The Edmonton Sled Dogs entered Roller Hockey International in the spring of 1994 as part of an orgy of expansion for the second-year in-line skating promotion. The 1994 season saw RHI expand from 12 to 24 teams, with new franchises parceled out all across North America. Of the 15 new cities that joined the league in 1994 via expansion or relocation, 11 were gone by the start of the 1997 season. Edmonton was among the weakest of the bunch.
The Sacramento River Rats were a pro Roller Hockey outfit that played four summers in the California capital city from 1994 to 1997. The Rats were part of Roller Hockey International. At its peak, the league had 19 clubs all across the U.S. and Canada and had a cable TV deal with ESPN2. Notable players included NHL veterans Bruce Bell and Link Gaetz and female goaltender Manon Rheaume. Three River Rats players later advanced to play in the NHL as well. The team disbanded after the 1997 season.
Roller Hockey International (1995-1997) Born: 1995 Folded: June 1997 First Game: June 7, 1995 (L 8-6 vs. Philadelphia Bulldogs) Last Game: June 1, 1997 (L
The Utah Rollerbees were one of twelve founding franchises in Roller Hockey International during the summer of 1993. Unique among RHI’s twelve clubs in 1993, the Rollerbees initially played their games in an outdoor setting. The club played on a 4,700-seat court erected in the parking lot of the South Towne Center shopping mall in Sandy. But at the end of July, the team ended the outdoor experiment and moved their final three home games into the Delta Center, home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz. The Rollerbees moved to Las Vegas in 1994.
The Vancouver Voodoo were a modestly popular roller hockey outfit organized by former Vancouver Canucks enforcer Tiger Williams and business partner Mike King during the mid-1990’s. The Voodoo were one of the 12 original franchises in Roller Hockey International (RHI) in 1993. RHI was an attempt to capitalize on the recreational in-line skating boom of the era. The Vancouver Canucks purchased the Voodoo ahead of the team’s fourth season in 1996 and moved the team into General Motors Place, the NHL team’s new $160 million ice palace. But the Canucks’ parent company changed leadership later that year and decided to disband the money-losing Voodoo in December 1996.
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