West Coast Hockey League The West Coast Hockey League was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the western United States from 1995 to 2003 . The number of teams ranged from six to nine . The teams were located in Alaska , Arizona , California , Colorado , Idaho , Nevada and Washington . The league was formed in part by a conversion of the Pacific Southwest Hockey League from semi - professional to professional status . The surviving remnants of the West Coast Hockey League currently form part of the ECHL . Beginnings . The league was founded in 1995 with six charter members : the Alaska Gold Kings ( Fairbanks , Alaska ) , Anchorage Aces ( Anchorage , Alaska ) , Bakersfield Fog ( Bakersfield , California ) , Fresno Falcons ( Fresno , California ) , Reno Renegades ( Reno , Nevada ) and San Diego Gulls ( San Diego , California ) . The league retained these teams in a single division for the first two seasons , as well as played regular season games against a " Red Army " team from Russia . Expansion . In the league ' s third season in 1997 - 98 the Alaska Gold Kings suspended operations . The remaining teams were joined by the expansion Idaho Steelheads ( Boise , Idaho ) , Phoenix Mustangs ( Phoenix , Arizona ) , Tacoma Sabercats ( Tacoma , Washington ) and Tucson Gila Monsters ( Tucson , Arizona ) . The larger league was then split into Northern and Southern Divisions . Also , the teams in Reno and Fresno changed their names to the Reno Rage and Fresno ' s Fighting Falcons respectively . The following season the Gold Kings relocated to Colorado Springs , Colorado , and rejoined the league as the Colorado Gold Kings . The Fresno team reverted back to its original name and the Bakersfield Fog renamed themselves the Bakersfield Condors . However , the Reno Rage ceased operations before the 1998 - 99 season while the Tucson Gila Monsters folded 21 games into the season . The WCHL then remained stable as an eight - team league after Tucson ' s departure and through the 1999 - 2000 season . In 2000 - 01 the Long Beach , California , Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League joined the WCHL . Decline and merger with ECHL . The league began to contract in 2001 - 02 after the Phoenix Mustangs folded before the season . Before the 2002 - 03 season , the WCHL ' s last as an independent league , the Tacoma Sabercats and Colorado Gold Kings folded . The WCHL played in a single division in 2002 - 03 as it had its first two seasons . In 2003 , the WCHL was absorbed by the East Coast Hockey League . In a change reflective of the nationwide presence of the ECHL , the East Coast Hockey League formally changed its name to simply ECHL on May 19 , 2003 , as a direct result of the merger . The six remaining WCHL teams ( Anchorage , Bakersfield , Fresno , Idaho , Long Beach and San Diego ) , as well as a planned WCHL team in Las Vegas , Nevada , which became the Las Vegas Wranglers , joined the West and Pacific Divisions of the ECHL ' s National Conference . The Anchorage Aces renamed themselves the Alaska Aces before joining the ECHL . Legacy . With the December 2008 demise of the Fresno Falcons only two of the original 1995 WCHL teams - the Alaska Aces and Bakersfield Condors - remain active in the ECHL . All of the subsequent expansion teams which played in the WCHL except the Idaho Steelheads have since ceased operations as well . ( The Las Vegas Wranglers - although planned for the WCHL - never actually played in the league ) . Efforts to resurrect the Reno Renegades / Rage organization as an ECHL team have been repeatedly delayed by problems in finding a suitable home arena in the Reno area . However , since 2003 former WCHL teams have accounted for three Kelly Cup championships in the ECHL , Idaho in 2004 and 2007 , and Alaska in 2006 . Taylor Cup . The WCHL ' s championship trophy was known as the Taylor Cup . It was named for the founder of the league , who also originally owned three of the six founding teams ( Bakersfield , Fresno and Reno ) . The San Diego Gulls were by far the most successful postseason team in WCHL history , winning five of the eight Taylor Cup championships awarded .