Nothing in sports captures the interest of fans and outside observers like a long streak, either winning or losing.

And lucky for us, our favorite leagues have some crazy long streaks going at the moment, most of them of the winning variety.

What makes a streak so fun is that the first couple games nobody seems to notice, or care that the team is on a bit of a hot streak, but sudden it’s 5-, 10-, or maybe even 15 games long, and suddenly your team is the talk of the league.

Here’s a look at some of the longest stretches, good and bad, from our favorite leagues here at Bus League Hockey.

USHL

Tri-City Storm: 6-game point streak

In a league as balanced as the USHL is, six games is currently the longest active point streak in the USHL. And for Tri-City, the 5-0-0-1 stretch has helped them stay atop the USHL’s Western Conference heading into Tuesday Night’s Top Prospects game, and has even helped them pull within a point of the Muskegon Lumberjacks for the most point in the league.

During this six-game run that started on December 16 against Fargo, the Storm have outscored their opponents to the tune of 26-14, and the only loss was in a shootout to Team USA.

It will be a test for the Storm to keep their stretch going as they host second-place Waterloo in a pair of games this weekend.

Madison Capitals: 9-game winless streak

It has been a rough year for Madison, sitting in last in the entire USHL with just 16 points through 28 games, and a league-worst goal differential of -54, and scoring the fewest goals in the league at 50, 16 fewer than the next closest team.

Needless to say, a nine-game winless streak hasn’t helped any of those numbers, going 0-8-1 over that stretch, with the lone point earned in an overtime loss to league-leading Muskegon.

Over those nine games the Capitals have been outscored 46-14, including six games where they scored two goals or less.

They’ll have a pair of road games against Cedar Rapids and Dubuque this weekend to try to get back in the win column.

NAHL

Amarillo Bulls: 12-game winning streak, 20-game point streak

To give you an idea of how long a 20-game point streak is, it’s been more than two-and-a-half months since the Bulls dropped a game in regulation. That’s right, their last regulation loss was on October 20 with a 5-4 loss to the Shreveport Mudbugs.

Since then, the Bulls have lost twice in OT, once in a shootout, and have a whopping 17 wins during that span, stretching their division lead in the NAHL South to 17 points, the largest division lead in the NAHL. Oh, and they have two games in-hand on the next four teams behind them in the standings.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Bulls have rattled off 12-straight wins, tying a franchise record, including a 3-game sweep of second-place Corpus Christi this past weekend, crushing them to the tune of 17-5 on the weekend.

Even more amazing, during that 12-game winning streak, just one has needed overtime or a shootout. And they’re not just blowing teams out, the first five wins were all by a single goal, but over the next seven they’ve dominated, outscoring opponents 45-12, scoring at least four goals in each of those wins.

They legit might be the hottest team on the planet right now.

The Bulls will have a very good chance to stretch their streaks to 14 and 22 this weekend when they host last-place Odessa for a pair of games.

Aberdeen Wings: 12-game winning streak

Amazingly, Amarillo is not the only team in the NAHL on a 12-game winning streak, as the Aberdeen Wings have also caught fire over their last dozen to stretch their lead in the NAHL East to seven points.

None of their 12 wins have required overtime or a shootout.

Since a 3-2 loss to the Minot Minotauros on November 24, the Wings have taken off, with nine of those games being absolute blowout wins, including wins of 9-3 and 12-3 over the Chippewa Steel. Just three of their wins during this stretch have been by one goal.

The Wings have outscored their opponents 68-17, good for a mark of over five and a half goals per game on offense. Oh, and the defense and goaltending have dominated also, posting four shutout wins over that span.

The Wings will face a difficult task in extending their streak this weekend with a pair of road games against second-place Austin.

SPHL

Fayetteville Marksmen: 5-game winning streak

The Marksmen have been one of the streakiest teams in the SPHL this season, which is odd because they have played a TON of one-goal games this season. Before this five-game hot-streak, the Marksmen had dropped six in a row and fallen to seventh in the standings.

Well, even after five in a row, they’re still in seventh, but sit just two points back of fourth and home ice in the first-round of the playoffs.

Making their streak even more remarkable: The last four wins have come by one goal, including a pair of 1-0 shutout wins in that streak. The only win by more than a goal was a 5-3 win over Roanoke on December 26. Seven of their last eight games have been decided by one goal, as the last three games of their six-game losing streak were all one goal affairs.

The Marksmen will look to keep their hot streak going with a home-and-home series against rival Roanoke this weekend.

Macon Mayhem: 5-game winless streak

While five games (0-4-1) isn’t all that long or reason enough to panic, what makes it odd is that Macon sits in third-place, not the typical spot you see an extended losing streak.

If there is good news for Macon, it’s that all five losses have come by just one goal, including one in a shootout to Knoxville that kicked off the skid, so it isn’t like they’re getting blown out, but could just be a matter of a bounce or two going the wrong way each night.

Macon will look to snap their skid with a key series against that will see second-place on the line when they host Birmingham for a pair of games this weekend.

FHL

Carolina Thunderbirds: 13-game winning streak, 15-game point streak

The longest streak of any of our favorite leagues, the Thunderbirds have dominated the FHL with 14 wins in their last 15 games, and the only loss being one in a shootout, back when they had the ill-fated pre-game shootout idea.

The Thunderbirds last lost a game in regulation on November 24 when the expansion Mentor Ice Breakers posted a 3-0 shutout win in Winston-Salem.

During the current 13-game winning streak, the Birds have outscored opponents by a whopping 60-21 margin, and have given up more than two goals in a game just three times during that stretch, building a league-best +56 goal differential, stretching their record to 22-3-0-1, and building an astounding 24-point lead in the FHL standings, effectively an eight-game lead with the league’s 3-2-1 point system.

To say Carolina is the best team in the FHL is a stretch, and should they keep this pace up over the last half of the season, could find themselves in the discussion for the best FHL team of all-time.

Carolina will look to stretch its winning streak to 15 and point streak to 17 with a pair of home games against struggling Danville this weekend.