2010–11 NAHL season

2010–11 NAHL season
2010–11 NAHL season
League	North American Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	Regular season; September 10, 2010 – March 27, 2011; Post-season; March 31 – May 7, 2011
Number of games	58
Number of teams	26
Regular season
Season champions	Topeka RoadRunners
Top scorer	Cody Wydo; (Motor City Metal Jackets)
Robertson Cup Playoffs
Finals champions	Fairbanks Ice Dogs
Runners-up	Michigan Warriors
NAHL seasons
	← 2009–10 2011–12 →

The 2010–11 NAHL season was the 27th season of the North American Hockey League. The regular season ran from September 2011 to April 2012 with a 58-game schedule for each team. The Topeka RoadRunners won the regular season championship. The Fairbanks Ice Dogs defeated the Michigan Warriors 4 to 2 to capture the Robertson Cup.

Member changes

In April of 2009, the NAHL approved of an expansion team in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.^[1] The franchise would be the first Canadian club un the NAHL 2004. However, in order to give the new club, the Dawson Creek Rage, enough time to properly outfit themselves, their entry into the league was delayed until this season.

On December 15, 2009, the Fresno Monsters, a junior team in the Western States Hockey League, were granted conditional approved to join the NAHL as an expansion franchise.^[2] The organization eventually decided to continue operating their original club in the WSHL as well as a separate Tier II franchise.

Less than a month later, the NAHL added a second expansion team for 2010 when the Aberdeen Wings were approved.^[3]

A few days later, the Chicago Hitmen received approval to join the league as an expansion franchise.^[4]

At the beginning of March, the Austin Bruins were announced as another expansion club for this season.^[5]

One day later, the NAHL approved the relocation of the North Iowa Outlaws.^[6] The club moved to Onalaska, Wisconsin and became the Coulee Region Chill.

In late March, the NAHL approved Rio Rancho, New Mexico as the site for a new expansion franchise.^[7] The team would eventually be named 'New Mexico Mustangs'.

In early May, the NAHL approved the relocation of the Marquette Rangers to Flint, Michigan.^[8] The franchise was renamed the Michigan Warriors.

By the middle of the month, the NAHL was able to find new owners for Albert Lea Thunder.^[9] The league had assumed control of the club in the middle of the season due to USA Hockey rule violations and now permitted the franchise to relocate to Texas and become the Amarillo Bulls.

A few days later, the Corpus Christi IceRays, a professional team from the Central Hockey League, purchased the Alpena IceDiggers.^[10] The IceRays folded their professional club and moved all of their assets, including the team's name, to the NAHL.

In early July, the Port Huron Fighting Falcons were added to the league as yet another expansion club.^[11] This brought the final number of teams joining the league up to seven.

Regular season

The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:^[12]

Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title

Standings

Central Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xy – Alexandria Blizzard	58	33	19	6	72	208	177
x – Coulee Region Chill	58	33	20	5	71	204	180
x – Owatonna Express	58	32	19	7	71	175	179
x – Bismarck Bobcats	58	31	22	5	67	179	156
Austin Bruins	58	23	31	4	50	151	186
Aberdeen Wings	58	20	34	4	44	166	219

North Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xy – St. Louis Bandits	58	41	13	4	86	215	120
x – Traverse City North Stars	58	40	17	1	81	211	159
x – Michigan Warriors	58	35	17	6	76	202	141
x – Janesville Jets	58	35	9	4	74	170	121
Springfield Jr. Blues	58	31	24	3	65	191	170
Motor City Metal Jackets	58	31	25	2	64	228	188
Chicago Hitmen	58	9	45	4	22	132	286
Port Huron Fighting Falcons	58	6	46	6	18	127	312

South Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xyz – Topeka RoadRunners	58	43	12	3	89	237	146
x – Amarillo Bulls	58	36	16	6	78	209	171
x – Texas Tornado	58	35	16	8	78	213	164
x – Wichita Falls Wildcats	58	26	27	5	57	189	190
Corpus Christi IceRays	58	19	34	5	43	158	238
New Mexico Mustangs	58	19	35	4	42	141	220

West Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xy – Fairbanks Ice Dogs	58	40	15	3	83	245	171
x – Wenatchee Wild	58	34	21	3	71	207	148
x – Alaska Avalanche	58	32	22	4	68	193	173
x – Kenai River Brown Bears	58	27	24	7	61	189	191
Dawson Creek Rage	58	24	31	3	51	160	209
Fresno Monsters	58	19	34	5	43	158	243

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games. ^[13]

