Killer Bees Will Be In The CHL in '11-12

[chilly666]

HIDALGO — Joe Sakulenzki and the City of Hidalgo are on the verge of making the biggest save in Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees history.

The former team owner and his partners have agreed to take back the team from Richard Troy Nelson and operate the Killer Bees in the Central Hockey League next season after obtaining an improved lease at State Farm Arena. The agreement is pending the expected approval by Sakulenzki’s lawyers, which would clear the way for the Killer Bees to play a ninth season in the CHL.

Without this agreement, the Killer Bees would have gone dormant or folded.

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[chilly666]

The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League are proud to announce that professional hockey will continue in the Rio Grande Valley for an exciting ninth year of play during the 2011-12 season with a new ownership and management team.

The Bees assets have been purchased by a new ownership group, Hidalgo Sports, LLC. The majority of this group had owned the Bees from the franchise's inception in 2003 through 2007.

"We are very excited to keep hockey in the Valley," said Joe Sakulenzki of Hidalgo Sports, LLC. "The Killer Bees are a top level organization and we believe we can create exciting, competitive, and economically sound hockey with this franchise."

The Killer Bees have twice been honored as the CHL Franchise of the Year (2004-05 and 2008-09) and this season finished with the second highest attendance in the Berry Conference.

"We are very excited to announce that the ownership group, headed by Joe Sakulenzki, will be the new owners of the Killer Bees," said Duane Lewis, Commissioner of the Central Hockey League, "With their previous ownership and management of the team we know they are able to hit the ground running, knowing the market and operations of a professional hockey team in the Valley."