Board of Governors’ spring meeting concludes

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced that the league’s Board of Governors approved the following actions at its annual Spring Meeting, held at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Springfield on Tuesday:

  • Ownership of the Milwaukee Admirals franchise has been transferred from the estate of Jane Bradley Pettit to Milwaukee Admirals, LLC, a group of investors led by Milwaukee businessman Harris Turer. Other partners in the Admirals’ new ownership group include chairman and principal owner Mark Attanasio and assistant general manager Gord Ash of Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers.

  • The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks franchise has applied for and been granted a voluntary suspension for the 2005-06 AHL season due to a lack of an available NHL affiliation.

  • The Utah Grizzlies franchise has applied for and been granted a voluntary suspension for the 2005-06 AHL season.

    Tuesday’s meeting also formally introduced four new AHL entries for 2005-06: the Iowa Stars (Dallas Stars), Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (Calgary Flames), Peoria Rivermen (St. Louis Blues) and Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs).

    The Board will re-convene via conference call later this month to discuss other issues, including division alignment and schedule format for the 2005-06 season. The league’s Annual Meeting is scheduled for June 27-30 on Amelia Island, Fla.

    In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. This season, more than 6.9 million fans – an all-time league record – have attended AHL games to date, with the conference final round of the 2005 Calder Cup Playoffs scheduled to begin on Thursday night.