Barry Soskin, owner of the Dashers Hockey team, and Dean Shore, chairman of the Board of Directors of the David S. Palmer Arena, have announced that the Dashers will be returning to the arena beginning with the 2024-25 hockey season. The Dashers will return to the ice in October of 2024.
The Dashers played at the arena from 2011 to 2020. The team had a league championship in 2017 while in Danville. The Dashers are a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL), which only had eight teams in the League when the Dashers first played at the Arena in 2011 and Soskin was the original owner of the Danville Dashers.
Teams in the League now include Baton Rouge Zydeco, Binghamton Black Bears, Blue Ridge Bobcats, Carolina Thunderbirds, Columbus River Dragons, Danbury Hat Tricks, Hudson Valley Venom, Mississippi Sea Wolves, Motor City Rockers, Port Huron Prowler, and Watertown Wolves.
Soskin stated, “We are happy to be back in Danville. We have a lot of work to do and are ready to start immediately.”
Tesoriero played as a Danville Dasher for five seasons and was a member of its championship team in 2017.
Diane Short will serve the team as the General Manager. Short resides in Danville and previously served the Dashers as its general manager.
Shore said that the process to return the Dashers to the Palmer Arena has been a lengthy process but stated that he and the board members are appreciative of the public’s patience throughout the process.
He also thanked the Danville Pickup Hockey League for keeping hockey at the arena during the 2023-24 hockey year by hosting five games that raised thousands of dollars for worthy organizations and families of the Danville community.
Both the Dashers and the Arena expressed excitement about bringing professional hockey back to Danville. Information on sponsorships and season ticket opportunities will be announced soon.