Chicago Hounds (ice hockey team)

Chicago Hounds
Founded	2006
Disbanded	2009
Home ice	Sears Centre
Based in	Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Colors	black, blue, gold
League	United Hockey League

The Chicago Hounds were a professional ice hockey team in the United Hockey League for the 2006-07 UHL season. They played their home games at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The Hounds franchise was officially a relocation of the Richmond RiverDogs franchise, which played in Richmond, Virginia for three seasons from 2003-2006. Their only coach was former Fort Wayne Komets coach, Greg Puhalski, who came in as the having the most wins as a head coach in UHL history.

The Hounds got off to an inauspicious start, as their first home game was canceled due to bad ice at the brand new Sears Centre. The game was supposed to start at 7:30pm Central Time, but the decision to cancel was not announced until 9pm. Several fans were alleged to have thrown rubber pucks for the Chuck-A-Puck promotion in the direction of UHL commissioner Richard Brosal, who was the one that made the official announcement to the fans.

On June 6, 2007, Hounds owner Craig Drecktrah ceased the team's operations, saying his inability to negotiate a reasonable lease with the Sears Centre brought him to this decision. Drecktrah said the Sears Centre wanted him to take mostly weekdays, leaving the more desirable weekend dates for the other tenants. He also said the building management wanted to triple the cost of his lease. Technically, the franchise is on hiatus while Drecktrah looks for a new market; that may be hard, as the ECHL and the USHL have already tied up most of the attractive markets within the new IHL footprint. At the time of the announcement, Chicago joined four other UHL teams, the Elmira Jackals, Port Huron Flags, Quad City Mallards, and Rockford IceHogs to leave the league after the 2006-07 season.

The team attempted to resume play in the IHL for the 2008-09 season, however Drecktrah was unable to secure a venue in the Chicago area. As a result, the Hounds future remains uncertain. As of March 10, 2009, the website for the Hounds has been updated with a new logo similar to the Iowa Chops in style and a message stating "Coming Spring 2009". However, as of December 2009, the website hasn't changed.

But since the Sears Centre is under new ownership, a newspaper is reporting the Hounds ownership is interested in bringing back minor league hockey to the Sears Centre.[1]

In the summer of 2010, it was announced that Drecktrah would be bringing an ECHL team, the Chicago Express, to the Sears Centre for the 2011-12 season, effectively ending any potential attempt to restart the Hounds.