The Amarillo Bulls were a Tier II 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 h ...

team based in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

. They were a member of the North American Hockey League's South Division and played home games in the

Amarillo Civic Center The Amarillo Civic Center is a multi-purpose convention center in Amarillo, Texas. It consists of multiple facilities including: * A 2,848-seat auditorium with 2,324 permanent seats used for concerts, Broadway shows and other events. * The Ca ...

History

The franchise joined the NAHL as the

Albert Lea Thunder The Albert Lea Thunder was a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Central Division. The team was an expansion franchise for the 2008–09 season and played their home games at the Albert Lea Ice Arena in Albert ...

, located in

Albert Lea, Minnesota Albert Lea is a city in Freeborn County, in southern Minnesota. It is the county seat. Its population was 18,492 at the 2020 census. The city is at the junction of Interstates 35 and 90, about south of the Twin Cities. It is on the shores of ...

, in 2008. During the second season, issues with ownership forced the league to step in to keep the team playing. On May 11, 2010, it was reported that the team had found new owners and would relocate to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

for the 2010–11 season. Their franchise and roster were officially sold to the Amarillo ownership on May 26, 2010. On June 18, the team announced the new name, logo and colors of the team after a name-the-team contest. The Amarillo Bulls announced their inaugural coach as Denis Williams, former

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I coach at

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

. On May 13, 2013, the Bulls captured their first

Robertson Cup 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 ...

Championship defeating the

Wenatchee Wild The Wenatchee Wild is a Junior A ice hockey team in the British Columbia Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Washington. Initially, the team was part of the North American Hockey League ...

5–0 in the championship game. Following the 2013–14 season, coach Williams was named as the head coach of the expansion Bloomington Thunder 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 strictl ...

, a Tier I team and a recent addition to the Consolidated Sports Holdings portfolio. In 2019, the team was sold to F&S Management Company LLC led by majority owner Alberto Fernandez. On March 5, 2021, it was announced that the team would relocate to

Mason City, Iowa Mason City is a city and the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,338 in the 2020 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro G ...

, starting in the 2021–22 season as the

North Iowa Bulls The North Iowa Bulls are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League (NAHL). They play their home games at the Mason City Multipurpose Arena in Mason City, Iowa. The organization also operates a Tier III junior team in t ...

, an organization that had been operating in the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New Yo ...

and also owned by Fernandez. The Bulls were replaced in Amarillo by the Amarillo Wranglers in the 2021–22 season.

Season-by-season records

Playoffs

*2011 :Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated

Texas Tornado The Texas Tornado were a Junior A hockey team located in Frisco, Texas, USA. The team joined the North American Hockey League's Central division in 1999 (and moved into the newly formed southern division three years later) while located in North ...

, ''3-games-to-1'' :Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated

Topeka RoadRunners The Amarillo Wranglers are a junior ice hockey#Tier II, Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's South Division. The team's home arena is the Amarillo Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas. History Lone Star Cavalry The Lon ...

, ''3-games-to-2'' :Robertson Cup Round Robin – Amarillo Bulls (2–1) - Qualify for Semifinal Game ''(W, 5–2 vs. Warriors; W, 5-3 vs. RoadRunners; L, 1–2 vs. Ice Dogs)'' :Robertson Cup Semifinal Game – Michigan Warriors defeated Amarillo Bulls, ''6–2'' *2012 :Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Odessa Jackalopes, ''3-games-to-1'' :Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated

, ''3-games-to-1'' :Robertson Cup Round Robin – Amarillo Bulls (1–2) - Qualify for Semifinal ''(OTW, 3–2 vs.

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

; L, 1-3 vs. Ice Dogs; L, 2-6 vs.

Bobcats The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

)'' :Robertson Cup Semifinal Game – St. Louis Bandits defeated Amarillo Bulls, ''3–2'' *2013 :Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Corpus Christi IceRays, ''3-games-to-1'' :Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated

, ''3-games-to-0'' :Robertson Cup Round Robin – Amarillo Bulls (2–1) - Qualify for Championship Game ''(OTW, 2–1 vs. Ironmmen; OTW, 2–1 vs.

; L, 0-7 vs.

Wild Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

)'' :Robertson Cup Final – Amarillo Bulls defeated

, ''5-0'' :Robertson Cup Champions *2014 :Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Wichita Falls Wildcats, ''3-games-to-0'' :Division Finals –

defeated Amarillo Bulls, ''3-games-to-2'' *2019 :Division Semifinals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Corpus Christi IceRays, ''3-games-to-2'' :Division Finals – Amarillo Bulls defeated Shreveport Mudbugs, ''3-games-to-2'' :Robertson Cup Semifinals –

Aberdeen Wings The Aberdeen Wings are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based out of Aberdeen, South Dakota, that began play for 2010–11. A member of the North American Hockey League in the Central Division, the Wings play their home games in the Odde Ice Ce ...

defeated Amarillo Bulls, ''2-games-to-1 *2021 :Division Semifinals – Shreveport Mudbugs defeated Amarillo Bulls, ''3-games-to-1''

References

External links

Official website
{{NAHL Defunct North American Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in Texas Sports in Amarillo, Texas Ice hockey clubs established in 2010 2010 establishments in Texas Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2021 2021 disestablishments in Texas