1565 - The painting Hunters in the Snow by Pietr Bruegel shows what appears to be a form of hockey being played.

1799 - William Pierre Le Cocq is credited with coming up with the name "hockey".

1875 - The first games in Canada were played at McGill University.

1892 - Myth of when hockey begins as a club sport at the University of Wisconsin (was Paul Bunyan on the team?)

December 17, 1896 - according to a Pittsburgh Hocky website a place known as the Casino burned down. The Casino is famous for giving birth to hockey in Pittsburgh

1897 - Organized hockey is thought to have started in the US around this point.

1908 - Hockey is first considered a professional sport.

1909 - The precursor to the NHL, the National Hockey Association, is formed.

1917 - What is presently known as the National Hockey League began with 4 teams after the suspension of the NHA. The 4 teams comprised of the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, and Quebec Bulldogs. Quebec was unable to play however and another team was formed in Toronto.

1921 - The UW formalizes hockey as a varsity sport.

1924 - The Boston Bruins become the first American team in the NHL taking it international.

1920's - Hockey in Superior becomes an organized sport.

1926 - Eagle River's first high school hockey team is formed.

Late 1920's (1927)- The father of extraterrrestrial radio waves, Karl Jansky, attends the University of Wisconsin and plays on the hockey team.

1930 - Roger Jenkins becomes the first person born in Wisconsin to play in the NHL.

1932-33 - The Eagle River Sports Arena is built in Eagle River, WI with the help of Charles E. Taylor. It currently houses the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of fame.

1935 - Hockey is discontinued as a varsity sport at UW after this season.

1940's - Marathon Brewery Tannenbaum Beer Hockey team (courtesy of site)

1960 - Madison landmark, Hartmeyer Ice Arena opens. Designed by Fenton Kelsey Jr, the arena would be instrumental in bringing college hockey back to Madison with the support of then Athletic Director Ivan Williamson.

1963 - UW establishes hockey as a varsity sport once again and the modern era of the UW Badger men's hockey begins. The team plays at Hartmeyer Ice Arena under coach John Riley. They were an independent team but scheduled all 8 of their games against WCHA opponents, losing all of them.

1966 - The Badgers get their first win against a WCHA opponent, the Minnesota Golden Gopher. Coach John Riley retires after the season.

1966 - UW hires "Badger" Bob Johnson as their coach.

1967 - The Badgers move into the Dane County Coliseum.

1970 - The Milwaukee Admirals debut as an amateur team originally known as the Milwaukee Wings.

1971 - Superior beats Madison West to win the first WIAA State Championship in hockey. 9 schools were eligible that year, as of the 2010 season there were 93.

1972 - The World Hockey Association is formed with 12 teams, none from Wisconsin. The WHA is the first league to try and compete with the NHL since the 1926 folding of the Western Hockey League.

1973 - UW wins its 1st hockey National Championship in program history. Only 3 seasons after officially joining the WCHA. They beat Denver 4-2 in the Boston Garden.

1973 - Milwaukee Admirals join the United States Hockey League (USHL)

1974 - The NHL expands to 18 teams after adding the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts.

1974 - The Hobbs Municipal Ice Center is built in Eau Claire, WI.

1975 - The Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame is Founded

1976 - The Milwaukee Admirals win the USHL league championship.

1977 - UW wins its first MacNaughton Cup. It is awarded to the regular season champion of the WCHA (we'll try to get a history of the Cup up soon). They would win the cup only one other year, in 1990.

1977 - UW wins its 2nd National Championship. They beat Michigan 6-5 in overtime. The game was played at Olympia Stadium.

1977 - Wisconsin's elite AAA youth hockey program, the Madison Capitols, is formed. Notable Alumni include Brian Rafalski, Phil Kessel, and Ryan Suter.

1977 - The Admirals join the International Hockey League as the USHL turned into an amateur league.

1980 - Wisconsin natives/Badgers Bob Suter and Mark Johnson help lead the USA hockey team to the Gold Medal in the Olympics at Lake Placid. Prior to the Gold Medal game they beat the heavily favored Russians in the game known as the "Miracle on Ice"

1981 - UW wins their 3rd National Championship, they beat Minnesota 3-0 in the Duluth Entertainment Center.

1982 - Bob Johnson steps down as coach of UW and Jeff Sauer becomes his replacement. Johnson's final record with the Badgers is 367-175-23, winning 3 National Championships.

