El Paso Rhinos

The El Paso Rhinos are a junior ice hockey club based in El Paso, Texas. They play their home games at the County Events Center, which is part of the El Paso County Coliseum complex. The Rhinos compete in the Tier III North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) and were part of the Western States Hockey League from 2006 until 2020. The organization also operates a Tier II team, founded in 2021, that plays in the North American Hockey League.

The team was founded in 2006 by Cory Herman, a former professional player for the El Paso Buzzards, who had stopped operating in 2003. Herman aimed to bring ice hockey back to El Paso.

In their debut season in the WSHL, a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior B league, the Rhinos reached the 2007 Thorne Cup final but lost to the Phoenix Polar Bears. Their second-place finish earned them a spot in the Tier III Junior B National Championship Tournament. After that season, Commissioner Ron White approved Tier III Junior A status for the WSHL.

During the 2007–08 season, the Rhinos finished first overall with just one regulation loss. Player Marcus Wilhite led the Mid-West Division in scoring with 46 goals and 109 points. The team’s early success attracted higher-level talent, including defenseman Anthony Paulsen, who had previously led his league in scoring from the blue line. After sweeping the Tulsa Rampage for the Mid-West Division title, the Rhinos defeated the Phoenix Polar Bears to win the 2008 Thorne Cup and advanced to their first Tier III Junior A Nationals as league champions.

In the 2008–09 season, the Rhinos won their first 11 games before losing to Tulsa. They became Mid-West Division champions for the third straight year, sweeping the San Antonio Diablos in the division finals.

However, they lost the 2009 Thorne Cup to the Phoenix Polar Bears in a sweep. As runners-up, both the Rhinos and the Polar Bears represented the WSHL at the Tier III Junior A Nationals in Marlboro, Massachusetts. That season, the team adopted a real rhino in Africa named Tatenda as a mascot, donating to cover its care without moving the animal.

The 2009–10 season saw the Rhinos finish first in the Mid-West and tied for first in the WSHL during the regular season, but they lost in the playoffs to the Boulder Bison and missed the national tournament. In June 2010, the franchise opened the El Paso Rhinos Training Center, a hockey-specific gym with state-of-the-art equipment, which helped attract players for the 2010–11 season.

The 2010–11 season brought another first-place regular season finish in the Mid-West and a conference playoff win over the Boulder Bison. The Rhinos lost the 2011 Thorne Cup to the Idaho Jr. Steelheads without a win.

They again represented the WSHL at nationals in Minnesota, tying the Granite City Lumberjacks, then beating the Northern Cyclones and Chicago Hitmen. With a 2-0-1 record, they reached the Tier III Junior A finals. Goaltender Trent Casper led them to a 2–1 semifinal win over Idaho before losing to the Helena Bighorns in the national championship game.

Before the 2011–12 season, the WSHL joined the United Hockey Union and became sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union instead of USA Hockey, causing some teams to leave and others to join. The Rhinos again finished first in the Midwest Conference regular season and won the conference playoffs. They defeated the New Mexico Renegades and Dallas Ice Jets in the division playoffs.

The Thorne Cup that season featured a round-robin format held in El Paso. The Rhinos lost to Idaho but beat the Fresno Monsters, finishing 1-1-0. Both Dallas and Idaho had two wins, leaving the Rhinos out of the championship game.

For the 2012–13 season, El Paso moved to the Mountain Conference due to an influx of midwestern teams. Despite new opponents, they finished first in the conference regular season and swept the Mountain Conference playoffs against the Phoenix Knights and Boulder Bison. In the Thorne Cup round robin, they beat the Bay Area Seals and Fresno Monsters but lost the semifinal to the Seals 7–2. That season, the Rhinos set franchise records for most sold-out crowds, largest single-game crowd, and highest total attendance.

In the 2013–14 season, the Rhinos posted a 44-2-0 record, finishing first in the Midwest Division and first in points in the WSHL. They went on to win their second Thorne Cup championship.