Nevada

Nevada is a state in the Mountain West region of the United States. The state capital is Carson City, and the and largest city is Las Vegas. Nevada has 17 counties and a total population of over 3.1 million and is 110,567 square miles making Nevada the nation's 32nd most populous and 7th largest state in the US. The state name derives from the Spanish "Nevada" meaning "snow covered."

History of hockey in Nevada

Ice hockey debuted in Nevada on February 26, 1966, with the Sacramento All-Stars beating the Squaw Valley All-Stars 9-7 at the Centennial Coliseum in Reno. The Squaw Valley Chiefs and Los Angeles Astro Wings played a two game series at the Coliseum on April 2-3, the former winning the first game 5-2, and the latter capturing the second, 11-3. The Las Vegas Ice Palace opened in 1967 and the first ice hockey game was played at the rink between the Sacramento All-Stars and the Aspen Buds on September 9, Sacramento winning 13-8 in front of 1,200. Another game was played on October 28, the Salt Lake City Seagulls thumping the Provo Pioneers 14-5. The Las Vegas Ice Hockey Association was formed that November and the Las Vegas Gamblers made their debut against the Norwalk Stars on January 14, 1968, falling 11-5, with 3,100 fans in attendance. The Chicago Black Hawks and Portland Buckaroos played exhibition games at the Ice Palace on September 30 and October 1, 1968. The Black Hawks won the first game 2-1 and the second 8-2.

The Gamblers played independent schedules again from 1969-1971, but were unable to field a tram for 1971-72, and another club called the Las Vegas Outlaws was formed, many of the players jumping to it. They hosted the 1972 United States Olympic team, and some European clubs as well, before eventually folding in 1975. The Gamblers and Outlaws had a rival in the Reno Aces, who began play at the Centennial Coliseum in 1968-69. All of the players that year lived in San Francisco, and played hockey as a side thing. The Aces played until 1974, and were later revived from 1978-1980.

The Reno Broncos joined the Southwest Hockey League for the 1975-76 season, but folded after 17 games with a record of 7-10 (80:91 goals) on November 19, 1975. Later, the Las Vegas Aces had a semi-pro team from 1992-1995. The Las Vegas Thunder competed in the International Hockey League from 1993-1999, and the Las Vegas Wranglers were members of the ECHL from 2003-2014. The Reno Gamblers played in the Pacific Southwest Hockey League in the fall of 1980, losing 6-4 to the Fresno Falcons in their first game on November 7. The Gamblers were officially dropped from the league in January 1981, playing only six games. The Reno Hawks were an amateur outfit active from 1981-1983. The Reno Aces returned as an "old timers" team from 1984-1987. The Reno Broncos were also active during those years. The Reno Renegades competed in the West Coast Hockey League from 1995-1997, becoming the Reno Rage for 1997-98, before folding. The San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League moved to Nevada for the 2020-21 season, becoming the Henderson Silver Knights.

The first outdoor game in National Hockey League history was played in Las Vegas: 14,000 fans came to a rink set up outside Caesars Palace to see the Los Angeles Kings defeat the New York Rangers 5–2 on September 28, 1991. The air temperature was 85 °F (29 °C) during the game. From 1997-2015, Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena was home to a series of Los Angeles Kings exhibition games, known as Frozen Fury. Having outbid Anaheim and Phoenix for the NHL marketing rights to Las Vegas, Frozen Fury started off as a "marketing stunt" for the Kings that became a weekend party for their fans. The last Frozen Fury, held in October 2016, took place at T-Mobile Arena.

The Vegas Golden Knights joined the National Hockey League as its 31st franchise for the 2017-18 season, and immediately found success, making it to the Stanley Cup finals in their first year.

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