Tohoku Free Blades
Introduction The  are an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan.
Community contributions 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.
Arena 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. 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. The team previously used Misawa Ice Arena in Misawa, Aomori, for some home games.
Team colors and mascot ===Logo===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 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.===Jerseys===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 sponsorship 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.===Mascot===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. "===History===Founded in 2008, they played their first Asia League season in 2009–10.The Free Blades have been one of the more successful teams since its creation, winning three Asia League titles (2011, 2013, 2015).
Year-by-year record complete records for previous seasons 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  Did not reach playoffs 2010–11 36  18  1  3  2  4  8  160  112  68  3rd/7  '''Won Co-Championship''' 2011–12 36  13  3  1  4  1  4  106  111  52  6th/7  Did not reach playoffs 2012–13 42  24  0  2  3  3  13  187  141  73  2nd/7  '''Won Championship''' ''Totals'' ''150''  ''68''  ''4''  ''10''  ''10''  ''8''  ''43''  ''585''  ''506''  -  -  '''''2 Championships'''''
Roster The Tohoku Free Blades in a pre-game circle wearing their away uniformsupdated 1 November 2010Goaltenders#CountryPlayerCatchesAcquiredPlace of Birth'''31'''Michio HashimotoL2009Hachinohe, Japan'''50'''Shigehito KimotoL2011Obihiro, Japan'''55'''Hata MichukazuL2012Kushiro, JapanDefencemen#CountryPlayerShootsAcquiredPlace of Birth'''2'''Yugo HagiwaraL2011Matsudo, Chiba'''3'''Yuuya AriyoshiL2010Sapporo, Japan'''4'''Darrell HayR2013Kamloops, Canada'''8'''Hu TianyuR2012China'''27'''Tomohito OhkuboL2012Tomakomai, Japan'''44'''Brad FarynukR2012Enderby, Canada'''54'''Goshi Kumagai2013Japan'''58'''Yuhei ShinoharaR2013Japan'''84'''Kyouhei Kikuchi – '''A'''R2010JapanForwards#CountryPlayerPositionShootsAcquiredPlace of Birth'''9'''Michitaka MotonoFL2013Japan'''10'''Katsumasa KondoFL2013Japan'''11'''Masahito SuzukiRWR2009Tomakomai, Japan'''14'''Go Tanaka - '''C'''CL2010Sapporo, Hokkaidō'''18'''Naoto MizuuchiFR2012Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, '''19'''Takahashi KosukeF2012Hokkaido, Japan'''21'''Kazuki YamamotoRWL2009Hokkaidō, Japan'''22'''Ryō TanakaRWR2009Sapporo, Hokkaidō'''23'''Yoshikazu KashinoLW/RWR2009Tomakomai, Hokkaidō'''25'''Kawamoto AkihitoLWR2011Nagoya, Aichi'''28'''Takuro YamashitaLWR2011Kushiro, Hokkaidō'''40'''Takuma KawaiLWL2009Eniwa, Japan'''43'''Ned LukacevicLWL2013Podgorica, Montenegro'''47'''Kota ShinoharaCR2012Kushiro, Japan
Leaders ===Team captains===*Yasuhiro Ouchi 2009-2010*Go Tanaka 2010–Present===Head coaches===*Chris Wakabayashi 2009–2014*JP MacCallum 2014–15*Chris Wakabayashi 2015–Present
Honors *'''Asia League'''**''Winners (3)'': *2010-11 (shared with Anyang Halla)*2012–13*2014–15*'''All Japan Championship:'''**''Winners (1)'':*2018
Past import players * Jon Smyth 2009–10, FW* Steve Munn 2009–10, D* Scott Champagne　2010–11, FW* Bruce Mulherin 2009–11, FW* Cole Jarrett 2010–11, D* Brad Farynuk 2009–11, D* Aaron MacKenzie 2011–12, D* Paul Albers 2011–12, D* Troy Riddle 2011–12, C* David Wrigley 2012–13, FW* Justin Fletcher 2012–13, D
References * "Tohoku Free Blades seek improvement in second" prohockeynews.com Sep 9, 2010
External links * Official website