The Green Mountain Crushers, the FHL’s newest team, will be based in Vermont and will have its opening season in 2011-2012. The Crushers will join the small single “A” hockey league, which includes teams based in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Canada, and New York. The new Vermont-based team is one of three new teams that the FHL hopes to launch in the next year.

Green Mountain Crushers’ general manager, Andy Makal, has reported that the new team will focus on connecting with the community and drawing fans from throughout Vermont and nearby Canada and New York. Players for the team are expected to come from Division III and lower Division I hockey. The team will play in the new Ice Haus Arena, which houses a National Hockey League sized hockey rink and seating for 800 fans. The Crushers join three other state hockey teams: two college teams and a Division III team.