The were a one-season team in the
WHA Junior West Hockey League based in
Bellingham, Washington .
The Bellingham Bulls are the sole WHA Junior Hockey League's franchise in the United States of America for the 2006-2007 season,
Washington State . The team was publicly announced on
May 15 ,
2006 and team offices opened in July
2006 . The Bulls are the fourth regional league team in Bellingham. The last regional league team in Bellingham, the Ice Hawks, was sold and moved to
British Columbia in
1994 .
While the WHA was never involved with hockey in Bellingham until 2006, the "Bulls" name was used by a previous local hockey team. In 1975, a team named the "Bulls" played fewer than a dozen pre-season games in Bellingham before the
Pacific Northwest Hockey League folded.
The
World Hockey Association had used the "Bulls" name for an earlier franchise in
Birmingham, Alabama , which ended operations in 1981. The Bellingham Bulls' logo is a near-identical copy of the
Birmingham Bulls ' logo.
In the Bulls' first ever game on
September 22 ,
2006 , they were defeated by the
Lumby Fighting Saints by a score of 7-1. The next night, the Bulls returned the favour for their first ever victory, defeating the Saints 7-5.
The Bulls finished their first season in fifth place out of six teams. They entered the playoff round robin against the
New Westminster Whalers and the
Squamish Cougars . The Whalers won the round robin and moved on to the league final, as the Bulls finished in third and were eliminated.
The league dropped the Bulls for the 2007-08 season.
The Bellingham Sportsplex is the home of the Bellingham Bulls office and is located at 1225 Civic Field Way in Bellingham. John Ayre is the team's Director of Business Operations.
The Bellingham Bulls played home games in the
Bellingham Sportsplex .
The Bulls' head coach for the 2006-2007 season was former NHLer
Dennis Sobchuk , who began his major-league career in the original WHA with the Phoenix Roadrunners, Cincinnati Stingers and Edmonton Oilers.
Jeff Gilbert was the assistant coach.
- 1 Tyler Zetting Goalie 1989 Lynden Wa
- 2 Jake Smith Defense 1989 Bellingham Wa
- 3 Aaron Hoffman Defense 1990 Lake Stevens Wa
- 4 Isaac Hurt Forward 1988 Bothell Wa
- 5 Nick Kolodychuk Defense 1990 Bellingham Wa
- 7 Chase Haubursin Forward 1987 California
- 8 Phillip Carron Forward 1988 Bellingham Wa
- 10 Moises Abarca Forward 1987 California
- 11 Kjell Sherman Defense 1989 Mercer Island Wa
- 12 Ryan Roberge Forward 1988 Bellingham Wa
- 14 Todd Coates Defense 1987 Bellingham Wa
- 15 Steven Braykovich Forward 1988 Bellingham Wa
- 17 Trent Hansen Forward 1988 Bellingham Wa
- 19 Jordan Hildebrand Forward 1988 Bellingham Wa
- 30 Travis Hall Goalie 1988 Carson City Nv
- 97 Alex Valenti Forward 1989 Bellingham Wa
