Colorado

Colorado is a state in the western United States.

It has a population of over 5,700,000.

Its capital and largest city is Denver.

History of hockey in Colorado

The origins of hockey in the town of Leadville dated back to the 1800s. On December 17, 1890, when it was noted by Mr. M.A. Morland that there were a number of good skaters in the city, and that "There used to be a hockey club here and I cannot see why one should not be gotten up now." However, no further developments were reported until 1894, when on December 8, a team captained by Eddie Erb defeated a side led by Billy Niblock 6-4 in a game of ice polo at Ellesmere in Leadville. In 1896, there were hockey games played at the Leadville Crystal Palace as part of the Leadville Crystal Carnival hockey tournament. The Denver Athletic Club formed a team that winter. On February 5, 1898, the Leadville Hockey Club thrashed the Denver Athletic Club 7-1.

Leadville remained a hockey hotspot, and Aspen also picked up the game, losing to Leadville 5-2 in 1902. Hockey was first played in Colorado Springs in 1904, and the University of Colorado and Colorado School of Mines both formed teams and hoped to face one another in a game that did not materialize due to thaw. Hockey was played regularly in Leadville until 1912, when the sport died out. Aside from a few games in 1914 and 1918, the sport lay dormant in Colorado until 1929, when Fort Collins, Denver and Longmont took it up. The Rocky Mountain Ice Hockey League/Colorado State League was established for the 1930-31 season, and lasted until 1936. The Denver Falcons had a semi-pro team in 1935, playing two games on the road against the Wichita Falcons.

The Broadmoor Ice Palace, the state's first indoor rink, opened in Colorado Springs on January 1, 1938. Colorado College called the rink home, and competed in the local Pikes Peak Hockey League. The Broadmoor Broncs were among the teams who competed in the Rocky Mountain Hockey League in 1939. Colorado College has had a successful NCAA Division I program, winning the national title in 1950 and 1957. The Frozen Four was held annually at the Broadmoor Ice Palace from 1948-1957.

The Denver Independents beat the University of Colorado 10-0 and Wyoming University 7-6 on the weekend of February 12-13, 1949. The University of Denver began play in 1949-50, and were based at the eponymous Arena. The structure was originally a U.S. Navy drill hall in northern Idaho, built in the early 1940s at Farragut Naval Training Station at Lake Pend Oreille. It was donated after World War II and reassembled on the DU campus in 1948–49 to house the new ice hockey program and served for nearly half a century. Denver has copped eight national titles, winning their first in 1958. The Air Force Falcons started a club hockey program in 1966, and were playing at the Division I level by 1968.

The Denver All-Stars played exhibition games against teams from locales such as Amarillo, Salt Lake City, and Albuquerque during the 1950s and 1960s. The Denver Falcons were the first professional team in Colorado. They were a member of the United States Hockey League for the 1950-51 season. The Denver Mavericks later spent the first half of the 1959-60 season in the International Hockey League, relocating to Minneapolis on December 3. The Denver Invaders spent the 1963-64 season in the Western Hockey League.

The most successful early professional franchise in Colorado was the Denver Spurs, who lasted from 1968-1976, spending the 1975-76 season in the World Hockey Association. The Colorado Rockies played in the National Hockey League from 1976-1982, before becoming the New Jersey Devils. The Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995, and were renamed the Colorado Avalanche. They promptly won the Stanley Cup in 1996, and added a second championship in 2001. The Colorado Eagles played in the Central Hockey League from 2013-2011, the ECHL from 2011-2018, and the American Hockey League since 2018.

List of minor pro franchises

• Denver Falcons - (USHL) - (1950-1951)
• Denver Mavericks - (IHL) - (1959)
• Denver Invaders - (WHL) - (1963-1964)
• Denver Spurs - (WHL) - (1968-1974)
• Denver Spurs - (CHL) - (1974-1975)
• Denver Spurs - (WHA) - (1975-1976)
• Colorado Flames - (CHL) - (1982-1984)
• Denver Rangers - (IHL) - (1987-1989)
• Denver Grizzlies - (IHL) - (1994-1995)
• Colorado Gold Kings - (WCHL) - (1998-2002)
• Colorado Eagles - (CHL) - (2003-2011)
• Colorado Eagles - (ECHL) - (2011-2018)
• Denver Cutthroats - (CHL) - (2012-2014)
• Colorado Eagles - (AHL) - (2018-present)

American States

US Capital: Washington, D.C.

Alabama - Alaska - Arizona - Arkansas - California - Colorado

Connecticut - Delaware - Florida - Georgia - Hawaii - Idaho

Illinois - Indiana - Iowa - Kansas - Kentucky - Louisiana

Maine - Maryland - Massachusetts - Michigan - Minnesota - Mississippi

Missouri - Montana - Nebraska - Nevada - New Hampshire - New Jersey

New Mexico - New York - North Carolina - North Dakota - Ohio - Oklahoma

Oregon - Pennsylvania - Rhode Island - South Carolina - South Dakota - Tennessee

Texas - Utah - Vermont - Virginia - Washington

West Virginia - Wisconsin - Wyoming