1983 - UW wins their 4th National Championship, they beat Harvard at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in North Dakota 6-0.

1984 - The Madison Capitols (different from the AAA team) form and join the amateur USHL.

1987 - Bob Johnson is inducted into the Wisconson Hockey Hall of Fame.

1988 - Wisconsin River Falls wins the Division III National Championship against Elmira.

October 1, 1988 - The Bradley Center is open for business. The first event was an exhibition hockey game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Edmonton Oilers.

1989 - Wisconsin Stevens Point wins the Division III National Championship against RIT

1990 - UW wins their 5th National Championship, they beat Colgate 7-3. The game was played Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI.

1990 - Wisconsin Stevens Point wins the Division III National Championship against Plattsburgh State.

1991 - Wisconsin Stevens Point wins its 3 straight National Championship, beating Mankato State 6-2.

1991 - Badger Bob Johnson wins his first Stanley Cup in his first season with the Pittsburgh Pengins over the Minnesota North Stars.

November 21, 1991 - Bob Johnson passes away at the age of 60 from brain cancer. After his death his catchphrase "It's a great day for hockey" were immortalized on a banner for the Badger's and painted on the ice for the remainder of the season on Pittsburgh's Civic Arena. His NHL record was 232-186-58.

1993 - Wisconsin Stevens Point wins its 4th National Championship in 5 years, beating Wisconsin River Falls 4-3 in OT.

1994 - Wisconsin River Falls wins the Divison III National Championship beating Wisconsin Superior 6-4. This ends a period where from 1988-1994, a team from Wisconsin represented 9 of the possible 14 teams playing in a National Championship, winning 6 of the years. Wisconsin Superior would appear in the Nation Championship againin 97 and 99 losing both, and Wisconsin Stevens Point lost in 98.

1994 - The innaugural season of the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League.

1995 - The Madison/Wisconsin Capitols of the USHL fold.

1995 - The Madison Monsters of the United Hockey League (formed as Colonel HL in 1991 changed names in 2001) begin there inaugural season at the Dane County Coliseum.

1998 - The Badger men's hockey team moves to their newest and current home, the Kohl Center.

1999 - After only 4 seasons in Madison, the Monsters move to Knoxville, TN and become known as the Speed.

1999 - The Madison Kodiaks are formed to take the place of the Monsters in the UHL. The team would only be in town for one season, moving to Kalamazoo, MI in 2000.

October 9, 1999 - The inaugural season of the UW Women's hockey team begins against Minnesota-Duluth.

2001 - The IHL ceases operations and the Milwaukee Admirals join the American Hockey League (AHL).

2002 - Wisconsin Superior wins the Division III National Championship beating Norwhich in OT 3-2.

2002 - Mark Johnson begins his career as the coach for the UW women's hockey team.

2002 - Jeff Sauer retires as Wisconsin's hockey coach and is replaced by the current coach and former Badger player, Mike Eaves. Sauer left with a record of 489-306-46 and 2 National Championships.

June 6, 2004 - The Milwaukee Admirals win their first and to date only Calder Cup against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins sweeping them in 4 games. Wade Flaherty, goaltender of the Admirals, won the Jack A Butterfield Trophy as the playoffs MVP. The Admirals had thew Western Conferences number 1 seed.

2005 - The Admirals are purchased by a group which includes Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio.

March 26, 2006 - UW Women's hockey team win's its 1st National Championship, beating the Gophers 3-0 in Minneapolis.

April 8 , 2006 - UW Men's hockey team win's its 6th National Championship, beating Boston College 2-1 at the Bradley Center. It was their first National Championship since 1990. The 6 National Championships by Wisconsin is ranked 4th All-Time among Division 1 Universities. Michigan leads all schools with 9. Minnesota has 5.

March 18, 2007 - The Badger women's team captures its second National Championship, beating Minnesota Duluth 4-1.

2009 - The Badger women's team wins its 3rd National Championship (3rd in 4 years), beating Mercyhurst 5-0.

2009 - The Janesville Jets hockey team is formed and joins the North American Hockey League. The Jets are partially owned by San Jose Sharks player and former Badger Joe Pavelski.

March 20, 2011 - The Wisconsin Badgers Women's hockey team wins their 4th National Championship in 6 years beating Boston University 4-1 in Lake Erie at Tullio Arena.