Federal Prospects Hockey League

The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL), originally known as Federal Hockey League from its' founding in 2009 until 2015 and then unofficially starting in 2015 Federal Professional Hockey League until 2019, is a professional ice hockey league with teams in the Midwestern and Northeastern as well as one team in Ontario. The FHL began operations in November 2010. Don Kirnan is the league's Commissioner.
The league changed its name sometime after the end of the playoffs in 2019, though the "Federal Hockey League" name was still being used in press releases despite the league website showing the new name and logo on the main page of the website.https://www.federalhockey.com/news/river-dragons-arrive-in-columbus The rebranding was complete by the start of the 2019-20 season
== History ==
=== 2010–11: inaugural season ===
In its inaugural season, the league had a salary cap of $5,050 per week. The roster was limited to 20 players for the first six games and 17 thereafter.
A handful of National Hockey League players and draft picks joined the ranks, most notably Pierre Dagenais and Billy Tibbetts. Dagenais, who played 142 games 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 helped Akwesasne win the first Commissioner's Cup.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=29526 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.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=16292
During the 2010–11 season, the Broome County Barons relocated to Cape Cod due to lack of fan support, and Rome Frenzy suspended operations mid-season.
Akwesasne won the first Commissioner's Cup title with a 3-1 series win over the New York Aviators.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/350.html
=== 2011–12 ===
In February 2011, the FHL announced it would add new teams in Morrisville, Vermont and Danville, Illinois, later named the Green Mountain Rock Crushers and the Danville Dashers, respectively. In May, the FHL announced an expansion team in Wayne, New Jersey, called the New Jersey Outlaws. By June, 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. But by July 2011, the Nationals were gone and the Green Mountain Rock Crushers (which later changed its name to the Vermont Wild in September) were re-added to the schedule. 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; the Federals played their first game on December 16, 2011 against Cape Cod.
The New Jersey Outlaws won the FHL title in their only season before moving to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, by sweeping the Danbury Whalers in three 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) at the Hara Arena. The Dayton expansion draft and the Brooklyn player dispersal draft were both held on June 15.Dayton Expansion Draft
In July it was announced that the defending champion New Jersey Outlaws were relocating to Williamsport, PA.Outlaws ride into Williamsport PA Rather than playing in a traditional ice arena, they played outside on an ice rink at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, home to the minor league baseball team the Williamsport Crosscutters.Professional hockey coming to Williamsport's Bowman Field 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, 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 the Bluefins 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.
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 single-game attendance in the history of the league.
=== 2013–14 ===
The FHL played 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 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 Jeff Dill took place, sparking a brawl, and soon spilled between benches, and punches were briefly thrown between Danville 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, but there were no further incidents.http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140115/SPORTS/701159844
The Dayton Demonz won the first series over the Watertown Privateers, two games to one, 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 sported new jerseys. Mike Brown, a Boston Bruins draft pick from the early 2000s, was injured and Kevin Hoy took over in net for Danbury. Dayton captain Brian Marks scored in overtime to force a game 4, which Dayton also won. Dayton won game 5 and the Commissioner's Cup in a 9-2 victory. Jeff Rose was awarded the Playoff MVP award.
==== Staged fight 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 and less than 10 minutes to go, Jesse Felten and Matt Puntureri squared off at center ice, and as punches would have been thrown, both players hugged it out instead. Next, Puntureri pulled a can of beer from his pads, opened it, and in each other's embrace, the two skated around center ice toasting the crowd to mixed reactions. The league announced that Felten would be suspended for the remainder of the season and the playoffs. No immediate discipline for Puntureri was announced, since it was Danville's last game of the season. Puntureri later stated that he believed he would be banned for life, which turned out to be correct.http://www.torontosun.com/2014/04/01/federal-hockey-league-bans-duo-for-on-ice-stunt Neither Felten nor Puntureri played professional hockey in the 2014–15 season,, though Felten returned to the FHL to play for Dayton in the 2015–16 season.
