List of USHL seasons

This is a list of seasons of the United States Hockey League since its transition to a junior hockey league in 1979.

Junior league

Starting in 1979–80, the USHL changed to an all-junior league and would operate as an American competitor to the Canadian Hockey League. While the CHL is the major junior program for most professional hockey prospects, its players are forbidden by NCAA regulations to play hockey for Division I or III programs, making the USHL a favorite preparatory league for players seeking to play collegiate hockey in America.

No.	Season	No. of teams	Reg. season games	Start (reg. season)	Finish (incl. USHL playoffs)	Anderson Cup Champion	Clark Cup Champion
1	1979–80	7[lower-alpha 1]	48			Hennepin Nordiques(30–18–0)	Hennepin Nordiques
2	1980–81	8[lower-alpha 2]	48			Dubuque Fighting Saints(38–9–1)	Dubuque Fighting Saints
3	1981–82	7[lower-alpha 3]	48			Sioux City Musketeers(29–16–3)	Sioux City Musketeers
4	1982–83	7	48			Dubuque Fighting Saints(39–8–1)	Dubuque Fighting Saints
5	1983–84	8[lower-alpha 4]	48			St. Paul Vulcans(37–8–0–3)	St. Paul Vulcans
6	1984–85	10[lower-alpha 5]	48			Austin Mavericks(39–8–1–0)	Dubuque Fighting Saints
7	1985–86	9[lower-alpha 6]	48			Sioux City Musketeers(42–6–0–0)	Sioux City Musketeers
8	1986–87	10[lower-alpha 7]	48			Rochester Mustangs(37–9–0–2)	Rochester Mustangs
9	1987–88	10	48			Thunder Bay Flyers(40–7–1-0)	Thunder Bay Flyers
10	1988–89	10	48			Thunder Bay Flyers(40–6–2–0)	Thunder Bay Flyers
11	1989–90	10	48	September 30		Omaha Lancers(36–11–0–1)	Omaha Lancers
12	1990–91	10	48			Thunder Bay Flyers(36–10–2–0)	Omaha Lancers
13	1991–92	10[lower-alpha 8]	48			Thunder Bay Flyers(36–11–1)	Des Moines Buccaneers
14	1992–93	10	48			Omaha Lancers(35–9–0–4)	Omaha Lancers
15	1993–94	10	48–54[lower-alpha 9]			Des Moines Buccaneers(36–12–0–0)	Omaha Lancers
16	1994–95	11[lower-alpha 10]	48			Des Moines Buccaneers(38–5–5–0)	Des Moines Buccaneers
17	1995–96	11[lower-alpha 11]	46			Green Bay Gamblers(32–11–3–0)	Green Bay Gamblers
18	1996–97	12[lower-alpha 12]	54		April 22	Green Bay Gamblers(41–11–0–2)	Lincoln Stars
19	1997–98	13[lower-alpha 13]	24, 56		April 21	Des Moines Buccaneers(40–14–2)	Omaha Lancers
20	1998–99	13[lower-alpha 14]	56		April 23	Des Moines Buccaneers(48–7–0–1)	Des Moines Buccaneers
21	1999–00	14[lower-alpha 15]	58	September 17	April 27	Lincoln Stars(41–16–1)	Green Bay Gamblers
22	2000–01	13[lower-alpha 16]	24, 58		April 28	Lincoln Stars(43–7–0–6)	Omaha Lancers
23	2001–02	14[lower-alpha 17]	13, 61		May 12	Omaha Lancers(46–12-0–3)	Sioux City Musketeers
24	2002–03	11[lower-alpha 18]	60	September 27	April 29	Waterloo Black Hawks(37–14–3–6)	Lincoln Stars
25	2003–04	12[lower-alpha 19]	60	September 26	May 5	Tri-City Storm(43–12–1–4)	Waterloo Black Hawks
26	2004–05	11[lower-alpha 20]	60	September 24	May 9	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders(42–13–1–4)	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
27	2005–06	11[lower-alpha 21]	60	September 23	May 1	Sioux Falls Stampede(43–13–1–3)	Des Moines Buccaneers
28	2006–07	12[lower-alpha 22]	60	October 5	May 15	Waterloo Black Hawks(39–17–4)	Sioux Falls Stampede
29	2007–08	12	60	October 5	May 10	Omaha Lancers(43–12–5)	Omaha Lancers
30	2008–09	12[lower-alpha 23]	60	October 3	May 8	Green Bay Gamblers(38–17–4)	Indiana Ice
31	2009–10	14[lower-alpha 24]	60	October 2	May 12	Green Bay Gamblers(45–10–5)	Green Bay Gamblers
32	2010–11	16[lower-alpha 25]	60	October 1	May 21	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders(42–13–6)	Dubuque Fighting Saints
33	2011–12	16	60	September 30	May 23	Green Bay Gamblers(47–9–4)	Green Bay Gamblers
34	2012–13	16	64	September 28	May 17	Dubuque Fighting Saints(45–11–8)	Dubuque Fighting Saints
35	2013–14	16	60	September 20	May 20	Waterloo Black Hawks(44–11–5)	Indiana Ice
36	2014–15	17[lower-alpha 26]	60	September 26	May 15	Youngstown Phantoms(40–14–6)	Sioux Falls Stampede
37	2015–16	17	60	September 25	May 20	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders(40–15–3–2)	Tri-City Storm
38	2016–17	17	60	September 23	May 24	Sioux City Musketeers(40–13–5–2)	Chicago Steel
39	2017–18	17	60	October 6	May 19	Waterloo Black Hawks(38–14–6–2)	Fargo Force
40	2018–19	17	62	September 27	May 17	Tri-City Storm(45–12–3–2)	Sioux Falls Stampede
41	2019–20[lower-alpha 27]	16	47–50	September 26	March 11	Chicago Steel(41–7–1–0)	Not awarded

