Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees

This article is about the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees junior hockey franchise that played in the NAHL. For the original CHL franchise of same name, see: Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (CHL).
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
City Hidalgo, Texas
League NAHL
Division South
Founded 2008
Home arena State Farm Arena
Colors Black, Teal, Gold
Owner(s) Hidalgo Sports, LLC
Head coach Joe Coombs
Captain Anthony Croston
Franchise history
2008–2013 Wenatchee Wild
2013–2015 Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
2015–present Aston Rebels
Championships
Regular season titles None
Division Championships None
Conference Championships None

The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees were a Tier II Junior A ice hockey team playing in the North American Hockey League. The team was based in the Rio Grande Valley in Hidalgo, Texas, just south of McAllen, and played their home games at State Farm Arena.

History

The original team was a member of the Central Hockey League, a professional minor league, from 2003 to 2012. On June 20, 2012, multiple sources confirmed that the Killer Bees would not play in the 2012–13 season and ceased operations due to increased travel costs after the folding of the other Texas CHL teams in Austin, Corpus Christi and Laredo.[1]

After a season without a team, the Wenatchee Wild of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), a Tier II Junior A hockey league, relocated to Hidalgo, Texas and became the second incarnation of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.[2] Joe Coombs would be hired as the first head coach of the NAHL Killer Bees.

On June 1, 2015, NAHL insiders began reporting the Killer Bees franchise was about to relocate to the Philadelphia suburb of Aston, Pennsylvania[3] and the Killer Bees would subsequently announce that the team was ceasing to operate for the 2015–16 season unless the team president, Gilbert Saenz, could find a local alternative to save the team. However, on June 9, the NAHL announced that the franchise was relocating to become the Aston Rebels.[4]

Season-by-season records

Season GP W L OTL Pts Pct GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
2013–14 60 35 18 7 77 0.642 150 121 1105 3rd of 7, South Lost Div. Semifinals, 0-3 vs. Topeka RoadRunners
2014–15 60 25 25 10 60 0.500 153 184 1290 6th of 8, South Lost South Play-In Series, 0-2 vs. Wichita Falls Wildcats

Notes

  1. "Killer Bees hockey team suspends operations amid league woes". ValleyCentral.com. June 20, 2012.
  2. "Wenatchee Wild to relocate NAHL membership to Hidalgo, Texas". Junior Hockey News. May 14, 2013.
  3. "THE DEATH POOL – GOODBYE RIO GRANDE HELLO ASTON PENNSYLVANIA". The Junior Hockey News. June 1, 2015.
  4. "NAHL announces relocation of Rio Grande Valley to Aston, PA". NAHL. June 9, 2015.
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