Federal Prospects Hockey League

Federal Prospects Hockey League

File:Official Federal Hockey League Logo.png Federal Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	2009
First season	2010–11
Commissioner	Don Kirnan
No. of teams	6
Country	United States
Most recent champion(s)	Watertown Wolves (1st title)
Official website	www.federalhockey.com

The Federal Hockey League (FHL) is a professional ice hockey league with teams in the Northeastern United States and Midwestern United States. The FHL began operations in November 2010. Don Kirnan serves as the league's Commissioner.

2010–11 – Inaugural Season

As of December 2010 the league has a salary cap of $5,050 per week. The roster is limited to 20 players for the first 6 games and 17 thereafter.

The FHL would see a handful of NHL players and draft picks join the ranks, headlined by Pierre Dagenais and Billy Tibbetts. Dagenais, who has 142 games played with 35 goals and 58 points in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers, played two seasons for the Akwesasne Warriors amassing 107 goals and 197 points in 68 regular season games and would help Akwesasne win the first Commissioner's Cup. Tibbetts, who played with the role of an enforcer in his brief 82 game NHL career, mostly with the Pittsburgh Penguins, played 15 games for the Cape Cod Bluefins in 2011-12, scoring 10 goals, 40 points, and 109 PIM in only 15 games.

During the 2010–11 season, the Broome County Barons relocated their operations to Cape Cod due to lack of fan support, and Rome Frenzy suspended operations mid-season.

Akwesasne would win the very first Commissioner's Cup title with a 3-1 series win over the New York Aviators.

2011–12

In February 2011, the FHL announced for the 2011–12 season they would add new teams in Morrisville, Vermont and Danville, Illinois, later named as the Green Mountain Rock Crushers and.the Danville Dashers In May 2011, the FHL announced an expansion team to Wayne, New Jersey, called the New Jersey Outlaws. By June 2011, the FHL had been unable to establish a team in Vermont and included the Niagara Falls Nationals with the Dashers and Outlaws in an expansion draft instead of the Rock Crushers. But by July 2011, the Nationals had folded and the Green Mountain Rock Crushers (who would later change their name to the Vermont Wild in September) were re-added to the schedule. The Vermont Wild would play at Green Mountain Arena in Morrisville, Vermont, the Danville Dashers would play at David S. Palmer Arena in Danville, Illinois. In December 2011 the FHL announced that the Vermont Wild had folded and a new team, the Delaware Federals, would replace them on the schedule as a road-only team. They played their first game on December 16, 2011 against Cape Cod.

The New Jersey Outlaws would win the FHL title in their only season before moving to Williamsport, PA, by sweeping the Danbury Whalers in three consecutive games.

2012–13

In May 2012 it was announced that the Brooklyn Aviators were ceasing operations and that an expansion team was being added in Dayton, Ohio. The Dayton Demonz (originally announced as the Dayton Devils) would play at the Hara Arena starting in the 2012-13 season. The Dayton Expansion Draft and the Brooklyn Player Dispersal Draft were both held on June 15.

In July 2012 it was announced that the defending champion New Jersey Outlaws were relocating to Williamsport, PA, for the 2012-13 season. Rather than playing in a traditional ice arena, they played outside on an ice rink at Bowman Field, home to the minor league baseball team the Williamsport Crosscutters. This venture was unsuccessful as the team folded on January 21, 2013 only to be resurrected by the league as the Pennsylvania Blues, a travel team that played four road games to fill in other teams home schedules for the remainder of the season.

On December 15, 2012, the control of the Cape Cod Bluefins was transferred to the league and renamed the New York Bluefins with the intent to play home games in Syracuse, New York, however the league only used them as a travel team for 13 games and folded at the end of the season.

On January 27, 2013, the only game in FHL history to be completed with no penalties was played between the New York Bluefins and the Danville Dashers at Palmer Arena in Danville, Illinois, a 7-4 Danville win officiated by referee Matt Spaeth, and linesmen Brian Fisher and Trevor Waite.

On March 22, 2013, the Danbury Whalers swept the Dayton Demonz to win the Commissioner's Cup. The attendance at the final game was 3,116; the largest attendance in the history of the league.

2013–14

The FHL would play with only 4 teams for the season, and in a bid for expansion played neutral site games in Winston-Salem, NC and Connellsville, PA. Dayton Demonz forward Ahmed Mahfouz, known for his scoring ability as well as his role in getting under the skin of the opposition, as well as his notorious beard, led the league in scoring and was the league's Most Valuable Player. The Danville Dashers twice were the center of national sports attention, first in a brawl during a game against the Watertown Privateers in which a collision between Danville goalie Nick Niedert and Watertown enforcer and noted pest Jeff Dill took place, sparking a line brawl, and soon spilled between benches, and punches were briefly thrown between Danville interim coach Mike Kellermeyer and Privateers coach Brad Zangs. Officials managed to get the situation under control thanks to the arrival of local police. The next meeting between the two teams resulted in a sellout at Watertown Municipal Arena, however cooler heads prevailed for that contest.

The Staged Fight and Beer incident

In the final game of the regular season between Danville and Dayton, two friends and former teammates decided to stage a fight in the 3rd period. With a 4-0 lead with less than 10 minutes to go, it had little impact on the game itself, but the impact of what happened next would gain more attention nationwide than the FHL has ever seen. Jesse Felten and Matt Puntureri, both notable players in the FHL, squared off at center ice, and as punches would have been thrown, both players hugged it out instead. Next, Puntureri would pull a can of Coors Light from his pads, open it, and in each other's embrace, Matt and Jesse skated around center ice toasting the crowd to mixed reactions. With several media outlets waiting for a reaction, the league announced that Jesse Felten would be suspended for the remainder of the season and the playoffs. However Puntureri's fate is yet to be known, since it was Danville's last game, and they were out of playoff contention, so he has served no suspension, however he could still be handed one out during the offseason. Puntureri would later say he believes he will be banned for life.

Commissioner's Cup IV

The Dayton Demonz would win the first series over the Watertown Privateers, 2 games to 1, to play top seeded Danbury in the finals. Danbury would win the first two games of the finals, game one in OT from a goal by Igor Karlov. Back in Dayton for Game 3 the Demonz would sport new jerseys, which many believe gave them luck. Mike Brown, a Boston Bruins Draft pick from the early 2000s, would be injured and Kevin Hoy took over in net for Danbury. This would be the turning point in the series as Dayton captain Brian Marks scored in OT to force a game 4, which Dayton would also win. Dayton would win game 5 and the Commissioner's Cup in a blowout 9-2 victory. Jeff Rose was awarded the Playoff MVP award.

Season V: 2014–15

The FHL awarded a new franchise to play in Southwest Pennsylvania to begin play in the 2014-15 season, named the Southwest Pennsylvania Magic. The Magic were to play at the Rostraver Ice Garden in Belle Vernon, PA. This would bring the league team total to 5 and mark the FHL's return to Pennsylvania after the folding of the Williamsport Outlaws during the 2012-13 season. In an interview, commissioner Don Kirnan stated he hopes to see as many as 7-8 teams in the FHL next season.However, after playing one game in which they lost 10-2 to the Berkshire Battalion, the SWPA Magic's membership in the league was revoked due to financial problems. They were replaced, under new ownership, by the Steel City Warriors, again located in Belle Vernon.

On July 14, 2014, the FHL announced another new franchise to begin play in Berlin, New Hampshire to be called the Berlin River Drivers. However on September 8, 2014, before ever playing a game in New Hampshire, the FHL announced the team would play the season in North Adams, Massachusetts as the Berkshire Battalion.

During the 2013-14 season, a group of local investors was working to purchase the Watertown Privateers, owned by Don Kirnan. On May 14, 2014, news circulated that the owners group, named Top Shelf Hockey, LLC and led by local businessman Stanley Tibbles, had acquired Kirnan's franchise rights to the city of Watertown and, with them, started a new team, eventually named the Watertown Wolves.

On October 30, 2014 it was announced that a neutral site game would take place on January 31, 2015 in Port Huron, Michigan at McMorran Place. The Danville Dashers defeated the Danbury Whalers 4 to 1 in the Port Huron game. The attendance at the game was 1,709 showing positive signs for FHL expansion into Port Huron as early as the 2015-2016 season.

The Watertown Wolves captured first place by the end of regular season and were followed by the Dayton Demonz who finished in second place. The Danville Dashers finished in third followed by the Danbury Whalers who finished in fourth. Newcomer, the Berkshire Battalion, finished fifth followed by the other newcomer, the Steel City Warriors, who finished in sixth place. The Wolves would win the FHL Championship in the playoffs over the Dashers in a five-game series on March 29, 2015.

2015–16

On April 2, 2015, the FHL announced an expansion team in Port Huron to begin play in the 2015–16 season.

On April 3, 2015, the Danbury Ice Arena did not want to renew their contract with the Danbury Whalers and gave them a notice to evict by April 17 leaving the last remaining team from the inaugural FHL season homeless. On April 17, 2015, the Steel City Warriors announced that it had suspended operations stating that the team was unable to find a suitable home arena with hopes to return for the 2016–17 season. However, the FHL has run into financial trouble after losing a lawsuit in which the U.S. Federal Court has ordered the FHL to pay former player Kyler Moje a sum of $800,000 after becoming legally blind due to an injury incurred during a game on February 10, 2012. Without having the finances to pay such a large sum, the league may be forced to fold and reorganize under a different corporate entity.

Teams

Current

The league has six teams based in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and Ohio.

Wolves

Whalers

Dashers

Demonz

Battalion

Port Huron

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Teams currently in the FHL.

Team	Founded	Home arena	Capacity	City
Berkshire Battalion	2014	Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial	1,000	North Adams, Massachusetts
Danbury Whalers	2010			Danbury, Connecticut
Danville Dashers	2011	David S. Palmer Arena	2,350	Danville, Illinois
Dayton Demonz	2012	Hara Arena	5,500	Dayton, Ohio
Port Huron	2015	McMorran Place	3,400	Port Huron, Michigan
Watertown Wolves	2014	Watertown Municipal Arena	1,500	Watertown, New York

Year-by-year

Season year includes the off season and playing season until the championship game.

Year	Teams	Expansion	Dissolved	Relocated	Name changes
2010–11	6	Akwesasne Warriors Broome County Barons Danbury Whalers New York Aviators Rome Frenzy Thousand Islands Privateers	Rome Frenzy*	Broome County Barons → Cape Cod Barons*
2011–12	9 (due to mid-season folding, only 8 teams played at one time)	Danville Dashers New Jersey Outlaws Niagara Falls Nationals Vermont Wild Delaware Federals†	Niagara Falls Nationals‡ Vermont Wild*		Cape Cod Barons → Cape Cod Bluefins New York Aviators → Brooklyn Aviators Green Mountain Rock Crushers‡ → Vermont Wild
2012–13	6	Dayton Demonz	Akwesasne Warriors Brooklyn Aviators Delaware Federals New York Bluefins Pennsylvania Blues*	New Jersey Outlaws → Williamsport Outlaws Thousand Islands Privateers → Watertown, New York (continued to use 1000 Islands name for this season) Cape Cod Bluefins → New York Bluefins†	Dayton Devils‡ → Dayton Demonz Williamsport Outlaws → Pennsylvania Outlaws* Pennsylvania Outlaws → Pennsylvania Blues†
2013–14	4				Thousand Islands Privateers → Watertown Privateers
2014–15	7 (due to mid-season folding, only 6 teams played at one time)	Berkshire Battalion SWPA Magic Watertown Wolves	Watertown Privateers	Berlin River Drivers‡ → Berkshire Battalion	SWPA Magic → Steel City Warriors*
2015–16		Port Huron	Steel City Warriors

* - Indicates event took place mid-season

‡ - Indicates event occurred prior to the team ever playing a game

† - Indicates mid-season road-only replacement team

Timeline*

League champions

• 2010–11 – Akwesasne Warriors
• 2011–12 – New Jersey Outlaws
• 2012–13 – Danbury Whalers
• 2013–14 – Dayton Demonz
• 2014–15 – Watertown Wolves

See also

• List of ice hockey leagues

External links

• Federal Hockey League Official Website