=== 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 brought the league to five teams and mark the FHL's return to Pennsylvania. In an interview, commissioner Don Kirnan stated he hoped to see as many as 7-8 teams in the FHL by the next season. However, after playing one game in which they lost 10-2 to the Berkshire Battalion, the 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.Warriors Born After Magic Vanished
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, the league announced that the league would expand instead into North Adams, Massachusetts, with the Berkshire Battalion, citing the market to be a better fit.
During the previous season, a group of local investors worked 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 and started a new team, eventually named the Watertown Wolves.http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140514/NEWS03/705139586
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, with an eye towards future expansion into Port Huron.http://pointstreaksites.com/view/thefederalhockeyleague/news-739/news_208632 The Danville Dashers defeated the Danbury Whalers 4 to 1 in the Port Huron game. The attendance at the game was 1,709.
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. The Wolves won the FHL Championship in the playoffs over the Dashers in a five-game series.
===2015–16===
On April 2, 2015, the FHL announced an expansion team, the Port Huron Prowlers, to begin play in the 2015–16 season.
On April 3, 2015, the Danbury Ice Arena announced that it did not want to renew its 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, but had hopes to return for the 2016–17 season.
Also in April 2015, the FHL lost a lawsuit in which the league was ordered to pay former player Kyler Moje a sum of $800,000, after Moje became legally blind due to an injury incurred during a game on February 10, 2012. The FHL would appeal the judgment, citing that their lawyer never properly filed their legal response, but lost the appeal leading to speculation that the current league would have to fold in order to avoid the payment.
On May 20, 2015, the Berlin River Drivers announced their resurrection as the FHL's 7th team, to play at Notre Dame Arena in Berlin, New Hampshire. A year prior, the River Drivers were slated to join the FHL in 2014–15 before the league reassessed their options and expanded into North Adams, MA instead.
On June 3, 2015, due the eviction of the Danbury Whalers, the Federal Hockey League announced a new team based in Brewster, New York, to be called the Stateline Whalers, and would play at the Brewster Ice Arena under former the Danbury Whalers CEO and managing partner Herm Sorcher. The Stateline Whalers were announced as being owned by Barry Soskin, who also owns the Port Huron and Danville teams and formerly owned the Dayton Demonz. The Danbury Whalers were officially considered to be on hiatus for the season by the FHL, but gave up their naming and territorial rights to Brewster.
On June 22, 2015, the Watertown Wolves announced that they would suspend operations for the 2015–16 season due to their arena being renovated and an inability to find a temporary arena to use in Northern New York. The Wolves plan to resume operations for the 2016–17 season, after their arena renovations are completed.
On June 26, 2015, the owner of the Berkshire Battalion, Williams Dadds, announced that he intends to relocate the team from North Adams, Massachusetts, before the 2015–16 season after lease negotiations for the ice rink fell through. The city administration asked the team to only play a maximum of three Friday night games next season and repay all current debts prior to any lease being signed by the city but Dadds decided that the demands were unreasonable.
On June 27, it was reported that the FHL had approved of a new team Danbury, Connecticut, to replace the now departed Whalers. Local businessmen, Bruce Bennett and Edward Crowe were announced as the ownership group. Bennett would announce the new team as the Danbury Titans and had signed a six-year lease to play at the Danbury Ice Arena. On July 15, during the team's inaugural booster club meeting, Danbury Titans ownership confirmed that the league had re-organized and they will own the new Brewster team (formerly announced as the Stateline Whalers); Barry Soskin will continue to own the Danville Dashers and Port Huron Prowlers, but no longer be involved in Brewster. On July 18, Bennett announced the team would be called the Brewster Bulldogs and that neither of his teams would be connected to the former Whalers.
On July 15, the Battalion announced via their Facebook page that the team was moving to Dayton, Ohio, to replace the Dayton Demonz. On July 16, the Port Huron Prowlers announced that the protected player list from the Demonz had been transferred to their team and officially announcing the end of the Demonz. In the same press release, the Prowlers also confirmed that Dadds would be relocating the Battalion to Dayton and play in Hara Arena. On July 25, Dadds announced his Dayton team would be called the Dayton Demolition.
