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Eastern Professional Hockey League Announces Changes for Inaugural Season

October 6, 2008 - Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL) News Release


The Eastern Professional Hockey League announced today that the Hudson Valley Bears will join the league as a new team playing out of the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie , N.Y. and the Ice Time Sports Complex in Newburgh , N.Y. The team will announce its head coach and first player signings as well as website, contact, schedule and ticket information in the coming week.

"A Bears team playing in the Hudson Valley fits perfectly into our geographic footprint," stated EPHL Commissioner Jim Riggs. "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."

The Bears will play 25 home games as part of a 50 game EPHL regular season schedule, with ticket prices starting at $8. The Bears will open the season on the road Saturday, November 1, visiting the Danbury Mad Hatters.

"This is a great opportunity for our league," noted EPHL President Tim Kolpien. "The Hudson Valley has strongly supported minor league baseball and we feel the same potential is there for the Bears. We want to thank the many people in Newburgh and Poughkeepsie who have worked so hard to make this possible, including the Hudson Valley Polar Bears program."

In other team news, the league announced that owner Wayne Premo has folded the Rome Copper City Chiefs team. The league also announced that the New Hampshire Freeze team will postpone its debut until the 2009-10 EPHL season.

"We received great support from the City of Rome and Kennedy Arena," Kolpien commented. "The league worked diligently with Mr. Premo and others to broker an agreement to keep the team operating, but the efforts were not successful." The league will retain the rights to the Chiefs name and logo.

As for the New Hampshire Freeze, team owner Douglas Yasika has informed the league that the Freeze would not play this season and asked to be removed from the schedule. Yasika cited the recent loss of the team's major investor as the reason for the postponement.

"We are disappointed that we will not be playing in Exeter ," Kolpien said. "At the same time, making a difficult decision now is better than being forced to make it after the puck has dropped in November." The Freeze EPHL license will go dormant for the 2008-09 season and be re-organized for the 2009-10 season.

"With adequate investment, we believe that both the Rome and Exeter markets are a good fit for the EPHL," Kolpien commented. "We look forward to an opportunity to play EPHL hockey in Rome and New Hampshire as the league grows over the coming years." All players whose EPHL rights were owned by Rome or New Hampshire become immediate free agents.

Jim Riggs added that an adjusted 2008-09 EPHL schedule would be released this coming week. He noted that there will be no changes to the home dates already scheduled for the Brooklyn Aces, Danbury Mad Hatters, or Jersey RockHoppers.

The EPHL's mission is to bring affordable, family-friendly professional "A" level minor league hockey to enthusiasts and fans and serve as a training ground to develop professional players, coaches and personnel on and off the ice. The EPHL's inaugural season begins November 1.

For more information on the Eastern Professional Hockey League please go to www.ephl.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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