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Aberdeen Wings

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Aberdeen Wings
CityAberdeen, South Dakota
LeagueNorth American Hockey League
DivisionCentral
Founded2010
Home arenaOdde Ice Center
ColorsRed, black, and white
     
Owner(s)Greg Odde
General managerScott Langer[1]
Head coachScott Langer
Franchise history
2010–presentAberdeen Wings
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2020–21)
Playoff championships1 (2019)

The Aberdeen Wings are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based out of Aberdeen, South Dakota, that began play for 2010–11. A member of the North American Hockey League in the Central Division, the Wings play their home games in the Odde Ice Center.

History

[edit]

Since the team's inaugural season in 2010–11, the Wings have held the highest attendance numbers in their NAHL division, boasting crowds over 1,700. In their first four seasons, the Aberdeen Wings have made the NAHL playoffs twice. The goal of any junior hockey team is to help develop players for the next level. In four seasons, the Wings have had 22 players Division-I college commitments, three players sign professional contracts overseas, and two players drafted in the NHL. During the 2014 NHL Draft, two Aberdeen Wings players were selected. Both taken in the 4th round, goaltender Zach Nagelvoort was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers and defenseman Steven Johnson was selected by the Los Angeles Kings. Wings forward Lennart Palausch signed a professional contract during the 2014 off-season with Heilbronner Falken of the DEL2 in Germany. In the 2013–14 season, the Aberdeen Wings had two players selected to play in the 2014 World Junior Championships for their home countries, including forward Lennart Palausch (Germany) and forward Bjorn Sigurdarson (Iceland).

The 2014–15 was the first season under head coach Francis Anzalone. A native of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, Anzalone served as the associate head coach and director of player personnel during the previous season under Wings head coach Travis Winter. During the 2014 off-season, Winter accepted the assistant coach position at his alma mater, Bemidji State University, where he led the Beavers hockey team as captain to the Frozen Four in 2009. Anzalone came from a hockey family that includes his father, Frank Anzalone who was a national championship college hockey coach, minor league head coach, and scout for the Calgary Flames. Anzalone was fired as head coach at the end of the 2015–16 season after two losing seasons and missing the playoffs.[2]

Two days after releasing Anzalone, the Wings announced it had hired long time NAHL coach Scott Langer as head coach. Langer had coached the previous 12 seasons with the Santa Fe/Topeka RoadRunners organization before being released during the 2015–16 season.[3] In his first season as coach of the Wings, the team advanced to the 2017 Robertson Cup tournament and lost to the Aston Rebels. The Wings then won the regular season division titles in each of the following two seasons culminating in the 2019 Robertson Cup league championship.[4] Langer was also named the general manager in January 2019.[5]

In the 2019–20 season, the Wings were again leading the Central Division when the season was curtailed due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The start of the 2020–21 season was then delayed by one month and was slightly shortened from the typical 60 games to 56 games for the Wings. Despite the shorter season, the Wings set the league record for number of regular season wins with 51 and 103 points.[6][7] Following the season, Langer was hired as the head coach for the Fargo Force in the United States Hockey League and Steve Jennings was named as the next Wings' head coach.[8] Langer returned as head coach in October 2022.[9]

Season-by-season records

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Season GP W L OTL PTS GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
2010–11 58 20 34 4 44 166 219 829 6th, Central Did not qualify
2011–12 60 29 24 7 65 187 177 738 4th, Central Lost Div. Semifinals, 1–3 vs. Bismarck Bobcats
2012–13 60 23 30 7 53 157 224 849 5th, Central Did not qualify
2013–14 60 38 18 4 80 183 140 691 2nd, Central
6th of 24, NAHL		 Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–3 vs. Bismarck Bobcats
2014–15 60 27 31 2 56 142 165 788 4th, Central
18th of 24, NAHL		 Lost Round 1 series, 0–3 vs. Austin Bruins
2015–16 60 22 27 11 55 131 171 879 6th, Central
19th of 22, NAHL		 Did not qualify
2016–17 60 29 24 7 65 184 185 1119 4th, Central
14th of 24, NAHL		 Won Div. Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Minot Minotauros
Won Div. Finals, 3–2 vs. Minnesota Wilderness
Lost Robertson Cup Semifinals, 1–2 vs. Aston Rebels
2017–18 60 39 16 5 83 194 140 931 1st, Central
6th of 23, NAHL		 Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–3 vs. Minot Minotauros
2018–19 60 47 10 3 97 255 124 1061 1st, Central
3rd of 24, NAHL		 Won Div. Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Austin Bruins
Won Div. Finals, 3–1 vs. Minot Minotauros
Won Robertson Cup Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Amarillo Bulls
Won Robertson Cup Championship game, 2–1 vs. Fairbanks Ice Dogs
2019–20 51 34 11 6 74 187 122 635 1st, Central
5th of 26, NAHL		 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 56 51 4 1 103 251 75 928 1st, Central
1st of 23, NAHL		 Won Div. Semifinals, 3–2 vs. Minot Minotauros
Won Div. Finals, 3–0 vs. Bismarck Bobcats
Won Robertson Cup Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Minnesota Magicians
Lost Robertson Cup Championship game, 2–4 vs. Shreveport Mudbugs
2021–22 60 31 24 5 67 186 184 894 3rd of 6, Central
17th of 29, NAHL		 Won Div. Semifinals, 3–0 vs. Austin Bruins
Lost Div. Finals, 1–3 vs. St. Cloud Norsemen
2022–23 60 30 24 6 66 176 177 969 2nd of 6, Central
14th of 29, NAHL		 Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–3 vs. St. Cloud Norsemen
2023-24 60 31 24 5 67 187 183 943 3rd of 6 Central,
17 of 32 NAHL		 Lost Div. Semi-Finals, 2-3 vs. Bismarck Bobcats

References

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  1. ^ "Hockey Operations". Aberdeen Wings. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "Wings Begin Search for New Head Coach". OurSports Central. April 11, 2016.
  3. ^ "Scott Langer Named Head Coach". Aberdeen Wings. April 13, 2016.
  4. ^ "Photo Gallery Aberdeen Wings win 2019 Robertson Cup Championship". Aberdeen News. May 14, 2019.
  5. ^ "Langer Named Wings GM!". Aberdeen Wings. January 29, 2019.
  6. ^ "Friday Finals: Wings set new record with 50th win". NAHL. May 15, 2021.
  7. ^ "Saturday Scores: Brahmas sweep and Wings break more records". NAHL. May 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Wings Name New Head Coach for 2021-22 Season". OurSports Central. July 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "Wings announce coaching change". NAHL. October 11, 2022.
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