Minnesota Moose

Minnesota Moose	Minnesota Moose
Founded 	1994
City 	Saint Paul, Minnesota
Home Arena 	Saint Paul Civic Center
Head Coach 	Frank Serratore (1994-1996)
Colors 	Green, Blue, and Yellow
League 	International Hockey League
The Minnesota Moose was an ice hockey team in the International Hockey League from 1994-1996. They played in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA at the Saint Paul Civic Center. The team also played some home games at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The Moose left after two seasons and they were a representative of professional hockey in Minnesota at a time when the hopes of the state for recovering an NHL team had all but vanished. The Moose were moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba and are now the Manitoba Moose
==History==
The state of Minnesota was long entrenched in NHL hockey history as the Minnesota North Stars had made the hockey state their home from the NHL's Great Expansion in 1967 until their departure to Dallas in 1993. The North Stars were moved to Texas as a result of owner Norman Green's failure to reach a stadium agreement in Minneapolis or St. Paul combined with poor attendance and a string of losing seasons.
The North Stars departure after 25 seasons in the Twin Cities created a large void in the hockey state. Despite only being a few seasons removed from an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1991, the North Stars became the Dallas Stars at the start of the 1993-94 NHL season.
In 1994, pro hockey made a comeback in Minnesota when the Moose were granted as an expansion team in the International Hockey League. The name "Moose" was picked in a name-the-team contest and edged out the name Mustangs. Fans in Minnesota were eager to support the new pro team, yet the Moose had a very up and down inaugural season. Coached by former NCAA coach Frank Serratore, the Moose compiled a 34-35-12 record earning a playoff spot in their first season before losing out to the Denver Grizzlies in the preliminary round of the playoffs.
During the 1995-96 season, the Moose and the NHL's Winnipeg Jets worked out a deal to be affiliates with each other. However, the Jets themselves were in trouble and rumour went around that the two cities would swap teams, the Moose would move to Winnipeg and the Jets would come to the Twin Cities. However, the Jets were sold and moved to Phoenix to become the Phoenix Coyotes while the Moose were moved to Winnipeg leaving the hockey state without a professional hockey team until 2000, with the arrival of the Minnesota Wild.
===Regular season===
Season 	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SOL	Points	Goalsfor	Goalsagainst	Standing
1994–95	81 	34 	35 	— 	12 	— 	80 	271 	336 	4th, Central
1995–96	82 	30 	45 	— 	7 	— 	67 	254 	322 	5th, Midwest
===Playoffs===
Season 	Prelim 	1st round 	2nd round 	3rd round 	Finals
1994–95	— 	L, 0–3, Denver 	— 	— 	—
1995–96	Out of playoffs.	Out of playoffs.	Out of playoffs.	Out of playoffs.	Out of playoffs.
==Team records==
Goals: 38 Dave Christian (1994–95) 
Assists: 81 Stephane Morin (1994–95) 
Points: 114 Stephane Morin (1994–95) 
Penalty Minutes: 181 Brad Miller (1994–95) 
GAA: 3.31 Parris Duffus (1995–96) 
SV%: .895 Parris Duffus (1995–96) 
Career Goals: 60 Stephane Morin 
Career Assists: 132 Stephane Morin 
Career Points: 192 Stephane Morin 
Career Penalty Minutes: 351 Brad Miller 
Career Wins: 25 Tom Draper 
Career Shutouts: 1 Tom Draper, Parris Duffus 
Career Games: 161 Stephane Morin 
==Links==
*The Internet Hockey Database - Minnesota Moose
*Vintage Minnesota Hockey - Minnesota Moose
Category:American ice hockey teams
Category:International Hockey League team