On December 23, the Dayton Demolition announced that it had postponed its December 26 game against Danbury due to "scheduling issues" with Hara Arena. On December 28, the Demolition then announced that its new home arena would be South Metro Sports, a recreation center with a seating capacity of approximately 200, in nearby Centerville, Ohio. After one home game at South Metro, the Demolition returned to Hara Arena. On January 17, the FHL removed Dadds as owner and on January 19, Joe Pace, Sr., the former coach of the Danville Dashers, was announced as the head of the new ownership group for the Demolition.
At the conclusion of the regular season, Danbury, Danville, Dayton, and Port Huron qualified for the playoffs. Port Huron would sweep the regular season champion Danbury Titans for the Commissioner's Cup.
===2016–17===
The Watertown Wolves completed renovations to their ice rink and signed a new one-year lease agreement with the city of Watertown in order to return after one season off. In addition, the league expanded to St. Clair Shores, Michigan (Metro Detroit) with the new St. Clair Shores Fighting Saints, playing out of the St. Clair Shores Civic Arena.
On July 13, 2016, the "Dayton Pro Hockey" team, formerly known as the Dayton Demolition before removing references of the Demolition name in March 2016, announced it would be going dormant for the 2016–17 season. Owner Joe Pace, Sr. claimed that Hara Arena was unable to sign leases to tenants and he did not believe he could put together a team without a proper lead up time and secured arena. He also stated he would look to keep the team in Dayton in 2017 even if Hara Arena is still not available. Hara Arena would end up closing permanently in August 2016.
In June 2016, Brewster Bulldogs owner, Bruce Bennett mentioned to The News-Times that he would solely focus on his Danbury Titans team and would no longer be involved with the Bulldogs. Without finding new ownership, Bennett decided to suspend Bulldogs operations on July 14, 2016.
On September 14, the city of Cornwall, Ontario, approved a team called the Cornwall Nationals to begin play for the 2016–17 season out of the Ed Lumley Arena. On September 16, the FHL approved of the addition to the league for the upcoming season. The new team replaces the recently folded Cornwall River Kings and is led by Mitch Gagne and Rodney Rivette.
===2017–18===
The first expansion team of the 2017–18 season was announced in August 2016 as the Carolina Thunderbirds in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
After making it the championship in the 2016–17 season, the Berlin River Drivers ceased operations due to the increased overhead costs of running the team and not selling enough season tickets for the following season.
On July 19, 2017 the St. Clair Shores Fighting Saints announced they were relocating to Kingsville, Ontario and would be renamed the North Shore Knights.  The team is planning on playing 15 of 24 home games at the Kingsville Arena Complex and the remaining 9 games split between Gravenhurst, Ontario, South River, Ontario, and Temiscaming, Quebec.  All four of which are also home to Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League teams.
On August 2, 2017 the owner of the Danbury Titans, Bruce Bennett announced that due to workers' compensation insurance cost he could not return to team to the ice for the 2017-18 season.
===2018-19===
The North Shore Knights had released all of their players and staff following the end of the 2017-18 season.  Franchises were mentioned as possibilities in Elmira, New York and the Cleveland suburb of Mentor, Ohio.https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/weekly-sports-league-and-franchise-report/n-5370088 Elmira was announced as an expansion team on July 18, 2018 to play out of the First Arena.https://arenadigest.com/2018/07/18/elmiras-first-arena-lands-federal-hockey-league-team/
===2019-20===
On April 22, 2019 the league announced the addition of a team based in Danbury, Connecticut for the 2019-20 season. A formal unveiling of name and colors will be held May 3rd.https://www.oursportscentral.com/sports/danbury/t-4318 Sources indicated the team would take the name Danbury Hat Tricks.https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/weekly-sports-league-and-franchise-report/n-5478977  An expansion team for Columbus, Georgia is also expected to be announced as the city agreed to a five year lease with the group securing an expansion team for the arena.
