The 2017–18 Federal Hockey League season was the eighth season of the

Federal Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. D ...

. The regular season ran from October 20, 2017, to April 7, 2018, originally scheduled for 52 games for each of the six teams. The

Watertown Wolves The Watertown Wolves are a minor professional hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) based in Watertown, New York, and play home games at the Watertown Municipal Arena. The team was on hiatus during the 2015–16 season while ...

won the playoff championship, their second championship in the league.

League changes

The first expansion team of the 2017–18 season was announced in August 2016 as the

Carolina Thunderbirds The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. T ...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. In February 2017, the FHL announced it was partnering with a developmental league called the International Developmental Hockey League (IDHL) for the 2017–18 season. It was originally intended to be focused on players between the ages of 20 to 23 who had aged out of

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

leagues. At one point, the league website listed teams called the Baldwinsville Bandits, Elmira Express, Newark Diamonds, Palmyra Battalion, Syracuse Crush, and Watertown Whalers. The league held a tryout camp on June 15, 2017, for prospective players. However, on June 26, the IDHL then announced it would not play and instead purchased the

when the team's local ownership group, said to be exhausted from the emotional investment in running a professional sports franchise, backed out. After making it to the championship in the 2016–17 season, the

Berlin River Drivers The Berlin River Drivers were a minor professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Berlin, New Hampshire, the River Drivers played their home games at the Notre Dame Arena. History On ...

ceased operations due to the increased overhead costs of running the team and not selling enough season tickets for the following season. The

Danbury Titans The Danbury Titans were a professional ice hockey team based in Danbury, Connecticut. Replacing the Danbury Whalers, the team was founded as an expansion team in the Federal Hockey League. They played their home games at the Danbury Ice Arena. H ...

would also fold for citing overhead costs and specifically workers' compensation insurance in Connecticut. When the schedule was released for the season, the Fighting Saints were listed with home games in

Gravenhurst, Ontario Gravenhurst is a town in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located approximately south of Bracebridge, Ontario. Mayor Paul Kelly was . The Town of Gravenhurst includes a large area of the District of Muskoka, known to Ontarians as ...

, Témiscaming, Quebec,

South River, Ontario South River is a village on Highway 124 near Algonquin Park in the Almaguin Highlands region of Parry Sound District of Ontario, Canada. It is about halfway between North Bay "ON-11 S: 40 min." and Huntsville "ON-11 N: 45 min." or a 3-hour driv ...

, and

Kingsville, Ontario Kingsville is a town in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost municipality with town status. The town had a population of 21,552 in the Canada 2016 Census, up from 21,362 in the Canada 2011 Census. History Ki ...

. They were eventually announced to have relocated to Kingsville as the

North Shore Knights The North Shore Knights were a minor professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League based out of Kingsville, Ontario. The Knights played the majority of their home games at the Kingsville Arena Complex as well as a few home games in se ...

. The North Shore Knights ended up rescheduling or forfeiting many home games after February 11, 2018. The Cornwall Nationals folded during the season due to lack of funds despite sitting in second place at the time. The Nationals had played 34 games with an 18–13–3 record by their cease of operation on February 20, 2018. The five Nationals' games that were to take place against the Watertown Wolves were replaced by a travel-only team called the Northern Federals, similar to the

Delaware Federals The Delaware Federals were a professional ice hockey team that played in the Federal Hockey League. Despite representing Delaware, the team did not have a home arena for games or practices. They were owned by Delaware Pro Hockey International, the ...

of the 2011–12 season. The Federals played the Wolves four times, all loses, including one classified as an exhibition game. All other games were immediately considered forfeits and were cancelled.

Standings

Final standings. : Advance to playoffs

Playoffs

References

External links

Federal Hockey League website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 FHL season FHL Federal Prospects Hockey League seasons