In recent years, the Northeast has been fertile ground for hockey dreamers, with new, independent minor leagues striving to take root. Yet time and again, reality has stamped out hope. The five-team Mid-Atlantic Hockey League did not complete its inaugural season in 2007-8. The four-team Eastern Professional Hockey League lasted one year in 2008-9. The next year, the North East Professional Hockey League started with four teams, was down to three at the season’s start and lasted only 15 games.

So when the Federal Hockey League was able to begin its second season in late October, there was cause for optimism. Sure, one of its original six teams suspended operations and another moved midway through last season, causing the schedule to be shortened. But not only did the F.H.L. return, it added three teams: in Wayne, N.J.; Morrisville, Vt.; and Danville, Ill.

“Year 2 will be a lot easier now that people know who we are,” Andy Richards, the vice commissioner, had said.

Back then, he seemed confident the eight-team league was moving in the right direction, even as he acknowledged that creating a strong league was a slow process and that “there is no magic pill.”