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Cody Wydo	Motor City Metal Jackets	58	40	51	91	55
Nardo Nagtzaam	Alexandria Blizzard	58	36	51	87	57
Steve Brancheau	Motor City Metal Jackets	55	28	43	71	96
R. J. Kleiman	St. Louis Bandits	50	28	41	69	39
Chris Ciotti	St. Louis Bandits	57	31	37	68	54
Michael Hill	Topeka RoadRunners	43	37	29	66	105
Justin Hussar	Topeka RoadRunners	58	33	33	66	20
Jared Linnell	Fairbanks Ice Dogs	58	34	31	65	68
Andrew Kolb	Michigan Warriors	44	31	34	65	34
Zac Frischmon	Coulee Region Chill	58	31	34	65	39

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage

Player	Team	GP	Mins	W	L	OTL	SOL	GA	SV	SV%	GAA
Robert Tadazak	Michigan Warriors	45	2508:39	27	9	2	3	73	1,307	.944	1.75
Tom Comunale	St. Louis Bandits	25	1403:42	15	7	0	1	41	475	.914	1.75
Matt Green	St. Louis Bandits	23	1321:52	17	4	0	1	45	470	.904	2.04
David Jacobson	Janesville Jets	43	2538:53	26	14	1	2	88	1,076	.918	2.08
Steve Bolton	Traverse City North Stars	22	1252:36	15	5	0	1	47	582	.919	2.25

Robertson Cup playoffs

Five teams qualify for the Robertson cup quarterfinals, the four division champions and the host (Topeka). If Topeka won their division final, the runner-up would receive the final qualifying spot.
The five qualifiers were then reseeded based upon their regular season record. The top three teams automatically advanced to the round-robin while the lowest two reams faced one another for the final spot.
The team with the best record in the Round Robin series would receive a bye to the championship game. The second and third place teams would meet in a semifinal match to determine the other finals qualifier.
For the Round Robin, ties were broken first by head-to-head matchup and then by goal differential.


Division Semifinals (Best-of-5)							Division Finals (Best-of-5)							Quarterfinal Play-in (Best-of-1)					Quarterfinal (Round Robin)						Semifinal (Best-of-1)			Championship (Best-of-1)



C1	Alexandria Blizzard	6	1	3	3	1

C4	Bismarck Bobcats	1	5	6	1	2
							C4	Bismarck Bobcats	6	3	4	3	3
Central Division
							C2	Coulee Region Chill	4	6	0	4*	1
C2	Coulee Region Chill	1	4*	4*	3	-

C3	Owatonna Express	2	3	3	1	-



N1	St. Louis Bandits	3	3	2	3	4

N4	Janesville Jets	2	4	1	4*	0
							N1	St. Louis Bandits	2	2	1	3	1
North Division
							N3	Michigan Warriors	0	3	2	2	2
N2	Traverse City North Stars	1	5*	2	0	-
																			1	Topeka Roadrunners	-	3	3	2
N3	Michigan Warriors	3	4	3*	5	-
																			2	Fairbanks Ice Dogs	4	-	2	4				2	Fairbanks Ice Dogs	4

																			3	Amarillo Bulls	4	1	-	5				4	Michigan Warriors	2
S1	Topeka RoadRunners	5	0	5	3	4								4	Michigan Warriors	1	6**	-							3	Amarillo Bulls	2
																			4	Michigan Warriors	5	2	2	-
S4	Wichita Falls Wildcats	1	1*	2	4*	3								5	Bismarck Bobcats	0	5	-							4	Michigan Warriors	6
							S1	Topeka RoadRunners	3*	3	3*	2	1
South Division
							S2	Amarillo Bulls	2	4	2	4	3
S2	Amarillo Bulls	7	5	4	2*	-

S3	Texas Tornado	5	3	6	1	-



W1	Fairbanks Ice Dogs	5	6	7	-	-

W4	Kenai River Brown Bears	1	1	2	-	-
							W1	Fairbanks Ice Dogs	4*	6	1	5*	-
West Division
							W3	Wenatchee Wild	3	3	2	4	-
W2	Wenatchee Wild	4	4*	4	-	-

W3	Alaska Avalanche	1	3	2	-	-

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

References

^ Davison, Rick (April 3, 2009). "Dawson Creek scores a junior hockey franchise". Alaska Highway News. Fort St. John, BC. p. A4.
^ "The Monster Mash". Junior Hockey Magazine. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015.
^ "NAHL conditionally approves Aberdeen membership". NAHL. January 8, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
^ "NAHL Welcomes the Chicago Hitmen for 2010-11". NAHL. January 14, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
^ Rose, Mike (March 1, 2010). "Junior hockey team's name set — Austin Bruins". Austin Daily Herald. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
^ "NAHL approves relocation of North Iowa membership". NAHL. March 2, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
^ "NAHL welcomes New Mexico team for 2010–11". NAHL. March 26, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
^ "NAHL welcomes Michigan Warriors for 2010-11". NAHL. May 4, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
^ "Albert Lea, Mason City Lose NAHL Teams". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
^ "IceRays set to move to the NAHL". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. May 21, 2010.
^ http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20100701/SPORTS/7010317/Port-Huron-lands-hockey-team^{[dead link]}
^ "NAHL Standings". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
^ "NAHL Stats". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.

