Tacoma Sabercats

The Tacoma Sabercats were an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Tacoma, Washington. The team began play in the West Coast Hockey League as of the 1997–98 season.[1]

Tacoma Sabercats
CityTacoma, Washington
LeagueWCHL
Founded1997
Operated1997–2002
Home arenaTacoma Dome
ColorsRed, blue, copper
Championships
Regular season titles1 (1999–00)
Division Championships3 (1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00)
Taylor Cups1 (1998–99)

Tacoma immediately emerged as a power in the WCHL, winning the regular season Northern Division title and reaching the league finals in its first season. However the Sabercats were defeated by the defending champion San Diego Gulls in the league's Taylor Cup finals.[2]

The following season, 1998–99, Tacoma won its second WCHL Northern Division title and defeated the Gulls in the Taylor Cup finals, becoming the first team other than San Diego to win the WCHL title in the league's history.[3][4] Although the Sabercats won the WCHL Northern Division a third time in 1999–2000, the team failed to win another league championship.

Although the team enjoyed a strong following in the Tacoma area, it folded after being eliminated by the Idaho Steelheads in the 2002 WCHL playoffs.[5]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Final records.[6]

SeasonLeagueGPWLOTLSOLPtsGFGAPIMFinishCoachPlayoffs
1997–98WCHL644219-38730021414931st, NorthJohn OlverLost in finals, 1-4 (San Diego)
1998–99WCHL704418-89627823416271st, NorthJohn OlverWon Taylor Cup, 4-2 (San Diego)
1999–00WCHL725112-911129719315091st, NorthJohn OlverLost in finals, 0-4 (Phoenix)
2000–01WCHL723135-66823624716083rd, NorthRobert DirkLost in round 1, 2-3 (Colorado)
2001–02WCHL723036-66621124915733rd, NorthRobert DirkLost in round 2, 2-3 (Idaho)

References
  1. "Sabercats Unveil Logo, Colors", Seattle Post-Intelligencer (July 15, 1997). (HiBeam)
  2. 1997-98 West Coast Hockey League
  3. "Sabercats basking in championship afterglow", The News Tribune (July 28, 1999). (NewsLibrary.com)
  4. 1998-99 West Coast Hockey League
  5. "And five years later, Sabercats close up shop", The News Tribune (May 6, 2002). (NewsLibrary.com)
  6. Hockeydb.com, Tacoma Sabercats Statistics and History


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