The St. Charles Chill was a minor league

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 and member of the

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 ...

that began play during the 2013–14 season on October 19, 2013 as the affiliate of the

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 ...

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

and the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

. Based in

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

, the Chill played its home games at the

Family Arena The Family Arena is a multi-purpose arena in St. Charles, Missouri, built in 1999. The arena seats 9,643 for hockey, 9,755 for football, 10,467 for basketball, 6,339 for half-house concerts and up to 11,522 for end-stage concerts. In addition t ...

. The Chill was the second hockey team to call St. Charles home following the

Missouri River Otters The Missouri River Otters were a minor professional ice hockey team based in St. Charles, Missouri. They played in the United Hockey League from 1999 to 2006. They played their home games at the St. Charles Family Arena, which also opened in Octo ...

, which played in the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

from 1999 until folding in 2006.

History

On August 1, 2012, the CHL announced that the former

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 ...

franchise had been transferred to new ownership headed by Gustavo Hernandez, Alfonso Arguindegui and Glenn Hart, with plans to relocate the team to St. Charles, taking up the "St. Charles Chill" name. The Chill was expected to form strong rivalries with other nearby CHL teams, in particular the

Quad City Mallards The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named after the Mallards team ...

Bloomington Blaze The Bloomington Thunder were a minor professional ice hockey team that was a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Based in Bloomington, Illinois, the Thunder played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum, located in downto ...

, and in-state rivals the

Missouri Mavericks The Kansas City Mavericks are an ice hockey team in the ECHL. Founded in 2009 as the Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League, CHL, the team plays in Independence, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, at the Cable Dahmer Arena. H ...

. On September 17, 2012, the Chill announced that former

player

Jamie Rivers Jamie Rivers (born March 16, 1975) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey coach, executive and former player. Rivers was most recently the head coach and General Manager of the Central Hockey League's St. Charles Chill. Rivers played 45 ...

would serve as the team's first head coach. Patrick Armstrong served as the team's Executive VP, handling the day-to-day operations of the club. Bart Hulll, brother of former St. Louis Blues player

Brett Hull Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964) is a Canadian–American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Calgary Flames, ...

, was named Vice President of Business Operations (a title his brother holds with NHL affiliate St. Louis Blues). On October 17, 2013, the Chill announced that it would be the CHL affiliate of the

and the

. Tony Patricio of KPNT-FM 105.7's "The Point" served as host for the Chill's games; KFNS personality Jeff Burton as Public Address announcer; and WGNU-AM's Matt Grover as DJ. The Chill finished last among CHL teams during its inaugural season, with only eleven wins, but managed to rank seventh in attendance with an average of 2,585 fans per game at the Family Arena. On May 2, 2014, the official website of the St. Charles Chill announced the team was ceasing operations.

References

External links

St. Charles Chill official site

St. Charles Chill introduction press conference
{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Charles Chill St. Louis Blues Central Hockey League teams St. Charles County, Missouri Ice hockey in St. Louis Ice hockey clubs established in 2012 Professional ice hockey teams in Missouri Ice hockey teams in Missouri 2012 establishments in Missouri Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2014 2014 disestablishments in Missouri

History

See also

References

External links