Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Host Federal Hockey League Game
Published on December 18, 2013 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release
The Federal Hockey League is proud to announce that the league has agreed with the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds to bring a regular season neutral site contest to the Winston-Salem Lawrence Joel Memorial Annex. The game is set for Saturday, March 1st, and will feature the Watertown Privateers against the Dayton Demonz. The puck drops at 7:05 PM.
The Federal Hockey League in its fourth season of operation is seeking to expand its footprint and develop new markets. The league has been in discussion with numerous facilities and operators on bringing this type of event to these new markets. Federal Hockey League Commissioner, Don Kirnan commented, "We have targeted a few venues that could make strong additions to our league. The city of Winston-Salem has had a very strong track record of professional hockey and supporting their hometown franchise. We look forward to showing this community what our product is about and gauging the interest in putting a team in here for the 14-15 season."
Winston-Salem is located in Forsyth County and has a population of 229, 617. It is the 5th largest city in the state, its metropolitan area has over 460,000 residents, and the Greensboro/W-S/High Point Triad has over 1.6 million living in its region. It has been ranked by CBS Money Watch as one of the 10 best places to live.
The City of Winston-Salem has had a rich history of professional hockey which started back in 70's. The Winston-Salem Polar Twins played from 73-77 in the Southern Hockey League and had an average attendance of 2,210. In 1981, the Carolina Thunderbirds debuted in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. In 1988 the Thunderbirds moved into the newly created East Coast Hockey League and became one of the original members of the league which is still in operation today.
The Southern Hockey League was formed in the 1995-96 season and included the Winston-Salem Mammoths as one of their charter franchises. During their only season of play, the Mammoths averaged over 1,300 fans per game.
The Winston-Salem Icehawks played in the United Hockey League during the 97-98 & 98-99 seasons. The averaged over 1,600 and 1,900 fans respectively.
Other franchises to call home in Winston-Salem included the Parrots of the ACHL and T-Birds of the SEHL.
Most recently the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) had multiple franchises in the city. A team was again named the Polar Twins and they played in the 04-05 season. The Pee Dee Cyclones took to the ice for the 05-06 & 06-07 campaigns while a Twin City Cyclones franchise played in the 07-08 & 08-09 campaigns. During all of these seasons, the teams had nightly averages over 1,100 with a high mark for the Polar Twins at 1,493.
In its four year history, the Federal Hockey League has had a few marquee players come through the City of Winston-Salem at some point in their career. The list includes:
Chris Affinati - Winston-Salem Polar Twins & Pee Dee Cyclones (Danville Dashers) Kevin Druce - Twin City Cyclones (10-11 Brooklyn Aviators - 1st Team All-FHL Goalie) Nick Grove - Pee Dee Cyclones (Brooklyn Aviators) Alex Hager - Twin City Cyclones (Danbury Whalers & Cape Cod Barons) Jim Jenson - Twin City Cyclones (New Jersey Outlaws) Konstantin Kalmikov - Twin City Cyclones (Vermont Wild) Trevor Karasiewicz - Winston Salem Polar Twins & Pee Dee Cyclones (New Jersey Outlaws & Dayton Demonz) Marc Lefebvre - Twin City Cyclones (Head Coach 1000 Islands & Dayton) Steve Oblenicki - Twin City Cyclones (Brooklyn Aviators) Joe Pace - Winston Salem Polar Twins (Danville Dashers) Joe Pelle - Twin City Cyclones (Brooklyn Aviators) Matt Puntureri -Twin City Cyclones (Aviators, New Jersey Outlaws, & Whalers) Mark Richards - Pee Dee Cyclones (Brooklyn Aviators GM) Chris Seifert - Pee Dee Cyclones (Danbury Whalers) Peter Vetri - Twin City Cyclones (Whalers) Mark Vida - Twin City Cyclones (Danville Dashers & Whalers)
Tickets for the event are $10 and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. The event also will offer discounted tickets at $8 per ticket for groups of 15 or more. For further information on the event contact the arena box office at 336-774-8880. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, December 20th.
Since dropping the puck on October 29, 2010, over 300,000 fans have filed through the gates to watch Federal Hockey League action. The Federal Hockey League mission is to develop and provide good quality, affordable, fun, family entertainment for their communities. The league and its ownership groups are committed to providing the highest level of customer service to their fans. In the four years of operation the FHL has developed strong competitive level of play that has seen over 150 player promotions & call ups with over 700 games played at the AA & AAA levels of professional hockey.
Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2013
- Whalers Home this Weekend - Danbury Whalers
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Host Federal Hockey League Game - FPHL
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