The Phoenix Polar Bears are a USA Hockey

USA Hockey

USA Hockey is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The organization is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has...

-sanctioned Junior A Tier III

Junior ice hockey

Junior hockey is a catch-all term used to describe various levels of ice hockey competition for players generally between 16 and 20 years of age...

 ice hockey

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 based out of Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

. Their host facility is the Desert Schools Coytotes Center in Chandler, Arizona

Chandler, Arizona

-Demographics:As of the Census of 2010, there were 236,123 people, 86,924 households, and 60,212 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 73.3% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 1.5% Native American, 8.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 21.9% Hispanic or Latino, and 8.3%...

. The Polar Bears are a member of the Western States Hockey League

Western States Hockey League

The Western States Hockey League is a Amateur Athletic Union-sanctioned Junior 'A' ice hockey league that has teams located in the Southwest and Western United States.-History:...

.

The Polar Bears Head Coach and General Manager is Jeff Heimel.

History

In 2003 the team won the USA Hockey National Championship, beating the St. Louis Jr Blues 1-0. In 2003 they ended with a 'perfect season' of 47-0. In 2002 and 2004 the team won a silver medal at the USA Hockey National Tournament. In 2006 the Polar Bears received the National Fair Play Award at the National Tournament.

Alumni

Among the many alumni to play college and advanced levels of junior and major junior hockey

Junior ice hockey

Junior hockey is a catch-all term used to describe various levels of ice hockey competition for players generally between 16 and 20 years of age...

, including:

• Dusty Collins
  Dusty Collins
  Dusty Collins is an American professional ice hockey player who currently plays with the Ontario Reign of the ECHL.During the 2007–08 CHL season Collins had 23 goals, 30 assists, and 126 penalty minutes in 62 games for the Arizona Sundogs of the Central Hockey League.-External links:...
  
  , a local Phoenix born player drafted to the Tampa Bay Lightning
  Tampa Bay Lightning
  The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
  
   in 2005 and currently playing for the Manitoba Moose
  Manitoba Moose
  The Manitoba Moose were a Canadian professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba that played in the International Hockey League from 1996 to 2001 and American Hockey League from 2001 to 2011. The team moved to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador in 2011 to become the St...
  
   of the AHL
  American Hockey League
  The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
  
  .
• Tyler Haskins
  Tyler Haskins
  Tyler Haskins is an American professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the 5th round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft....
  
   from Ohio
  Ohio
  Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
  
   who was drafted the same year to the Detroit Red Wings
  Detroit Red Wings
  The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
  
   and currently with Bridgeport Sound Tigers
  Bridgeport Sound Tigers
  The Bridgeport Sound Tigers are an ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. It has been the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who also own the franchise, since its inception, and use the same team colors as the parent Islanders do. The team is based in...
  
   of the AHL
  American Hockey League
  The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
  
  .

Youth Hockey

The Youth Hockey Program at Desert Schools Coyotes Center are named after this Junior team, being the Chandler Jr. Polar Bears. They have teams ranging from Mites to Midget and compete annually across the United States.

Championships

The Polar Bears have won seven Thorne Cups, awarded to the WSHL playoff champions in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010.

In addition to WSHL championships the Team has won the USA Hockey

USA Hockey

USA Hockey is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The organization is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has...

Tier III National Championship in 2003, National runners-up in 2002, and 3rd place in 2008.