Bethesda, MD – Black Bear Sports Group is proud to announce the Tier 1 Hockey Federation (“THF”), a new hockey federation designed to facilitate scheduling among rink owners in the Eastern U.S. and the clubs located in their buildings. Initially, the THF will have 12 Founding Members and approximately 80 teams from 9U-18U and will have teams from multiple states, USA Hockey Districts and Tier 1 leagues represented in order to provide the best competition for its members. There is no limit on the number of teams that a club can enter at each level and teams will be scheduled based on a preseason Spring parity event to provide balanced competitive games. The THF is the only example of an organization whose owners have stakes in every junior hockey league in the U.S. including the Tier 1 United States Hockey League, Tier 2 North American Hockey League, USPHL including the Tier 2 NCDC & its Tier 3 divisions and the Tier 3 Eastern Hockey League.

“Our tagline says it all: Competition, Exposure, Advancement, “said Black Bear Sports Group CEO and Founder Murry N. Gunty. “Our vision is to provide professional, full-time management focused on elite, balanced AAA competition at 9 U through 18 U with an emphasis on providing a pathway to college for our players. Every club has varying levels at each birth years – our goal is to use the THF to provide a great AAA experience for every club and every team.”

“Our THF core values will be centered on balanced competition, competitive games and limited travel for families who are concerned about costs,” said THF Commissioner and VP of Hockey for Black Bear Sports Group, Matt Kiernan. “Our unique product with an unbalanced schedule provides the ability to eliminate lopsided hockey games for the elite AAA hockey clubs on the East Coast. We are also committed to providing all participants with unparalleled, leading-edge scoring systems and player marketing platforms.”

Founding Members that have joined the THF thus far include Esmark Stars, Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, Flyers Elite, Mercer Chiefs, NJ 87s, NJ Jets, NJ Hitmen, MassConn United*, Palmyra Black Knights, Revolution Hockey Club, Team Maryland, and Westchester Express

About Tier 1 Hockey Federation - The Tier 1 Hockey Federation is a scheduling partnership designed to provide elite-level competition through an unbalanced schedule among Tier 1 clubs on the East Coast. The THF is managed by full-time professional staff and initially has approximately 80 AAA teams from 9U-18U during its inaugural 2022-23 season. The THF brings together clubs from multiple leagues and states and is the only organization whose owners have stakes in every junior hockey league in the U.S. including the Tier 1 United States Hockey League, Tier 2 North American Hockey League and USPHL NCDC and the Tier 3 USPHL Premier Divisions and the Eastern Hockey League.

About Black Bear Sports Group. - Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. is a privately held company formed by Murry Gunty and Blackstreet Capital Holdings, LLC in 2015 that seeks investments in sports and entertainment facilities, teams, and youth sports events. Black Bear arenas are clean, professionally managed, and offer world-class recreational programs. Black Bear focuses on ice arenas in metropolitan areas with compelling demographics, a National Hockey League club presence, and arenas with existing youth hockey clubs. Black Bear not only features the ability to acquire healthy and stable arenas, but also the expertise required to turn around mismanaged or under- performing facilities. The largest owner/operator of ice rinks in the U.S., Black Bear’s footprint totals 30 facilities across the United States with 55 sheets of indoor ice, four indoor turf fields, 23 youth hockey clubs, four youth hockey leagues (Atlantic Hockey Federation, Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation, National Girls Hockey League and Tier I Hockey Federation), the nation’s largest adult hockey organization (Foundry Adult Hockey) and three Junior “A” hockey franchises with membership in the USHL, NAHL, and EHL.

Contact: Matt Kiernan, VP Hockey, Black Bear Sports Group, mkiernan@blackbearsportsgroup.com

 *MassConn United is a scheduling partner and not eligible for playoffs

Bethesda, MD (February 16, 2022) – The Atlantic Hockey Federation (“AHF”) is pleased to announce a new girls division for the 2022-23 season, the Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation (“AGHF”). Founding members of the AGHF include the: Allegheny Badgers, Brewster Lady Bulldogs, Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Maryland Jr. Black Bears, MassConn United, Montgomery Blue Devils, NJ Bandits, North Jersey Kings, PHC Belles, Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, Pittsburgh Rebellion, Princeton Tiger Lilies, Rockets Hockey Club, Southern Maryland Sabres, St. James Hockey Academy and York Lady Devils. Each full season team will play 24-28 games depending upon their age and level including 1-2 showcases, with the balance of the schedule as home and away games.
“We are deeply committed to growing girls hockey and providing girls hockey with the same resources we provide boys hockey,” said Murry N. Gunty, Founder and CEO of Black Bear Sports Group. “We have an extraordinary team of women leading this effort and an amazing group of initial founding members in the girls division.”
“It is a tribute to the AHF that in only its first year it has already devoted such resources to girls hockey,” said Nikki Miller, AGHF Commissioner. “As a parent of a female hockey player, I am proud that girls finally have a league run by full-time professional female management with a full commitment to providing an elite Tier II experience to our families, including a pathway to districts and nationals.”
“Our girls division will be devoted to providing the best competition and value for our families,” said AGHF Deputy Commissioner, Brooke Ammerman-Reimer. “We expect to provide our girls division with the same exposure that we provide our boys division including real-time updated stats and social media coverage.”
“We finally have a league devoted to girls led by women,” said Rebecca Morse, AGHF Competition Committee Chairperson. “I am thrilled to be involved and look forward to growing girls hockey in the AGHF footprint.”
​About the Atlantic Hockey Federation, Inc.
​The Atlantic Hockey Federation (“AHF”) is a USA Hockey-sanctioned elite youth hockey league that facilitates games throughout the Mid-Atlantic and seeks to provide elite competition with maximum value for its member-owned clubs and their families. The AHF was founded by leading hockey organizations in the Mid-Atlantic, including the Montgomery Blue Devils, New Jersey Bandits, Rockets Hockey Club, Hollydell Hurricanes, Team Philadelphia, and the 15 Black Bear Sports Group-owned clubs. Each of the Founders operate at all levels of youth and junior hockey, from Mite through to Midget at the youth level and from Tier III (EHL and USPHL), Tier II (NAHL and NCDC), to Tier I (USHL) at the junior level. The AHF offers Tier II boys and girls hockey as well as AAA Full Ice Mites. If you are looking for the best value, the AHF is for you. If you are looking for exposure to play college hockey, the AHF is also for you.

About Black Bear Sports Group - Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. is a privately held company formed by Murry Gunty and Blackstreet Capital Holdings, LLC in 2015 that seeks investments in sports and entertainment facilities, teams, and youth sports events. Black Bear arenas are clean, professionally managed, and offer world-class recreational programs. Black Bear focuses on ice arenas in metropolitan areas with compelling demographics, a National Hockey League club presence, and arenas with existing youth hockey clubs. Black Bear not only features the ability to acquire healthy and stable arenas, but also the expertise required to turn around mismanaged or under- performing facilities. The largest owner/operator of ice rinks in the U.S., Black Bear’s footprint totals 30 facilities across the United States with 55 sheets of indoor ice, four indoor turf fields, 23 youth hockey clubs, three youth hockey leagues (Atlantic Hockey Federation, Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation and National Girls Hockey League), the nation’s largest adult hockey organization (Foundry Adult Hockey) and three Junior “A” hockey franchises with membership in the USHL, NAHL, and EHL.

Contact: Nikki Miller, Commissioner, nmiller@blackbearsportsgroup.com