The Berkshire Battalion were a minor league professional ice hockey team in 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. Do ...

that played during the 2014–15 season. Based in

North Adams, Massachusetts North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 12,961 as of the 2020 census. Best known as the home of the largest contemporary ...

, the Battalion played at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Skating Rink. Its leading scorer was Michael Dolman, with 28 goals and 52 assists for 80 points. Among its prominent players was Vlad Gavrik, who has played for the

Ukraine men's national ice hockey team The Ukrainian national ice hockey team ( uk, Збірна України з хокею з шайбою) is the national men's ice hockey team of Ukraine, and is controlled by the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine, and a member of the International ...

. Dan Farrell was the Battalion's inaugural coach, but was fired mid-season after 19 games and replaced by general manager and player, Darin Lane, who had also been the rink's manager. Lane was named coach of the year along with 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 ...

head coach, Brent Clarke. Lane was subsequently fired from the rink for embezzling $2,200, but stated his intention to remain as the team's coach and general manager. However, Lane resigned his position on June 18, 2015. The team began the season owned by the league, but was later purchased by New Jersey businessman and father of one of the players, William Dadds. On June 26, 2015, Dadds announced that he intended to relocate the team from North Adams before the 2015–16 season after lease negotiations for the ice rink fell through. The city administration asked the team to only play a maximum of three Friday night games next season and repay all current debts prior to any lease being signed by the city but Dadds decided that the demands were unreasonable. On July 15, he announced via his Facebook page that he was moving the team to

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

to replace the

Dayton Demonz The Dayton Demonz were a professional ice hockey team based in Dayton, Ohio, in the Federal Hockey League. After the Dayton Gems of the Central Hockey League ceased operations, the Demonz were created as an expansion team in the FHL. The team pla ...

. This was confirmed the next day when the

Port Huron Prowlers The Port Huron Prowlers are a minor professional ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of spo ...

, an expansion team, announced that it had acquired the Demonz's protected players. The team lasted for a single season more as the

Dayton Demolition The Dayton Demolition was a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League based in Dayton, Ohio and played their home games at Hara Arena. The team was known as the Berkshire Battalion in North Adams, Massachusetts befor ...

, folding when the

Hara Arena Hara Arena was a 5,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Trotwood, Ohio suburb of Dayton. The facility began as a ballroom in 1956, added an arena in 1964 and grew to a six-building complex which closed in August 2016. At various times, it ...

closed.

Season-by-season record

References

Federal Prospects Hockey League teams North Adams, Massachusetts Ice hockey teams in Massachusetts Ice hockey clubs established in 2014 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2015 2014 establishments in Massachusetts Sports in Berkshire County, Massachusetts {{US-icehockey-team-stub