Major League Roller Hockey (MLRH) is a
limited liability company
A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
which operates multiple
inline hockey
Roller inline hockey, or inline hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport ...
leagues and
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
s. Headquartered in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, MLRH is one of the only full-contact inline hockey competitions in the world.
The league was organized in 1998 in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, United States, after the suspension of operations of a predecessor organization,
Roller Hockey International
Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey.
History
League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in the ...
(RHI), which had been founded in 1993.
MLRH draws many players with former college and pro
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 ...
experience, as well as "pure" inline hockey players.
MLRH expanded to Europe in 2012 with a pan-European series of competitions spanning from top level hockey to youth and amateur competitions.
History
After the suspension of
Roller Hockey International
Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey.
History
League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in the ...
(RHI) for the 1998 season, Major League Roller Hockey was founded in 1998 in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
by entrepreneur Bill Raue. The inaugural season featured two franchises from the suspended RHI (the
Anaheim Bullfrogs
The Anaheim Bullfrogs were a professional inline hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Bullfrogs played in Roller Hockey International (1993–1997) and Major League Roller Hockey (1998) before returning to Roller Hockey international (199 ...
and
Buffalo Wings
A Buffalo wing in American cuisine is an unbreaded chicken wing section ( flat or drumette) that is generally deep-fried and then coated or dipped in a sauce consisting of a vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and melted butter prior to serv ...
) and 18 new franchises, with 11 in the United States, one in Canada and six in the United Kingdom. The first games were played during the summer of 1998.
Hugo Bélanger of the
Virginia Vultures
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are s ...
, former Roller Hockey International leading scorer, finished the inaugural season leading the league in goals (79), assists (79) and points (158), including a single game with 11 goals and 15 assists. The Anaheim Bullfrogs defeated the
Orlando Surge
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures relea ...
to win the first
Jason Cup title in front of 10,000 fans at the
Arrowhead Pond
The Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League.
Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, i ...
in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
.
While MLRH operated successfully in its inaugural season, the league went on hiatus for the 1999 season, citing financial challenges. Roller Hockey International returned in 1999 for one last season before folding for good.
[Staff]
"ROLLER HOCKEY INTERNATIONAL TO RETURN"
''The Buffalo News
''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...
'', January 28, 1999. Accessed January 29, 2017. "After a one-year sabbatical to restructure the league and change half its teams, Roller Hockey International officials said Wednesday they will resume play this June with 10 franchises in the United States.... Only the San Jose Rhinos, Anaheim Bullfrogs, Buffalo Wings, Minnesota Blue Ox and Saint Louis Vipers remain from 1997." MLRH however fell victim to the demise of RHI and was brought down as professional roller hockey flamed out in 1999. According to Bill Raue, "There were so many bad feelings when RHI folded with $40 million in losses that it was virtually impossible to play at the professional level."
Returning in 2000, MLRH operated throughout the Midwest and Eastern seaboard, playing with primarily amateur players. Starting in 2005, MLRH expanded to a Super League format with the American champion facing the European champion in a world championship. In 2009, MLRH moved to a pro tour-style league before returning to a traditional home-and-home style league in 2010. Doug Jones would successfully create MLRH divisions in Southern California, Midwest, East, Sunshine and Gulf coast. The semifinals would feature So Cal vs. Midwest and Gulfcoast vs. Sunshine. So Cal would persevere and win.
MLRH brought forth "Rollerhockeytv", (rollerhockeytv.net) to viewers across the world. Two shows, TWIRH which aired 103 episodes and RHTV, a webcast of MLRH games, brought viewers "live" action of MLRH games from California and the Midwest. RHTV and TWIRH hosted by Jones, had over a million views on ustream and another 400,000 on youtube. When Raue changed the format, in 2016, TWIRH and RHTV viewership decreased by 95%.
