ORLANDO, Fla. – Following a week of questions and uncertainty, the Eastern Professional Hockey League today announced changes to its membership and scheduling for its inaugural season that starts in less than a month. As anticipated, the Rome Copper City Chiefs franchise was folded by owner Wayne Premo. It was also announced that the New Hampshire Freeze, set to play in Exeter, New Hampshire, would suspend its operation for a year. Replacing the two teams will be the Hudson Valley Bears who will play out of rinks in Poughkeepsie, NY and Newburgh, NY. “This is a great opportunity for our league,” EPHL President Tim Kolpien said in the league release. “The Hudson Valley strongly supported minor league baseball and we feel the same potential is there for the Bears.” Word surfaced last week about the Chiefs and Freeze franchises possibly not making it to the start of the regular season. Chiefs’ owner Premo announced on September 30 that based on a myriad of issues, he would not be putting his team on the ice. Following late week efforts by the league to intervene, the franchise closed up shop. While that was going on, the Freeze and owner Douglas Yasika were having problems as a key investor backed out, leaving Yasika no choice but to ask for a suspension of operations until the 2009-2010 season. Players whose rights were owned by either team were given immediate free agent status. According to Kolpien, the league still would like to ice teams in the two markets. “With adequate investment, we believe that that both the Rome and Exeter markets are a good fit for the EPHL,” he said. “We look forward to an opportunity to play EPHL hockey in Rome and New Hampshire as the league grows over the coming years.” The new team in Hudson Valley will use both the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie and the Ice Time Sports Complex in Newburgh for its 25 home games during the 50-game EPHL season that commences on November 1. According to the league release, ticket prices will start at $8. Rome and Exeter were the two furthest cities from the central core of teams in Danbury, Connecticut (Mad Hatters), Brooklyn, New York (Aces) and West Orange New Jersey (Jersey Rockhoppers). Moving to the Poughkeepsie / Newburgh area closes the gap considerably, allowing the teams to save on travel costs. “A Bears team playing in the Hudson valley fits perfectly into our geographical footprint,” EPHL Commissioner Jim Riggs said. “It fits nicely into our business model. Both the Mid-Hudson Civic Center and the Ice Time Sports Complex are classic hockey arenas which should produce an electric atmosphere. The management at both facilities has been very cooperative and helpful in working to get the team on the ice this season.” Additional information on the new team, such as coaches, staff, players, website, contacts, schedule, ticket information is expected in the coming week. According to the release, an adjusted league-wide schedule will be released later this week but that there will be no changes to the previously announced home dates for the Danbury, Brooklyn and Jersey teams. The league website lists Kolpien and Curt Russell (Sekund-Starr Sports and Entertainment LLC) as the principal owners of the Danbury team. Curtis Russell (Pro-Hockey LLC) is listed as the principal for the Jersey squad. Brooklyn Aces, LLC, a local investor group, is listed as the principal ownership of the Brooklyn team. The ownership of the Hudson Valley team has yet to be announced. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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