NAHL - North American Hockey League (1973-1977)
After the 1972-73 season, the EHL folded when the southern teams withdrew to form their own league, the Southern Hockey League (SHL). The NAHL was created at the same time of the northern based EHL teams. It featured many of the same teams including the Syracuse Blazers, Johnstown Jets, and Clinton - now Mohawk Valley - Comets. The league was the inspiration for the film Slapshot, with it's fight filled games and lifers on the rosters. But where the film found success, the league did not. The NAHL would fold following the 1976-77 season.