The USHL began its first all-junior season in 1979 with six teams continuing from the semi-professional USHL the year before and one expansion franchise (Hennepin Nordiques).
The Waterloo Black Hawks relocated to Dubuque, Iowa, becoming the Fighting Saints, the Hennepin Nordiques relocated to Waterloo, Iowa and assumed the name 'Black Hawks', and the Des Moines Buccaneers were founded as an expansion team.
The Green Bay Bobcats cease to operate.
The North Iowa Huskies were added as an expansion franchise.
The Thunder Bay Flyers and Madison Capitols are added as expansion franchises. The Bloomington Junior Stars change their name to 'Minnesota Stars'.
The Minnesota Stars cease to operate. The Austin Mavericks relocated to Rochester, Minnesota, becoming the Mustangs.
The Omaha Lancers are added as an expansion franchise.
The Madison Capitols change their name to 'Wisconsin Capitols'.
For the 1993–94 season, some teams played a normal 48-game schedule, while others played slightly more with the North Iowa Huskies playing the most at 54 games.
The Green Bay Gamblers are added as an expansion franchise.
The Fargo-Moorhead Bears are added as an expansion franchise. The Wisconsin Capitols cease to operate. The St. Paul Vulcans change their name to 'Twin City Vulcans'.
The Fargo-Moorhead Bears cease to operate. The Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks and Lincoln Stars are added as expansion franchises.
The US National Team Development Program played a partial, 24-game schedule.
The US National Team Development Program is added as a full-time member.
The Sioux Falls Stampede are added as an expansion franchise. The North Iowa Huskies relocated to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, becoming the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
The Thunder Bay Flyers cease to operate. The Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks relocated to Chicago, Illinois, becoming the Steel, the Twin Cities Vulcans relocated to Kearney, Nebraska, becoming the Tri-City Storm. The US National Team Development Program returns to a partial, 24-game schedule.
The Dubuque Fighting Saints relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, becoming the Crude. The Topeka ScareCrows were granted expansion in the USHL after the organization's franchise was removed the professional CHL. The USHL plays a 60-game schedule between its full-time teams with the US National Team Development Program playing once against each team.
The Rochester Mustangs and Tulsa Crude cease to operate. The Omaha Lancers relocated to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and take on the name River City Lancers. The US National Team Development Program stops playing USHL games.
The Danville Wings transferred from the NAHL. The Topeka ScareCrows relocated to Chesterfield, Missouri, becoming the Heartland Eagles.
The Danville Wings relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana, becoming the Indiana Ice. The St. Louis Heartland Eagles cease to operate.
The River City Lancers change their name back to 'Omaha Lancers'.
The Ohio Junior Blue Jackets were added as an expansion team.
The Ohio Junior Blue Jackets ceased operation while the Fargo Force were added as an expansion team.
The Youngstown Phantoms and US National Team Development Program transferred from the North American Hockey League.
The Dubuque Fighting Saints were resurrected and the Muskegon Lumberjacks were added as an expansion team.
The Bloomington Thunder and Madison Capitols were added as expansion team, however the Indiana Ice were granted "dormancy status" while the organization focused on development of new facilities, reserving a place in the league, but not participating.
Remainder of season canceled on March 18, 2020, and did not resume play due to COVID-19 pandemic. All teams suspended play a week prior to cancellation.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] The USHL began its first all-junior season in 1979 with six teams continuing from the semi-professional USHL the year before and one expansion franchise (Hennepin Nordiques).

