2018–19 FHL season
LeagueFederal Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Season championsCarolina Thunderbirds
Commissioner Cup playoffs
ChampionsCarolina Thunderbirds
(1st title)
  Runners-upElmira Enforcers

The 2018–19 Federal Hockey League season was the ninth season of the Federal Hockey League. The regular season ran for 58 games for four of the six teams, with the Port Huron Prowlers and Danville Dashers each playing 59. The Carolina Thunderbirds won both the regular season and the playoff championships, the latter being their first league title.

League changes

On July 17, 2018, Robbie Nichols announced he had acquired an expansion team in Elmira, New York, called the Elmira Enforcers, one year after the Elmira Jackals had ceased operations.[1] In the same press conference, FHL commissioner Kirnan confirmed that the North Shore Knights—which had ceased to operate back in February and released all its players and staff in March—was formally folded.

The following week, the league announced another expansion team in Mentor, Ohio, called the Mentor Ice Breakers to bring the league back to six teams.[2] The league also slightly altered its primary logo, changing the branding from Federal Professional Hockey League to Federal Prospects Hockey League, while still using the FHL abbreviation.

Regular season

On March 10, 2019, Enforcers' owner Nichols assaulted a referee after the first period of a game against the Carolina Thunderbirds. The game was immediately cancelled by the officials, and subsequently led the FHL's officiating supervisor resigning from the league and pulling all the referees from the FHL citing the need to protect his personnel.[3][4] Nichols was issued the league-maximum fine of $25,000.[5] The league then recruited local officials for the remaining games.[6]

The Thunderbirds went on to dominate the league standings, shattering single season records for wins and points, while leading the league in scoring despite not having a scorer in the top ten.

Standings

Final standings.[7]

TeamGPWLOTLGFGAPtsAtt.
Carolina Thunderbirds5849632661161492714
Elmira Enforcers5833205224173993137
Watertown Wolves583126123625687964
Port Huron Prowlers592532223727174835
Danville Dashers591936419726358990
Mentor Ice Breakers581835520328058374
  Advanced to playoffs

Playoffs

The Thunderbirds and Enforcers met again in the league championships, with the Thunderbirds opening the series with winning the first two games.[8] In the second game, the Thunderbirds won in overtime with a game-winning goal landing on the back of the Enforcers' goaltender and then fell across the goal line when he got up.[9] The Enforcers heavily contested the call, with team-leading scorer Ahmed Mahfouz verbally confronting the officials and leading to a physical altercation between head coach Brent Clarke and a linesman. Mahfouz then broke his stick over the goalpost and tossed it over the glass into the stands before leaving the ice. Finally, Enforcers' goaltender Passingham was still disputing the goal with the official before leaving for the visitor's locker room, with the walkway passing directly next the fans, and a fan threw a filled cup at Passingham. Passingham then attacked the fan before they were eventually separated.[10] Clarke, Mahfouz, and Passingham were all suspended by the league: Mahfouz for one game, Passingham for two, and Clarke for five games.[11] The Enforcers then won the next game before the Thunderbirds won the championship in game four.

Semifinals
(Best of 3) 		Finals(Best of 5)
      
1 Carolina Thunderbirds 2
4 Port Huron Prowlers 0
1 Carolina Thunderbirds 3
2 Elmira Enforcers 1
2 Elmira Enforcers 2
3 Watertown Wolves 0

References

  1. ↑ "Professional hockey returns to Elmira's First Arena". Star Gazette. July 17, 2018.
  2. ↑ "FHL Expands to Mentor, Ohio". OurSportsCentral.com. July 23, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Officials pull referees from all FHL games following alleged altercation between Enforcers owner, refs". WENY-TV. March 11, 2019.
  4. ↑ "REPORT: Officiating supervisor pulls refs from all remaining FHL games". Bus League Hockey. March 10, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Elmira Enforcers fined $25,000 for owner Robbie Nichols pushing a ref". BusLeagueHockey.com. March 12, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Local pro hockey: FHL says staffing games with officials shouldn't be a problem". Watertown Daily Times. March 14, 2019.
  7. ↑ "2018-19 Federal Hockey League Standings". hockeydb.com. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  8. ↑ "THUNDERBIRDS TAKE GAME 1 IN DOMINANT FASHION". FHL. April 19, 2019.
  9. ↑ "DRAMATIC OVERTIME WIN GIVES CAROLINA 2-0 SERIES LEAD". FHL. April 20, 2019.
  10. ↑ "'Controversial Goal' in Carolina results in chaos following classic game". Bus League Hockey. April 21, 2019.
  11. ↑ "UPDATE: 3 Enforcers Suspended Amid Commissioners Cup Controversy". WENY. April 23, 2019.
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