# 2008–09 CHL season

The 2008–09 CHL season was the 17th season of the Central Hockey League (CHL).

## League business

The Rapid City Rush were added and two teams were ceased, the Austin Ice Bats and Youngstown SteelHounds.

## Teams

2008-09 Central Hockey League :
| Conference | Team | City | Arena |
| Northern | Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs | Bossier City, Louisiana | CenturyTel Center |
| Northern | Colorado Eagles | Loveland, Colorado | Budweiser Events Center |
| Northern | Mississippi RiverKings | Southaven, Mississippi | DeSoto Civic Center |
| Northern | Oklahoma City Blazers | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Ford Center |
| Northern | Rapid City Rush | Rapid City, South Dakota | Rushmore Plaza Civic Center |
| Northern | Rocky Mountain Rage | Broomfield, Colorado | Broomfield Event Center |
| Northern | Tulsa Oilers | Tulsa, Oklahoma | BOK Center |
| Northern | Wichita Thunder | Wichita, Kansas | Britt Brown Arena |
| Southern | Amarillo Gorillas | Amarillo, Texas | Amarillo Civic Center |
| Southern | Arizona Sundogs | Prescott Valley, Arizona | Tim's Toyota Center |
| Southern | Corpus Christi IceRays | Corpus Christi, Texas | American Bank Center |
| Southern | Laredo Bucks | Laredo, Texas | Laredo Entertainment Center |
| Southern | New Mexico Scorpions | Rio Rancho, New Mexico | Santa Ana Star Center |
| Southern | Odessa Jackalopes | Odessa, Texas | Ector County Coliseum |
| Southern | Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees | Hidalgo, Texas | Dodge Arena |
| Southern | Texas Brahmas | North Richland Hills, Texas | NYTEX Sports Centre |

## Regular season
### Conference standings

| Northern Conference | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
| y-Colorado Eagles | 64 | 45 | 15 | 4 | 94 | 275 | 195 |
| x-Mississippi RiverKings | 64 | 44 | 17 | 3 | 91 | 242 | 166 |
| x-Oklahoma City Blazers | 64 | 39 | 18 | 7 | 85 | 202 | 158 |
| x-Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs | 64 | 39 | 19 | 6 | 84 | 196 | 169 |
| x-Rocky Mountain Rage | 64 | 32 | 26 | 6 | 70 | 220 | 219 |
| e-Rapid City Rush | 64 | 22 | 33 | 9 | 53 | 183 | 231 |
| e-Tulsa Oilers | 64 | 18 | 38 | 8 | 44 | 179 | 270 |
| e-Wichita Thunder | 64 | 20 | 41 | 3 | 43 | 168 | 230 |
| Southern Conference | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
| y-Texas Brahmas | 64 | 42 | 16 | 6 | 90 | 223 | 170 |
| x-Odessa Jackalopes | 64 | 39 | 19 | 6 | 84 | 260 | 205 |
| x-Laredo Bucks | 64 | 36 | 23 | 5 | 77 | 214 | 187 |
| x-Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees | 64 | 35 | 24 | 5 | 73 | 221 | 198 |
| x-Corpus Christi IceRays | 64 | 28 | 30 | 6 | 62 | 183 | 206 |
| e-Arizona Sundogs | 64 | 27 | 32 | 5 | 59 | 220 | 259 |
| e-New Mexico Scorpions | 64 | 27 | 33 | 4 | 58 | 220 | 242 |
| e-Amarillo Gorillas | 64 | 19 | 42 | 3 | 41 | 193 | 294 |
Note: y - clinched conference title; x - clinched playoff spot; e - eliminated from playoff contention

## Playoffs
### Playoff Bracket

| First Round 1 | First Round 1 | First Round 1 | Conference Semi-finals | Conference Semi-finals | Conference Semi-finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Ray Miron President's Cup Finals | Ray Miron President's Cup Finals | Ray Miron President's Cup Finals |
| | | | N1 | Colorado | 4 | | | | | | |
| N4 | Bossier-Shreveport | 3 | N4 | Bossier-Shreveport | 0 | | | | | | |
| N5 | Rocky Mountain | 1 | Northern | Northern | Northern | N1 | Colorado | 4 | | | |
| | | | Northern | Northern | Northern | N2 | Mississippi | 2 | | | |
| | | | N2 | Mississippi | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | N3 | Oklahoma City | 2 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | N1 | Colorado | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | S1 | Texas | 4 |
| | | | S2 | Odessa | 4 | | | | | | |
| S4 | Rio Grande Valley | 2 | S3 | Laredo | 2 | | | | | | |
| S5 | Corpus Christi | 1 | Southern | Southern | Southern | S1 | Texas | 4 | | | |
| | | | Southern | Southern | Southern | S2 | Odessa | 3 | | | |
| | | | S1 | Texas | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | S4 | Rio Grande valley | 0 | | | | | | |

## CHL awards

    Source:Central Hockey League Historical Award Winners
| Ray Miron President's Cup: | Texas Brahmas |
| Governors' Cup: | Colorado Eagles |
| Most Valuable Player: | Sébastien Thinel (Odessa) |
| Most Outstanding Goaltender: | Kevin Beech (Mississippi) |
| Most Outstanding Defenseman: | Aaron Schneekloth (Colorado) |
| Rookie of the Year: | Darryl Smith (Laredo) |
| Coach of the Year: | Kevin Kaminski (Mississippi) |
| Man of the Year: | Austin Sutter (Amarillo) |
| Rick Kozuback Award: | Jeff Lund (Tulsa) |
| Joe Burton Award: | Sébastien Thinel (Odessa) |
| Playoff Most Valuable Player | Jason Deitsch (Texas) |
| All-Star Game MVP (Eagles): | Konrad Reeder (Colorado) |
| All-Star Game MVP (CHL All-Stars): | Darryl Smith (Laredo) |
| Athletic Trainer of the Year: | Osama Kassab (Rocky Mountain) |
| Equipment Manager of the Year: | Shawn Smith (Rapid City) |