Southern California Hockey League [1941-1944] history and statistics

The Southern California Hockey League was a Semi-Professional hockey league that operated from 1941 to 1944.

In 1942-43, the league admitted a team from Bakersfield which was comprised of players stationed at Minter Airfield. This team was named the Flyers. After just three games in Bakersfield, the Bakersfield Ice Arena was commissioned for use by Locheed Aircraft, orphaning the team. The Flyers eventually moved their "home" games to San Diego. Due to a limited pool of players to choose from (they were even forced to play one game with a defenseman serving as goaltender), the Flyers struggled throughthe season, losing all their games.

As the 1942-43 season wound down, the Flyers decided to disband since they had no chance at the playoffs. As this occurred, the San Diego Skyhawks announced that they would also be ending the season early due to many players being called into the military, including their coach Al Papike and goaltender Red Fisher. The Skyhawks had a... [Click for more]lready clinched the regular season title, and were at odds with the Los Angeles and Hollywood teams over scheduling.

The Los Angeles Monarchs and Hollywood Wolves did not agree with the cancellation, and as they were tied for second place, they decided to proceed to playoffs. They played a best of three series, and had hoped to challenge the Skyhawks for the championship. The Hollywood Wolves won this "second-place" series, but the Skyhawks refused the challenge, so no playoff champion was crowned.

The 1943-44 season was played with a new team, the Pasadena Panthers, joining the Monarchs, Wolves, and Skyhawks. The talent in the league was superior to past years, with some AHL teams assigning players to the SCHL.

Following the 1943-44 season, the SCHL teams joined together with teams from the Northwest International Hockey League and new teams in Oakland/San Francisco to form the Pacific Coast Hockey League.