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Spokane Flyers

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Spokane Flyers
Spokane Flyers
City: Spokane, Washington
Existence: 1980-1981
League Western Hockey League
Colours Blue & White?

The Spokane Flyers were a short lived ice hockey team that played in the Western Hockey League from 1980-1981. They played in Spokane, Washington.

Founded: 1980-81
Last Season: 1981-82
Division titles won: None
Regular season titles won: None
League Championships won: None
Memorial Cup Titles: None

History

The Spokane Flyers entered the WHL on May 15, 1980 when Bob Cooper, owner of the dormant Great Falls Americans franchise, resurrected his team and relocated it to Spokane for the 1980-81 WHL season. Like the Americans, the Flyers would cease operations mid-season, as the franchise folded on December 2, 1981 after playing only 26 games.

It was widely believed that the failure of the Flyers was due to management, and Spokane would gain a second chance the WHL four years later when the Spokane Chiefs moved into town.

The Flyers franchise began in 1967 as the Flin Flon Bombers. The franchise had a great deal of stability in Flin Flon, Manitoba and lasted eleven seasons in the Manitoba community before the WHL outgrew it. The franchise relocated to Edmonton, Alberta for one season in 1978 before being sold and relocating again to Great Falls, Montana. The Americans failed to last even one season as they ceased operations in December 1979 before Cooper resurrected them again in 1980 as the Flyers.

The Flyers were posthumously involved in one of the most bizarre trades in hockey history. After ceasing operations, the Flyers team bus was sold to the Victoria Cougars. The Cougars owners were not willing to pay the duties and taxes required to bring the vehicle into Canada, so on December 19, 1983, the Cougars traded the bus to the Seattle Breakers for holdout Tom Martin.

Season-by-season Record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L T Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
1980-81 72 17 54 1 35 288 488 4th West Lost West semi-final
1981-821 26 3 22 1 7 102 196 5th West Out of Playoffs
1Folded December 2, 1981

See also

References

Defunct Western Hockey League Teams
Billings Bighorns | Calgary Buffaloes | Calgary Centennials | Calgary Wranglers | Edmonton Ice | Edmonton Oil Kings | Estevan Bruins | Flin Flon Bombers | Great Falls Americans | Kamloops Chiefs | Kamloops Junior Oilers | Kelowna Wings | Lethbridge Broncos | Moose Jaw Canucks | Nanaimo Islanders | New Westminster Bruins | Seattle Breakers | Spokane Flyers | Tacoma Rockets | Vancouver Nats | Victoria Cougars | Weyburn Red Wings | Winnipeg Clubs | Winnipeg Jets | Winnipeg Monarchs | Winnipeg Warriors

 


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