The Tacoma Sabercats were an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Tacoma, Washington. The team began play in the West Coast Hockey League as of the 1997–98 season.[1]
| Tacoma Sabercats | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Tacoma, Washington |
| League | WCHL |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Operated | 1997–2002 |
| Home arena | Tacoma Dome |
| Colors | Red, blue, copper |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 1 (1999–00) |
| Division titles | 3 (1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00) |
| Taylor Cups | 1 (1998–99) |
Tacoma immediately emerged as a power in the WCHL, winning the regular season Northern Division title and reaching the league finals in its first season. However the Sabercats were defeated by the defending champion San Diego Gulls in the league's Taylor Cup finals.[2]
The following season, 1998–99, Tacoma won its second WCHL Northern Division title and defeated the Gulls in the Taylor Cup finals, becoming the first team other than San Diego to win the WCHL title in the league's history.[3][4] Although the Sabercats won the WCHL Northern Division a third time in 1999–2000, the team failed to win another league championship.
Despite a strong following in the Tacoma area with over 1,500 season ticket holders, the Sabercats were folded in May 2002 by owner Coach-Sports. They had been eliminated by the Idaho Steelheads in the 2002 WCHL playoffs immediately before ceasing operations.[5]
Season-by-season record
editNote: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Final records.[6]
| Season | League | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Coach | Playoffs |
| 1997–98 | WCHL | 64 | 42 | 19 | - | 3 | 87 | 300 | 214 | 1493 | 1st, North | John Olver | Lost in finals, 1-4 (San Diego) |
| 1998–99 | WCHL | 70 | 44 | 18 | - | 8 | 96 | 278 | 234 | 1627 | 1st, North | John Olver | Won Taylor Cup, 4-2 (San Diego) |
| 1999–00 | WCHL | 72 | 51 | 12 | - | 9 | 111 | 297 | 193 | 1509 | 1st, North | John Olver | Lost in finals, 0-4 (Phoenix) |
| 2000–01 | WCHL | 72 | 31 | 35 | - | 6 | 68 | 236 | 247 | 1608 | 3rd, North | Robert Dirk | Lost in round 1, 2-3 (Colorado) |
| 2001–02 | WCHL | 72 | 30 | 36 | - | 6 | 66 | 211 | 249 | 1573 | 3rd, North | Robert Dirk | Lost in round 2, 2-3 (Idaho) |
References
edit- ^ "Sabercats Unveil Logo, Colors", Seattle Post-Intelligencer (July 15, 1997). (HiBeam)
- ^ 1997-98 West Coast Hockey League
- ^ "Sabercats basking in championship afterglow", The News Tribune (July 28, 1999). (NewsLibrary.com)
- ^ 1998-99 West Coast Hockey League
- ^ Ruiz, Don (May 6, 2002). "And five years later, Sabercats close up shop". The News Tribune. p. C1. Retrieved December 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hockeydb.com, Tacoma Sabercats Statistics and History
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