2015 - 16 FHL Season This is the 2015 - 16 Federal Hockey League season . This is the league ' s 6th season . In late December , the Dayton Demolition relocated from the Hara Arena in Dayton to South Metro Sports in suburban Centerville , Ohio a December 31 , 2015 news article in the " Dayton Daily News " cited financial distress as the reason for the move . On January 6 , 2016 the Hara Arena ' s facebook page stated that the team had reached an agreement to return to the arena for the balance of the season . The league terminiated the ownership group of the team on January 17 , 2016 and took over operation of the team pending the finding of new ownership . On January 27th the league announced that the team was sold to a Chicago based group lead by former Danville Dashers head coach Joe Pace Sr . who will be the director of operations and head coach . Membership changes . Expansion . The league announced on April 2nd , 2015 that they will be adding a new franchise based out of the McMorran Place Arena in Port Huron , Michigan for the 2015 - 16 season . On May 20 , 2015 the Berlin River Drivers were resurected to be an expansion team for the 2015 - 16 season . Hiatus . Steel City Warriors announced on April 17 , 2014 that they were immediately suspending operations . The team stated in their release that they were hoping to rejoin for the 2016 - 17 season . The Watertown Wolves are facing an uncertain future as their home arena , the Watertown Municipal Arena is undergoing renovations that may not be completed until January 2016 at the earliest . A June 4th article now states the arena won ' t be completed until February 2016 and that the Wolves are looking into playing in Clayton , New York at the Cerow Recreation Park Arena for next season . The organization announced on June 22nd that the team will be sitting out the 2015 - 16 season as no suitable venue in the nearby area was found . The team had stated they had looked at every possiblility within a 40 mile radius of Watertown , including a few locations in Southern Ontario . The team stated it was planning on returning to the league for the 2016 - 17 season . Berkshire / Brewster / Danbury / Dayton . The Danbury Whalers were notified by the Danbury Ice Arena on April 3rd that there lease was not being renewed and to vacate the arena by April 17th . The future of the organization at this point was now in question . The league announced a team to be located in Brewster , New York to be based out of the Brewster Ice Arena which pretty much was a replacement for the Danbury Whalers franchise as announced in the " Lohud Journal News " website on June 3 . The two cities are about 10 miles apart . According to the article the Whalers are considered inactive and that some of the players from Danbury will be part of the Brewster franchise but there will be management changes . Brewster is presently home to the Brewster Bulldogs of the United States Premier 3 Hockey League . Herm Sorcher was the CEO and managing general partner of the Whalers was interviewed by the " Danbury News Times " and stated that he had " taken the job of general manager for the new FHL team " . With the two towns being so close and the fact that a small portion of the Danbury fan base is from Brewster ; a return to Danbury for 2015 - 16 looked highly unlikely . Danbury had lead the league in attendance since its inception , so a new franchise based out of the Danbury Ice Arena may still be a possibility . The new Brewster team was named the Stateline Whalers . However the team was renamed the Brewster Bulldogs in late July . A report in the Berkshire Tribune on June 26 , 2015 indicates that the owner was working on merging his franchise with the Danbury team ( which is teamless as of the article being written as the new team was not publicly announced at this point ) and playing games in both Danbury , CT and Brewster , NY ( which is the home of the new franchise that replaced the Danbury franchise ) . The move may have been brought about by a reduction in the number of Friday night games ( from 10 to 3 ) as the ownership of the rink was claiming financial losses caused by the lack of public skating on Friday nights . The following day another article on the newstimes . com website stated that Danbury was approved for a new team to be based out of the Danbury Ice Arena . The team was aquired by Danbury resident Bruce Bennett . He stated in a phone interview that the franchise was apporved by the league on Thursday ( June 25th ) and that he signed a 6 year lease to play at the Danbury Ice Arena . Additional ownership included William Dadds , who owned ( past tense ) the Berkshire Battalion . and Edward Crowe . The new franchise will be coached by former Danbury Whalers coach Phil Esposito , who had resigned as coach during the dispute between the Whalers and the Danbury Ice Arena management ( Eagle Ice Sports ) . Bennett is looking for input on a new name for the team which is completely seperate from the Danbury Whalers . In late July the former owner of the Berkshire Battallion , was granted an expansion team to be based out of the Hara Arena in Dayton , Ohio taking over for the former Dayton Demonz franchise which had been taken over by the league . The new team was given the name the Dayton Demolition . League future in doubt . According to an article in the April 17 , 2015 edition of the Watertown Daily Times , the future of the league itself is now in question as the league is under a federal court order to pay $ 800 , 000 to former Danville Dasher player Kyler Mohe as the result of an injury that rendered him legally blind . The lawsuit stated that " during game play , Michael Stacey , a player for the Akwesasne Warriors , made an illegal maneuver by lifting his hockey stick and thrusting the blade end forcefully under Kyler Moje ' s helmet . " and " Mr . Stacey ' s blade penetrated ( Moje ' s ) eye , blinding him . " The suit alleges that the league was negligent in allowing the Akwesasne team to play in a game as the team had already been involved in several games in 2012 that resulted in suspension of players . The suit was filed in January 2014 , the judgement was issued in October and was appealed by the league in December . The league is a limited liability corporation and may be forced to fold or re - organize under a different name . Current Membership . The league has seven teams ( plus one team on hiatus for 2015 - 16 ) based in the northeast and upper Midwest portions of the United States . League Standings . Due to an unequal number of games played by teams point percentage was used to figure the league standings Commissioner ' s Cup Playoffs . Format . The top four teams qualified ( based on point percentage ) for the playoffs . The semifinal round is best - of - three .