Minneapolis-Saint Paul. History Established in 1974, the MnJHL developed players 20 years old and younger for over 40 years ...

and an interleague member of the Junior "A"

Superior International Junior Hockey League The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) is a junior A ice hockey league and a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada. The league operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of M ...

History

The Yellow Jackets played in the MNJHL from 1999 until 2002. Iron Range won the regular season title and playoff championship all three seasons. During their first two seasons the Yellow Jackets played home games at Hodgins-Berardo Arena in Coleraine. Iron Range played in two USA Hockey Junior B National Tournament championship games, coming up just short both times. The Jackets attempted to win the title in their first season, but lost in overtime to the Ventura Mariners 5-4. In 2000-01 the Yellow Jackets traveled to the east coast and again were a goal short, losing to 5-4 to the Connecticut Clippers. During that final 2001-02 season they called the IRA Civic Center in Grand Rapids home and doubled their schedule by competing in the SIJHL in the

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

, region of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. In July 2002 the Yellow Jackets suspended operations in hopes of returning in 2003-04. Head Coach Eric Ballard was named coach of the Northwest Wisconsin Knights for the 2002-03 season.

Iron Range junior hockey

Junior A hockey returned to the Iron Range, in Gaylord with the

Iron Range Ironheads The Minnesota Iron Rangers were an American junior ice hockey team based in Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. Originally named Iron Range Ironheads, the Iron Rangers played in the Canadian-based Superior International Junior Hockey League. Iron Range I ...

during the 2011-12 SIJHL season. In 2012, the team moved to Hoyt Lakes and was renamed the Minnesota Iron Rangers.

Season-by-season results

References

External links

MNJHL website

SIJHL website
{{SIJHL Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey teams in Minnesota