Teams are starting to jockey for the 2010-2011 season, as the owners of Muskegon Lumberjacks shift from the pro IHL to the junior USHL.
Teams are starting to jockey for the 2010-2011 season, as the owners of Muskegon Lumberjacks shift from the pro IHL to the junior USHL.
Jeff and Stacey Patulski, who have owned the Lumberjacks in their IHL days, will retain a chuck of the ownership of the USHL franchise, as well as manage L.C. Walker Arena, where the team will play. Joining the new USHL venture will be Lou and Josh Mervis. Part of the USHL since the League acquired its exclusive Tier I designation by USA Hockey in 2002, the Mervis family originally operated the USHL Danville (Illinois) Wings. Mervis Industries, the family’s principal business, is a leader in manufacturing and recycling of industrial by-product which operates in 12 cities throughout the Midwest.
“We spent a lot of time and effort exploring multiple cities that would be a solid USHL market, but Muskegon clearly established itself as not only the right fit for us, but for the League,” said Josh Mervis. “The city has a rich tradition of hockey and a knowledgeable fan base whose passion and loyalty rivals hockey fans anywhere in North America.”
The new Muskegon team will play its home games at L.C. Walker Arena, a multi-purpose facility which seats 5,100 for hockey games. Tim Taylor, a native of Muskegon, will assume the position of COO of the USHL Lumberjacks.
“The opportunity for the USHL to have strong, committed, experienced local management in Muskegon, a city that has hosted this great game in numerous leagues for fifty years, is a statement by all of us — the League, the city and its great fans, and the Mervis family — that the pinnacle of USA Hockey’s development model has a home here,” said USHL Commissioner Skip Prince.
The addition of Muskegon and the Dubuque Fighting Saints gives the USHL 16 teams for the 2010-2011 season, the most teams in the league’s long history.
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