Texas Wildcatters

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Texas Wildcatters
City Beaumont, Texas
League ECHL
Conference American Conference
Division South Division
Founded 1993
Home arena Ford Arena
Colors Black and gold
General manager Richard W. Adams
Head coach Malcom Cameron
Affiliates Florida Panthers
Minnesota Wild
Franchise history
1993–2000 Huntington Blizzard
2003–2008 Texas Wildcatters
2008–2015 Ontario Reign
2015–present Manchester Monarchs
Championships
Division Championships 2007–08

The Texas Wildcatters, who took their name from Texas wildcatters, were an ECHL team based in Beaumont, Texas. They played their home games at the Ford Arena. The team played in Huntington, West Virginia and were known as the Huntington Blizzard from 1993–2000 in the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. The Wildcatters relocated to Ontario, California, and were renamed Ontario Reign. The franchise's last game as the Wildcatters was a 1–4 loss to the Columbia Inferno on April 25, 2008, at Ford Arena.

History

During the 2004–05 season, they were affiliated with the Florida Panthers and the San Antonio Rampage.

On October 7, 2005, the Jefferson County, Texas, Commissioners announced that the team would not be allowed to use Ford Arena for the 2005–06 season because the site was being used for Hurricane Rita relief. There was no suitable temporary facility in the area, forcing the Wildcatters to cancel the season. They resumed play in 2006–07 as affiliates of the Minnesota Wild of the NHL and the AHL's Houston Aeros.[1] After the 2007–08 season, the team moved to Ontario, California as the Ontario Reign and affiliated with the Los Angeles Kings.

According to a Beaumont TV report there was a local group attempting to secure a Central Hockey League franchise for Beaumont starting in the 2008–09 season.[2] After the Austin Ice Bats suspended operations, there was an attempt to move that franchise to Ford Arena for 2008–09. However, there was insufficient time to do this before the CHL needed a commitment to play. The depressed economy of the Golden Triangle makes a relocation to Beaumont unlikely in the near future.

Season records

Regular season

Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points Goals
for
Goals
against
Standing
2003–04 72 22 44 6 50 196 287 7th, Central
2004–05 72 17 44 11 45 178 260 6th, South
2005–06 Involuntary Suspension of Season (Hurricane Rita)
2006–07 72 41 22 5 4 91 265 222 2nd, South
2007–08 72 52 9 4 7 115 266 177 1st, South

Playoffs

Season 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Finals
2003–04 Out of playoffs.
2004–05 Out of playoffs.
2005–06 Involuntary suspension of season.
2006–07 W, 3–2, GWT L, 2–4, FLA
2007–08 W, 3–1, MIS L, 2–3, CBA

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. KBMT Channel 12 report accessed 2-27-08

External links