Blackfalds Bulldogs

The Blackfalds Bulldogs are a Canadian Junior A hockey team playing in the British Columbia Hockey League. The team is based out of the Blackfalds Multiplex Arena. The team begin play with the 2021-22 AJHL season. The team was originally announced as being relocated to Strathmore for the 2020-21 season after sitting out the 2019-20 season but ended up being announced as relocating to Blackfalds. The team would have to sit out the 2020-21 season as well due to expansion being done on the Blackfalds Multiplex Arena. The team would be named to go along with the Blackfalds Minor Hockey Association.
==Pre-Blackfalds History==
The franchise was born in 1972-73 as The Pass Red Devils, playing out of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. The Red Devils franchise lasted four years before relocating to the nearby community of Pincher Creek to become the Pincher Creek Panthers. The franchise lasted only two seasons in Pincher Creek before relocating to Calgary to become the Calgary Chinooks. In 1979-80, under a new ownership group, the Chinooks became the Calgary Spurs.
Following the 1989-90 season, the Spurs ceased operations, leaving the AJHL with just seven franchises. Sensing the need for two Calgary based franchises (along with the Calgary Canucks), four local businessmen purchased a new franchise and named it the the Calgary Jr. "A" Royals with the mandate of providing Calgary and area kids with the opportunity to combine a high level of hockey with a quality education.
The Royals were immediately successful, finishing second in the regular season standings, behind the Fort Saskatchewan Traders and winning the league championship in their first season. The Royals have been unable to duplicate that success, as the team has failed to make it past the second round of the playoffs since winning the title.
Faced with the challenges of sharing a market with the National Hockey League, Western Hockey League and another AJHL team, the Royals have persevered through the dedication of its corporate partners and many volunteers. Seeking to distinguish itself from the city's minor hockey program of the same name, the franchise renamed itself the Mustangs prior to the 2010–11 season.
The team would sit out the 2019-20 season after an aborted attempt to relocate to Strathmore. The team would be sold in October of 2019 and were announced as relocating to the Blackfalds Multiplex Arena in Blackfalds, Alberta for the 2021-22 season.http://ajhl.ca/media-centre/news-archives.html?nID=16073 On April 23, 2020 the team name, colours, and logo were revealed. The renovations that would be planned for the Blackfalds Multiplex Arena would require that the team sit out the 2020-21 season as well.https://www.blackfaldsbulldogs.ca/media-centre/news-archives.html?rYear=2019&nID=17187
On January 20, 2024 the British Columbia Hockey League announced the addition of the the Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders and Spruce Grove Saints from the Alberta Junior Hockey League for the 2024-25 season.https://bchl.ca/bchl-agrees-to-terms-with-five-alberta-based-teams As a result of the announcement and the circumstances involved the five teams would be expelled from the AJHLhttps://www.ajhl.ca/ajhl-statement and would continue to play as an Alberta Division of the BCHL for the balance of the season and would play the BC champion in some sort of post-season event.
==Season-by-season record==
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OL = Overtime losses, SL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Season 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	Pts	GF 	GA 	Finish 	Playoffs
2021-22	60	28	31	1 	- 	57 	189	236	5th South 	Lost Division Quarterfinals
2022-23	60	39	18	1 	2 	81 	252	174	2nd South 	Lost Division Final
2023-24	68	39	22	6 	1 	98 	99 	85 	3rd Alberta	
*Note: 2023-24 goal totals are for BCHL sanctioned games only, despite record including games played while team was a member of AJHL.
==References==
Category:Established in 2021
Category:Alberta Junior Hockey League teams
Category:Canadian ice hockey teams
Category:British Columbia Hockey League teams