EPHL facing troubling rumors

ORLANDO, Fla. – With a month left prior to its inaugural opening night, the Eastern Professional Hockey League is dealing with rumors regarding the viability of at least one of its members, calling into question whether the league will open its doors as scheduled. On September 30, an email attributed to Rome Copper City Chiefs General Manager and Head Coach Michael Beavis was leaked onto “Into The Boards”, a hockey news and message board site. In the email, Beavis is quoted as stating that the team is closing its doors. “The Rome Chiefs have decided to drop their franchise from the EPHL,” Beavis says in the email. “President and Owner Wayne Premo and I have spent the better part of two weeks debating on what to do with our franchise and last evening the staff and I were notified of Mr. Premo’s decision not to continue as part of the EPHL.” The email continues on to indicate that the reasons for ceasing operations included rink issues including the ability to obtain a liquor license, lack of time to properly market the team and “the issue of trust by the Chiefs and the league.” The EPHL quickly responded with an email of its own and indicated that efforts to save the team were underway. “Please know that the email (from Beavis) was sent without consultation with the Eastern Professional Hockey League and efforts continue to keep the Rome market viable for the upcoming 2008-09 season including the plans for league officials to be in Rome later this week.” Hours later, rumors about the viability of the New Hampshire Freeze franchise began swirling, stemming from questions about ownership and finances. The discussion thread with the leaked emails was removed from the ITB site mid-afternoon on Wednesday, October 1. Neither the websites for the Kennedy Arena in Rome, NY (Copper City) nor the Exeter Ice House / The Rinks of Exeter in Exeter, NH (New Hampshire) presently list any scheduled EPHL games. A message left for Chiefs owner Premo was not answered and attempts to contact representatives of the Freeze were unsuccessful. ProHockeyNews.com will follow the story and provide further information as it becomes available. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com