POWER PLAY Hockey in Texas, eh? Even though the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars—who, need we remind you, drank from Lord Stanley’s Cup in 1999—have been shining in the Lone Star State for a decade now and minor league franchises have found more homes here than in any other state, skeptics are still shaking their head. But while they’re doing that, we think it’s “aboot” time you hit the rink. You won’t want to miss the action at the Alamo City’s new SBC Center when the American Hockey League’s San Antonio Rampage take on the Utah Grizzlies December 4 and the Houston Aeros December 26. Just so you can keep it all straight, the AHL is the NHL’s top developmental league, and teams like the Amarillo Gorillas, the Corpus Christi IceRays, the El Paso Buzzards, the Fort Worth Brahmas, the Laredo Bucks, the Lubbock Cotton Kings, the Odessa Jackalopes, and the San Angelo Saints, to name a few, play in the Central Hockey League, which is part of the North American minor league circuit. One CHL team to note is the Austin Ice Bats. In addition to setting its sights on the President’s Cup, which is awarded to CHL champions, the team could become the Dallas Stars’ top minor league affiliate by the end of the season. (See Austin: Sports, this page; and San Antonio: Sports.)
