Kansas

Kansas is a state in the central United States.

Its population is about 2,900,000.

Its capital is Topeka and the largest city is Wichita.

History of hockey in Kansas

The Wichita Forum, which had been built in 1912, added an ice rink in 1932, and the first games of ice hockey were played in Wichita that March. The Gore Hat Shop won the city title over the Wible Rinkmen. The Alaskan Ice Palace opened on November 28, 1932, with a game between the Wichita Alaskans and Kansas City. The Duluth Hornets of the American Hockey Association moved to Wichita for the second half of the season, becoming the Wichita Blue Jays. In 1933-34, the Wichita Vikings lasted only three games in the AHA before folding. An amateur league was set up instead, beginning play in January 1934. The Wichita Americans were a semi-pro team that played exhibition games during the 1934-35 season. They beat the Denver Falcons twice and the Tulsa Semi-Pros.

The Wichita Skyhawks joined the AHA in 1935-36, and played in the league until 1940, when they disbanded. Ice hockey returned to Wichita on March 14, 1941, with an AHA game between the St. Louis Flyers and Tulsa Oilers taking place at the Alaskan Ice Palace. St. Louis won, 6-2. The Wichita Semi-Pro Hockey League was formed for the 1941-42 season. It lasted until 1944. There was a Wichita City Championship played in 1946, won by the Boeing Comets, and the Wichita Industrial League was founded for 1946-47. It lasted until 1953, giving way to the Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri League, which operated for one season. The Alaskan Ice Palace was converted into a roller skating rink in 1954, bringing an end to hockey in Wichita until 1966-67, when the Silver Skates Ice Arena opened.

The Wichita Flyers were active from 1967-1975. The Wichita Dailey Jets beat the Kansas City Wargan 11-4 on November 1, 1980. On March 21-22, 1981, they took third place in the Midwest Senior A Hockey Tournament in Kansas City. They beat teams from St. Louis, Dallas, and Kansas City, but lost to Omaha in the final game to put their record at 8-3-1. The Jets were set to face the Wichita Hockey All-Stars on May 9, 1981. They swept the Little Rock Royal Mites from Arkansas 6-5 and 5-3 on November 28-29, 1981. The Wichita Amateurs swept Little Rock (AR) 11-7 and 6-5 on September 11-12, 1982. On November 27, 1982, the standings in the Wichita Amateur Hockey League were as follows: Dailey Jets 5-1-0-10 61:10, Bushwacker Rangers 3-0-0-6 15:8, Nance North Stars 1-4-0-2 18:21, Frontier Outlaws 0-4-0-0 3:58.

The Wichita Wind played in the Central Hockey League from 1980-1983. The Wichita Thunder were members of the new CHL from 1992-2014, and have competed in the ECHL since then. The Topeka Scarecrows played in the CHL from 1998-2001, and the Tarantulas spent the 2004-05 season in the league.

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