With the roster complete and the team named, the team set out to win a championship at Bloomfield's Hockey World during the rinks first season. The team’s first game left many optimistic about the season when the Kings destroyed the Wanderers by a score of 9-2. Led by Kevin Dulka, Bob Alger, and Mike Connors, the Kings appeared to be a force in the league. However, this promising start was very short lived. The team began to lose to sub-par teams and ended its first campaign with a 5-7 record and no playoff birth. The team wasted no time making changes. Nick Cormier was named head coach, Rat was installed as the full time goalie and veteran players Tom Elwood and Tony Giasani were given their unconditional release. The Kings then signed the first of many players from the struggling league in Windsor Locks, when they inked Jim Thompson and Rich Tracy. Other players head scout TF Cormier signed from the failing league were Alan Latender, PJ Golden, Tim Moran, Danny and Mark Michaud, Jim Koulis, Steve Drengenis, Dennis Ganor and Todd Tuller. With Thompson and Tracy the team had its first winning season with an 8-6-1 record and made their first appearance in the playoffs, which was a loss to the Wanderers.
Over the next few seasons the Kings hovered around the .500 mark, while the roster continued to get shaken up. Many original Kings left the team. Bob Yatkin, Doug Haley, and Bill and Tim Hiltgen retired, while Kings all time leading scorer Bob Alger signed a free agent contract with the Bulldogs. To replace these losses the Kings signed future stars Joe Morrissey, Rob Carter and Bill White. These players were the foundation of the team’s arrival as a force.
The team continued to struggle to find its identity when in January of
1986 the team pulled off a huge coup when they signed the "fab four". The
four former freshmen standouts (Danny and Dean Thebeau, Mike Fisher and
Mike Flannery) made an immediate impact on the team. By playoff time the
team had weathered a suspension filled season by entering the playoffs
hitting on all cylinders. The team upset the highly favored Sabers
in the Semi-finals and then went on to sweep the Ratts to win the team's
first championship. These games gave birth to a dynasty.
The Kings came back the very
next season to post and 11-1 record and win their second straight title
by eliminating the CCCP. Everything was going great when it was announced
that Hockey World was closing for good. The Kings were a team without a
home for over a year, until the news of a new rink in Waterbury got things
going again.
With a new lease on life the Kings entered the Waterbury rink with high hopes. After a few seasons of superb regular seasons followed by early exits from the playoffs the Kings managed to make the finals in early 1989. It was a hard fought series in which the Kings suffered their first finals defeat to the hands of the Blues 2 games to 1. This was especially tough to take due to the fact that 3 former Kings were on the Blues roster, Ray Brooks, Jason Villa, and Rob Carter. While still induring the pain of the loss things only got worse. Soon after the loss the team learned that the entire team had been banned for life by rink owner Tim Fennel. Once again the Kings had no place to call home.
For more than two years the team remained idle. Then in 1991, the Plainville Indoor Sports Arena opened and the Kings reformed with some heavy changes. With all of the "fab four" retiring and goalie Bill White injured the team coaxed head coach Nick Cormier out of retirement to play goal and turn the team over to his high skilled assistant TF Cormier. They then went out and signed former Kings' players Alan Latender, Jim Thompson, and Dennis Connors. With that, new look the Kings were ready to play.
In their first season the team led by John Bouffard and Jim Thompson posted an 11-0-1 record and defeated the Roadrunners in the finals to win the team's third title. It was around this time that the team began to draw interest from outside players. Many players wanted the honor of wearing the purple and gold. So with interest at an all time high, the Kings formed a second team to develop talent. Over the years this team produced such future stars as Chad Michaud, Jeff Stepina, Mike Stuka and Bill Barnett. In that team's second season they made it all the way to the finals where they lost to the Old Boys 2 games to 1. It would be the last loss in a championship series for many years.
During the next five seasons the team roster changed frequently, yet the Kings still managed to win titles over Primo and Suncoast giving them 5 championships. The team took a season off and then returned to go 9-3 and earned the right to meet their long time rivals Franks Willow Inn (Barons, Islanders) in the finals. After splitting the first two games by scores of 1-4 and 6-4, the stage was set for the greatest game and moment in Kings' history. Game 3 was a hard fought and physical game. Both goalies had to come up with many huge saves. At the end of regulation the score was all knotted at 2. Both teams were suffering from exhaustion but the goalies kept the game alive on many occasions. Then with just under 2 minutes to go in the second overtime, Rob Carter and John Bouffard broke out 2 on 1. Exhausted from the end to end action and with a verbal assist to Dennis Connors, Carter launched a rocket into the upper corner leading to the most satisfying win in team history.
With championship number 6 under their belts, the team went through another transformation when Jim Thompson and Rich Tracy signed with the Wings and long time goalie Bill White disappeared. The team wasted no time in finding replacements. They quickly signed such stars as Jay Creel, Joe Furnari, Alex Leon, Jim Freshette, Steve Thibideau, and Dale Walk. These players along with established stars Bouffard, Carter and Morrissey combined to form a team that dismantled the league over the next four seasons, winning titles every season. Not only did this team dominate, during the last of those championships the Kings' second team pulled off a huge upset defeating the highly favored Blue Devils to win the organization’s eleventh title. It was those two wins that put a halt to the express train known as the Kings.
Plainville owner Rheal Lemieux informed management that no one was willing to take the Kings on and that any hope of playing centered around breaking up the team. Of course the team refused and for the third time the Kings were a team without a home.
For more than a year the Kings didn't even pick up a stick. Then On-Dek Sports opened in East Hartford and the team reformed to write what would be the final chapters. Management made an effort to return to the team’s roots. Eight of the team’s eleven players were on teams during the Bloomfield days, including five original members. Once again in spite of all the changes the Kings made it to the finals two straight seasons including going 11-1 the first season and winning their twelfth title. Upon completing their second trip to the finals the team was once again put into a forced layoff when they were informed that they were just too good for the current league. After a two-year layoff, the team has reunited for their final season of its existence. What will the final chapter be? We will soon find out.
