Pro Hockey Team Coming To Mentor In October

MENTOR, OH — Professional hockey is coming to Mentor. The Federal Hockey League (FHL) announced that the Ice Breakers, a new expansion team, will call the Mentor Ice Arena home for the 2018-2019 season.

The team will start playing games on October 26. The Ice Breakers season will open with a home game, meaning fans won't have to wait long to see the new squad. Tryout dates for the team will be announced soon, the team said in a press release.

The FHL, a Single A hockey league, is made up of six teams, including Mentor, from five different states. The league has been around for nine years. Teams play a 58-game regular season, which runs from October through April.

The Ice Breakers will be run by a local majority ownership group comprised of Dan Moon and Chris Bryniarski. The duo released a statement on the Ice Breakers coming to Mentor.

“We are excited to bring family friendly entertainment to the Eastern Cleveland Metro, Lake County and the City of Mentor. We want to thank William Furman and the City of Mentor for working with us on a fair lease. Our goal is to bring affordable entertainment to Lake County. The beautiful Mentor Ice Arena is a great place to watch hockey and a great family venue," Moon and Bryniarski said.

The Ice Breakers will be led by general manager and coach Joe Pace, Sr, who coached Port Huron last year. Pace set a league record for wins last season.

"We are looking forward to watching Coach Pace put together an exciting product and bringing some hardware to Northeast Ohio” the ownership group said in a statement.

Pace released his own statement, telling fans and the city that he was elated to be coming to Mentor.

“I'm obviously very excited to be able to coach in Mentor. This opportunity will be something great, being able to talk with some of the locals and visiting the area, it's a beautiful town and it is certainly ready for pro hockey” Pace Sr. said.

“It's going to take everyone to get this team ready and be successful right away. The arena, the ownership group, the community and the local businesses are all on board. Bottom line is we are starting from scratch, it will take time and a lot of hard work. We'll need players who are ready for this challenge. Players who are good citizens, good hockey players and good teammates,” he added.

The Ice Breakers become the sixth team set to play in the FHL’s ninth season coming up in 2018-19. They join the Danville Dashers, Watertown Wolves, Port Huron Prowlers, Carolina Thunderbirds and a team from Elmira, New York that will be named at a future press conference.

Learn more about the team at www.mentoricebreakers.com, on Facebook or on Twitter (@FHLIceBreakers).

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Photo from City of Mentor