On May 21, 2019 the league announced the addition of the Columbus River Dragons; who will be based out of the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia.https://www.federalhockey.com/news/river-dragons-arrive-in-columbus
Just prior to the announcement of the Columbus team, the oursportscentral.comhttps://www.oursportscentral.com/sports/delaware-thunder/t-4321 and busleaguehockey.comhttps://busleaguehockey.com/2019/05/14/the-fhls-newest-team-is-the-delaware-thunder/ listed the Delaware Thunder as a member of the league. The team will apparently be based out of Dover, Delaware in a yet to be announced arena (probably the 350 seat Centre Ice Rink on the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, Delaware) but nothing was confirmed by the league's website as of the early morning of May 23rd but the team is shown with a logo on the mainpage of the league website in the standings section.
The league announced on July 23rd that the tenth team would be the Battle Creek Rumble Bees.  The team will be based out of the The Rink Ice Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan. https://www.oursportscentral.com/sports/battle-creek-rumble-bees/t-4347
===2020-21===
The league announced on November 20, 2019 that three neutral site games would be played at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, Illinois which had been home to the Central Illinois Flying Aces of the United States Hockey League until the 2018-19 season when the team took a leave of absence for the 2019-20 season.  The announcement also included that the league would be adding an expansion team to be based out of the same arena for the 2020-21 season.https://www.federalhockey.com/news/bloomington-il-press-release
The Battle Creek Rumble Bees would quietly fold during the off season. The first word on the folding would be the league announcing results of a dispersal draft.https://www.federalhockey.com/news/fphl-dispersal-draft-results
On July 16, 2020 the league announced the addition of a new franchise to be based out of Fraser Hockeyland in Fraser, Michigan.http://fraserfphl.hockeyshift.com/news/fraser-michigan-official-as-fphl-s-10th-city On August 11th the team name was announced as the Motor City Rockers.http://fraserfphl.hockeyshift.com/news/fraser-fphl-team-set-to-launch The team would end up not playing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new ownership group would launch the team for the 2022-23 season.
===2021-22===
The league announced on May 12, 2021 that a new expansion team had been added. An expansion team named the Binghamton Black Bears will play in the recently vacated Visions Veterans Memorial Arena https://www.federalhockey.com/news/introducing-the-binghamton-black-bears(the former home to the AHL team the Binghamton Devils).
On July 31, 2021 the Elmira Enforcers announced that they would reluctantly be taking a leave of absence from the league due to issues involving the management of and the arena being open at all for the 2021-22 season.https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/enforcers-address-2021-2022-season/n-5727433
===2022-23===
The league would announce the addition of the Biloxi, Mississippi based Mississippi Sea Wolves for the 2022-23 season. The team will be based out of the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.https://www.mississippiseawolves.com/news/mississippi-sea-wolves-l-l-c-and-mississippi-coast
On April 27, 2022 the league announced the return of a team to Elmira, New York for the 2022-23 season with a new team taking the name the Elmira Mammoth.https://www.pressconnects.com/story/sports/2022/04/27/elmira-returns-federal-prospects-hockey-league-elmira-mammoth/9542736002/
