The 2023–24 Federal Prospects Hockey League season was the fourteenth season of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL). The regular season began on October 13, 2023, and concluded on April 13, 2023. The 2024 Commissioners Cup playoffs began on April 17. The finals between the Binghamton Black Bears and the Carolina Thunderbirds began on May 3 and ended on May 10 with a Binghamton victory.
League changes On June 16, 2023, it was announced that the Elmira Mammoth were folding, and that there would be a new team in Elmira. On July 8, 2023, the Elmira River Sharks were revealed. The Delaware Thunder announced on June 19, 2023, that the team would be dormant in the future to focus on a relocation out of Harrington The league would hold a Dispersal Draft on June 27 were all teams would draft the Thunder players to their respective teams.
Two new FPHL franchises were announced in the off-season. It was first revealed on April 11, 2023, that the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the Raising Cane's River Center Arena had secured an agreement to bring a team to the city. It was later announced on July 13 that the team would be named the Zydeco. The second franchise was announced on July 27, 2023. The team would be located in Wytheville, Virginia, and would be called the Blue Ridge Bobcats.
The league kept the Empire and Continental Divisions, with the Binghamton Black Bears, Danbury Hat Tricks, Elmira River Sharks, Motor City Rockers, and the Watertown Wolves in the Empire. In the Continental Division were the Baton Rouge Zydeco, Blue Ridge Bobcats, Carolina Thunderbirds, Columbus River Dragons, Mississippi Sea Wolves, and the Port Huron Prowlers.
Regular season Watertown had to postpone their game on October 20 vs. Elmira because of water issues in the arena. On November 8 it was announced the league would be making a divisional change. Motor City would be moving from the Continental Division to the Empire Division, and Blue Ridge would move from the Empire to the Continental.
Final standings: Empire Division Team GP W L OTL PTS GF GA Pts% Att. Binghamton Black Bears 56 39 10 7 120 276 170 .714 3,956 Motor City Rockers 56 33 19 4 97 219 194 .577 1,016 Danbury Hat Tricks 56 31 19 6 90 216 192 .536 2,077 Watertown Wolves 56 19 31 6 61 193 250 .363 893 Elmira River Sharks 56 20 34 2 60 189 259 .357 1,290Continental Division Team GP W L OTL PTS GF GA Pts% Att. Columbus River Dragons 56 45 7 4 134 292 155 .798 3,538 Carolina Thunderbirds 56 40 12 4 116 225 149 .690 2,939 Port Huron Prowlers 56 28 22 6 84 196 207 .500 1,276 Mississippi Sea Wolves 56 21 32 3 61 199 265 .363 2,684 Baton Rouge Zydeco 56 16 36 4 51 154 248 .304 3,958 Blue Ridge Bobcats 56 16 33 7 50 151 221 .298 1,294 Qualified for playoffs
Statistics Scoring Leaders The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of games played on April 13, 2023. Player Team Columbus River Dragons 52 45 72 117 +69 28 Carolina Thunderbirds 43 42 46 88 +36 92 Binghamton Black Bears 54 39 41 80 +34 119 Columbus River Dragons 52 29 46 75 +54 39 Danbury Hat Tricks 53 38 36 74 +15 22 Columbus River Dragons 53 24 49 73 +49 58 Mississippi Sea Wolves 30 32 40 72 -7 59 Watertown Wolves 53 26 44 70 -2 202 Carolina Thunderbirds 47 31 38 69 +27 58 Watertown Wolves 45 38 31 69 +15 202
Leading Goaltenders The following goaltenders led the league in regular season goals against average at the completion of games played on April 13, 2024, while playing at least 1,000 minutes. Player Team Carolina Thunderbirds 37 19 6 2 60 1 .925 2.34 Binghamton Black Bears 43 19 7 4 64 2 .919 2.39 Carolina Thunderbirds 31 13 5 1 55 3 .902 2.80 Columbus River Dragons 45 23 6 1 82 2 .896 2.81 Motor City Rockers 51 21 12 4 106 0 .919 2.92 Danbury Hat Tricks 52 24 12 3 114 1 .918 3.00 Binghamton Black Bears 43 12 5 2 61 0 .892 3.22 Blue Ridge Bobcats 45 9 12 3 79 0 .903 3.40 Elmira River Sharks 41 15 19 2 115 0 .914 3.57 Blue Ridge Bobcats 55 6 23 4 107 1 .896 3.98
Playoffs The Black Bears and Thunderbirds met in the finals for the first time against each other. This is Binghamton's first time in the finals, and Carolina's third time. Quarterfinal matchups were between Binghamton-Watertown, Motor City-Danbury, Columbus-Mississippi, and Carolina-Port Huron. Binghamton and Columbus swept their respective opponents in two games, while Motor City and Carolina defeated their respective opponents in three games. In the Semi-Finals Binghamton swept Motor City in two games, with Austin Thompson scoring the overtime goal. In the other series, Carolina beat Columbus in three games, with Gus Ford scoring the winning goal in second overtime. In the finals, Binghamton swept Carolina in three games, with Binghamton winning the Commissioners Cup at home in with a 4–3 victory, with Austin Thompson scoring the winning goal.
FPHL Awards All awards were awarded between April 11 and May 11.
+ 2023-24 FPHL awards Award Recipient(s) Runner-up Ref Commissioners Cup Binghamton Black Bears Carolina Thunderbirds Regular Season Champions Columbus River Dragons Binghamton Black Bears Empire Division Champions Binghamton Black Bears Motor City Rockers Continental Division Champions Columbus River Dragons Carolina Thunderbirds Regular Season MVP Justin MacDonald - Commissioners Cup MVP Gavin Yates - Forward of the Year Gus Ford - Defenseman of the Year Dakota Bohn - Goaltender of the Year Mario Cavaliere - Rookie of the Year Ryan Hunter - Coach of the Year Gordie Brown - Executive of the Year Andreas Johansson - Broadcaster of the Year Brooks Hill - Founders Award Dave Jackson Cary Ross -
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