The Springfield Express was an AAU-sanctioned

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 based in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

and plays home games at the

Mediacom Ice Park Jordan Valley Ice Park is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Springfield, Missouri. The arena is owned and operated by the Springfield-Greene County Park Board and serves as a location for community recreation and the home for the Missouri S ...

. The team is 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 19 ...

(WSHL).

History

The franchise was founded in 2005 as the

Cajun Catahoulas The Cajun Catahoulas were a Junior A Tier III ice hockey team, based in Carencro, Louisiana, which is located just outside Lafayette. Initially announced in May 2005 as a Junior B team, the Catahoulas were promoted to Junior A Tier III in August ...

, based in

Carencro, Louisiana Carencro (; historically french: St.-Pierre) is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Lafayette. The population was 7,526 at the 2010 census, up from 6,120 in 2000; at the 2020 census, its p ...

. It moved after the 2008–09 season to

North Richland Hills, Texas North Richland Hills, commonly known as NRH, is a city inside Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a mid-to-high end suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 69,917 at the 2020 census, making it the third largest city in Tarrant County. I ...

and was renamed the Texas Renegades. After the 2008–09 season in North Richland Hills, the team was moved to Blades Multiplex Arena 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 ...

and became the

New Mexico Renegades The New Mexico Renegades were a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team, based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The team played in the Mountain Division of the Western States Hockey League (WSHL). Their home games were played at the Blades Multiplex Arena. ...

. In 2011, the Renegades were purchased by Revolution Sports Management, Inc. Following the 2013–14 season, the team announced a move to Springfield, Missouri and the Mediacom Ice Park and a name change to the Springfield Express. The team becomes the first junior hockey franchise in Springfield since the

Springfield Spirit The Springfield Spirit was a women's professional basketball team in the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL). Based in the birthplace of basketball, Springfield, Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachuset ...

of the

NAHL Nahl or NAHL may refer to: * Nahl (surname) * National Accident Helpline, a British personal injury lawyer service * North American Hockey League, an American junior hockey league * North American Hockey League (1973–1977), an American professio ...

relocated to Alaska in 2005. On April 29, 2016, after a successful 2015–16 season, it was announced that Revolution Sports Management had finalized the sale of the Express to 417 Sports Management. The new ownership group, based in Springfield, is owned by Dr. Brenton and Andrea Coger, formerly a billet family and team physician. Co-owner Andrea Coger was later accused stalking, sexually harassing, threatening a former player with whom she had apparently had a relationship while he was one of her legal-age billet players during the 2016–17 season. During the 2017–18 season, the team went through an ownership transition with four investors to keep the team operating. After the season, the owners announced they could not negotiate lower fees for an arena lease and would suspend operations for the 2018–19 season.

Season-by-season records

References

External links

Springfield Express webpage

Western States Hockey League Webpage
Amateur ice hockey teams in Missouri Sports in Springfield, Missouri 2014 establishments in Missouri 2018 disestablishments in Missouri Ice hockey clubs established in 2014 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2018 {{Missouri-sport-team-stub