The 2019–20 Federal Prospects Hockey League season was the tenth season of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) and the first with "Prospects" in the league's name. The regular season was an unbalanced schedule with the ten teams in the league playing somewhere from 56 to 60 games per team. On March 16, 2020, the league canceled the remainder of the 2019–20 season schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
| 2019–20 FPHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Federal Prospects Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Season champions | Carolina Thunderbirds |
| Commissioner Cup playoffs | |
| Champions | None |
| Runners-up | None |
League changes
editFollowing the 2018–19 season, the league fully branded itself as the Federal Prospects Hockey League with a new FPHL logo.
The Danbury Hat Tricks were announced as an expansion team on May 7, 2019, with Ffrmer FHL player Billy McCreary was announced a general manager and head coach. The team is owned by DP 110 LLC, the same group that had recently purchased the Danbury Ice Arena.[2] In April 2019, the Columbus, Georgia, city council voted to award a five-year lease to Ignite Pro Hockey, LLC at the Civic Center. On May 21, 2019, the league awarded an expansion team to Columbus and was named the Columbus River Dragons.[3] The Delaware Thunder were announced as a member on May 29, 2019, owned by Delaware Pro Hockey LLC, an investment group led by Charlie Pens, who also served as the president and general manager of the team.[4] In June 2019, the league's schedule revealed a tenth team for the 2019–20 season based in Michigan.[5] On July 23, the Battle Creek Rumble Bees were announced.[6]
The league split the ten teams into two divisions of five with the Elmira Enforcers, Watertown Wolves, Mentor Ice Breakers, Danbury Hat Tricks and Delaware Thunder in the Eastern Division and the Columbus River Dragons, Battle Creek Rumble Bees, Port Huron Prowlers, Danville Dashers, Carolina Thunderbirds in the Western Division. The top four teams in each division would qualify to make the playoffs
Regular season
editThe Battle Creek Rumble Bees' 0–23–1 start to the season gave them the longest losing streak in professional hockey history that would hold up until the Delaware Thunder lost 26 straight in the 2022–23 season.[7] On March 16, 2020, the league canceled the remainder of the 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Final standings:[8]
| Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | Pts% | Att. |
| Danbury Hat Tricks | 46 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 212 | 158 | 94 | .681 | 1,169 |
| Elmira Enforcers | 48 | 32 | 13 | 3 | 200 | 149 | 96 | .667 | 3,077 |
| Watertown Wolves | 48 | 25 | 21 | 2 | 191 | 182 | 74 | .514 | 847 |
| Mentor Ice Breakers | 48 | 15 | 30 | 3 | 147 | 196 | 48 | .333 | 652 |
| Delaware Thunder | 45 | 13 | 31 | 1 | 165 | 206 | 39 | .289 | 499 |
| Western Division | |||||||||
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | Pts% | Att. |
| Carolina Thunderbirds | 46 | 35 | 6 | 5 | 217 | 106 | 108 | .783 | 2,831 |
| Port Huron Prowlers | 46 | 32 | 14 | 0 | 211 | 166 | 92 | .667 | 1,036 |
| Danville Dashers | 47 | 26 | 18 | 3 | 172 | 150 | 79 | .560 | 1,034 |
| Columbus River Dragons | 46 | 24 | 21 | 1 | 191 | 183 | 67 | .486 | 3,046 |
| Battle Creek Rumble Bees | 48 | 1 | 45 | 2 | 94 | 304 | 5 | .035 | 353 |
- Qualified for playoffs
Playoffs
editDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the playoffs were canceled as well.
References
edit- ^ a b "FPHL Cancels Remainder of 2019-20 Season". federalhockey.com. March 16, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ "FHL Returns to Danbury". federalhockey.com. May 7, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ "News: The River Dragons Arrive in Columbus May 21 2019 - Ignite Sports and Entertainment". rdragons.com. May 21, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ "Professional hockey is coming to Delaware, meet the Delaware Thunder". The News Journal. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ "2019/2020 FPHL SCHEDULE". federalhockey.com. June 17, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ "Introducing your newest pro hockey team, the Battle Creek Rumble Bees". Battle Creek Enquirer. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ "@MinorHero". Twitter. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ "Stats - Federal Prospects Hockey League". federalhockey.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.