The UVHL Mustangs were born in 2023, emerging from the wreckage of the COVID era when the league needed fresh blood, new energy and, ideally, a few players who didn't make noises when they bent over to tie their skates.

Enter the Mustangs.

While the UVHL's legacy franchises were busy discussing hip replacements, mortgage rates and whether Advil counts as a pregame meal, the Mustangs arrived young, fast and blissfully unaware of the terrible life decisions that awaited them.

The franchise was originally handed to Will Mudge, who took on the unenviable task of turning a collection of players into an actual hockey team.

And for three years, Mudge built the herd.

There were growing pains. There were flashes of brilliance. There were nights when the Mustangs looked like they might be the future of the UVHL.

There were also nights when they looked like eleven guys who had met in the parking lot 25 minutes earlier.

Expansion hockey.

Last season may have been the clearest sign yet that the Mustangs are growing up.

They became a legitimate pain in the ass.

Colin Farr established himself as one of the league's premier goaltenders, including a ridiculous 32-save shutout of the Whalers, temporarily proving that even the league's best offense can be defeated by one angry man wearing oversized pillows.

And that's really become the Mustangs' identity.

They're fast.

They're dangerous.

They're capable of beating absolutely anyone.

They're also capable of making you wonder whether they've ever practiced a breakout.

Now comes the biggest change in the young franchise's history.

After guiding the Mustangs through their formative years, Will Mudge has handed over the reins.

Beginning this season, the herd belongs to:

Ethan “Scribbles” Scribner.

Nobody knows exactly what Scribbles has planned.

Possibly including Scribbles.

But a new era of Mustangs hockey has officially begun.

Scribner inherits a franchise without decades of UVHL emotional damage. There are no ancient curses. No 2009 message-board controversies. No former captains wandering around the rink telling everyone how much better the league was before the website had standings.

Yet.

Give them time.

The Mustangs are still writing their history.

And that's what makes them dangerous.

The Whalers have their redemption story. The Gamblers have The Casino. The Lumberjacks have eight skaters and a group text full of unanswered messages.

The Mustangs?

They've got youth, speed, Colin Farr and a man named Scribbles holding the clipboard.

What could possibly go wrong?

Welcome to the Scribbles Era.

“Will gave me the keys.”

“To the team?”

“I assume so. There's also a Subaru in the parking lot that won't start.”

— Ethan Scribner, probably