Meet the Team: Battle Creek Rumble Bees Edition

June 24, 2019

GET READY TO RUMBLE!
FEEL THE BUZZ!
THE RUMBLE BEES ARE PREPARED FOR BATTLE!

Battle Creek Rumble Bees
Location: Battle Creek, MI
Arena: The Rink Battle Creek
Capacity: 1,000 (Renovating; 1,400-1,600 once completed)
Website: https://www.beehockey.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCRumbleBees
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bcrumblebees/

The Battle is On as the Rumble Bees Take the Ice!
Yesterday afternoon, the Federal Prospects Hockey League held a press conference from The Rink Battle Creek and announced the 10th team that will be in the FPHL for the 2019-2020 season, the Battle Creek Rumble Bees. The Rumble Bees are Battle Creek's first professional hockey team since the Battle Creek Revolution of the AAHL folded along with the league in 2011.

Our "Rumble Bee" logo is fairly standard, looks smug, and is holding a hockey stick. One will notice the state of Michigan, the upper peninsula and all, is detailed as the "shine" of the Bee's eye. Standard bee colors as well, with black, yellow, and white being the team colors. To me, it looks as if the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Sarnia Sting logos fused together and this was the result. Overall, though, it looks like a fairly run of the mill "bee" hockey logo, but not bad and it works well for a minor professional team.

The Rumble Bees jerseys, on the other hand, are anything, but standard. First off, before we get into some of the more intricate details, I want to point that no white-colored jersey is seen here. Honestly, I actually like when teams choose a color other than white for their light-colored jersey. Unfortunately, that is where my praise ends for these looks. Suspender stripes and honeycombs on the sides and off-color shoulders make these look like roller hockey uniforms 20+ years after Roller Hockey International closed its doors.


Photo credits to Bill Broderick of the Battle Creek Enquirer. Mascot (Left) and Joel Eisenhower (Right) showing off the new Rumble Bees jerseys.

During the press conference, the Rumble Bees announced their first player signing in team history, as they have signed goaltender Joel Eisenhower. Eisenhower played three games with the Mentor Ice Breakers during the 2018-19 season, going 0-2-0 while posting a GAA of 6.78. The 24-year-old Pennsylvania native played two seasons (2016-2018) with Lebanon Valley College before turning pro with Mentor last season.

On the Rumble Bees website, they have Adam Stio listed as the GM of the team. Stio's last role in hockey was last season with the Evansville Thunderbolts of the SPHL. He was let go at the end of the season after the Bolts had one of the worst seasons by any team in league history. Not sure if Mr. Stio would be my first choice for GM, but he at least has experience and maybe this will help improve his resume.

Make sure to follow @ProspectorHcky for updates on future articles, minor news regarding minor professional hockey, and more!

-Marc aka The Prospector