AHU Knights were an

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

-sanctioned 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 out of Gilbert, Arizona. The Knights were a part 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 ...

and played in the Western Division. Their home games were played at AZ Ice Gilbert in Gilbert, Arizona. The organization was operated by Arizona Hockey Club, Inc, which also runs a local youth hockey program.

History

The franchise, originally known as the Phoenix Polar Bears, joined the WSHL in 1999. In 2011, the owners of the Polar Bears dropped their WSHL membership when the league left

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 governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...

sanctioning for the

. The franchise was sold to Arizona Hockey Clubs, Inc. and was renamed as the Phoenix Knights. Colten St. Clair was named head coach and general manager in March 2017. St. Clair grew up in Gilbert, Arizona, before playing junior hockey for the

Fargo Force The Fargo Force is a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Force have won one league championship in 2018 and was awarded USHL Organization of the Year for 2008–09 and 2012–13. ...

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 ...

and in NCAA Division I for the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

. After one season and being named the coach of the year for 2017–18, St. Clair left to become a volunteer assistant coach for the NCAA Division I

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

. The organization then failed to find a new head coach in time to adequately recruit for the 2018–19 season and withdrew from participation.

Season-by-season records

References

{{reflist Ice hockey teams in Arizona Sports in Phoenix, Arizona