NAHL reference

External links

Official website of the North American Hockey League

[1] Davison, Rick (April 3, 2009). "Dawson Creek scores a junior hockey franchise". Alaska Highway News. Fort St. John, BC. p. A4.

[2] "The Monster Mash". Junior Hockey Magazine. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015.

[3] "NAHL conditionally approves Aberdeen membership". NAHL. January 8, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2025.

[4] "NAHL Welcomes the Chicago Hitmen for 2010-11". NAHL. January 14, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2025.

[5] Rose, Mike (March 1, 2010). "Junior hockey team's name set — Austin Bruins". Austin Daily Herald. Retrieved July 21, 2013.

[6] "NAHL approves relocation of North Iowa membership". NAHL. March 2, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2025.

[7] "NAHL welcomes New Mexico team for 2010–11". NAHL. March 26, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2025.

[8] "NAHL welcomes Michigan Warriors for 2010-11". NAHL. May 4, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2025.

[9] "Albert Lea, Mason City Lose NAHL Teams". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-05-17.

[10] "IceRays set to move to the NAHL". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. May 21, 2010.

[11] ttp://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20100701/SPORTS/7010317/Port-Huron-lands-hockey-team^{[dead link]}

[12] "NAHL Standings". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.

[13] "NAHL Stats". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

v t e North American Hockey League
Central Division	Aberdeen Wings Austin Bruins Bismarck Bobcats Minnesota Mallards Minot Minotauros North Iowa Bulls St. Cloud Norsemen Watertown Shamrocks
East Division	Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks Elmira Aviators Johnstown Tomahawks Maine Nordiques Maryland Black Bears New Hampshire Mountain Kings New Jersey Titans Northeast Generals Philadelphia Rebels Rochester Jr. Americans
Midwest Division	Anchorage Wolverines Chippewa Steel Fairbanks Ice Dogs Janesville Jets Kenai River Brown Bears Minnesota Wilderness Springfield Jr. Blues Wisconsin Windigo
South Division	Amarillo Wranglers Colorado Grit Corpus Christi IceRays El Paso Rhinos Lone Star Brahmas New Mexico Ice Wolves Odessa Jackalopes Oklahoma Warriors Shreveport Mudbugs
Former teams	Alaska Avalanche Albert Lea Thunder Alexandria Blizzard Amarillo Bulls Aston Rebels Billings Bulls Bloomfield Jets Bozeman Icedogs Brookings Blizzard Buffalo Jr. Sabres C & H Piping Capital Centre Pride Central Texas Blackhawks Central Texas Marshals Chicago Cougars Chicago Freeze Chicago Hitmen Chicago Patriots Chicago Young Americans Cleveland Jr. Barons (1st) Cleveland Jr. Barons (2nd) Coulee Region Chill Danville Wings Dawson Creek Rage Dayton Gems Dearborn Heights Nationals Dearborn Magic Detroit Compuware Ambassadors Detroit Falcons Detroit Freeze Detroit Jr. Wings Detroit Little Caesars Fargo-Moorhead Jets Fernie Ghostriders Fraser Flags Fraser Highlanders Fresno Monsters Gaylord Grizzlies Grand Rapids Bearcats Grand Rapids Rockets Helena Bighorns Hennessey Engineers Indianapolis Junior Ice Jamestown Ironmen Jamestown Rebels Kalamazoo Jr. Wings Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings Kansas City Scouts Keystone Ice Miners Lakeland Jets Lone Star Cavalry Lytes Rustlers Mahoning Valley Phantoms Marquette Rangers Melvindale Blades Melvindale Lakers Michigan Nationals Michigan Warriors Minnesota Blizzard Minnesota Magicians Motor City Machine Motor City Metal Jackets New Mexico Mustangs Niagara Scenic North Iowa Outlaws Oakland Chiefs Owatonna Express Paddock Pool Saints Pittsburgh Forge Port Huron Fighting Falcons Port Huron Fogcutters Redford Royals Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees Rochester Jr. Americans Saginaw Gears Santa Fe RoadRunners Soo Eagles Soo Indians Southern Minnesota Express Springfield Spirit St. Clair Shores Falcons St. Cloud Blizzard St. Louis Bandits St. Louis Sting Texarkana Bandits Texas Tornado Toledo IceDiggers Topeka Pilots Topeka RoadRunners Traverse City North Stars USNTDP Wasilla Spirit Waterford Lakers Wayne Chiefs Wenatchee Wild Western Michigan Wolves Wichita Falls Rustlers Wichita Falls Warriors Wichita Falls Wildcats Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights Youngstown Phantoms
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25