Minneapolis Millers (IHL)

The Minneapolis Millers were an American ice hockey franchise in the International Hockey League from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their home stadium was the Minneapolis Arena.

History

The team was founded in 1959 as a franchise of the International Hockey League. Your first season, the season 1959/60, they began first in Denver, Colorado, and were called initially Denver Mavericks, but changed already during their first year in the IHL to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and received the name Minneapolis Millers. They chose the name based on an eponymous team that had played in Minneapolis from 1925 to 1950. They arrived with 39 wins and 29 defeats in second place after the main round in the West Division of the IHL. Thus, they qualified for the subsequent play-offs, where the Mavericks were eliminated in the first round. One of the biggest rivals of the Mavericks were the St. Paul Saints, who were also active in the IHL. This rivalry resulted from the close proximity of the two cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Two seasons later, the Millers were able to celebrate the biggest success of the club's history, as the play-off final was reached. This, however, was lost, and the Minneapolis Millers were the runners-up of the International Hockey League. In the summer of 1963 the club was disbanded.

Season statistics

Note: GP = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses by SOL = Shootout Losses by, Pts = Points, GF = Goals Scored, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalty minutes