Danbury Whalers

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Danbury Whalers
CityDanbury, Connecticut
LeagueFederal Hockey League
Founded2010
Home arenaDanbury Ice Arena
ColorsGreen, white, navy
     
Owner(s)Danbury Whalers LLC
Alan Friedman - Senior Partner, President, CFO (owner of the Whaler TM)
Herm Sorcher - CEO/Managing Partner
Lawrence Sorcher - Chairman
Head coachPhil Esposito
MediaThe News-Times
Websitethedanburywhalers.com
Franchise history
2010–2015Danbury Whalers
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2013–14)
Playoff championships1 (2012–13)

The Danbury Whalers were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League that began play in the 2010–11 season. Based in Danbury, Connecticut, the Whalers played at the Danbury Ice Arena, located in CityCenter Danbury. Their name comes from the Hartford Whalers, who were a professional ice hockey team based in Connecticut and played in Hartford from 1975 to 1997 before relocating to North Carolina as the Carolina Hurricanes.

Until the 2014–15 season, the Danbury Whalers were an affiliate of the Evansville IceMen of the ECHL.[1]

History[edit]

On March 22, 2013, the Whalers won their first FHL Commissioner's Cup Title by sweeping the Dayton Demonz in front of a home standing-room only crowd of 3,116 fans.[2]

On April 3, 2015, the Danbury Ice Arena The Whalers led the FHL home attendance for the league's first five seasons.

On June 3, 2015, due to city council’s obscenely overpriced security demanded of the Danbury Whalers, the Federal Hockey League announced the team would be sold or moved to Brewster, New York, to be called the Stateline Whalers, and would play at the Brewster Ice [3][4] The team was announced as being owned by Alan Friedman and Herm Sorcher, with Barry Soskin as a minority owner.The Danbury Whalers were officially considered to be on hiatus for the season by the FHL, but gave up their naming and territorial rights to Brewster.[5]

On June 27, it was reported that the FHL had approved of a new team in Danbury, Connecticut, to replace the departed Whalers.[6] Local businessmen, Bruce Bennett and Edward Crowe were announced as the ownership group. Bennett would announce the new team as the Danbury Titans and had signed a six-year lease to play at the Danbury Ice Arena. unfortunately, they were not able to do what the Whalers had accomplished and we’re forced to cease operations [7]

Season-by-season record[edit]

Season GP W L OTL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2010–11 47 24 18 5 53 184 173 4th of 6 FHL Lost in 1st round series (2-3 vs. New York Aviators)
2011–12 51 30 20 1 89 207 185 3rd of 8 FHL Lost in FHL Finals series (0-3 vs. New Jersey Outlaws)
2012–13 51 28 17 6 86 218 188 2nd of 4 FHL Won FHL Championship Series (3-0 vs. Dayton Demonz)
2013–14 56 37 11 8 117 241 160 1st of 4 FHL Lost in FHL Finals series (2-3 vs. Dayton Demonz)
2014–15 54 27 21 6 84 204 186 4th of 6 FHL Lost in FHL Semifinals series (1-2 vs Watertown Wolves)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Federal Hockey League: Danbury Whalers | DANBURY WHALERS | Pointstreak Sites". Archived from the original on 2015-02-02. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
  2. ^ "Whalers win FHL title". 23 March 2013.
  3. ^ Haggerty, Nancy (June 3, 2015). "With Danbury team gone, pro hockey comes to Brewster". LoHud. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  4. ^ "Stateline Whalers Join the Federal Hockey League". FHL. June 13, 2015. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015.
  5. ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". Our Sports Central. June 29, 2015.
  6. ^ "FHL approves new Danbury franchise". News Times. June 27, 2015.
  7. ^ "'Danbury Titans' newest team to play in the FHL". WDAQ. June 27, 2015. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.

External links[edit]