Cincinnati Joins Atlanta as IHL Expansion Franchise

Ohio became the latest state to contribute a team to the International Hockey League when the IHL board of governors on Wednesday accepted the Cincinnati Cyclones into the league for the 1992-93 season.

The Cyclones, who played their first two seasons in the East Coast Hockey League, join the Atlanta Knights as another first-year IHL team. The addition of Cincinnati and Atlanta brings to 12 the IHL membership. It hasn’t been determined in which division either team will play.

The Gulls, who begin their third season in October, play in the Western Division. A Gulls spokesman said it’s possible the IHL may break the league, on the brink of its 48th season, into six-team divisions or three four-team groups.

“We feel the Cyclones and the Cincinnati fans combine to be one of the premier franchises in minor hockey and that, by joining the IHL, we are now part of the premier league in minor hockey,” said Cyclones General Manager Doug Kirchnofer.

Cincinnati returns to its roots with its IHL affiliation. The city’s first professional hockey team--the Mohawks--played in the IHL from 1952-58. Other Cincinnati franchises made their way through the American Hockey League, the World Hockey Assn., the Central Hockey League and most recently, the ECHL, where the Cyclones averaged 9,000 fans a game.

VOLLEYBALL

U.S. national volleyball coaches Fred Sturm and Terry Liskevych have agreed to new contracts through the 1996 Olympics, the U.S. Volleyball Association announced.

Sturm and Liskevych are the first coaches selected for the 1996 Olympics.