Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

American Hockey League (1997-2005)

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Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
Logo T-Shirt

Cincinnati’s third foray into the American Hockey League, following the Mohawks in the ’50s and the Swords in the early ’70s, the Mighty Ducks played at the Cincinnati Gardens from 1997 to 2005. 

This Ducks design is also available as a Hooded Sweatshirt from Cincy’s own Old School Shirts!

 

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Background

The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were born out of the divorce between the city’s popular Cyclones minor league hockey team and the 50-year Cincinnati Gardens arena. The Cyclones, established in 1990, were a popular draw at the Gardens throughout the early-mid 90’s, drawing 7,000 to 8,000 a night in the International Hockey League. But Cyclones owner Doug Kirchhofer desired more control over arena revenues and atmosphere than he could exert as a tenant of Gardens owner Jerry Robinson. In February 1997, Kirchhofer announced that he would buy the larger and more modern Riverfront Coliseum and move the Cyclones downtown for the 1997-98 season.

The Robinson family swiftly responded by purchasing the financially distressed Baltimore Bandits of the American Hockey League and re-locating the club to the Gardens during the spring of 1997. The NHL’s Mighty Ducks of Anaheim agreed to sponsor the Robinsons’ AHL team as its top farm club. For the next seven winters, Cincinnati would host two rival minor league hockey operations.

On The Ice

The Mighty Ducks were consistently mediocre on ice. The team posted only two winning records in eight season of play. Thanks to the AHL’s generous playoff format, they still qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs five times, but advanced beyond the round of 16 only once. In their final season of play in 2004-05, the Mighty Ducks advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to the Chicago Wolves.

Center Bob Wren (Mighty Ducks ’97-’01) was the franchise’s all-time leader in games (277), goals (113) and assists (186).

The Mighty Ducks provided the first pro coaching assignment for Mike Babcock, who guided Cincinnati to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2001 and 2002. In May 2002, Anaheim promoted Babcock to coach the NHL club. The following spring, Babcock took Anaheim to its first Stanley Cup finals appearance where the Ducks lost in seven games to the New Jersey Devils. Babcock would later return to the Stanley Cup finals twice with the Detroit Red Wings, winning it all in 2008.

Ducks-Cyclones Rivalry

The Cyclones initially got the best of the intra-city rivalry with the Ducks. Kirchhofer’s IHL team continued to average over 7,000 fans a night after moving to the Riverfront Coliseum (re-dubbed “The Crown” under Kirchhofer’s management). The Mighty Ducks drew 4,000 – 5,000 per night at the Gardens. But the IHL was coming apart at the the seams, a victim of over-expansion and poor relations with the NHL.

In the Mighty Ducks fourth season, 2000-01, they surpassed the Cyclones in average game attendance for the first time. The IHL folded that spring after 56 seasons of play. The Cyclones forged on, joining the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) for the 2001-02 season. But the ECHL was a notably lower level of play from both the IHL and the AHL. Cyclones attendance dropped off a cliff, bottoming out at just 2,204 per night to watch a last-place team during the winter of 2003-04.

The Cyclones took a year’s leave of absence from the ECHL the following season. The Mighty Ducks entered the 2004-05 AHL season with the city of Cincinnati to themselves for the first time ever. Ironically, it would be their last season of play.

The End

In May 2005, Anaheim announced it was shifting its AHL farm club operation to Portland, Maine. Without another NHL affiliation on the horizon, the Robinson family was forced to take a year’s leave of absence from the AHL and go dark for the 2005-06 season. After having two minor league hockey teams from 1997 to 2004, Cincinnati would have no pro hockey in the fall of 2005.

The Robinson family retained a staff of eight to prepare for a return to the AHL in 2006-07. In October 2005, the team unveiled a new name for the prospective club: the Cincinnati RailRiders. But a RailRaiders season ticket drive failed to meet its goal of 2,000 deposits and the club never return to play. Instead the Cyclones returned to the ECHL from their own hiatus in the fall of 2006. They continue to compete in the ECHL to this day.

The Robinson Family finally sold the AHL franchise in early 2007 to a group from Rockford, Illinois for the 2007-08 season. The former Cincinnati Mighty Ducks franchise plays on today as the Rockford IceHogs.

Cincinnati Gardens closed down in 2016 and was demolished in March 2018.

Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Shop

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Cincinnati Gardens Logo T-Shirt

The Cincinnati Gardens opened in 1949 and was the home arena for multiple hockey, soccer, basketball, football and roller derby teams. The Gardens was also a top venue for wrestling, boxing, monster truck jams, motorcycle racing, and concerts. The Gardens were demolished in March 2018

This tee is also available as a women’s scoop neck from our partners at Old School Shirts!

 

When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!

In Memoriam

Defenseman Ruslan Salei (Cincinnati ’97-’98) died on September 7, 2011 in a plane crash in Yaroslavl, Russia that killed all members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team aboard the flight. Orange County Register obituary.

Downloads

Spring 1998 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Insider Newsletter

Links

American Hockey League Media Guides

American Hockey League Programs

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