FPHL Season Announced With Staggered Start; River Dragons Start On Hold

Columbus, GA - The Columbus River Dragons have been informed by the Federal Prospects Hockey League that the 2021 regular season will be played under a staggered start format. The Elmira Enforcers and Watertown Wolves will begin their season on February 3rd while all other teams will start at a later date to be determined. 

With the current New York state restrictions regarding travel and quarantine, these teams could only play each other or face a lengthy quarantine that would disrupt the season.

Due to the rise in COVID cases locally the River Dragons find themselves in the league's "waiting to start" category. The team is still very much committed to playing meaningful hockey this winter, however many FPHL facilities around the league are not yet cleared to play and thus leading to the delay in starting the season for all non-New York teams in the FPHL.

The River Dragons and the Columbus Civic Center have yet to receive clearance from relevant authorities to play any regular season games at the Civic Center at this time.

“With the current health climate, and seeing what other leagues are going through both in regard to COVID and logistics we find it prudent to put the brakes on our aggressive early February start plan” team owner Jeff Croop said. “I still see a path to having meaningful hockey in the Chattahoochee Valley this year."

Given the current state of affairs surrounding the River Dragons and the local area, the organization estimates any potential join-in to a started season in 2021 would take place in late February at the earliest. Fan attendance is still an unknown variable at this point as well. Should the River Dragons be cleared to join without fans in attendance the team is working on enhanced broadcast options locally so fans can more easily follow the team.

The River Dragons eagerly await the chance to participate in the 2021 hockey season. Follow the team on social media (@C_RiverDragons) for all the latest updates on the start of the 2021 season.