The EPHL to drop the puck on November 1st

 

Eastern Professional Hockey League 
Conducts Successful On-Ice Official Camp 

The Eastern Professional Hockey League held its first on ice officials training camp August 28-29 at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, Massachusetts. EPHL Referee in Chief Eugene Binda welcomed officials from New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The camp agenda was filled with class room sessions, skating drills, ice mechanics and live games, during which each official was evaluated and ranked. 

EPHL Commissioner Jim Riggs attended the Friday session and reviewed the EPHL rules and procedures with the officials in attendance and thanked them for their commitment to the league.

There will be one additional tryout camp September 19-21 at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro Massachusetts. All interested officials should contact Referee in Chief Eugene Binda by email with subject line EPHL Tryout at ebinda@comcast.net no later than September 11, 2008.  You must be USA Hockey Registered to tryout. 

 Eastern Professional Hockey League 
Announces 2008-09 Game Schedule

The new Eastern Professional Hockey League today announced the schedule for its inaugural season of games. The schedule features five teams playing a total of 125 games. The Brooklyn Aces, Danbury Mad Hatters, Jersey Rockhoppers, New Hampshire Freeze, and Rome Copper City Chiefs will each play 50 regular season games during the 2008-09 season.

The regular season begins on Saturday, November 1st when Rome visits Danbury and New Hampshire visits Jersey. The season concludes on Sunday, March 22nd. The five teams will play in one division with the top four teams advancing to the EPHL playoffs, which will conclude by April 15, 2009.

Here are the Eastern Professional Hockey League teams with their home opener & arena:
Brooklyn Aces: Saturday, November 8th (Aviator Sports & Recreation, Brooklyn, NY)
Danbury Mad Hatters: Saturday, November 1st (Danbury Arena, Danbury, CT)
Jersey Rockhoppers: Saturday, November 1st (Codey Arena at South Mountain, West Orange, NJ)
New Hampshire Freeze: Friday, November 7th (The Rinks at Exeter, Exeter, NH)
Rome Copper City Chiefs: Friday, November 7th (Kennedy Arena, Rome, NY)

EPHL Commissioner Jim Riggs noted the strength of the five teams on the schedule. “Each of our team’s home arenas are great facilities for a league at this level. Rome will be playing in a completely renovated Kennedy Arena. A highlight of the EPHL schedule is that eighty-four percent (84%) of our league games will be played either on weekends or on holiday dates.”

According to league president Tim Kolpien, efforts in three additional markets to field EPHL teams in locations in New York and Massachusetts could not be completed in a timely manner, and the league decided to move forward with five teams.

“Ideally, we would have had six teams,” Kolpien commented. “Despite best efforts by building managers, potential owners, and others, we reached the point where we have ninety days of selling with the schedule before the season begins. We had to move the timeline for a few potential teams back to 2009-10.”

“Our goal is to see each team deliver an exciting product on the ice for families and sponsors,” Kolpien continued. “The EPHL offers tremendous value for fans and sponsors in our five markets and for our regional sponsors. Our focus is on stability. We’re very excited about the five teams that will play in our inaugural season as well as those that may be in a position to join us for our second season.”