History
A series of disputes in the Professional Inline Hockey Association (PIHA) between disgruntled team owners and league management led to a meeting about the future of the sport. Realizing the owners limited voice in the PIHA, nineteen teams, representing the Boston Swamp Rats, East Bay Jawz, El Paso Black Diamonds, Hartford Fire Ants, Long Island 495ers, Maryland Crusaders (formerly known as the Maryland Knights, later renamed back to the Maryland Knights in 2009), New Jersey Nightmare (formerly known as the Philadelphia Revolution), New Jersey Surge (formerly known as the New Jersey Stampede), Northern California Mustangs, Philadelphia Growl, Phoenix Dragons, Raleigh Dragons (formerly known as the Raleigh Assault), Richmond Robins, San Jose Pirates, Scottdale Inferno, Southampton Cyclones (formerly known as the Feasterville Fury), Steel City Phantoms (formerly known as the Pittsburgh Bandits, later renamed back to the Pittsburgh Bandits in 2009), Tucson Desparados (later renamed to the Tucson Slayers in 2008) and Virginia Generals (formerly known as the Winchester Generals, later renamed back to the Winchester Generals in 2009), voted to defect from the league, and on June 16, 2008, formed the American Inline Hockey League. The Philadelphia Growl organization would fold a few weeks later to be replaced by the expansion Philadelphia Brawlers. 12 organizations would join the league as expansion franchises to bring the total to 31 organizations. The Garden State Savage Wolves, Georgia Syndicate, Massachusetts Mulissha, Northern California Riot, Oakland GoodLife and Suffolk Sharks all joined from existing PIHA locations, and six organizations joining from new areas; the Corona Jr. Ducks, Huntington Beach Elite, Irvine Anarchy and Pama Cyclones from Southern California, and the Las Vegas Aces from Nevada. With the first games being played four months later on October 25, the AIHL's inaugural season was generally considered a successful one.
The Steel City Phantoms won the first Champions Cup, defeating the San Jose Pirates three games to one in the final. Later that summer, the AIHL had its first series of expansion and contraction. The Beantown Braves, Cajun Voo Doo, Houston Sabre Cats, Mile High Mayhem, Ripon Savage, Rocky Mountain Talons and Texas Terror all joined as expansion franchises. The New Jersey Grizzlies and Potomac Mavericks both joined the league from the Professional Inline Hockey Association, although New Jersey would compete in both the AIHL as well as the PIHA. The Oakland GoodLife and Raleigh Dragons both folded after only one season in the league.
In another big step for the league, the final three rounds of the 2010 Champions Cup playoffs were played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in the Milk House. Also, the 2010 Champions Cup Final was shown live on ESPN3 on May 30, which saw the Huntington Beach Elite defeat the Long Island 495ers 5–2 to capture their first Champions Cup.
Read more about this topic: San Jose Pirates
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