The Missoula Maulers 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 ...

team from

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. The team played in 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 ...

, the

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 ...

, and the

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 ...

. out of Missoula's Glacier Ice Rink. Michael Burks is the club's principal owner and president of operations. In 2016, Burks and the nonprofit Missoula Area Youth Association (MAYHA), the operator of Glacier Ice Rink, had a lease dispute and Burks decided to shut down the team rather than continue to fight the operators for a better contract. The Maulers were quickly replaced at the Glacier Ice Rink by a

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 ...

expansion team, named the Missoula Jr. Bruins, owned by Jason and Liz DiMatteo.

History

The Maulers were founded as an expansion team for the 2007–08 season in the

(NorPac). They played in the NorPac until 2011 when many of the eastern NorPac teams formed the new

(AWHL) including the Maulers. After two seasons, the Maulers announced that were leaving the AWHL for the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

-sanctioned

(WSHL). The players, ages 16–20, carried amateur status under Tier III/Tier II/Junior A guidelines with hopes to earn a spot on a collegiate or minor professional team.

Former leagues

* 2007–2011:

* 2011–2013:

* 2013–2016:

Season-by-season records

References

External links

Official website
{{Missoula, Montana 2007 establishments in Montana American West Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in Montana Ice hockey clubs established in 2007 Sports in Missoula, Montana 2016 disestablishments in Montana Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2016