Junior Hockey Affiliates
The Mercer Chiefs are a proud part of the Black Bear Sports Group family! BBSG creates a direct pipeline for our players to not only be SEEN, but to PLAY in the NAHL, USHL and EHL! BBSG has a stake in 7 junior Hockey Franchises including the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, the Maryland Black Bears of the North American Hockey League, the Mercer Chiefs and P.A.L Jr. Islanders of the USPHL NCDC and the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders Premier and Elite USPHL, and Team Maryland of the EHL – becoming the Hamilton Chiefs for the 24-25 season.
The largest owner/operator of ice arenas in the U.S., Black Bear’s footprint totals 36 facilities across the United States with 68 sheets of indoor ice, four indoor turf fields, 34 youth hockey clubs, four hockey leagues (Atlantic Hockey Federation, Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation, Tier 1 Hockey Federation, National Girls Hockey League), a tournament business (Defender Hockey Tournaments
Black Bear Sports Group Mission Statement –
Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. was founded to purchase undermanaged and underperforming ice rinks to bring professional management and badly needed capital to 20-30 year old rinks to save the facilities and provide a safe and fun environment for the local community. We have subsequently expanded into junior hockey ownership to provide our facility participants a pathway to college hockey.
For more information, click on any of the logos below!
