The Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL) was a low-level professional ice hockey league. The league was developed by Curtis Russell, Tim Kolpien, Igor Mrotchek, and Jim Riggs, the former commissioner of the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League in 2007.
League history Jim Riggs was hired to become the commissioner of the EPHL after being the commissioner of three leagues that folded.
In October 2008, weeks before the first games were scheduled, two franchises (the Rome, New York-based Copper City Chiefs and the Exeter, New Hampshire-based New Hampshire Freeze) were replaced by the Hudson Valley Bears, based in Poughkeepsie and Newburgh, New York.
The four-team league played the 2008–09 season with the Brooklyn Aces winning the regular season title. The Aces lost a three-game championship series to the Jersey Rockhoppers, two games to one. Average league attendance was 821.
The Hyannis Storm were announced as an expansion team to begin play in the 2009–10 season, however, Dan Adams, the chief investor of the Storm, said he would not be moving forward with bringing the team to the Hyannis Youth and Community Center that year.
On April 10, 2009, Curtis Russell became President of the EPHL after Tim Kolpien resigned.
The Eastern Professional Hockey League did not return for a second season. Mad Hatters principal owner and former EPHL president Tim Kolpien all but acknowledged the minor ice hockey league no longer exists. "Frustrating to say, but no consensus or agreement has been reached," Kolpien said by e-mail, "But given where we are on the calendar, I don't see any way the Mad Hatters or EPHL can play in 2009–10.
2008–09 season
Standings GP W L OTL SOL GF GA Pts Brooklyn Aces 50 35 9 42 278 157 76 Jersey Rockhoppers 50 32 16 11 243 198 66 Danbury Mad Hatters 50 30 18 02 222 171 62 Hudson Valley Bears 50 3 45 11 145 362 8
Teams The league had four teams located in the Northeast portion of the United States.
TeamCityArena (capacity)Avg. attendanceBrooklyn AcesBrooklyn, New YorkAviator Arena (2,500)1,098Danbury Mad HattersDanbury, ConnecticutDanbury Ice Arena (2,344)984Hudson Valley BearsPoughkeepsie, New YorkMid-Hudson Civic Center (650) Ice Time Sports Complex (400)235Jersey RockhoppersWest Orange, New JerseyRichard J. Codey Arena (2,500)935
Champions by year 2008–09 — Jersey Rockhoppers: On March 28, 2009, the Jersey Rockhoppers won the first EPHL Championship with a 4–1 victory over the Brooklyn Aces at the Aviator Arena in Brooklyn, New York. Jersey prevailed in Game 3 of the Finals, winning two straight after dropping the series opener.
Awards 2008–09 MVP Nick Niedert, Goaltender, Jersey 2008–09 Rookie of the Year C.J. Tozzo, Forward, Brooklyn 2008–09 Defensemen of the Year Nick Grove, Jersey and Chris Clark Hudson Valley, co-winners 2008–09 Finals MVP Chris Ferazzoli, Forward, Jersey
References