SYRACUSE (AP) -- A new professional hockey league with teams in upstate New York, Connecticut and Canada is set to launch next year.

The Federal Hockey League announced Thursday it has franchises in Rome, N.Y.; Danbury, Conn.; Thousand Islands, N.Y. and Ottawa, Canada. League officials say ownership groups in Philadelphia and Jamestown, N.Y., have expressed interest in joining.

The league, headed by Syracuse businessman Don Kirnan, will play a 60-game schedule starting in the fall and continuing into 2011, with playoffs and a championship series set for March.

The league will unveil team names, colors and logos over the next month.

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