Los Angeles Blades

For the 1961–67 Western Hockey League team, see Los Angeles Blades (WHL).

Ice hockey team in Inglewood, California

Los Angeles Blades

City| Inglewood, California
Founded| 1993
Folded| 1997
Home arena| Great Western Forum
Colors| Dark Blue, Black, Silver, White

Murphy Cups| None
Conference Championships| None
Division Championships| 1994
Owner(s)| Jeanie Buss
Franchise history
Los Angeles Blades
(1993–1997)

The Los Angeles Blades were a professional inline hockey team based in Los Angeles, California.[1] The Blades played in Roller Hockey International from 1993–1997 and played their home games at the Great Western Forum.[2]

Two other franchises have used the name Los Angeles Blades: the Pacific Hockey League team in 1978–79 and the Western Hockey League team from 1961 to 1967.

## Franchise history

[edit]

The Blades were one of 12 original RHI teams and were owned by Jeanie Buss, daughter of then-Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss.[3] They played a summer schedule at the Great Western Forum, which was then the home of the NBA's Lakers and the NHL's Los Angeles Kings. The Blades posted winning records in four of the five seasons it operated, and made the playoffs every year -- unfortunately, they were eliminated all five times by their local rivals, the Anaheim Bullfrogs. RHI suspended operations after the 1997 season, and when it returned in 1999, with eight teams, the Blades were not among them. RHI folded, for good, after the 1999 season.

## Season-by-season record

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Season | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoff Record

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1993 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 110 | 107 | 224 | 2nd, Buss | Won Quarterfinal (Toronto), 6–5
Lost Semifinal (Anaheim), 13–4
1994 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 180 | 133 | 406 | 1st, Pacific | Won Pacific Semifinal (San Diego), 14–6, 9–8
Lost Pacific Final (Anaheim), 9–6, 9–8
1995 | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 23 | 147 | 164 | 458 | 4th, Pacific | Lost Western Quarterfinal (Anaheim), 8–10, 9–1, 3–0
1996 | 28 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 33 | 160 | 155 | 438 | 2nd, Pacific | Lost Pacific Final (Anaheim), 7–5, 8–4
1997 | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 27 | 166 | 155 | 405 | 3rd, Western | Lost Western Semifinal (Anaheim), 7–2, 2–5, 1–0
RHI Totals | 112 | 63 | 39 | 11 | 135 | 763 | 714 | 1,931 |  |

## References

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1. ^ Barry, Sal (July 11, 2019). "Roller Hockey International: An oral history". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
2. ^ Horrow, Rick; Swatek, Karla (2010). Beyond the Box $core: An Insider's Guide to the $750 Billion Business of Sports. Morgan James Publishing p. 110. ISBN 978-1-6003-7643-6.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. ^ Pucin, Diane (March 3, 2013). "Jerry Buss used team tennis, roller hockey to train his children". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 21, 2020.