The New Mexico Scorpions were a

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

(CHL) team located in

Rio Rancho, New Mexico Rio Rancho ( es, Río Rancho) is the most populous and only city in Sandoval County, part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into northern Bernalillo County. It i ...

. The team was established in 1996 as a part of the

Western Professional Hockey League The Western Professional Hockey League (abbreviated WPHL) is a defunct minor professional ice hockey league. The WPHL operated from 1996 to 2001 with teams based in the southern United States, primarily Texas and Louisiana. The league started with ...

(WPHL). In 2001, the WPHL merged with the CHL. On July 2, 2009, the Scorpions ceased operations. The Scorpions' home arena during their WPHL and early CHL days was the

Tingley Coliseum Tingley Coliseum is an 11,571-seat multi-purpose arena in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Originally built as a rodeo and horse show auditorium, it is located at 300 San Pedro Drive N.E. It was home to the Albuquerque Six-Guns and New Mexico Scorpions ...

in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The team suspended operations for the 2005-06 season, then moved to the new

Santa Ana Star Center Rio Rancho Events Center is a 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, a city located near Albuquerque. The arena is located near the intersection of Unser Boulevard and Paseo del Volcan. It is part of a larger "City Center" pro ...

, in the neighbouring city of Rio Rancho, for the 2006-07 season. The Scorpions finished at the top of the WPHL standings for their initial 1996–97 season, winning the inaugural Governor's Cup as regular season champion. The team had limited success in playoff/championship play. They made it to the WPHL championship finals in the 1999–00 season, losing to the

Shreveport Mudbugs The Shreveport Mudbugs are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, as a member of the North American Hockey League. The new Mudbugs replaced a former professional team that played in the area from 1997 to 2011 known as ...

in six games. In the 2006–07 CHL season, the Scorpions won the Southwest Division playoffs, then lost the Southern Conference Championship series to the

Laredo Bucks The Laredo Bucks were an ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League. The Bucks played in Laredo, Texas, United States at the Laredo Energy Arena, formerly known as the Laredo Entertainment Center. On May 1, 2012, the management, citing declin ...

. The Scorpions'

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

was named Stanley. The owners included former

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 ...

players

Dave Ellett David George John Ellett (born March 30, 1964) is an American-born Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the NHL for 16 seasons. He was born in Cleveland because his father, Bob, was a minor-league hockey player playing ...

and Brian Savage. The team's last coach was Randy Murphy.

References

Defunct Central Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in New Mexico Sports in Rio Rancho, New Mexico Ice hockey clubs established in 1996 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2009 1996 establishments in New Mexico 2009 disestablishments in New Mexico Sports in Albuquerque, New Mexico {{US-icehockey-team-stub