Cape Cod Cubs
Encyclopedia
The Cape Cod Cubs and Cape Codders were a professional ice hockey
team that played at the Cape Cod Coliseum
in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
.
in 1972, the same year their home arena—the Cape Cod Coliseum
-- was constructed. An affiliate of the National Hockey League
's Boston Bruins
and New York Rangers
, the Cubs were coached by former Bruin Bronco Horvath
and they won the EHL's Central Division championship in their first year of play. When the EHL folded, the Cubs became founding members of the North American Hockey League
for the 1973-74 season. A poor start on the ice and at the gate resulted in the firing of Horvath. Defenseman Mike De Marco replaced him on an interim basis until the team hired minor league defenseman Nick Polano of the Providence Reds
to be player-coach for the remainder of the season. For 1974-75, the team changed its name, its affiliations and its coach, becoming the Cape Codders and signing working agreements with the World Hockey Association
's New England Whalers and Cleveland Crusaders
. Larry Kish, a former All-America defenseman at Providence College
who previously had coached the Rhode Island Eagles and Suncoast Suns
, was named coach. The franchise went out of business in 1977.
The Hyannis Presidents team in the movie "Slapshot
" was based on the Cape Cod Cubs, and featured one of its actual players, Mark Bousquet.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team that played at the Cape Cod Coliseum
Cape Cod Coliseum
The Cape Cod Coliseum was a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena located off of White's Path in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.-Sports:It was used by Vince McMahon for World Wrestling Entertainment, then known as the World Wrestling Federation...
in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
South Yarmouth is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the town of Yarmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,603 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
.
History
The Cubs started play as an expansion franchise in the Eastern Hockey LeagueEastern Hockey League
-Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972...
in 1972, the same year their home arena—the Cape Cod Coliseum
Cape Cod Coliseum
The Cape Cod Coliseum was a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena located off of White's Path in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.-Sports:It was used by Vince McMahon for World Wrestling Entertainment, then known as the World Wrestling Federation...
-- was constructed. An affiliate of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
and New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
, the Cubs were coached by former Bruin Bronco Horvath
Bronco Horvath
Joseph Rudolph "Bronco" Horvath is a retired former professional ice hockey player who played 434 games in the NHL between 1955 and 1968....
and they won the EHL's Central Division championship in their first year of play. When the EHL folded, the Cubs became founding members of the North American Hockey League
North American Hockey League
The North American Hockey League is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is enterting its 36th season in 2011-12. It is currently the only Junior A Tier II league, sanctioned by USA Hockey. The NAHL currently acts as an alternative to the United States Hockey League...
for the 1973-74 season. A poor start on the ice and at the gate resulted in the firing of Horvath. Defenseman Mike De Marco replaced him on an interim basis until the team hired minor league defenseman Nick Polano of the Providence Reds
Providence Reds
The Providence Reds were a hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League between 1926–1936 and the American Hockey League from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Reds. The team won the Calder Cup in 1938, 1940, 1949, and 1956...
to be player-coach for the remainder of the season. For 1974-75, the team changed its name, its affiliations and its coach, becoming the Cape Codders and signing working agreements with the World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
's New England Whalers and Cleveland Crusaders
Cleveland Crusaders
The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland, Ohio. The Crusaders were founded by Nick Mileti, and played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976...
. Larry Kish, a former All-America defenseman at Providence College
Providence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
who previously had coached the Rhode Island Eagles and Suncoast Suns
Suncoast Suns
The Suncoast Suns were an American ice hockey team in Saint Petersburg, Florida. They played in the Southern Hockey League in the 1973-74 season. The club folded after 31 games.-Season-by-season record:-Records:...
, was named coach. The franchise went out of business in 1977.
The Hyannis Presidents team in the movie "Slapshot
Slapshot
A slapshot in ice hockey is the hardest shot. It has four stages which are executed in one fluid motion:# The player winds up his hockey stick by raising it behind his body, sometimes raising the blade to shoulder height or higher.# Next the player violently "slaps" the ice slightly behind the...
" was based on the Cape Cod Cubs, and featured one of its actual players, Mark Bousquet.