New Valley Forge Ownership

[tops804]

From what I hear, this is the team having the most problems of the five.
Can this save them?
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3572666

Key parts of the article:
Freedom announces new ownership and general manager

Sekund-Starr Sports and Entertainment announced today that it has purchased the Valley Forge Freedom professional hockey team. The Freedom play out of Oaks Center Ice in Oaks, Penn., as a member of the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League.
In making the announcement, Tim Kolpien of Sekund-Starr also announced that Brendan Tedstone of Hopkinton, Mass., will take over immediately as the team's General Manager. Tedstone, 38, has played professionally in many minor pro hockey leagues. Kolpien also announced that Chris Crutcher, 29, of Hershey, will be retained as the team's Head Coach.

"This is an exciting opportunity to join the MAHL with the Freedom," Kolpien said. "We have been watching this league and feel that the suburban Philadelphia area has tremendous long-term potential for the MAHL. Brendan and Chris will help us reach that potential both on and off the ice."

I like the enthusiasm....However, can it translate to wins, and putting people in the seats?

We have 20 home games and hope that people will come out to Oaks Center Ice to check us out and see how our players embody our theme: Revolutionary Hockey," commented Coach Crutcher. "It's a hard-hitting, fast paced brand of hockey in a family friendly atmosphere."

The complete Freedom schedule and details on players and stats can be found online at www.ValleyForgeFreedom.com. For more information on the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League, one of two "class A" professional hockey leagues in the United States, please visit www.MAHLHockey.com.

This team has been buried in last place all season...It would be nice to see a
turnaround.

It seems to me that this is the second ownership change this season.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3562115
From 11/21/07 (part of follows)
The Valley Forge Freedom of the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League today announced that brothers Mark Wright Jr. and David Wright have purchased the professional hockey team which plays its seventh game of the 2007-08 MAHL season tonight at Oaks Center Ice

In this article...they sound just as enthused.
"My brother and I are huge sports fans," said Mark Wright Jr. "We think the Valley Forge Freedom and the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League is great for the community and we will be getting the team out into the community in the coming weeks. What David and I liked about the Freedom is that the team shows a lot of heart on the ice and gives 100% every night. Fans who come out to Oaks Center Ice to check us out won't be disappointed. We know we have a lot of work to do but we want to be good corporate partners in the community."

[Shootmaster_44]

I certainly hope this straightens out the mess that was going on in Valley Forge.

One question about the press release, it says the MAHL is one of two class A hockey leagues in the United States. Who's the other? I hope they aren't including the NEHL is their count and I would think the IHL is not class A in comparison to the MAHL.

[BCRantzilla]

I certainly hope this straightens out the mess that was going on in Valley Forge.

One question about the press release, it says the MAHL is one of two class A hockey leagues in the United States. Who's the other? I hope they aren't including the NEHL is their count and I would think the IHL is not class A in comparison to the MAHL.

My guess is they were referring to the SPHL which has been considered A-Puck since day one. Until their weekly cap passes 5 figures, it's definitely A-Puck.

[Shootmaster_44]

My guess is they were referring to the SPHL which has been considered A-Puck since day one. Until their weekly cap passes 5 figures, it's definitely A-Puck.

You're right. I completely forgot about the SPHL. Something about low level hockey in the Southern US that makes it completely slip my mind.

[Hockey]

The new owner is none other then the president of the "appletree marketing group". This was the phantom marketing agency the league signed on with at the beginning of the season.

I don't see this as anything more then another puppet put in place by Hanies.

The team is still playing at a 300 seat rink in front of 25 fans. And to top it off now those fans are paying $8.

[nksports]

The new owner is none other then the president of the "appletree marketing group". This was the phantom marketing agency the league signed on with at the beginning of the season.

I don't see this as anything more then another puppet put in place by Hanies.

The team is still playing at a 300 seat rink in front of 25 fans. And to top it off now those fans are paying $8.

How could a team make money if it sold out at $8 a ticket? (that's only $2,400 a game gross income. If you're paying players $50 a game (since home game income would have to cover payroll for one home and one away game), that's $1,800 out of that pot. Then you have to pay the coaches, the staff, all the bills and travel, the arena rent, the office rent and everything else.
If you're only drawing 25 fans at $8, that's $200. You're going to go broke in a hurry.

[BreakersFan]

The new owner is none other then the president of the "appletree marketing group". This was the phantom marketing agency the league signed on with at the beginning of the season.

I don't see this as anything more then another puppet put in place by Hanies.

The team is still playing at a 300 seat rink in front of 25 fans. And to top it off now those fans are paying $8.

FYI The AppleTree Group does really exist: www.Apptreegroup.com.

Given NK's cost analysis above, why would someone buy this team? Will it move to a larger venue maybe?

[tops804]

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3576433
In part:
The Valley Forge Freedom today announced the signing of a new head coach: Chris Puscian. Puscian takes over immediately from former head coach/player Chris Crutcher.
"I feel that I can best help my team on the ice, I'm excited to only have to focus on playing for the remainder of the season," Crutcher said in a statement to valleyforgefreedom.com today. "It's our goal to make the playoffs and win the inaugural MAHL championship."

Freedom owner Tim Kolpien had this to say of Crutcher, "Chris was handed a very difficult situation, and he deserves a tremendous amount of praise for keeping this team together. There will always be a place for Chris in our organization - he's the heart and soul of the Freedom."

New head coach Chris Puscian was the head coach of the Freedom before the start of the season, but had to step down to due to personal reasons. He returns to the Freedom in full capacity as Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations.

I noticed Crutcher had 19 penalty minutes tonight. Was he able to be that
aggressive as a coach? If he received game misconducts then, he wouldn't
have been very much help to the team. I'm still looking up background on
him, but it seems like he must have been put in an awkward situation. I
didn't realize Valley Forge had a coaching change right at the beginning of
the season.

Any word on a playoff format?