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 sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in 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. D ...

that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

, the Prowlers play their home games at the

McMorran Arena McMorran Arena is an entertainment complex in Port Huron, Michigan consisting of a 4,800-seat multi-purpose arena and a theater. It was designed by Alden B. Dow and built in 1960 for $3.5 million (equivalent to $ million today). The exterior of ...

History

The Federal Hockey League (FHL) held a regular season game at McMorran Arena on January 31, 2015 between 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. ...

and 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 ...

. 1,709 fans saw the Dashers defeat the Whalers by a score of 4–1, leading the FHL to strongly consider Port Huron as a market and seek out ownership for a franchise there. Two months later, on April 2, it was announced that the FHL's newest franchise would be based in Port Huron, making it the tenth hockey team to call Port Huron and the McMorran Arena home and the FHL's first Michigan team. Barry Soskin of Arlington Heights, Illinois, who also owned the

and

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 ...

FHL teams, serves as the team's owner. A name-the-team contest was held, with the Prowlers name, logo and colors being announced on June 5. On July 16, the Prowlers announced that the protected player list from the Dayton Demonz had been transferred to their team when Soskin folded his Dayton team. The Prowlers won their first FHL championship in their 2015–16 inaugural season, sweeping 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 ...

3–0 in a best-of-five series concluding on April 22, 2016 at McMorran Arena. On January 7, 2017, the Prowlers surprisingly fired inaugural head coach Trevor Karasiewicz after leading the team a 8–10–1–5 record in 2016–17 and to the championship the previous season. He was replaced by Joe Pace, Sr. as the interim head coach. Pace Sr. stayed on as head coach the for the 2017–18 season. He led the team to a regular season title and a berth in the Commissioner's Cup Finals where they lost to 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 ...

. The following 2018–19 season, Pace Sr. was hired as the head coach of the

Mentor Ice Breakers The Mentor Ice Breakers were a professional ice hockey team based in Mentor, Ohio. The team was a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League and played at Mentor Civic Arena. History On July 23, 2018, the Federal Hockey League (FHL) annou ...

FHL expansion team. He was replaced as head coach and general manager of the Prowlers by his son, Joe Pace, Jr. who had previously been a Prowlers' player, assistant coach, and assistant general manager. In 2018, the FHL began calling itself the

(FPHL) and fully rebranded before the 2019–20 season. Following the abbreviated 2020–21 season, Pace Jr. left the team and was replaced as head coach and general manager by former assistant Matt Graham.

Season-by-season records

References

External links

Port Huron Prowlers official website
Federal Prospects Hockey League teams Professional ice hockey teams in Michigan 2015 establishments in Michigan Ice hockey clubs established in 2015 Port Huron, Michigan {{Michigan-sport-team-stub