New Mexico Scorpions
The New Mexico Scorpions were an original member of the WPHL when it started play for the 1996-97 season. The Scorpions were based in Albuquerque and played at Tingley Coliseum, which hadn't hosted pro hockey in 20 years since the Chaparrals folded. The Scorps were successful right from the start, winning 42 games in each of their first two seasons.Â
In their five seasons in the WPHL, their best would be 1999-00 when they won 49 of 70 and made it all the way to the playoff finals. The Shreveport Mudbugs would get the best of them in the finals though, defeating the Scorps in six games. In 2001, the WPHL would merge with the CHL and take the Scops with it. They would spend seven solid seasons in the CHL, finishing over .500 six times and making the playoffs three times.Â
In the midst of their CHL run, the team would cease operations for a year, skipping the 2005-06 season. They would return in 2006-07 in a new arena, the smaller and newer Rio Rancho Events Center that opened in '06. After three seasons in their new digs, the team would fold as the CHL collapsed in 2009.Â