On April 29, 2022 the Motor City Rockers who were originally intended to begin play in 2020 issued a post on their website announcing that they are to begin play for the 2022-23 season. The team will be based out of the Big Boy Arena in Fraser, Michigan. The team is being lauched under a different ownership group from the one originally announced in 2020.https://www.mcrockershockey.com/news/new-ownership-group-picks-up-motor-city-rockers-ho
===2023-24===
An expansion team to be based out of the Raising Cane's River Center Arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is to be added to the league for the 2023-24 season without any formal announcement from the league.https://www.brprohockey.com/news/baton-rouge-makes-first-staff-hire A formal announcement was made on April 11, 2023.https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/baton-rouge-joins-fphl/n-5945234 On July 13th the announcement was made that the team will be called the Baton Rouge Zydeco.https://www.brprohockey.com/news/baton-rouge-zydeco-a-melody-of-louisiana-s-rich-cu
The league will be adding a team based out of the 5,300 seat Appalachian Exposition Center in Wytheville, Virginia for the 2023-24 season.https://www.wdbj7.com/2022/11/07/new-pro-hockey-team-headed-wythe-county-with-redevelopment-apex-center/ On July 27, 2023 the team name was announced as being the Blue Ridge Bobcats.https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/wytheville-announces-the-blue-ridge-bobcats/n-5994768
In late March 2023 the operators of the Delaware State Fair Centre Ice Arena announced they would not be renewing the lease for the Delaware Thunder for next season. The team's fanbase was working on a petition to try to get the lease renewed.https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/weekly-sports-league-and-franchise-report/n-5941534 On June 19th the team filed for dormancy for the 2023-24 season.https://www.federalhockey.com/news/delaware-thunder-file-for-dormancy
On May 12, 2023 the management of the First Arena in Elmira, New York sent notification to the Elmira Mammoth that their lease was being terminated.https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/steve-donner-responds-to-recent-headlines/n-5962079 By May 26th, the team decided not to contest the decision.https://www.weny.com/story/48974312/mammoth-sports-and-entertainment-to-surrender-first-arena 
A replacement team is going into the First Arena replacing the former Elmira Mammoth team another FPHL team announced on June 19th that it had hired a head coach, Tyler Gjurich, and an assistant coach M.J. Maerki.https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/elmira-announces-coaching-staff/n-5977524 On July 8, 2023 the team was announced as being named the Elmira River Sharks.https://www.federalhockey.com/news/elmira-welcomes-the-river-sharks The River Sharks are apparently inheriting the former Mammoth team's roster of players.
==Teams==
===Continental Division===
Team 	Home arena 	Capacity	City 	Joined League
Baton Rouge Zydeco 	Raising Cane's River Center Arena	8,900 	Baton Rouge, Louisiana 	2023
Carolina Thunderbirds 	LJVM Coliseum Annex 	4,000 	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	2017
Columbus River Dragons	Columbus Civic Center 	10,000 	Columbus, Georgia 	2019
Mississippi Sea Wolves	Mississippi Coast Coliseum 	9,150 	Biloxi, Mississippi 	2022
Motor City Rockers 	Big Boy Arena 	3,300 	Fraser, Michigan 	2022
Port Huron Prowlers 	McMorran Place 	3,400 	Port Huron, Michigan 	2015
===Empire Division===
Team 	Home arena 	Capacity	City 	Joined League
Binghamton Black Bears	Visions Veterans Memorial Arena	4,710 	Binghamton, New York	2021
Danbury Hat Tricks 	Danbury Ice Arena 	3,000 	Danbury, Connecticut	2019
Elmira River Sharks 	First Arena 	3,784 	Elmira, New York 	2023
Watertown Wolves 	Watertown Municipal Arena 	2,000 	Watertown, New York 	2010
Blue Ridge Bobcats 	Appalachian Exposition Center 	5,300 	Wytheville, Virginia	2023
