Central Hockey League Folds With Season Just Two Weeks Away

The bad news is the Central Hockey League has folded. That's right, the CHL, the league in which the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs competed until ceasing operations in the spring of 2011, is no more. But the good news is, the ECHL is around to pick up the pieces...at least some of them.

The East Coast Hockey League's Board of Governors on announced plans to accept the membership requests of seven CHL teams: The Allen Americans, Brampton Beast, Missouri Mavericks, Quad City Mallards, Rapid City Rush, Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder.

That brings the ECHL to 28 teams in 20 states, and one Canadian franchise in Ontario.

Rumors had persisted all summer that the financially strapped league would go under, especially after the CHL dropped three more franchises. The announcement came with the league scheduled to begin play on October 24th.

The ECHL says that it's working on its new schedule, alignment and playoff format.