The Pueblo Peppers are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Pueblo, Colorado, set to begin play in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) as a member of the Mountain Division. The Peppers will play their home games at the Pueblo Ice Arena & Events Center.
History
The franchise began in 2005 as the North Iowa Outlaws based in Mason City, Iowa, where the team played for five seasons until moving to Onalaska, Wisconsin, in 2010 under owner Mark Motz as the Coulee Region Chill. The team was then sold to Michelle Bryant in 2012 and the franchise was eventually moved in 2014 to nearby La Crosse, Wisconsin, with games at the Green Island Ice Arena.
After the 2017–18 season, Chill owner Michelle Bryant sold the franchise to Steve Black of JB Black Enterprise, LLC, the owner of the NA3HL's New Ulm Steel. Black relocated the Chill franchise to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, as the Chippewa Steel to play out of Chippewa Area Ice Arena. Bryant would then rename her NA3HL team from La Crosse Freeze to Coulee Region Chill while continuing to play out of La Crosse. Al Rooney was named the Steel's first head coach and general manager, but was relieved of duties 23 games into his first season with a 5–16–1–1 record. Assistant coach Carter Foguth was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season before be given the role permanently at the end of the season.
In March 2021, it was reported that Steve Black sold the Steel and the Tier III New Ulm Steel to an ownership group led by Kelly Kasik. The sale was confirmed on April 16 along with the announcement of new general manager and head coach Mike Janda. However, Janda was then given a two-year suspension in August 2021 by USA Hockey for manipulating records to use non-eligible players when he held a previous coaching job on a youth team and was subsequently released by the Steel. The Steel then hired Casey Mignone, the assistant coach of the St. Cloud Norsemen.
On June 12, 2026 (although reports of the Steel moving were leaked beforehand), the NAHL announced that, along with a new Mountain division being formed, the Chippewa Steel would relocate to Pueblo, Colorado.
On July 1, the Pueblo Peppers name, logo and color scheme were announced.
Season-by-season records Season GP W L OTL PTS GF GA PIM Finish PlayoffsNorth Iowa Outlaws 2005–06 58 18 37 3 39 149 219 1439 5th of 5, Central19th of 20, NAHLDid not qualify 2006–07 62 27 29 6 60 174 198 1446 4th of 6, Central12th of 17, NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 2–3 (Fargo-Moorhead Jets) 2007–08 58 38 16 4 80 195 137 1209 1st of 8, Central4th of 18, NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Springfield Jr. Blues) 2008–09 58 35 18 5 75 229 171 1107 2nd of 5, Centralt-7th of 19, NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 1–3 (Owatonna Express) 2009–10 58 15 37 6 36 147 234 915 5th of 5, Central18th of 19, NAHLDid not qualifyCoulee Region Chill 2010–11 58 33 20 5 71 204 180 982 t-2nd of 6, Centralt-10th of 26, NAHLWon Div. Semifinal series, 3–1 (Owatonna Express)Lost Div. Final series, 2–3 (Bismarck Bobcats) 2011–12 60 18 35 7 43 162 229 996 4th of 5, MidWestt-23rd of 28, NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (St. Louis Bandits) 2012–13 60 16 39 5 37 157 224 849 6th of 6, Central23rd of 24, NAHLDid not qualify 2013–14 60 31 28 1 63 181 181 1011 5th of 6, Midwest15th of 24, NAHLDid not qualify 2014–15 60 28 23 9 65 176 182 987 3rd of 5, Midwest12th of 24, NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 2–3 (Minnesota Wilderness) 2015–16 60 33 26 1 67 177 165 883 4th of 6, Midwestt-11th of 22, NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 1–3 (Fairbanks Ice Dogs) 2016–17 60 31 27 2 64 220 220 920 4th of 6, Midwest16th of 24, NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Janesville Jets) 2017–18 60 17 34 9 43 162 214 661 5th of 6, Midwest21st of 23, NAHLDid not qualifyChippewa Steel 2018–19 60 19 38 3 41 149 220 1019 6th of 6, Midwest22nd of 24, NAHLDid not qualify 2019–20 51 29 18 4 62 171 146 798 2nd of 6, Midwest11th of 23, NAHLPostseason cancelled 2020–21 48 14 29 5 33 116 169 904 5th of 5, Midwest22nd of 23, NAHLDid not qualify 2021–22 60 25 31 4 54 168 206 772 7th of 8, Midwest24 of 29, NAHLDid not qualify 2022–23 60 31 25 4 66 186 172 806 4th of 8, Midwest13 of 29, NAHLLost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Wisconsin Windigo) 2023–24 60 29 25 6 64 170 188 646 5th of 8, Midwest20 of 32, NAHLDid not qualify 2024–25 59 30 23 6 66 182 186 1024 4th of 8, Midwest14 of 35, NAHL Lost Div. Semifinal series, 1–3 (Wisconsin Windigo) 2025-26 59 11 44 4 26 119 260 1322 8th of 8 Midwest34th of 34 NAHL Did not qualify Pueblo Peppers 2026-27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD
References