The 2013 - 2014 MLRH World Championships would see Doug Jones add former NHL player,
Bob Sullivan become MLRH European president and the results were the first world championships played in Mannheim, Germany which saw Vuorlean Veikot as the new MLRH Champion as they defeated the Koovee Rollers (both teams from Finland). "7" players from both teams ended up playing in the IIHF World championships and won the World title. Lassee Lapoleinen was the MLRH 2014 MVP. "Bringing Bob Sullivan in with his contacts and respect in the European market was a breath of fresh air and a huge help to bringing us credibility", stated Jones.
Also during the season, Rollerhockeytv.net scored some big viewership and special guests as Future NHL HOF'er
Charlie Simmer
Charles Robert Simmer (born March 20, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward, most notably for the Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League, who was known for his scoring prowess.
Playing career
After a junior career w ...
, former NHL player Chris Kotsopolous, Former Pittsburgh Penguin owner and 2 time Stanley Cup champion
Howard Baldwin
Howard Lapsley Baldwin[Rose Weld Baldwin obituary](_blank)
ccgfuneralhome.com; acce ...
, plus NHL players
Patrick Maroon
Patrick Maroon (born April 23, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed the "Big Rig", Maroon has previously played for the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers ...
,
Chris Kotsopoulos
Chris Kotsopoulos ( el, Χρήστος Κωτσόπουλος; born November 27, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 479 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the New York Rangers, Hartford Whalers, To ...
and Anaheim Ducks 2nd round draft pick
Nic Kerdiles
Nicolas Kerdiles (January 11, 1994 – September 23, 2023) was an American professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward. He played briefly in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Anaheim Ducks. Kerdiles was selected by the Ducks in ...
all appeared on the show.
During the summer of 2014, the league recruited younger players with a super league which began play starting in June at Washington, DC and had 7 teams. The season would end with the Bullies, winning their third consecutive championship as they defeated the Philadelphia Demons in the best of three in Irvine, California. The Bullies dominated the Demons. As the season ended, tensions would surface between Jones and Raue and the league would sputter to start the 2014 - 2015 season. Jones and Sullivan would part ways with MLRH.
In Jones’s absence, MLRH adapted tournament style play with no check format. Teams embraced the non-check format and organizations like the respected San Diego Hosers, participated. "Our team had been recruited for years to play MLRH, but we did not wish to play with the full check format. Removing the checking aspect, brought us the chance to play finally and our decision to play had nothing to do with who is or was running MLRH", Joe Noris of the San Diego Hosers stated. Noris, was a four-time guest on This week in Roller Hockey. By removing the checking aspect, MLRH had brought teams back into the fold who were not playing due to the full check part of the game. Jones and Sullivan were to bring their hockey tournament European Pro Roller hockey to Las Vegas, but had to cancel due to Sullivan’s illness.
As of 2020 MLRH has ceased to operate any events or tournaments.
Game
Each Major League Roller Hockey PRO regulation game is played between two teams and is 34 minutes long. The game is composed of two 17-minute halves with an intermission of either one minute between the halves. At the end of the 35-minute regulation time, the team with the most goals wins the game. If a game is tied after regulation time, a 5-minute overtime ensues with the floor strength 3 on 3. If no winner is declared, four shooters for each team, in turn, take a
penalty shot
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
. The team with the most goals during the four-round shootout wins the game. If the game is still tied after the four shootout rounds, the shootout becomes sudden death. Whichever team ultimately wins the shootout is awarded a goal in the game score and thus awarded two points in the standings. The losing team in overtime or shootout is awarded only one. Shootout goals and saves are not tracked in hockey statistics; shootout statistics are tracked separately.
Shootouts do not occur during the playoffs. In the playoffs, sudden-death 20-minute four-on-four periods are played until one team scores.
Inline hockey rink
Major League Roller Hockey games are played on a regulation
hockey rink
An ice hockey rink is an ice rink that is specifically designed for ice hockey, a competitive team sport. Alternatively it is used for other sports such as broomball, ringette, rinkball, and rink bandy. It is a rectangle with rounded corners and s ...
with rounded corners surrounded by walls and
Plexiglas
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite, ...
