RHI Nations

Hockey's Future Showed Up on Rollerblades

The man behind the WHA wanted your summer: in 1991 Dennis Murphy watched kids play roller hockey and decided to fill dark NHL arenas — photo 2 of 12
Then he rewrote the rulebook: four 12-minute quarters, no blue lines, no two-line pass and a blaze-orange puck — photo 3 of 12
Opening night came with a hat trick in Oakland, then security showed up when fans threw hats — photo 4 of 12
Two nights, two completely different leagues: 13,000 fans at the Pond for the Anaheim Bullfrogs, 1,917 in Utah the next night — photo 5 of 12
Nobody knew how to play it yet: crews coated concrete with Coca-Cola for grip and scores like 13-12 were normal — photo 6 of 12
Then it got big fast: 24 teams and an ESPN2 show by 1994, and the Buffalo Stampede won the Cup in front of 14,175 — photo 7 of 12
The night roller hockey filled the Forum: the San Jose Rhinos won the 1995 final in Montreal in front of about 15,000 — photo 8 of 12
So how did it fall apart: expansion for the fees, a lost Pepsi deal and the founders fighting over who owned the orange puck — photo 9 of 12
The last game: Vipers 8, Bullfrogs 6 — photo 10 of 12
Hockey kept the ideas: RHI played 4-on-4, shootouts and no two-line pass years before the NHL, and in 2026 the AHL's Barracuda wore Rhinos jerseys — photo 11 of 12
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