Berlin River Drivers

{{Infobox Pro hockey team

| text_color = #DBCA9F

| bg_color = #3e2b2e

| team = Berlin River Drivers

| logo = BerlinRiverDrivers.png

| logosize = 200px

| city = Berlin, New Hampshire

| league = Federal Hockey League

| operated = 2015–2017

| arena = Notre Dame Arena

| colors = Chocolate Brown, beige, black
{{color box|#3e2b2e}} {{color box|Beige}} {{color box|white}} {{color box|black}}

| owner = Lenny Lichtman

| coach =

| GM =

| media = The Berlin Daily Sun

| affiliation =

| name1 = Berlin River Drivers

| dates1 = 2015–2017

| Regular_Season_championships =

| Playoffs_Champions =

}}

The Berlin River Drivers were a minor professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Berlin, New Hampshire, the River Drivers played their home games at the Notre Dame Arena.

History

On July 14, 2014, the FHL announced the River Drivers as a new franchise.{{Cite web|url=http://www.berlindailysun.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50456:professional-hockey-coming-to-berlin&catid=103&Itemid=442|title=Professional hockey coming to Berlin|publisher=The Berlin Daily Sun|date=July 14, 2014|access-date=2015-06-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402232815/http://www.berlindailysun.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50456%3Aprofessional-hockey-coming-to-berlin&catid=103&Itemid=442|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead}} However, on September 8, 2014, the league announced that the league would expand instead into North Adams, Massachusetts (with the Berkshire Battalion), citing the market to be a better fit but not ruling out Berlin and the River Drivers' return for the 2015–16 season.{{Cite web|url=http://thefederalhockeyleague.pointstreaksites.com/view/thefederalhockeyleague/news-739/news_170529|title=Berkshire Battalion Announced as 6th Federal Hockey League|publisher=FHL|date=September 8, 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402152026/http://thefederalhockeyleague.pointstreaksites.com/view/thefederalhockeyleague/news-739/news_170529|archivedate=April 2, 2015}}

The following offseason, on May 20, 2015, the FHL announced the River Drivers would begin play in the 2015–16 season at the newly renovated Notre Dame Arena.{{cite web |url=http://thefederalhockeyleague.pointstreaksites.com/view/thefederalhockeyleague/news-739/news_302651 |title=FHL Approves Berlin River Drivers Membership Share |date=May 20, 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524115417/http://thefederalhockeyleague.pointstreaksites.com/view/thefederalhockeyleague/news-739/news_302651 |archivedate=May 24, 2015 }} They initially announced an affiliation with the Evansville IceMen of the ECHL for the 2015–16 season,{{cite web |url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/berlin-riverdrivers-and-evansville-icemen-enter-affiliation-agreement/n-5032449 |title=Berlin RiverDrivers and Evansville IceMen Enter Affiliation Agreement |publisher=FHL |date=August 14, 2015}} however, sometime before the season began the post and all references to the IceMen had been removed from the website.

After making it the championship in the 2016–17 season, the Berlin River Drivers ceased operations due to the increased overhead costs of running the team and not selling enough season tickets for the following season. In order to play the 2017–18 season, the team claimed it needed to sell 1,000 season tickets upfront in order to have enough money to operate. Their arena only had a capacity of 1,680.{{cite web |url=http://www.federalhockey.com/news/river-drivers-suspend-operations |title=RIVER DRIVERS SUSPEND OPERATIONS |publisher=FHL |date=May 18, 2017 |access-date=May 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802205619/http://www.federalhockey.com/news/river-drivers-suspend-operations |archive-date=August 2, 2017 |url-status=dead }}

References

External links

[http://riverdrivershockey.com/ Berlin River Drivers official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028052413/http://www.riverdrivershockey.com/ |date=2016-10-28 }}

Category:Federal Prospects Hockey League teams

Category:Berlin, New Hampshire

Category:Defunct ice hockey teams in New Hampshire

Category:2015 establishments in New Hampshire

Category:2017 disestablishments in New Hampshire

Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 2015

Category:Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2017