2003-04 Season Highlights

• The league expands to 7 teams with the addition of the New York Comets.
• After signing big names like Steve Hemsky, Trent Cameron, and Alexei Marin, the Boston Blazers finally look poised to contend for the Lego Cup.
• The defending champion Freezers get off to a very slow start, winning just 4 games before Christmas.
• The expansion Comets finish the first half in 2nd place overall, with rookie sensation Buenos Frederno leading the way.
• The second-year Calgary Bulls endure the worst season of any team in league history, winning just 4 games all year.
• The Dallas Wilderness look great in their second season, with strong play from rookies Jamie Moore and Jason Ferland.
• After starting slow, the Freezers finish the year with 16 straight victories, lifting them to 3rd place.
• In the first round of the playoffs, the Comets stun the Freezers in 6 games. Game 1 is the longest game in league history as it reaches 6 overtime periods before Freezers rookie Darren Reid finally ends it at 2:54 A.M. local time.
• Also in the first round, the Wilderness easily defeat the LA Ocean in 5 games.
• In the semifinals, the Wilderness upset the Warriors in 5 games. Game 5 is Warriors Goalie Patrick Wall's final game. Meanwhile the Blazers sweep the Comets in 4 straight games.
• In the finals, the Wilderness, despite brilliant goaltending from rookie netminder Jussi Sykko, are no match for the experienced Blazers, who take the series in 5, becoming the first-ever American team to win the Lego Cup.

2002-03 Season Highlights

• Two teams, the Philadelphia Flames and the Halifax Giants, leave the LHL to form their own league, the SHL, after accusations that rules regarding playoff seeding were changed just prior to the playoffs. 
• The LHL expands west, adding the Dallas Wilderness, Calgary Bulls, and the LA Ocean. The SHL adds the Chicago Metros and Texas Rage.
• After the controversy surrounding the 2002 playoffs, which cause the Flames and Giants to leave the league, the commissioner is forced to step aside. All teams and players are locked out until a new commissioner is introduced and important league issues are resolved.
• The lockout finally ends in late October when Larry Gambleson is introduced as the league's second commissioner and the season begins on October 28.
• Daniel Stevenson comes out of retirement to join the expansion Bulls. He finally scores his 500th career goal on December 13.
• Finland rises as a hockey superpower after winning the 2002 World Championship in December. many teams watch the Finish Hockey League closely in preperation for the draft.
• The Toronto Freezers enjoy another strong season, once again finishing in 1st place.
• Joe Murdock enjoys a record-setting sophomore season, scoring an unbelievable 110 goals.
• Stuart Holley joins the expansion Wilderness in January for one last season.
• At the trade deadline, Danny Stevenson is traded to the Warriors.
• All 6 teams make the playoffs, with the 1st place Freezers and 2nd place Warriors receiving first-round byes.
•  In the first round of the playoffs, the Blazers sweep the expansion Ocean, while the Wilderness come out on top against the Bulls.
• In the semifinals, the Wilderness shock everyone, taking a 3-0 series lead over the Warriors before the Warriors miraculously wins the next 4 straight to take the series. In the other semifinal series, the Freezers defeat the Blazers in 4 straight.
• The Freezers take a 3-2 series lead in game 5 of the finals on an overtime goal from Sergei Gulanov.
• The Warriors win a thrilling game 6 on an overtime goal from Danny Stevenson to force game 7.
• Game 7 is a back-and-forth battle until Joe Murdock puts the Freezers ahead with 32 seconds to go in the game. Sergei Gulanov adds an empty-netter and the Freezers claim their first Lego Cup. Game 7 takes place on May 31, nearly two months after the 2002 final.

2001-02 Season Highlights

Shawn Marchinski models the LHL's newest uniform; the
Boston Blazers.

• The league adds a US franchise with the addition of the Boston Blazers.
• The Ottawa Capitals move to Philadelphia and are re-named the Philadelphia Flames.
• A bus taking several Freezers players to a training camp function crashes. Tom Brassel and forward Alexei Kozlov suffer career-ending injuries.
• Rick Temper replaces Brassel as the Freezers starting goaltender, while a recently-cut rookie named Joe Murdock is recalled to replace Kozlov.
• After holding out on the Freezers several weeks into the season, Sergei Zeebov is traded to the Duplo Giants in exchange for goaltender Sergei Gagarin. Longtime Freezer/Limousine enforcer Rex Hull retires at the end of the pre-season.
• Mid-way through the season, the Montreal Dragons are forced to fold operations.
• Former Warriors enforcer Cedric the Bull joins the Freezers, scoring 50 goals.
• Freezers Rookie sensation Joe Murdock scores 52 goals to lead the team.
• The defending champion Warriors struggle to a 3rd place finish.
• The expansion Blazers win only 7 games in their first season, finishing in last place and out of the playoffs.
• Just prior to the playoffs, the league decides to change the seeding system. The 1st place Freezers would now play the 2nd place Flames, while the 3rd place Warriors take on the 4th place Giants.
• The Warriors, who would have originally faced the Flames, instead sweep the lowly Giants to advance to the finals. The Giants voice displeasure about the changes to the seedings.
• In the finals, the Freezers and Warriors trade wins back and forth until game 7.
• In game 7, Warriors forward Vladimir Gaganov is awarded a penalty shot in a 1-1 game. He scores and the Freezers never recover as the Warriors win their second-straight Lego Cup.
• After the season, representatives from the Flames and Giants franchises demand that commissioner Bob Matthews step aside after the playoff controversy. When Matthews refuses, the teams leave to start their own league. Matthews would eventually step aside.

1998-2001 Highlights

The Montreal Warriors and Toronto Freezers began a legendary
rivalry during the early years of the league.

• 1998: The first major professional Lego sports league is founded; the Lego Hockey League, which is originally based in eastern Canada.
• Daniel Stevenson, Gary Johnson, Sergei Zeebov, Vincent Domphoots, and Stuart Holley are among the league's best players.
• 1999: The Ottawa Capitals, led by young superstar Vincent Domphoots, win the first Lego Cup, upsetting the London Dragons in the finals.
• 2000: The Dragons, for the second straight season, finish atop the league standings, only to be upset in the finals by the Quebec Limousines.
• 2000: Stuart Holley scores a record-setting 56 goals in the 1999-00 season for the Montreal Warriors.
• 2000: The Lego Cup champion Limousines re-locate to Toronto and are re-named the Freezers.
• 2000: Several fights break out in a Warriors/Freezers game in November, 2000, leading to a huge brawl and giving birth to the league's most storied rivalry.
• The Ottawa Capitals are the league's best team in 2000-01, winning 18 out of 24 games with Vincent Domphoots breaking the single-season scoring record with 64 goals.
• 2001: The young Freezers and Warriors rivalry reaches new levels in game 3 of the league semifinals when a brawl in the stands leads to several Warriors fans vandalizing Iceberg Colosseum. The Freezers demand that the Warriors pay for the damage, fueling the rivalry even more. The Warriors eventually win the series in 5 games.
•  2001: The Capitals develop a fierce rivalry of their own with the Halifax Giants in the 2001 semifinals, which Ottawa wins in 4 straight games.
• 2001: The Warriors upset the Capitals in 5 games to win their first Lego Cup.