One of the I-AHL's first acts as a fully merged league was to grant an expansion franchise to the Hershey Bears, based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears transferred from the Eastern Amateur Hockey League to the I-AHL's West Division.
After achieving full merger status, the I-AHL initiated by granting an expansion franchise to the Hershey Bears, who had been playing in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League and relocated to Hershey, Pennsylvania, joining the I-AHL's West Division.