| Tohoku Free Blades | |
|---|---|
| City | Hachinohe, Aomori |
| League | Asia League Ice Hockey |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Operated | 2008-present |
| Home arena | Niida Indoor Rink |
| Colors | |
| Owner(s) | Xebio Co. Ltd. |
| General manager | Keisuke Araki |
| Head coach | Chris Wakabayashi |
| Captain | Go Tanaka |
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Website http://www.freeblades.jp/ |
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The Tohoku Free Blades (東北フリーブレイズ) are an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan.
Founded in 2008, they are playing their first Asia League season in 2009.
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The team has a number of community programs it runs under the mantra of "Team Social Responsibility". The team engages in youth oriented activities like running skating schools, working with high-school teams, visiting schools to interact with kids, and other kinds of junior hockey workshops. The team also attends various festivals and events in the communities in which they play.[1]
The team plays mainly out of several rinks, including Niida Indoor Rink in Hachinohe City. The rink was completed in 1984 and renovated in 2002. It features an ice surface 30m wide by 60m long and seats 1,576 people.[2] In the 2010-2011 season, the Free Blades played games as the home team out of the Shin-Yokohama Skate Center, which is the Seibu Prince Rabbits old home arena. The team also played games in Morioka Ice Arena in Morioka, Iwate, Bandai Atami Ice Arena in Kōriyama, Fukushima, and Higashi-Fushimi Ice Arena in Nishitōkyō, Tokyo.[3] The team previously used Misawa Ice Arena in Misawa, Aomori, for some home games.[4]
The Free Blades' logo consists of the word Free Blades written on two lines as solid blue letters with a light blue and white outline. The L is replaced with a hockey stick and a puck is featured at the end end of the word "Blades". The text is set on a pair of white wings. It is also stylized with the "B" and "S" having extended points and the "S" also featuring a sweeping bottom stroke. All letters are capitalized.[5]
Both the home and away jerseys feature silver on the shoulders and arms. The home jersey features a silver and blue panel along the side of the body while the away jersey features a solid white panel. The away jersey has a silver and green ring around the bottom while the home jersey features no ring. The home jerseys feature thin silver, green and white rings around the elbows, and the away jerseys have a single thick green ring. The logo is set in the middle of the chest and the jerseys have sponsor logos on top and in front of the shoulders. Additional spondership logos appear on the lower back of the jersey. The home jersey has a solid dark blue core and the away jersey has a solid white core.[6]
The Free Blades mascot is a white horse with light blue hair. The horse has an aggressive look and features blue eyes as well as two upward pointed ears. The hair is light blue and stringy pointed in several directions. The mascot wears the away jersey, which features additional blue panelling under the arms, and has two white wings attached on the back. The mascot is named "Blazey"[7]
updated 1 November 2010[8]
| Goaltenders | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Country | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth |
| 27 | Hiroshi Shiratori | R | 2010 | Japan | |
| 31 | Michio Hashimoto | L | 2009 | Aomori, Hachinohe | |
| 50 | Shigehito Kimoto | 2011 | |||
| Defencemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Country | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 2 | Yugo Hagiwara | L | 2011 | Matsudo, Japan | ||
| 3 | Yuuya Ariyoshi | L | 2010 | Japan | ||
| 5 | Kazumoto Imajo | R | 2009 | Hokkaidō, Makubetsu | ||
| 37 | Aaron MacKenzie | L | 2011 | Terrace Bay, Ontario, Canada | ||
| 41 | Paul Albers | L | 2011 | Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| 51 | Goshi Kumagai | 2011 | ||||
| 84 | Kyouhei Kikuchi – A | R | 2010 | Japan | ||
| 91 | Sho Sekiya | L | 2011 | Tochigi, Nikko | ||
| Forwards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Country | Player | Position | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth |
| 9 | Troy Riddle | C | R | 2011 | Minneapolis, MN, USA | |
| 11 | Masahito Suzuki | RW | R | 2009 | Hokkaidō, Tomakomai | |
| 14 | Go Tanaka - C | C | L | 2010 | Sapporo, Japan | |
| 18 | Kōta Tanaka | C | L | 2009 | Hokkaidō, Japan | |
| 20 | Yoshiyuki Hatano | LW/RW | L | 2011 | Hokkaidō, Tomakomai | |
| 21 | Kazuki Yamamoto | RW | L | 2009 | Hokkaidō, Japan | |
| 22 | Shō Tanaka | RW | R | 2009 | Sapporo, Japan | |
| 23 | Yoshikazu Kashino | LW/RW | R | 2009 | Hokkaidō, Tomakomai | |
| 25 | Kawamoto Akihito | LW | R | 2011 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| 30 | Bin Ishioka | LW | R | 2009 | Kushiro, Japan | |
| 36 | Ryo Tanaka | C | R | 2010 | Sapporo, Japan | |
| 40 | Takuma Kawai – A | LW | L | 2009 | Eniwa, Japan | |
| 58 | Takuro Yamashita | LW | R | 2011 | Kushiro, Japan | |
complete records for previous seasons[9]
| Season | GP | W | W(OT) | W(GWS) | L(GWS) | L(OT) | L | GF | GA | PTS | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | 36 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 132 | 142 | 48 | 5th/7 | N/A |
| 2010–11 | 36 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 160 | 112 | 68 | 3rd/7 | Won Co-Championship |
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