. MLRH standards call for a rink measuring 85 feet by 200 feet. The
center line divides the floor in half, and is used to judge illegal clearing violations. Near the end of both ends of the rink, there is a thin red ''goal line'' spanning the width of the floor, which is used to judge
goal
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
s and illegal clearing calls.
Rules
While Major League Roller Hockey follows the general rules of
inline hockey
Roller inline hockey, or inline hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport ...
, it differs slightly from those used in
National Hockey League
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 ...
games. Infractions of the rules can lead to either the stoppage of play in the case of
offside and
illegal clearing calls, or a penalty call for more serious infractions.
The league has different rules regarding being
offside. First, the league only has an "offside pass" rule, which requires a stoppage in play if a pass originating from inside a team's
defending zone was completed on the offensive side of the
center line, unless the puck crossed the line before the player. Furthermore, the league also does not have a standard "offside" rule resulting from skate position.
Another rule difference between MLRH and the NHL rules concerns how
illegal clearings are called. In MLRH, a
linesman stops play due to illegal clearing the moment the puck crosses the goal line, in contrast to the NHL rules where play is stopped if a defending play (other than the goaltender) reaches the face off spot before an attacking player is able to. It is similar in that, when a team is guilty of illegally clearing the puck they are not allowed to make a line change before the following
faceoff
A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse.
During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the ...
. No line change is allowed of the offending team.
MLRH also has an instigator rule for players who wear half shields and cages. Any player wearing such who receives a high sticking penalty is assessed a double minor automatically. Any player who instigates a fight wearing such, is assessed a minor automatically unless, at the discretion of the official, the player takes his helmet off to square off with his foe.
Season structure
Major League Roller Hockey season is divided into an exhibition season (October), a
regular season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...
(from the first week in November through early to mid March) and a postseason (the MLRH playoffs). During the regular season, clubs play each other in a predefined schedule. The MLRH playoffs, which goes from March to the end of May, is an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other to win a
single elimination
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
game in order to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the MLRH World Champion.
In the regular season, each team plays 15 games; in tournament fashion (three games per event). Points are awarded for each game, where two points are awarded for a win, one point for losing in
overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
*by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...
or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation.
Points are awarded for each game, where two points are awarded for a win, one point for losing in
overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
*by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...
or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation. Among major professional sports leagues, the NHL is the only one to award a team points for losing in overtime.
At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points in each division is crowned the division champion. The three division champions along with the five other teams in the league with the next highest number of points, for a total of 8 teams, qualify for the
playoff
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
s. The division winners are seeded one through three (even if a non-division winner has a higher point total), and the next five teams with the best records in the conference are seeded four through eight. The
MLRH playoffs is an elimination
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
, where two teams battle to win a
single elimination
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
game in order to advance to the next round. The first round of the playoffs, or quarterfinals, consists of the first seed playing the eighth seed, the second playing the seventh, third playing the sixth, and the fourth playing the fifth. In the second round, or semifinals, MLRH re-seeds the teams, with the top remaining seed playing the lowest remaining seed, and the other two remaining teams pairing off. In the third round,
MLRH Finals, the two remaining teams play each other for the world championship.
In each round the higher-ranked team is said to be the team with the
home-floor advantage. The game is played at this team's home venue. In the MLRH Finals, the game is played at a neutral-site regardless of where each team ranks.
In July 2017, Bill Raue, MLRH President and founder, announced that MLRH would be taking a hiatus for the 2017-18 season as he was committed to the production of a major film (an ice hockey inspired sports drama) with the support of the Czech Film Commission. MLRH will return in 2019, with an event in Mannheim, Germany. Mick Payne, MLRH Europe Commissioner, will be produce the Bob Sullivan Memorial tournament. Sullivan, a former NHL player with the Hartford Whalers was a long-time supporter of MLRH in Germany.
References
External links
*
1
Sports leagues in the United States
Professional sports leagues in the United States
Sports leagues established in 1998
1998 establishments in Virginia