Ismael Caro and Ife Anosike were separated from the team after a brawl that brought a game in Vermont to a premature end.

The logistical problems of the ABA led the Millrats to join the Premier Basketball League, with teams from Vermont, Quebec City, and Halifax.

The Millrats and three other teams from the PBL's Atlantic Division added 6 exhibition games apiece in pursuit of the "Champlain Cup."

Owner Jason Briggs bought a mansion in Manchester and remodeled it to contain sauna, steam rooms, a dinner table on stilts, and custom, seven-foot bunks.

[7] February's winning streak ended on March 6 with an overtime loss to Vermont in Burlington, but the Millrats clinched the Atlantic Division the next day in Quebec.

Millrats point guard Al Stewart shared post-season honors for the PBL Defensive Player of the Year.

In the Eastern Division, Rochester and Buffalo returned, but the Wilmington franchise left, reportedly over loss of nearby competitors.

However, the Maryland GreenHawks (formerly the Nighthawks) came out of dormancy, and the PBL picked up the Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry from the Continental Basketball Association; and the Capitanes de Arecibo, from the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league of Puerto Rico.

The Champlain Cup became a three-team tournament hosted by the Vermont Frost Heaves from December 27–29 against the Millrats and the Québec Kebs.

[12] Admission to the SNHU Fieldhouse remained at $10 ($90 for a ten-game season ticket), but the bleachers on one side were replaced by $17 courtside seating.

In May 2010, a report surfaced that the Millrats ownership was looking to leave Manchester for Saint John, New Brunswick, saying that seating and concessions in the arena were the main impetus for moving.

[15] On July 27, Ian McCarthy, president of the team, announced that with overwhelming support, the Mill Rats moniker would remain the same, although a space was added between the two words.

The playoffs were notable for New York state-based referees traveling to work several away games involving the Rochester Razorsharks (which share a common owner with the PBL).

When this, an uneven number of foul calls, and a final game terminated prematurely by fan reaction marred the semifinal series in Quebec, McCarthy (who had chafed at out-of-state referees during the 2009 playoffs) wrote a protest letter to the league on behalf of his and the other Canadian teams.

The same events recurred in the final series, which concluded in the Mill Rats and Rainmen quitting the PBL moments after the playoffs ended.

[17] On May 12, 2011, the Mill Rats (along with the existing Halifax and Québec teams of the PBL) were announced as founding members of the National Basketball League of Canada.

The Riptide then hired Nelson Terroba as head coach after he had previously served as an assistant with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.