The Central Hockey League (CHL) has today released its 10th Year Anniversary logo. The logo will be used primarily in print publications, on CHL and member team websites, and on all game jerseys during the 2001-2002 season. The 10th Anniversary season beings on Thursday, October 18th as the San Antonio Iguanas visit the Corpus Christi IceRays. The Central Hockey League began play in the 1992-93 season, with teams in six southwestern cities.
The logo was designed by Barnstorm Creative Group, Inc., based in Vancouver, British Columbia, in conjunction with Aaron Jackson, the CHLs Marketing Manager. We wanted to create an image not only representing the 10th year of CHL play, but also a logo that corresponds with the aggressive marketing approach our member teams are taking into this season.
In other CHL news, the playoff format for the coming season has been ratified by team Governors. A total of eight teams (four from each eight-team conference) will qualify for post-season play. Each of the four division winners will automatically be seeded first or second in their respective conference, with an additional two teams in each conference also qualifying, based upon final regular season point totals. The conference semi-finals will be played in a best-of-five games format, with both the Conference Championships and Presidents Cup Finals played in a best-of-seven game series.
In addition to the Presidents Cup, the CHL will also present the Governors Cup (in recognition of CHL team Governors) to the overall regular season champion, as well as the Founders Cup to the Northern Conference playoff champion and the Directors Cup to the Southern Conference playoff champion. The Founders Cup will be presented in recognition of Horn Chen and Rick Kozubacks efforts in uniting the CHL and the WPHL, with the Directors Cup recognizing the dedication of both the CHL and the former WPHL Board of Directors.
On May 30th, 2001 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the Central and Western Professional Hockey Leagues announced a joint operating agreement, combining 16 of the top franchises from each organization under the Central Hockey League banner.