San Antonio Iguanas
The San Antonio Iguanas joined the CHL in 1994 and played at the Freeman Coliseum. Their orange and purple color combination, along with the Iguana emblem, results in one of the most distinctive logos and uniforms in hockey history.
They started fast in their debut season (1994-95), going 37-22-7. They also advanced to the IHL championships in 1995, led by coach John Torchetti, who was voted IHL Coach of the Year. The Iguanas came up just short in the 1995 Finals, falling to Wichita. The next season would be a successful reprise of the first, with 39 victories and another trip to the finals, only to lose to Oklahoma City.
The Iguanas ran into problems in their third season, 1996-97, when the IHL's San Antonio Dragons relocated from Illinois. The Dragons and Iguanas shared fans and a venue, thereby cutting the local market in half. This is about the only time we can think of where a minor league team relocated to a city that already had an existing minor league team. The Dragons had a far larger budget and better players because the IHL was a step up, and the Iguanas were driven out of business at the end of the season. The Dragons would spend the 1997-98 season alone in the Freeman Coliseum, but they spent so much money that they went out of business at the end of the next season. The Dragons franchise was sold, ended up getting renamed to the Iguanas, and re-entered the CHL. So in a roundabout way, the Iguanas came out on top in the end.
The Iguanas' second arrival was a success on the ice, as they were over .500 every season and made the playoffs in three of their four seasons. But, once again, triumph was brief. When the AHL's San Antonio Rampage relocated from Adirondack, NY, the Iguanas decided to call it quits rather than face another club on their home ice for the second time.
They started fast in their debut season (1994-95), going 37-22-7. They also advanced to the IHL championships in 1995, led by coach John Torchetti, who was voted IHL Coach of the Year. The Iguanas came up just short in the 1995 Finals, falling to Wichita. The next season would be a successful reprise of the first, with 39 victories and another trip to the finals, only to lose to Oklahoma City.
The Iguanas ran into problems in their third season, 1996-97, when the IHL's San Antonio Dragons relocated from Illinois. The Dragons and Iguanas shared fans and a venue, thereby cutting the local market in half. This is about the only time we can think of where a minor league team relocated to a city that already had an existing minor league team. The Dragons had a far larger budget and better players because the IHL was a step up, and the Iguanas were driven out of business at the end of the season. The Dragons would spend the 1997-98 season alone in the Freeman Coliseum, but they spent so much money that they went out of business at the end of the next season. The Dragons franchise was sold, ended up getting renamed to the Iguanas, and re-entered the CHL. So in a roundabout way, the Iguanas came out on top in the end.
The Iguanas' second arrival was a success on the ice, as they were over .500 every season and made the playoffs in three of their four seasons. But, once again, triumph was brief. When the AHL's San Antonio Rampage relocated from Adirondack, NY, the Iguanas decided to call it quits rather than face another club on their home ice for the second time.
