Oklahoma’s Love/Hate Relationship with Ice Hockey

You may not know this, and admit it, why would you, but Oklahoma has a shockingly deep history in ice hockey. We aren't known for cold-weather sports here, but hockey has a 60 year legacy in the Sooner State.

Who knew?

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I remember as a kid that Oklahoma City had an ice hockey team called the Blazers, but only because hockey of all sorts swept across the plains due to the popularity of The Mighty Ducks movies. I even went to school with some richy-rich kids who played ice hockey in Wichita, Kansas each week.

Critter used to talk about the joy of catching a hockey game from time to time. He's a huge hockey fan, but really for the onslaught of single combat more than anything. He and his family used to trek to OKC regularly to watch the Blazers play. Reminiscing about it recently, I started to wonder...

How many ice hockey teams has Oklahoma had?

Here's the easy answer - Oklahoma has hosted eight total professional ice hockey teams over the years.

While that's all said and good, it's worth a little debate. You see, of the eight teams to call the Sooner State home between 1964 and now, three of them were named the Tulsa Oilers, and two of them were the OKC Blazers.

All in all, that's four teams in total by name, but since they all have different owners, affiliations, and leagues, it's technically eight.

OKC has also hosted the OKC Barons most recently, and the Oklahoma City Stars for a while too. (not affiliated with the Dallas Stars)

Tulsa and OKC have shared the teams respectively too. The original Tulsa Oilers became the first round of the OKC Blazers, who went defunct after four years in the state capital. The OKC Barons also ended up in Bakersfield, California - now the Condors - and still managing to carve out a legacy there.

In Oklahoma, we're left with the Tulsa Oilers, but not the originals or the first copy for that matter. It's the third time the Oilers have made a home in Tulsa. They've had a home in T-Town since 1992, so it doesn't appear as if they'll be leaving anytime soon... but never say never. Ice hockey appears to always be on thin ice in Oklahoma.