Quad City Flames
The Quad City Flames were an ice hockey team that played between 2007 and 2009. They were owned by QC Sports Ventures Inc., an ownership group based out of the Quad Cities. The Flames played at the iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. They were the American Hockey League farm team of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League. The move to the Quad Cities was confirmed on May 24, 2007. As a result, the arena's previous hockey tenant, the Quad City Mallards of the United Hockey League ceased operations.[1]
| Quad City Flames | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Moline, Illinois |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Operated | 2007–2009 |
| Home arena | iWireless Center |
| Colors | Red, black, gold, white |
| Affiliates | Calgary Flames |
| Franchise history | |
| 1977–1987 | Maine Mariners |
| 1987–1993 | Utica Devils |
| 1993–2003 | Saint John Flames |
| 2005–2007 | Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights |
| 2007–2009 | Quad City Flames |
| 2009–2014 | Abbotsford Heat |
| 2014–2015 | Adirondack Flames |
| 2015–present | Stockton Heat |
The team left the Quad Cities after the 2008–09 season and relocated to Abbotsford, British Columbia to play as the Abbotsford Heat in the 2009–10 season.
History
The Flames AHL franchise relocated from Omaha, Nebraska, where the team spent two seasons as the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. Following two disappointing seasons at the gate in which the Flames and the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben lost over $4 million, the Flames chose to relocate the franchise.[2] The new franchise joined former UHL rival, the Rockford IceHogs in moving up to the AHL. The Flames made their AHL regular-season debut in Moline on October 6, 2007 with a 5–1 victory over Rockford.
The Flames were the third team to attempt to place an AHL team in the Quad Cities. Both the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers were unable to reach an agreement with the owners of the Mallards, and of the arena.[3] While the NHL franchise had signed an affiliation agreement to the end of the 2011–12 season, the Flames and Quad City Sports Ventures agreed to end the agreement after just two seasons and the Flames placed their affiliate in Abbotsford, British Columbia for the 2009–10 AHL season.[4] Local ownership in Quad Cities estimated the team's losses for 2008–09 at $1.3 million.[5]
This market was previously served by:
- Quad City Mallards of the UHL (1995–2007)
The market was subsequently home to:
- Quad City Mallards of the IHL, CHL, and the ECHL (2009–18)
Affiliates
- Calgary Flames (2007–2009)
Season-by-season results
Team records
Single season
- Goals: 39
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- Assists: 43
- Points: 76
- Penalty Minutes: 248
- GAA: 2.23
- SV%: .912
- Wins: 24
- Shutouts: 3
- Goaltending records need a minimum 25 games played by the goaltender
Career
- Career Goals: 43
- Career Assists: 76
- Career Points: 108
- Career Penalty Minutes: 271
- Career Goaltending Wins: 24
- Career Shutouts: 3
- Career Games: 154
References
- Quad City Flames website
- AHL: Knights are leaving for the Quad Cities, Omaha World-Herald, May 15, 2007
- DeVrieze, Craig, Quad-Cities step up to AHL Archived December 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, pantagraph.com, May 24, 2007
- "Report: Flames plan to move AHL affiliate to Abbotsford". The Sports Network. 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
- Hall, Vicki (2009-03-12). "Calgary Flames' farm team to move from Quad Cities to Abbotsford, B.C." Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on February 12, 2010. Retrieved 2009-03-14.