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The International Hockey League (IHL) was a Professional Ice Hockey league in the United States and Canada from 1945 to 2001 . An older league, also named the International Hockey League , existed from 1929 through 1936 . The IHL was originally a semi-pro league based around the Great Lakes and traditionally based in smaller cities such as Fort Wayne , Grand Rapids , Flint , Toledo , Muskegon and Port Huron . However, starting in the mid-1970s, IHL teams began to be the major affiliates of National Hockey League (NHL) teams, and from the late 1980s on, the IHL began to expand into major markets such as Houston , Chicago , Detroit , Los Angeles , San Francisco , Kansas City , San Diego , Cincinnati , Cleveland , Atlanta , Orlando , Denver , the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and Phoenix . Its expansion into such markets was rapid, and as the smaller cities fell away (with many clubs, such as Fort Wayne, Peoria , Muskegon, Flint, and Kalamazoo joining lower leagues such as the United Hockey League or the East Coast Hockey League ), the IHL was seen to be preparing a serious challenge to the NHL for the supremacy of North American professional hockey as NHL labor woes flared. In response, many NHL clubs shifted their affiliations to the American Hockey League (AHL). With the loss of subsidized salaries, high expansion fees (by the end the league was charging as much as $8 million US for new teams), exploding travel costs and the NHL itself moving into some of its markets, the league's overexpansion proved a critical strain, and it folded after the 2001 season. Six of its franchises (the Chicago Wolves , Grand Rapids Griffins , Houston Aeros , Utah Grizzlies , Milwaukee Admirals and Manitoba Moose ) were admitted into the AHL as expansion teams for the 2001-2002 season. Playoff champions were awarded the Turner Cup trophy. TURNER CUP TEAMS
SEE ALSO List Of Ice Hockey Leagues EXTERNAL LINK
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