St. Louis Bandits

The St. Louis Bandits were a Tier II Junior A ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League (NAHL). The team played their home games at the 2,200-seat Hardee's Iceplex (previously Summit Center) in Chesterfield, Missouri.http://www.hardees.com/company/releases/hardees-buying-naming-rights-to-the-summit-center/ 
Owners of the St. Louis Bandits include former St. Louis Blues Kelly Chase as well as Scott McCuaig, Ben Bishop, Jr., Jeff Cooper, Michael J. Brooks, and Jon Cooper.http://blues.nhl.com/club/page.htm?bcid=tea_fro_chase
In the Spring of 2013, their franchise rights were sold to the ownership group of the Minnesota Wilderness.
==History==
The franchise joined the North American Hockey League for the 2003–04 season as the Texarkana Bandits. The team played in Texarkana from 2003 until the summer of 2006 when the team moved to the Greater St. Louis Metro Area.http://thehockeywriters.com/whatever-it-takes-flyers-prospect-patrick-maroon/ The team moved to the Summit Center in Chesterfield, Missouri, filling the void left when the St. Louis Heartland Eagles of the USHL ceased operations at the end of the 2005 season. In 2007 & 2008, head coach and general manager Jon Cooper coached the team to back-to-back Robertson Cup National Championships.
The team has made appearances in the NAHL playoff rounds each of their five years in the NAHL. In 2007 they claimed the South Division title and in 2008 claimed the North Division title. The Bandits moved back to the South Division for the 2008–09 season. They once again moved to the Central Division for the 2010–11 season. The team hosted the Robertson Cup Championships at the Hardee's IcePlex in May 2008 where they became back-to-back National Championships. The 2008–09 season the Bandits headed to Mason City, Iowa for the Robertson Cup Championships and yet again took home the most coveted award in the NAHL. The three-peat was clinched with a 3–2 overtime win against the West Division Champion, Wenatchee Wild.http://www.robertsoncup.com/news/story.cfm?id=1005
After going dormant in 2012, the Bandits' franchise rights were sold to the ownership of the Minnesota Wilderness of Cloquet, Minnesota in the Spring of 2013.
==Season records==
===Regular season===
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	OTL 	PTS 	GF 	GA 	PIM 	Finish 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits 	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits
2003–04 	56 	30 	24 	0 	63 	167 	181 	1,727 	4th, South Division 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2004–05 	56 	36 	15 	0 	77 	218 	153 	1,329 	2nd, South Division 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2005–06 	58 	42 	14 	2 	86 	240 	145 	1,258 	2nd, South Division 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits 	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits
2006–07 	62 	43 	14 	5 	91 	228 	153 	1,437 	1st, South Division 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2007–08 	58 	47 	9 	2 	96 	250 	149 	1,429 	1st, North Division 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2008–09 	58 	42 	9 	7 	91 	213 	119 	1,228 	1st, South Division 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2009–10 	58 	44 	11 	3 	91 	211 	125 	1,103 	2nd, South Division 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2010–11 	58 	41 	13 	4 	86 	215 	120 	764 	1st, North Division 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2011–12 	60 	42 	15 	3 	87 	239 	148 	810 	1st, Midwest Division	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
===Playoffs===
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	OTL 	GF 	GA 	PIM 	Finish 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits 	Texarkana Bandits 	Texarkana Bandits 	Texarkana Bandits 	Texarkana Bandits 	Texarkana Bandits 	Texarkana Bandits 	Texarkana Bandits 	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits	Texarkana Bandits
2004 	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Lost in 1st round 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2005 	9 	4 	5 	0 	25 	27 	226 	Lost in 2nd round 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2006 	8 	3 	5 	0 	20 	28 	196 	Lost in 2nd round 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits 	St. Louis Bandits 	St. Louis Bandits 	St. Louis Bandits 	St. Louis Bandits 	St. Louis Bandits 	St. Louis Bandits 	St. Louis Bandits 	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits	St. Louis Bandits
2007 	12 	9 	3 	0 	53 	34 	180 	League Champions 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2008 	11 	9 	1 	1 	47 	25 	205 	League Champions 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2009 	13 	10 	3 	0 	38 	19 	182 	League Champions 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2010 	14 	7 	7 	0 	38 	37 	190 	5th place/Nationals 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2011 	10 	5 	5 	0 	23 	20 	92 	Lost in 2nd round 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2012 	13 	10 	2 	1 	44 	20 	91 	Lost Robertson Cup Final to Texas Tornado	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==On-ice successes==
The team had seen many successes since the Bandits began in 2003. In their first season in the league the team was the only expansion team to make the playoffs and would continue to make the playoffs every season. In May 2007 the St. Louis Bandits became NAHL champions and Tier II Junior A Hockey National Champions. The Bandits remained strong for the 2007–08 season and won back-to-back Robertson Cup Champions when they hosted it at the Hardee's IcePlex in May 2008.http://www.robertsoncup.com/news/story.cfm?id=484 In 2009, the Bandits kept the winning tradition alive by capturing the Robertson Cup for a third consecutive season when St. Louis beat the Wenatchee Wild in the championship game by a score of 3-2 with an overtime goal by Clinton Bourbonais.http://www.robertsoncup.com/news/story.cfm?id=1005
==NHL Draftees==
Player 	Seasons 	Year Drafted	NHL Team 	Current Team
Pat Maroon 	05–06, 06–07	2007 Draft 	Philadelphia Flyers 	Anaheim Ducks, (AHL).
Trent Vogelhuber	06–07 	2007 Draft 	Columbus Blue Jackets	Miami University, (CCHA)
Erik Condra 	03–04 	2006 Draft 	Ottawa Senators 	Notre Dame University,(CCHA)
Ryan Turek 	03–04 	2006 Draft 	St. Louis Blues 	Michigan State University, (CCHA)
Kyle Lawson 	03–04 	2005 Draft 	Carolina Hurricanes 	Florida Everblades,(ECHL)
John Ramage 	07–08 	2010 Draft 	Calgary Flames 	University of Wisconsin,(WCHA)
==References==
==External links==
*Official site
*Fan site
*NAHL website
*Robertson Cup Website
*Hardee's IcePlex website
Category:American ice hockey teams
Category:North American Hockey League team
Category:Established in 2006
Category:Disestablished in 2012