The Mentor Ice Breakers 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

Mentor, Ohio Mentor ( ) is the largest city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 47,450 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Mentor was first settled in 1797. In 1876, James A. Garfield purchased a home in Men ...

. The team was a member of the

Federal Prospects 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 ...

and played at

Mentor Civic Arena Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

History

On July 23, 2018, 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 ...

(FHL) announced an expansion team

, which brought the FHL back to six teams after two teams from the previous season folded and the addition of another expansion team 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 ...

. Dan Moon and Chris Bryniarski, who were stated to be the team's owners, also revealed the team's name, the Mentor Ice Breakers, and inaugural schedule. The team also initially announced that Joe Pace Sr. had been hired as head coach, coming from the same position with the

Port Huron Prowlers The Port Huron Prowlers are a minor professional ice hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Port Huron, Michigan, the Prowlers play their home games at the McMorran Arena. History Th ...

, however, by August 9 he had been replaced by

Iain Duncan Iain C. Duncan (born August 4, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. Early life Duncan was born in Toronto, Ontario. He played for the Bowling Green State University Falcons for four years, being named to their "all-centur ...

and Cary Ross was listed as the ownership's managing partner. The Ice Breakers finished with a 18–35–5, tied for last in the league in points, and failed to make the playoffs in their inaugural season. Prior to the 2019–20 season, the league fully rebranded to

(FPHL). Nick Russo took over as director of hockey operations in the offseason. The Ice Breakers started the season decently, going 12–12 by the end of 2019, but lost several players to trades and call-ups to the

Southern Professional Hockey League The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the mid ...

. Head coach Duncan was then fired on February 22, 2020, following a ten-game losing streak and disagreeing with the management for trading away so many of his players. He was replaced by interim head coach Sebastian Ragno who was named the permanent replacement after the season ended. The 2019–20 season was curtailed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On November 16, 2020, the Ice Breakers announced it had permanently ceased operations due to the pandemic-related operating restrictions in Ohio.

Season-by-season results

References

External links

Official website
{{FHL Federal Prospects Hockey League teams Mentor, Ohio Ice hockey teams in Ohio 2018 establishments in Ohio Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2020