Before Wichita became Tulsa’s biggest rival, there was Oklahoma City. For more than four decades, on and off, the Tulsa Oilers and the Oklahoma City Blazers fought for bragging rights across the state, with championships, a franchise move and huge crowds along the way. The Blazers are gone now, but the Oklahoma City Blazers rivalry shaped Oklahoma hockey in ways that still matter. Here is its history, era by era.
Quick answer: The rivalry began in 1965, when the Minneapolis Bruins moved to Oklahoma City and became the Blazers. It ran through the old Central Hockey League until the Blazers folded in 1977, then returned in 1992, when both cities joined the new CHL. Tulsa beat Oklahoma City in the first final of that new league, and the rivalry continued until the Blazers ceased operations in 2009, according to compiled histories of hockey in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma City Blazers Rivalry Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1965 | Minneapolis Bruins move to Oklahoma City and become the Blazers |
| 1966 | Blazers sweep Tulsa 4-0 for the CPHL title |
| 1968 | Tulsa beats Oklahoma City in seven games on the way to its first Adams Cup |
| 1973 | Toronto moves its Tulsa farm club to Oklahoma City to revive the Blazers |
| 1976 | Tulsa sweeps Oklahoma City on the way to another Adams Cup |
| 1977 | The original Blazers fold |
| 1992 | New Oilers and new Blazers join the revived CHL as charter members |
| 1993 | Tulsa beats Oklahoma City for the first title of the new CHL |
| 2009 | The Blazers cease operations |
Round One: The CPHL and CHL Years (1965-1977)
The first Blazers were a Boston Bruins farm team, and they arrived loaded with talent. Under player-coach Harry Sinden, they won CPHL titles in 1966 and 1967, according to the Blazers’ compiled records. Their first title came at Tulsa’s expense, with a 4-0 sweep in the 1966 final. Future NHL stars such as Bernie Parent and Gerry Cheevers played in Oklahoma City during those years.
Tulsa got its revenge soon after. In the 1968 playoffs, the Oilers beat the Blazers in a seven-game series and went on to win the Adams Cup. Our story on Tulsa’s Adams Cup champions of 1968 and 1976 covers both title runs.
The 1973 twist
The strangest chapter came in the early 1970s. Boston withdrew from Oklahoma City in 1972, and the Blazers sat out the 1972-73 season. Then Maple Leaf Gardens Limited, which owned Tulsa’s team as a Toronto farm club, announced in 1973 that it would move that club to Oklahoma City to revive the Blazers. Tulsa received a replacement team instead. In other words, for a time, Tulsa’s former franchise was playing for its rival.
Even so, Tulsa had the last word in that era. The 1975-76 Oilers swept the Blazers in the playoffs and won the Adams Cup on home ice. The original Blazers folded after the 1976-77 season.
Between Eras (1977-1992)
Oklahoma City had a CHL team called the Stars from 1978 to 1982, but it never matched the Blazers’ rivalry with Tulsa. Then the original Central Hockey League shut down in 1984, ending pro hockey in both cities for eight years. The story of Tulsa’s final title in that league is told in Champions Without a Home.
Round Two of the Oklahoma City Blazers Rivalry: The New CHL (1992-2009)
When the Central Hockey League relaunched in 1992, both cities were charter members, along with Dallas, Fort Worth, Memphis and Wichita. The rivalry picked up right where it left off. The Oklahoma City Blazers were the class of the 1992-93 regular season, but Tulsa beat them in the final and clinched the championship on Oklahoma City’s ice. Our story on the 1992-93 revival covers that season.
Oklahoma City’s attendance machine
The modern Blazers became one of minor-league hockey’s great box-office stories. They averaged 9,128 fans per game across 17 seasons and led the CHL in attendance every year, according to the team’s compiled records. They also won league titles in 1996 and 2001 and moved from the Myriad to the Ford Center in 2002.
Consequently, Tulsa-Oklahoma City games often felt bigger than a typical minor-league matchup. Both teams played some of their most important playoff series against each other, and several games were televised.
The end of the Blazers
The Blazers ceased operations on July 2, 2009, after failing to reach a lease agreement with the city. An AHL team, the Oklahoma City Barons, arrived in 2010 and played through 2015, but it never played Tulsa in a league game because the two teams were in different leagues.
How the Oklahoma City Blazers Rivalry Shaped Tulsa Hockey
The rivalry gave Oklahoma hockey something it needed: a reason for fans in two cities to care deeply about the same sport. It also produced some of Tulsa’s biggest playoff wins, in 1968, 1976 and 1993. When the Blazers folded, Wichita became Tulsa’s main rival, as explained in our history of the Oilers-Thunder rivalry.
Today, Oklahoma City is home to the Oklahoma Warriors, a junior team in the NAHL that has played at Blazers Ice Centre since 2022. If you are interested in that level of the game, our guide to junior hockey in Tulsa explains how junior leagues work.
The Bottom Line
The Oilers and Blazers met in some of the most important series in Oklahoma hockey history, and the cities traded titles for decades. The rivalry is dormant, but it is a big part of why hockey still has deep roots in a state better known for football. For the full story of how Tulsa reached 75 seasons, read our history of hockey in Tulsa.
Published Oct. 25, 2026. Facts come from compiled histories of the Oklahoma City Blazers and of hockey in Oklahoma. Older records can be incomplete; if you have corrections or memories of the rivalry, please contact us.
