The New Brunswick Hawks were an American Hockey League farm club that was shared between the Chicago Black Hawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs for four seasons between 1978 and 1982. The club’s name was modeled on Chicago (and also harkened back to the Moncton Hawks hockey teams of the 1940’s – 1960’s) but wore the colors (white & blue) of Toronto.
Pro hockey grew so popular in Boston during the Big Bad Bruins era of the early 1970’s that the demand for tickets greatly exceeded what the Boston Garden could hold for NHL hockey. Meanwhile, the B’s top farm club was half a country away at Oklahoma City in the Central Hockey League. The Bruins’ ownership decided to kill two birds with one stone and applied for an expansion team in the East Coast-based American Hockey League. The Boston Braves caused a sensation during their debut season at Boston Garden in the winter of 1971-72 and shattered the AHL’s single season attendance record. But the arrival of the World Hockey Association and its New England Whalers franchise the following winter put THREE teams into the Boston Garden and interest in the Braves cratered. The team was out of business by 1974.
The Moncton Alpines were an American Hockey League team and the top farm club of the Edmonton Oilers for a brief period from 1982 to 1984. The team took its blue, orange and white colors from the Oilers and derived its name from Alpine Lager beer, thanks to a naming rights sponsorship with Moosehead Breweries. After the 1983-84 season, the Calgary Flames replaced to Oilers as Moncton’s NHL parent club and the team changed its name to the Golden Flames.
East Coast Hockey League (1989-1995) American Hockey League (1995-1997) Born: 1989 – ECHL expansion franchise Folded: June 1997 (Beast of New Haven) First Game: Last Game: April 15,
The Hamilton Canucks were a short-lived American Hockey League farm club of the Vancouver Canucks that lasted two seasons from 1992 to 1994. In addition to Canucks’ prospects, the team included long-time NHL vets Rick Vaive and Mario Marois skating out their final professional seasons. The club was done in by the combination of an unfavorable lease at Hamilton’s Copps Coliseum and ownership turbulence and moved to Syracuse under new ownership in 1994.
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