===Dormant Franchises===
Team 	Home arena 	Capacity	City 	Joined League
Delaware Thunder	Centre Ice Rink	700 	Harrington, Delaware	2019
==All-time Chronological List of Teams==
Team 	Location 	Arena 	Tenure 	Notes
Akwesasne Warriors 	Akwesasne, Ontario 	A`nowara`ko:wa Arena 	2010-2012 	Suspend operations June 3, 2012
Broome County Barons 	Chenango, New York 	Chenango Ice Rink 	2010-2010 	relocated to Hyannis, Massachusetts December 17, 2010 become Cape Cod Barons
Danbury Whalers 	Danbury, Connecticut 	Danbury Ice Arena 	2010-2015 	relocated to nearby Brewster, New York where they were renamed  Stateline Whalers
New York Aviators 	Brooklyn, New York 	Aviator Sports and Events Center 	2010-2011 	Joined league from North East Professional Hockey League; renamed Brooklyn Aviators
Rome Frenzy 	Rome, New York 	John F. Kennedy Civic Arena 	2010-2011 	Suspend operations in February 2011
Thousand Islands Privateers 	Alexandria Bay, New York 	Bonnie Castle Recreation Center 	2010-2012 	moved to Watertown, New York; keep name
Cape Cod Barons 	Hyannis, Massachusetts 	Hyannis Youth and Community Center 	2010-2011 	renamed Cape Cod Bluefins
Brooklyn Aviators 	Brooklyn, New York 	Aviator Sports and Events Center 	2011-2012 	Ceased operations
Cape Cod Bluefins 	Hyannis, Massachusetts 	Hyannis Youth and Community Center 	2011-2012 	
Taken over by league December 15, 2012; become New York Bluefins which was a road team
Danville Dashers 	Danville, Illinois 	David S. Palmer Arena 	2011-2020 	sat out 2020-21 season then lost lease
Green Mountain Rock Crushers 	Jay, Vermont 	Ice Haus Arena 	2011 	moved to Morrisville, Vermont and renamed Vermont Wild before play
New Jersey Outlaws 	Wayne, New Jersey 	Capital One Bank Ice Vault Arena 	2011-2012 	relocated to Williamsport, Pennsylvania as Williamsport Outlaws
Niagara Falls Nationals 	 	 	2011 	Folded in July 2011 prior to begining of play
Vermont Wild 	Morrisville, Vermont 	Green Mountain Arena 	2011-2011 	Folded November 25, 2011; replaced by Delaware Federals road team
Delaware Federals 	Road team 	Road team 	2011-2012 	Folded at end of season
Dayton Devils 	Dayton, Ohio 	Hara Arena 	2012 	renamed Dayton Demonz before play
Williamsport Outlaws 	Williamsport, Pennsylvania 	BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field (outdoor facility; known as Airmen Pond at Bowman Field when used for hockey)	2012-2013 	Ceased operations January 21, 2013; rebranded as Pennsylvania Blues on February 8, 2013 as a road team
Dayton Demonz 	Dayton, Ohio 	Hara Arena 	2012-2015 	ceased operations; roster forms Port Huron Prowlers replaced at arena by for Berkshire Battalion team
Thousand Islands Privateers 	Watertown, New York 	Watertown Municipal Arena 	2012-2013 	renamed Watertown Privateers
New York Bluefins 	Road team 	N/A 	2012-2013 	Folded after season completed
Pennsylvania Blues 	Road team 	N/A 	2013-2013 	Folded after season completed
Watertown Privateers 	Watertown, New 	Watertown Municipal Arena 	2013-2014 	renamed Watertown Wolves
Berlin River Drivers 	Berlin, New Hampshire 	Notre Dame Arena 	2014 	relocated to North Adams, Massachusetts September 8, 2014 as Berkshire Battalion prior to playing
Southwest Pennsylvania Magic 	Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania	Rostraver Ice Garden 	2014-2014 	
franchise revoked October 21, 2014; become Steel City Warriors  on November 6th
Watertown Wolves 	Watertown, New York 	Watertown Municipal Arena 	2014-2015 	Suspend operation for 2015-16 due to arena renovations; return for 2016-17
Berkshire Battalion 	North Adams, Massachusetts 	Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Skating Rink 	2014-2015 	relocaed to Dayton, Ohio as Dayton Demolition
Steel City Warriors 	Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania	Rostraver Ice Garden 	2014-2015 	ceased operations on  April 23, 2015.
