The Detroit Vipers were an International Hockey League team. The team was founded in 1994, and played at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The International Hockey League (IHL) was a professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada from 1945 to 2001. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... The Palace of Auburn Hills (a. ...

Beginning

The Vipers were originally the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. In 1994, the franchise was purchased by Palace Sports and Entertainment (owners of the Detroit Pistons and The Palace of Auburn Hills) and relocated for the 1994-95 season. A sponsorship deal with the Chrysler Corporation led to the naming of the team after their Dodge Viper. A similar deal was in place with another Palace Sports-owned team, the Detroit Neon of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, which would switch its sponsorship to GMC in its final year and rename the team the Detroit Safari after yet another vehicle, the Safari. The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were the first extreme badminton team created in the United States and was created in 1825 by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, and Jebediah Utah, the founder of the State of Utah. ... The Detroit Pistons are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in the Detroit metropolitan area. ... The Chrysler Corporation was a United States-based automobile manufacturer that existed independently from 1925–1998. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Detroit Safari originally founded as the Detroit Neon was a member of the Continental Indoor Soccer League that played at the Palace of Auburn Hills. ... The Continental Indoor Soccer League was an indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. ... GMC Logo GMC Truck is a United States based brand name of premium trucks, vans, SUVs and other heavy-duty automobiles. ... The Detroit Safari (originally founded as the Detroit Neon) was a member of the Continental Indoor Soccer League that played at the Palace of Auburn Hills. ...

The team hired former Buffalo Sabres coach Rick Dudley as head coach. Their first season was during the NHL lockout, and this, combined with a liberal amount of free ticket vouchers distributed at local stores, helped the Vipers break IHL attendance records that season. Led by 44 goals from Daniel Shank (never equaled through the existence of the team), the Vipers won their division that season, and gained some press by defeating a team of locked out NHL All-Stars in an exhibition game. The 1995-96 season would see the notable signing of Washington Capitals star Peter Bondra for a brief time, while he was locked in a holdout with Washington management, as well as the departure of Rick Dudley to take the general manager's position with the Ottawa Senators, replaced by assistant coach Steve Ludzik for the final 32 games. The Vipers would finish the season in second place in the Central Division and led the league in attendance again. The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. ... The head coach in sports coaching is the coach who is in charge of the other coaches. ... Rick Dudley was born on 31 January, 1949 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... The 1994-95 NHL lockout came after a year of NHL hockey that was played without a CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement). ... Daniel Shank (born May 12, 1967, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a former National Hockey League right wing. ... The National Hockey League All-Star Game (French: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey) is an exhibition hockey game that marks the midway point of the National Hockey Leagues regular season, with many of the leagues star players playing against each other. ... An exhibition game is the North American term for a sporting event in which there is no gain or loss from whether the competitors are victorious or not in the competition. ... The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). ... Peter Bondra, #12 (#10 while with the Ottawa Senators in the 2003-2004 NHL season) was born on February 7, 1968 in Luck in the U.S.S.R., now in Ukraine. ... Rick Dudley was born on 31 January, 1949 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... This article is about the current National Hockey League team. ... Steve Ludzik (born April 3, 1961 in Toronto, Ontario) is a retired former professional ice hockey player and coach who currently works as a television analyst for The Score. ...

The Turner Cup Finals

1996-97 saw the arrival of Russian phenom Sergei Samsonov and IHL All-Star Stan Drulia to the Vipers. Drulia led the team in scoring and Samsonov would win Rookie of the Year honors as the Vipers won another division title. Detroit would advance to their first Turner Cup Final, against the Long Beach Ice Dogs. Led by Samsonov and Peter Ciavaglia, the Vipers won the series four games to two for their first Turner Cup. Samsonov would be a high first round draft pick of the Boston Bruins, but the slack was picked up in 1997-98 by 40 goals from Dan Kesa as the Vipers won their third division title in four years. They would advance to the Turner Cup Finals against the Chicago Wolves, but after going up three games to two, would only be able to score one goal in the final two games and lost four games to three. 1997-98 also saw a one shift comeback from Gordie Howe, making him the only person to play hockey in six different decades as a profesional. Sergei Samsonov (Russ: Сергей Самсонов; born October 27, 1978 near Moscow, Russia) is a professional ice hockey forward in the NHL, playing for the Montreal Canadiens. ... The Rookie of the Year award is given by a number of sports leagues, mainly in North America, to the top first-time professional athlete of the season. ... The Long Beach Ice Dogs are an ice hockey team in the ECHL, a AA hockey league that operates in North America. ... Peter Ciavaglia (born July 15, 1969, in Albany, New York, USA) is a retired American professional ice hockey center. ... The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. ... The Chicago Wolves are a hockey team in the American Hockey League. ... Gordon Gordie Howe, OC (born March 31, 1928 in Floral, Saskatchewan) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers. ...

Demise

The 1998-99 season saw another division title for the Vipers, becoming the first team in professional hockey to have 100 points in the standings in each of their first five years. However, they were defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Orlando Solar Bears in seven games. In 1999, Palace Sports and Entertainment bought the Tampa Bay Lightning, and made the Detroit Vipers their farm club. Their first move was to move Steve Ludzik's coaching position from Detroit to Tampa, replacing him with Paulin Bordeleau. As the Lightning struggled, the transfer of talent from the farm club to the parent club throughout the season sapped the team of the strength and stability that it had experienced through the first five years of its existence, and the team finished in last place in their division. The Vipers woes were nothing, however, compared to the worsening health of the IHL, which had overexpanded itself throughout the decade and was paying the price in red ink. The 2000-01 season saw the Vipers in last place in the league in standings and attendance, and the impending demise of the IHL combined with the plummeting attendance led Palace Sports to find a new affiliate for the Lightning. On June 4, 2001, both the International Hockey League and the Detroit Vipers ceased operations. Ξ The Orlando Solar Bears were a professional ice hockey team based out of Orlando, Florida that played their home games at the TD Waterhouse Centre. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The Tampa Bay Lightning is a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. ... Nickname: Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (Latin for, We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes) Location in Wayne County, Michigan Coordinates: Country United States State Michigan County Wayne County Government  - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Area  - City  143. ... Nickname: Cigar City, The Big Guava Location in Hillsborough County and the state of Florida. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Year By Year Record

External links

• Detroit Vipers statistics at Hockey Database