Central Hockey League to Name Conferences after League Legends

The Central Hockey League announced today the official names of the Northern & Southern Conferences as they will be named after legends from the CHL & IHL as the Northern Conference will be named the Turner Conference after Joseph Turner, while the Southern Conference will be named the Berry Conference after the N. Thomas Berry.

N. Thomas Berry has been involved in the sport of hockey for nearly half a century as Commissioner Emeritus for the CHL and has been involved. He spent 13 years with the IHL Serving as their commissioner from 1989-1994 as he added 7 teams under his term. He currently resides in Indianapolis has served in many capacities covering the on-ice officiating all the way to running ind. teams. He was also involved in the short lived World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Indianapolis Racers.

Joesph Turner who was a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario who played for the Red Wings before WW2 also served with the US Army. He was later killed in December of 1944 during a battle in Belgium. He was an amateur goalie in the old Michigan-Ontario Amateur league which was the predictor of the International Hockey League playing for teams both in Detroit and Windsor. The Turner Cup was later named after him shortly after WW2 ended when the IHL was officially formed.

The Joseph Turner Trophy will serve as the Northern Conference Champions, while the N. Thomas Berry Trophy will be crowned as Southern Conference Champions.

Turner Conference (North)
Bloomington Prairie Thunder
Colorado Eagles
Dayton Gems
Ft. Wayne Komets
Evansville Icemen
Missouri Mavericks
Quad City Mallards
Rapid City Rush
Wichita Thunder


Berry Conference (South)
Allen Americans
Arizona Sundogs
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
Laredo Bucks
Mississippi Riverkings
Odessa Jackalopes
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Texas Brahmas
Tulsa Oilers

2010-2011 Central Hockey League Alignment & Home Openers

After weeks of rumors and false truths recently regarding the Central Hockey League's Alignment for the 2010-2011 season after the CHL/IHL Merger and the expansion of the Evansville Icemen, the league has officially announced the Official alignment as the league will be divided into 2 9 Team Conferences with No Divisions within the Conference.

The North has the 4 Teams that came over from the IHL as Bloomington Prairie Thunder, Dayton Gems, Quad City Mallards and Ft. Wayne Komets will join Wichita, Missouri, Colorado, Rapid City and Wichita to make up the league's Northern Conference.

The South will have the 5 Texas Teams as the Tulsa Oilers and Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs will be heading back South after a number of years of playing in the North. Also joining the South is the Mississippi Riverkings who are playing down South for the first time after being in Mephis and moving to Mississippi back in 2007.

It also to note that this was one of my Alignment Ideas when I made my ideas public just after the CHL/IHL Merger was officially announced. The playoff format and Full Schedules will be announced later this week as the Central Hockey League season gets underway on October 15.

Here's my Ideas for Alignment that I had back in June which included the two Conferences of 9 Teams.

http://texasicehockeyexpert.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-scenarios-for-central-hockey-league.html

Northern Conference
Bloomington Prairie Thunder
Colorado Eagles
Dayton Gems
Evansville Icemen
Ft. Wayne Komets
Missouri Mavericks
Quad City Mallards
Rapid City Rush
Wichita Thunder


Southern Conference
Allen Americans
Arizona Sundogs
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
Laredo Bucks
Mississippi Riverkings
Odessa Jackalopes
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Texas Brahmas
Tulsa Oilers


Here's a look at the Home Openers for all 18 teams next season.

Allen Americans: 10/15

Arizona Sundogs: 10/22

Bloomington Prairie Thunder: 10/22

Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs: 10/15

Colorado Eagles: 10/15

Dayton Gems: 10/16

Evansville Icemen: 10/23

Ft. Wayne Komets: 10/16

Laredo Bucks: 10/23

Mississippi Riverkings: 10/16

Missouri Mavericks: 10/15

Odessa Jackalopes: 10/28

Quad City Mallards: 10/16

Rapid City Rush: 10/23

Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees: 10/15

Texas Brahmas: 10/22

Tulsa Oilers: 10/15

Wichita Thunder: 10/16