The Rochester Grizzlies (formerly the Rochester Ice Hawks) are a 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 belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Junior ice hockey#Tier III, Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, M ...

(NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the 2,600-seat Rochester Recreation Center, located in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

. The team typically plays more than 45 regular season games, in addition to showcase and postseason games.

History

The franchise originally joined 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 ...

(MnJHL) in May 1996 as the Minnesota Ice Hawks and played in

Le Sueur, Minnesota Le Sueur is a city in Le Sueur County in the U.S. state of Minnesota, between Mankato and the Twin Cities. It lies along the Minnesota River and U.S. Highway 169. Le Sueur was named in honor of the French explorer Pierre-Charles Le Sueur. The ...

, until 2002. The team was owned and managed by Michael Fatis and coached by Nick Fatis. The franchise moved to

, in 2002 after the

Rochester Mustangs The Rochester Mustangs were a senior ice hockey team from Rochester, Minnesota that played in the United States Hockey League from 1961 until the senior Mustangs ceased operations after the 1969-70 season. Notable players *Herb Brooks, NHL head c ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

ceased operations. They officially changed their name prior to the 2009–10 season to the Rochester Ice Hawks. Following the 2014–15 season, most of the active members of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League moved to the

United States Premier Hockey League The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States fielding teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), ...

as part of a new Midwest Division. In May, the Ice Hawks were accepted as an expansion team into the

(NA3HL) for the 2015–16 season. In November 2016, head coach Nick Fatis, the only head coach in the history of the Ice Hawks franchise, stepped down for personal reasons. He was replaced by assistant Eric Hofmann. Hofmann was replaced by Chris Blaisius, formerly the head coach of the

Willmar WarHawks The Willmar WarHawks are a Tier III ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the Willmar Civic Center located in Willmar, Minnesota. NA3HL teams play a 48-game regular season, in ad ...

, in December 2017. After the completion of the 2017–18 season, Michael Fatis sold the franchise to the ownership of the Tier II

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

Austin Bruins The Austin Bruins are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Central Division. The Bruins play their home games in the Riverside Arena in Austin, Minnesota. History The Bruins were an expansion team that first pl ...

, consisting of Craig Patrick and Mike Cooper. The new ownership rebranded the franchise to match the Bruins and the team was changed to the Rochester Grizzlies. On April 23, they named Casey Mignone as the new head coach and general manager for the 2018–19 season. After one season, Mignone was hired as an assistant with the St. Cloud Blizzard in the NAHL and was replaced by Chris Ratzloff.

Season-by-season records

References

{{Reflist

External links

Ice Hawks websiteNA3HL website
Ice hockey teams in Minnesota Rochester, Minnesota Ice hockey clubs established in 1996 1996 establishments in Minnesota