[2] The Waterloo Black Hawks relocated to Dubuque, Iowa, becoming the Fighting Saints, the Hennepin Nordiques relocated to Waterloo, Iowa and assumed the name 'Black Hawks', and the Des Moines Buccaneers were founded as an expansion team.

[3] The Green Bay Bobcats cease to operate.

[4] The North Iowa Huskies were added as an expansion franchise.

[5] The Thunder Bay Flyers and Madison Capitols are added as expansion franchises. The Bloomington Junior Stars change their name to 'Minnesota Stars'.

[6] The Minnesota Stars cease to operate. The Austin Mavericks relocated to Rochester, Minnesota, becoming the Mustangs.

[7] The Omaha Lancers are added as an expansion franchise.

[8] The Madison Capitols change their name to 'Wisconsin Capitols'.

[9] For the 1993–94 season, some teams played a normal 48-game schedule, while others played slightly more with the North Iowa Huskies playing the most at 54 games.

[10] The Green Bay Gamblers are added as an expansion franchise.

[11] The Fargo-Moorhead Bears are added as an expansion franchise. The Wisconsin Capitols cease to operate. The St. Paul Vulcans change their name to 'Twin City Vulcans'.

[12] The Fargo-Moorhead Bears cease to operate. The Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks and Lincoln Stars are added as expansion franchises.

[13] The US National Team Development Program played a partial, 24-game schedule.

[14] The US National Team Development Program is added as a full-time member.

[15] The Sioux Falls Stampede are added as an expansion franchise. The North Iowa Huskies relocated to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, becoming the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

[16] The Thunder Bay Flyers cease to operate. The Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks relocated to Chicago, Illinois, becoming the Steel, the Twin Cities Vulcans relocated to Kearney, Nebraska, becoming the Tri-City Storm. The US National Team Development Program returns to a partial, 24-game schedule.

[17] The Dubuque Fighting Saints relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, becoming the Crude. The Topeka ScareCrows were granted expansion in the USHL after the organization's franchise was removed the professional CHL. The USHL plays a 60-game schedule between its full-time teams with the US National Team Development Program playing once against each team.

[18] The Rochester Mustangs and Tulsa Crude cease to operate. The Omaha Lancers relocated to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and take on the name River City Lancers. The US National Team Development Program stops playing USHL games.

[19] The Danville Wings transferred from the NAHL. The Topeka ScareCrows relocated to Chesterfield, Missouri, becoming the Heartland Eagles.

[20] The Danville Wings relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana, becoming the Indiana Ice. The St. Louis Heartland Eagles cease to operate.

[21] The River City Lancers change their name back to 'Omaha Lancers'.

[22] The Ohio Junior Blue Jackets were added as an expansion team.

[23] The Ohio Junior Blue Jackets ceased operation while the Fargo Force were added as an expansion team.

[24] The Youngstown Phantoms and US National Team Development Program transferred from the North American Hockey League.

[25] The Dubuque Fighting Saints were resurrected and the Muskegon Lumberjacks were added as an expansion team.

[26] The Bloomington Thunder and Madison Capitols were added as expansion team, however the Indiana Ice were granted "dormancy status" while the organization focused on development of new facilities, reserving a place in the league, but not participating.

[27] Remainder of season canceled on March 18, 2020, and did not resume play due to COVID-19 pandemic. All teams suspended play a week prior to cancellation.