It's been quite a while now, but professional hockey finally will be returning to San Francisco.
The East Coast Hockey League, the premier 'AA' hockey league, has approved the expansion of the San Francisco Bulls who will join the league in the 2012-13 season. They will play their home games at the infamous Cow Palace down in Daly City, marking the first time the venue has hosted professional hockey since San Jose Sharks played their first two seasons from 1991-1993 there before the creation of HP Pavilion.
The San Francisco ownership will be spearheaded by Pat Curcio and his wife Elouise with Curcio serving as president, general manager and head coach for the Bulls (Jackie Moon anyone?), who is ready to get things started in the City:
"We are so excited and proud to provide professional hockey to the San Francisco Bay area," said Curcio. "The on-ice product will be very entertaining and the Cow Palace is the perfect venue for our team."
The Cow Palace seats just over 11,000 for a Hockey game, but comes with a rich hockey tradition. The San Francisco Shamrocks of the PHL played there for a few seasons, from 1977-79. Then came the California Seals, playing there in the WHL from 1961 to 1977, while the San Francisco Spiders of the IHL played one season at Cow Palace in 1995-96 before going under.