The Dayton Demonz were a 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 sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team based in

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 Day ...

, 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 ...

. After the

Dayton Gems The Dayton Gems were a minor league ice hockey team based in Dayton, Ohio, and members of the International Hockey League from 1964 to 1977, and 1979–1980. In the fall of 1964, the lobby of their new arena, Hara Arena, had a natural gas ex ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

ceased operations, the Demonz were created as an expansion team in the FHL. The team played their home games at 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 ...

in nearby Trotwood. The team was originally known as the Dayton Devils before changing names prior to their inaugural season. The Demonz were an affiliate of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League, the original Inte ...

Inaugural season (2012–13)

The Demonz, in their first season of FHL play, won their first franchise regular season game, 5-2 over the

Williamsport Outlaws The Williamsport Outlaws were a professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League. The team played the 2011-2012 season in Wayne, New Jersey as the New Jersey Outlaws. Following winning the FHL championship in 2012, the Outlaws announce ...

, as well as their first ever home game at

, a 4-2 defeat of the

Danville Dashers The Danville Dashers were a semi-professional ice hockey team that played in Danville, Illinois, United States, at the David S. Palmer Arena. Originally, the Dashers played in the Continental Hockey League (1972–1986), Continental Hockey Leagu ...

. The Demonz would continue to dominate the other teams in the

, having possession of first place the entire season and ending the regular season with a record of 36-6-3-6, for a points percentage of .804. This included only one regulation loss at

the entire season. Other highlights of the season included a 12-game win streak from January 18 to February 10, and 11 straight home wins from October 27 through December 21. Dayton was second in the FHL in attendance, attracting an average of 1,146 fans per game, behind only the

Danbury Whalers 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. ...

. The Demonz went on to sweep the

3 games to none in the first round of the FHL playoffs, earning the FHL Western Division championship, and were eventually swept in three games by the

in the Commissioners' Cup Finals.

2013–14 season

On December 18, 2013 it was announced that the Dayton Demonz would play against the Watertown Privateers in a neutral site game at the LJVM Coliseum Annex, located in

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 ...

. The goal of the game is to test local fan interest so a team could be located in the market as early as the 2014–15 season. The Demonz defeated the Privateers 7 to 5 in front of a crowd of 2,440 people. The Demonz battled the

for first place for most of the season but finished second. The regular season record was 33-7-3-14 which was 33 wins in regulation, 7 wins in overtime, 3 losses in overtime, and 14 losses in regulation. Dayton finished the season second in attendance for back to back seasons attracting on average 850 people per game. The Demonz defeated the Watertown Privateers in the opening round of the playoffs two games to one. They then advanced on to play the

in the FHL playoffs finals. After being down two games, the Demonz battled back to win three straight games and capture the Commissioner's Cup.

2014–15 season

The Demonz qualified for the playoffs as the number two seed. The

defeated the Demonz in the first round, 2 games to 1. This marked the first time that the Demonz did not make it to the finals in their short history. The Demonz were second in league attendance for the third straight year drawing close to 1,200 fans per game. Despite the attendance, owner Barry Soskin decided he no longer wanted to be involved with the Demonz and Herm Sorcher was appointed as the Managing Partner for the Demonz by the league until a new owner could be found. With the Demonz lease on the arena up after the season, the league was able to agree to a new deal on June 4, 2015 but with no mention that the team to occupy the building would be the Demonz. On July 16, 2015, the expansion team

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 ...

, owned by Barry Soskin, announced that it had acquired the Demonz protected players and that the Demonz would not operate in the 2015–16 season. Instead, the owner of the

Berkshire Battalion The Berkshire Battalion were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League that played during the 2014–15 season. Based in North Adams, Massachusetts, the Battalion played at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memoria ...

, William Dadds, announced that he intended to relocate his team to play in Dayton and became 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 ...

Mascot

The Demonz mascot, Bonez, was believed to be the skeleton of Blade, mascot of the Dayton Gems.

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, PCT = Points percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalty infraction minutes'' Bowman Field hockey rink 2

References

External links

Official FHL websiteDayton Demonz official website
{{Federal Hockey League Ice hockey teams in Dayton, Ohio Federal Prospects Hockey League teams 2012 establishments in Ohio 2015 disestablishments in Ohio Ice hockey clubs established in 2012 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2015