The Brantford Smoke were a professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team in the Colonial Hockey League, later the United Hockey League

United Hockey League

The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

, now known as the International Hockey League. They played in Brantford, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 from 1991-92 (the league's inaugural season) until 1997-98, playing home games at the Brantford Civic Centre

Brantford Civic Centre

The Brantford Civic Centre is a 2,981 seat arena in Brantford, Ontario. It was built as a Canadian Centennial project in 1967. It is home to the Brantford Golden Eagles of the Ontario Hockey Association, and the Brantford Blast of Major Hockey League...

.

They won the Colonial Cup in 1993, beating the St. Thomas Wildcats

St. Thomas Wildcats

The St. Thomas Wildcats were a professional ice hockey team in the Colonial Hockey League, later the United Hockey League, now known as the International Hockey League. They played at the St. Thomas-Elgin Memorial Centre in St. Thomas, Ontario. The team was a founding member of the league and was...

 in a series that included a bench brawl in a game in St. Thomas. In 1998 they moved to Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...

 and became the Asheville Smoke

Asheville Smoke

The Asheville Smoke were a professional ice hockey team in the United Hockey League. They played in Asheville, North Carolina from 1998 to 2002. The Smoke were coached by Keith Gretzky from 1998 to 2000. Prior to 1998, the team was known as the Brantford Smoke. The closest rival of Asheville were...

.