Roller Hockey International Expands Horizons

Roller Hockey International, a professional roller hockey league, announced Tuesday that eight new teams, including four on the East Coast, will join 10 returning teams for the 1994 season, which begins June 4.

With expansion has come a host of new owners with NHL ties, including Pittsburgh Penguins owner Howard Baldwin, who has added a Pittsburgh roller hockey team to his portfolio, and former Montreal Canadiens star Yvan Cournoyer, who will co-own the Montreal RoadRunners with six-year NHL player Bob Sirois.

Dave Schultz, a member of the 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers, will co-own a team in Philadelphia, and Grant Mulvey, who played 10 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and New Jersey Devils, will co-own a team in Chicago.

The other new teams will be in San Jose, Edmonton, New Jersey and Minnesota, and league President Dennis Murphy indicated that two to five additional teams will join the league in January. RHI played its inaugural season last summer, with the Anaheim Bullfrogs winning the championship.

The new division alignment:

Pacific: Oakland, San Diego, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, Las Vegas (formerly Utah).

Northwest: Vancouver, Portland, Calgary, Edmonton.

Atlantic: Florida, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Montreal, Philadelphia.

Central: St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota.