Elmira Jackals The Elmira Jackals are an ice hockey team that play in the ECHL . Their home games are played in First Arena in Elmira , New York and they refer to themselves as " the beasts of the east " . Their mascot is named Blade , and they were originally part of the United Hockey League . The UHL Years . The Jackals were born as a member of the United Hockey League before the 2000 - 2001 season , as an affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets . Eventually , they severed ties with the Blue Jackets and became an independent operation for the rest of their years in the league . During their tenure in the UHL , their average attendance was 3 , 308 per game , which included 31 sellouts . The largest crowd was a standing - room - only of 4 , 126 on October 13 , 2006 . Playoff History . The team made a splash in their first season by immediately making the playoffs . Improving dramatically in the off - season , the Jackals won the Eastern Conference for the first time , in just their second season . They even got as far as playing the Muskegon Fury in the Colonial Cup finals , but lost in a hard fought 6 game series . They returned to the playoffs in 2003 , but didn ' t get the chance to play for The Cup again until the 2004 season when they again faced the Muskegon Fury . After being swept in the 2004 Colonial Cup series , they never returned to the playoffs in the UHL . The Final Year . Their final season in the league , was especially disappointing . They hired a new head coach who ' d proven successful elsewhere and signed a few solid players , giving the team hope for a return to the playoffs . The season brought three head coaching changes , after the first one suffered a mini - stroke . There were also some injuries to key players . One of which , limited top ranked goalie Shawn Degagne to only 4 games . Despite finishing in last place , there were some bright spots . Star forward Frank Littlejohn scored a franchise record 42 goals . The fans were very supportive of the team , averaging 3 , 427 per game during the season in an arena that only seats 4 , 000 . Then on April 14 , 2007 , ownership announced they would be leaving the UHL for the North Division of the ECHL . ECHL . The Elmira Jackals joined the ECHL in the summer of 2007 with a new logo and jerseys . They are a member of the North division . Returning from a loss in Cincinnati , the team bus was involved in crash on Interstate 90 in Pennsylvania early in the morning of November 29 , 2007 . Several players sustained minor injuries . The Jackals suffered their worst loss in their first year . They lost to Johnstown 9 - 3 . On March 9 , 2008 after three seasons of being out of playoff contention in the United Hockey League , the Elmira Jackals qualified for the East Coast Hockey League playoffs . For the 2007 - 08 season , the Jackals were the affiliate of the Syracuse Crunch ( AHL ) and Columbus Blue Jackets ( NHL ) . Prior to the 2008 - 09 season , the Jackals affilliated with the National Hockey League ' s Ottawa Senators and the American Hockey League ' s Binghamton Senators . Elmira would win their first division title since moving to the ECHL in 2010 , when the team won the East Division title with a record of 37 - 26 - 9 and 80 points , three better than second place Reading . In July 2010 , the team announced that it had come to an affiliation agreement with the NHL ' s Anaheim Ducks and Anaheim ' s AHL affiliate , the Syracuse Crunch , in Syracuse , NY , 90 miles north of Elmira . The team is facing the possibility of having to relocate after the 2016 - 17 season as the ownership of the arena , the city of Elmira , and Chemung County have not been able to come to an agreement on funding for a new ice plant for the arena . Present ownership of the arena has been trying to sell the arena and may be forced to have the arena go dark if either funding for a new ice plant or a sale does not occur . The only other arena large enough in the immediate area would be the Murray Athletic Center Arena which is home to the men ' s and women ' s Elmira Soaring Eagles hockey teams . Nothing has been mentioned if the team would fold , relocate , or move into the Murray Athletic Center Arena .