Victory Rally Scheduled For Danville’s League Champion Dashers

The east-central Illinois town of Danville is holding a rally on Saturday to celebrate the league championship of their minor-league hockey team, the Danville Dashers. 

The Dashers are the only Illinois team in the Federal Hockey League. And this week, they won the FHL’s Commissioner’s Cup, defeating the Berlin, New Hampshire, River Drivers, three games to two — including a decisive 4 to 1 victory Wednesday night at the David S. Palmer Arena.

It's the first time a minor league hockey team from Danville has won a league title since the 1980s. Back then, another team called the Danville Dashers won the Continental Hockey League's Wal-Mar Playoff Cut in 1982 and 1984. A few years later, the Danville Fighting Saints won the league championship in the All-American Hockey League in 1987.

Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer says the current-day Dashers have been good for the city on several fronts.

"Not only are they great on the ice, they’ve been great off of the ice, in volunteering for a lot of our events in the community," said Eisenhauer. "They work very well with a lot of organizations. They get into our schools. So it truly has been a win-win for this community.”

Eisenhauer says the Dashers have also brought a lot of out-of-town hockey fans to Danville, boosting the local economy. He says attendance for home games in the championship series regularly topped 1,200.

Saturday’s victory rally starts at 2 PM, outdoors at Temple Plaza in downtown Danville. Eisenhauer says Dashers coach Steve Harrison and members of the team will be present.