Just about one month after it was announced that the Danbury Ice Arena was under new ownership and would be once again joining forces with local sports executive Herm Sorcher, the time has come to officially bring another ice hockey team to the Hat City.

According to a press release from the Ice Arena's ownership group, Diamond Properties, the team will be known as the Danbury Colonials and will play as part of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) for the 2019-2020 season. The Danbury Colonials' former NA3HL incarnation, the Niagra Falls PowerHawks, are relocating to the Danbury Ice Arena following a 2-43 season.

This news comes following the announcement that the Danbury Ice Arena will also serve as home to the newest team to be a part of the Federal Hockey League (FHL), the professional hockey organization that the now-defunct Danbury Titans and Danbury Whalers were both a part of. Danbury's new FHL team name, colors and logo will be unveiled very soon, according to officials.

As for today's announcement, the North American 3 Hockey League will be entering its tenth season this year, and is considered a Tier III junior hockey league that is sanctioned by USA Hockey. The NA3HL consists of players between the ages of 16 and 20 years old and caters to athletes looking to get to the next level -- be it the NCAA or the next tier of the North American Hockey League.

Herm Sorcher, the aforementioned sports executive working with the newly minted team, gave his optimistic outlook on the new venture. “As we acquired the building and looked for the right tenant and team to have here, we thought the Ladder of Development model the North American Hockey League has was the right fit for us because it is a proven pathway. I think we will be a fantastic fit for an NA3HL team here and we want to create a really special opportunity for players. We think the fans and community are going to love it,” said Sorcher. “We chose the Danbury Colonials name because we have a youth program in the building called the Western Connecticut Colonials and we wanted to align with them and create that special bond between youth and junior programs.”

In addition to announcement of the Colonials hockey team, the ownership group has also made it known that they have big plans for Ice Arena itself. The building's eventual face lift will include four new state-of-the-art locker rooms, a weight room, a dry-land hockey training room, a figure skating training room and a terrace bar that overlooks both ice rinks.

The Hat City's new team is currently working on launching a website, which will be found at danburycolonials.com once it's up and running, and their social media presence will be found on Facebook and on Twitter @DanburyNA3HL.

Any hockey players who may be interested in playing for the Danbury Colonials can contact the newly announced General Manager, Robert Sutherland, at rsutherland@danburyice.com or by calling 203-942-4081.

Danbury Colonials via Facebook
Danbury Colonials via Facebook
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