ECHL Board Votes to Approve the Addition of Seven New Teams

Seven new teams will join the Evansville IceMen as members of the ECHL just in time for the start of 2014-2015 season.

The League’s Board of Governors approved the membership applications of the Allen Americans, Brampton Beast, Missouri Mavericks, Quad City Mallards, Rapid City Rush, Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder. Long time fans of the IceMen will recognize a few of those names as they were members of the Central Hockey League (CHL) along with the IceMen before Evansville moved to the ECHL before last season.

The addition of the new members brings the total number of teams under the ECHL umbrella to 28, and will affect the current game schedule as all seven will play in the league this year. According to ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna, the re-working of the current schedule will cause "logistical challenges in the short term, however, in the long term, it is certainly in the best interest of the ECHL, the new members and minor-league hockey in general.”

Updates to the 2014-15 ECHL playing schedule, divisional alignment and the format for the 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs will be released at a later date.

Remember, single game tickets for the upcoming IceMen season are on sale now at the Ford Center box office, and online through the IceMen website. Season tickets are also available by calling an IceMen Account Executive at (812) 421-GOAL (4625).