Berlin River Drivers 	Berlin, New Hampshire 	Notre Dame Arena 	2015-2017 	Suspended operations May 18, 2017
Stateline Whalers 	Brewster, New York 	Brewster Ice Arena 	2015 	franchise folded before play
Danbury Titans 	Danbury, Connecticut 	Danbury Ice Arena 	2015-2017 	Ceased operations
Port Huron Prowlers 	Port Huron, Michigan 	McMorran Arena 	2015-Present 	
Brewster Bulldogs 	Brewster, New York 	Brewster Ice Arena 	2015-2016 	ceased operations July 14, 2016
Dayton Demolition 	Dayton, Ohio 	Hara Arena 	2015-2016 	ceased operations when unable to renew lease; the arena ended up closing
Cornwall Nationals 	Cornwall, Ontario 	Ed Lumley Arena 	2016-2018 	Folded February 20, 2018
St. Clair Shores Fighting Saints	St. Clair Shores, Michigan 	St. Clair Shores Civic Arena 	2016-2017 	relocated to Kingsville, Ontario as North Shore Knights
Watertown Wolves 	Watertown, New York 	Watertown Municipal Arena 	2016-Present 	
Carolina Thunderbirds 	Winston-Salem, North Carolina 	LJVM Coliseum Annex 	2017-Present 	
North Shore Knights 	Kingsville, Ontario 	Kingsville Arena Complex 	2017-2018 	Ceased operations February 20, 2018; replaced by Northern Federals
Northern Federals 	Road team 	N/A 	2018-2018 	Folded at end of season
Elmira Enforcers 	Elmira, New York 	First Arena 	2018-2021 	team suspended operations due to issues between arena and team management
Mentor Ice Breakers 	Mentor, Ohio 	Mentor Civic Arena 	2018-2020 	folded pernamenty after a year of dormancy, thanks to financial damage due to COVID.
Battle Creek Rumble Bees 	Battle Creek, Michigan 	The Rink Ice Arena 	2019-2020 	Quietly folded during off season
Columbus River Dragons 	Columbus, Georgia 	Columbus Civic Center 	2019-Present 	
Danbury Hat Tricks 	Danbury, Connecticut 	Danbury Ice Arena 	2019-Present 	sat out 2020-21
Delaware Thunder 	Harrington, Delaware 	Centre Ice Rink 	2019-2023 	sat out 2020-21, go inactive for 2023-24
Motor City Rockers 	Fraser, Michigan 	Big Boy Arena 	2020, 2022-present	sat out 2020-21 and 2021-22 due to COVID-19 related issues
Binghamton Black Bears 	Binghamton, New York 	Visions Veterans Memorial Arena 	2020-present 	
Elmira Mammoth 	Elmira, New York 	First Arena 	2022-2023 	Lost lease at arena
Mississippi Sea Wolves 	Biloxi, Mississippi 	Mississippi Coast Coliseum 	2022-present 	
Baton Rouge Expansion Team 	Baton Rouge, Louisiana 	Raising Cane's River Center Arena 	2023-present 	
Wytheville Expansion Team 	Wytheville, Virginia 	Appalachian Exposition Center 	2023-present 	
Elmira River Sharks 	Elmira, New York 	First Arena 	2023-present 	
==Commissioner's Cup winners==
Year 	Winner 	Runner-up 	Result
2010-11	Akwesasne Warriors 	New York Aviators 	3–1
2011-12	New Jersey Outlaws 	Danbury Whalers 	3–0
2012-13	Danbury Whalers 	Dayton Demonz 	3–0
2013-14	Dayton Demonz 	Danbury Whalers 	3-2
2014-15	Watertown Wolves 	Danville Dashers 	3-2
2015-16	Port Huron Prowlers 	Danbury Titans 	3–0
2016-17	Danville Dashers 	Berlin River Drivers 	3–2
2017-18	Port Huron Prowlers 	Watertown Wolves 	3-1
2018-19	Carolina Thunderbirds 	Elmira Enforcers 	3-1
2019-20	Playoffs Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Playoffs Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Playoffs Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020-21	Playoffs Cancelled see note below 	Playoffs Cancelled see note below 	Playoffs Cancelled see note below
2021-22	Watertown Wolves 	Columbus River Dragons 	3-1
2022-23	Danbury Hat Tricks 	Carolina Thunderbirds 	3-2
2023-24	Binghamton Black Bears 	Carolina Thunderbirds 	3-0
Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic only four teams played for the 2020-21 season. The league said any playoff would not be for the Commisioner's Cup. The Columbus River Dragons won a series against the Elmira Enforcers for the Ignite Cup 3 games to none.
==See also==
* List of ice hockey leagues
==References==
==External links==
* Federal Hockey League website
Category:Federal Hockey League
Category:Ice hockey leagues in the United States
Category:Ice hockey leagues in Canada
Category:Ice hockey leagues