The Phoenix Polar Bears were a

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 ...

-sanctioned Junior A Tier III

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 out of

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. Their host facility was the Desert Schools Coyotes Center in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

. The Polar Bears were a member of 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 199 ...

but vacated their membership in the league when the WSHL moved away from USA Hockey sanctioning in 2011.

History

The Phoenix Polar Bears were formed as an expansion team by Harry Mahood for the

in 1999. Until 2009, Mahood operated as the owner, general manager, and head coach of the Polar Bears and became one of the most successful franchises in the WSHL under his tenure. In 2011, the Polar Bears left the WSHL when the league dropped their

membership and joined the

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 ...

. After folding, the franchise was sold and their WSHL membership license was transferred to Arizona Hockey Club, Inc. to create the

Phoenix Knights AHU Knights were an Amateur Athletic Union-sanctioned Tier II junior ice hockey team based out of Gilbert, Arizona. The Knights were a part of the Western States Hockey League and played in the Western Division. Their home games were played at ...

junior hockey team. In 2003, the team won the USA Hockey Tier III Junior B National Championship, beating the St. Louis Jr. Blues, 1–0, after a perfect regular season record of 47–0. In 2002 and 2004, the team won a silver medal at the USA Hockey Junior B National Tournament. In 2004, the Polar Bears received the National Fair Play Award at the National Tournament. Under Mahood, the Phoenix Polar Bears recorded 575 wins, seven WSHL Thorne Cup Championships, nine consecutive National Tournament appearances, three undefeated seasons in WSHL play, one nationally undefeated season in 2003, the 2004 National Fair Play award and graduated over 170 players to all levels of NHL, NCAA, CIAU, minor professional, major junior, and ACHA hockey. Concurrently, the Phoenix Polar Bears raised several hundred thousands of dollars for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, American Heart Association, Phoenix Thunderbirds, Child Find, American Red Cross and various other community programs and charities.

Alumni

Among the many alumni to play

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

and advanced levels of junior and major junior hockey, including: *Dusty Collins, a local Phoenix born player drafted to the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

in 2005 and enjoyed a short career in the minors before retiring. * Tyler Haskins from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

who was drafted to the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in 2005 and a captain for

EHC Wolfsburg Grizzlys Wolfsburg are a professional ice hockey club of the German professional ice hockey league Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play their games at Eisarena in Wolfsburg. History Wolfsburg earned their first promotion to the DEL in 2004. Howev ...

in the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

. *Jeremy Langlois, a

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

-native who played college hockey at

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of C ...

and signed an NHL tryout contract with the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

Youth hockey

Initially, the youth hockey program at Polar Ice, Peoria, Polar Ice Chandler and Polar Ice Gilbert were named after this team and were called the Jr. Polar Bears. They had teams ranging from Mites to Midget and competed annually across the United States.

Championships

The Polar Bears have won seven Thorne Cups, awarded to the WSHL playoff champions in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2010. In addition to WSHL championships the team won the

Tier III Junior B National Championship in 2003, were runners-up in 2002, and third place in 2008.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* http://www.phoenixpolarbears.com - Dead website for reference Ice hockey teams in Arizona Sports in Phoenix, Arizona