West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in east-central United States.

Its population is about 1,800,000.

The capital and largest city is Charleston.

History of hockey in West Virginia

Hockey came to West Virginia surprisingly early. There were talks of a hockey team being formed in Wheeling in 1900, but nothing came of them. However, the Wheeling Hockey League was formed for the 1904-05 season, with four teams competing. Two games were recorded to have been played on the season, and the league did not return the following year. The Kanawha City rink opened in Charleston in the fall of 1937, and the Charleston Ice Sports hockey team was formed in February 1938. The first game was played on the 26th, Charleston beating the Pittsburgh Collegians 4-3 in overtime. Hockey returned to Charleston the following year, and the sport also debuted at the Iceland rink in Huntington on December 30, 1938. Huntington and Charleston played in the Tri-State Hockey League in 1940-41. The Huntington rink was destroyed by a fire in 1941. Only two high school games were played in Charleston in 1942, and after that, the Kanawha City rink closed.

Hockey returned to Huntington on March 13, 1951, the Miami Valley Bruins of Troy, Ohio, defeating the New York Rovers 6-4 at the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse. Another game was played on March 27, between Miami Valley and the Hibbing (MN) Flyers, the former side winning 4-3 in overtime. On April 4, the Cleveland Barons beat Miami Valley 7-3 in Huntington. On October 25, 1959, the Louisville Rebels and Toledo Mercurys played a 2-2 exhibition game in Huntington.

The Huntington Hornets, playing at the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse, were members of the International Hockey League in 1956-57, before promptly relocating to Louisville. The Midelburg Ice Rink opened in Charleston in the fall of 1959, and a hockey program for boys aged 8-14 was set up in 1960. It was run by Dan Battles, president of the Kanawha Valley Hockey Association.

The Bridgeville Bruins defeated the McKees Rocks (both of the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League) 20-4 in front of 350 fans at the outdoor Wheeling Park Ice Rink on March 5, 1961. The Wheeling Amateur Hockey Association was formed at the Wheeling Park rink in 1964, and joined the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League in 1977. The Morgantown Hockey Association was formed when the Morgantown Municipal Ice Arena opened in 1979, and became a member of the PAHL the same year.

The Wheeling Nailers (originally the Thunderbirds) have played in the ECHL since 1992-93. The Huntington Blizzard also played in the league from 1993-2000.

Beginning with Wheeling Park High School in 1995 with Jay Davis and Eric Evanko coaching the first team, high school hockey has slowly taken hold in the state. Due to the few number of teams that played, most competed in other states' leagues, notably Pennsylvania, but in 2018 that began to change. That year the West Virginia Hockey League was formed to increase the presence of the teams in the state. While most still play in external leagues during the regular season, they convene a few times each year and compete for a state championship, which was first held in 2005. Teams from Wheeling, Morgantown, Charleston and Martinsburg compete.

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