Playing in the Federal Prospects Hockey League, the Elmira River Sharks were a professional hockey team based in

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...

. First Arena served as the home arena for them.

History

The

Elmira Mammoth The Elmira Mammoth were a minor league professional hockey team located in Elmira, New York, playing in the Federal Prospects Hockey League who played in the 2022–23 season. Their home games are played at the First Arena. The team played in ora ...

were founded for the 2022–23 season and were operated by

Steve Donner Steve Donner is an American sports executive, team owner, and manager. He is the founding Commissioner of the Professional Box Lacrosse Association, and the co-owner of the Elmira Mammoth of the Federal Prospects Hockey League. He is the former ...

. However, following the 2022–23 season, the Chemung County IDA evicted Mammoth Sports and Entertainment after it was found that they had not paid $250,000 in utility bills. A few weeks later, the FPHL announced Elmira would return for the 2023–24 season with the league owning the team and the Mammoth roster retained by the new team. On June 16, 2023, the FPHL's all-time leading goal scorer, Tyler Gjurich was announced as the first head coach for the new franchise. On July 8, 2023, the team name was announced as the Elmira River Sharks. A week later, the FPHL and the Chemung County IDA finalized a one-year lease with an option to re-sign following the 2023–24 season. The team was put in limbo when the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

announced a new team to play at

First Arena The First Arena is a 3,784-seat multi-purpose facility located in downtown Elmira, New York. It features two ice surfaces, a full-service restaurant and bar, a food service center for the recreational rink, video game arcade, 31 luxury suites, p ...

, named the Elmira Aviators. On May 16, 2024, it was announced that the team was bought and relocated to another city in New York, which was set to be announced four days later after talks with First Arena for a second season had died down. On May 20, 2024, it was announced that the club was sold and relocated to

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

and play at the McCann Ice Arena where they would be named as the Hudson Valley Venom.

References

External links

Elmira River Sharks Website
{{New York Sports Federal Prospects Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 2023 2023 establishments in New York (state) Professional ice hockey teams in New York (state) Elmira, New York