SYRACUSE, NY – After almost two weeks of speculation and conjecture, the Federal Hockey League finally has a resolution to the saga of the Broome County Barons.
Wednesday afternoon, the league announced that the Broome County Barons are relocating to Cape Cod, MA to play out the remainder of the 2010-2011 season. 
It also announced that Cape Cod Maritime Guide Media Group, headed by Michael (Mully) Mullaney, had bought the franchise and had renamed the team the Cape Cod Barons as part of the move.
The announcement ended a search by the FHL to find a new owner and place for the team to call home. According to FHL Administrative Coordinator Phil DeFranco, the league was committed to maintaining the FHL’s six franchise strength through the circuit’s first season.
The Barons’ final game in Binghamton turned out to be the contest on December 15th, a night which ended in a win for the Barons over the New York Aviators at the Chenango Ice Rink. The win put the Barons into third place in the six-team league before the doors in Binghamton were shut.
Chronic low attendance and concurrent revenue figures were the deciding factors that would leave professional hockey in Binghamton to the AHL Senators. The final straw came on the 15th when only 75 paying fans turned out for the game with the Aviators despite the added draw of Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Johnny Bower and current Senators’ forward Corey Locke, both of whom signed autographs for the fans.
Prior to the announcement, there had been speculation that the Green Mountains would be the new home of the Barons. In fact, the league had hosted an exhibition game just before Thanksgiving near the resort area of Stowe, Vermont. Although a Vermont location was on the table as a potential new home, the league found what it wanted on the Cape.
Mullaney is no stranger to the game of hockey. He was part of a state championship squad at Germantown Academy prep school. He attended New Hampshire College where he played in a Division II Frozen Four tournament. Mullaney was good enough to garner invites to free agent camps in the ECHL, Colonial and CHL as well as elite free agent camps in Falmouth, MA and at Lawrenceville Prep for Mid-Atlantic summer selects.
Mullaney was first introduced to the FHL through CCMG Media Group when the league came up with the concept of a print newspaper dedicated to the FHL and distributed at league rinks. Although that project did not come to fruition, it did expose Mullaney to the FHL.
Matt DeFranco, son of Phil DeFranco, was hired by Mullaney to be the team’s Director of Hockey Operations. As for the roster, all of the current Barons’ players have been invited to follow the franchise to Cape Cod. Official information regarding the roster is expected shortly after New Years.
According to the league, the Barons will be honoring their existing travel schedule. The team will play five home games on the Cape with dates and sites to be determined. The first of those “home” games is expected to come in mid-to-late January. The plan as of now is to have each of the other FHL teams visit Cape Cod once, giving hockey fans a good look at the league.
Additional scheduling changes for the other five teams after January 1st are expected. The changes are being made to cover some commitments that the Barons will not be able to keep as well as to minimize the additional travel the teams will have, especially with the longer distances from the northern cities to the Cape.
Stay with ProHockeyNews.com for more on this developing story.
Contact the author at wendy.hull@prohockeynews.com
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