Struggling low-level league loses another franchise

Vermont’s first professional hockey team is no more.

After touting that it was making history with its Oct. 29 home opener, the Morrisville, VT.-based Vermont Wild of the Federal Hockey League lasted 10 games before closing shop. The league wrote this week on its website:

The Federal Hockey League has announced that the Vermont Wild has chosen to cease operations immediately. Despite several days of negotiations with multiple investment groups, nothing could be agreed upon to move forward this season. We are examining several other options at this time and hope to make a firm decision early next week. There may be a need for some schedule changes in order for all the teams to complete their home schedule.  We will post the changes on all our websites once approved by the member teams.

We would like to thank you for your continued support of the FHL and its member teams.

Saturday’s, December 3rd Akwesasne at Vermont game has been cancelled.

Fans weren’t wild about the first-year Wild as they had 1,059 total attendance for four home games. Yep, that’s fewer than 275 fans per game. With general admission tickets costing a mere $9 per game, that spelled doom. Fast.

I wrote earlier about the FHL, and raised concerns about the second-year league’s survivability. Three teams have folded or moved in the FHL’s short history.

Who knows, maybe the league will thrive after these growing pains. At least the FHL received this shoutout from a local ESPN affiliate for a brawl. If there’s one thing we can count on with low-level minor league hockey, it’s fighting.

Then again, things aren’t looking good elsewhere for the FHL. The league’s marquee franchise- the Danbury Whalers– has had attendance fall from 1,733 per game last year to 1,607 this season. At this level, every ticket counts.

Hate to be the Nostradamus of minor league hockey, but those prior concerns I had about the FHL are being reinforced early this season. Here’s hoping the league can be saved … but at this point the FHL may go the way of the IHL, WHA, WPHL and every other good intentioned but economically-challenged league that folded.