| Connecticut Chiefs | |
 | |
| City: | Newington, Connecticut |
|---|---|
| League: | Eastern Hockey League |
| Division: | EHL and EHL Premier |
| Founded: | 1996 |
| Home Arena: | Newington Arena |
| Colors: | Red, Black, Yellow, tan |
| Head Coach: | Kevin Cunningham (EHL) & Ben Adams (EHLP) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1996–2012: | Capital District Selects |
| 2012–2018: | Connecticut Oilers |
| 2018-2020, 2021-present: | Connecticut Chiefs |
| 2020-21: | Western Mass Chiefs |
| Championships | |
| Playoff Championships: | 2014–15 (vacated) |
The Connecticut Chiefs is a Junior Tier III ice hockey team from Norwalk, Connecticut playing in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL).
History[]
Troy, New York[]
The franchise was initially founded as the Capital District Selects playing out of Troy, New York. After several seasons as an independent midget team, the CD Selects joined the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) in 1998 as a part-time member, joining full-time in 1999. The team was owned and coached by former RPI coach Jim Salfi. Since the 2002–03 season, the Selects played in the Eastern Junior Hockey League's "South" Division, until the Boston Junior Shamrocks were sold and moved to Philadelphia which moved the Selects to the "North" Division.
Sale and move to Norwalk, Connecticut[]
In 2012 the team was sold and relocated to Norwalk, Connecticut and renamed the Connecticut Oilers. During the summer of 2013 there was a strong effort to re-organize Tier III junior hockey in north eastern United States resulting in the Oilers moving to the Atlantic Junior Hockey League. On June 6, 2013 the AJHL became the EHL.
The Oilers would have their best season in 2014–15 and won the EHL playoffs and league championship. Winning the league championship would normally qualify the team for the 2015 USA Hockey Tier III National Championships, however due to a clerical error with a pair of the Oilers' import player's paperwork, the runner-up Northern Cyclones represented the EHL.[1] Due to these circumstances, the EHL would later void their playoff championship and claim a "vacant" playoff champion for that season.[2]
Sale and Move to Newington[]
The EHL franchises of the Connecticut Oilers were sold at the end of the 2017-18 playing season and the organization moved to Newington, Connecticut and the Newington Arena.
Due to travel and quarantine restrictions in place caused by the COVID-19 pandemic the team was forces to temporarily relocate for the 2020-21 playing season. They would be based out of the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, Massachusetts for the season.
Notable alumni[]
- Dave Evans - Clarkson University (Carolina Hurricanes 1999 Draft Pick)
- Ben Guite - University of Maine (Montreal Canadiens 1997Draft Pick)
- Jay Leach - Providence College (NHL player)
- David Leggio - Clarkson University (TPS Turku SM-liiga player)
- Nick Petrecki - Boston College (San Jose Sharks 2007 1st Round Draft Pick)
- Matthias Trattnig - University of Maine (Chicago Blackhawks 1998 Draft Pick)
- Curtis Valentine - Bowling Green University (Vancouver Canucks 1998 Draft Pick)
- Shawn Weller - Clarkson University (Ottawa Senators 2004 Draft Pick)
- Brian Robbins - UMass - Lowell
Season-by-season results[]
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OL | GF | GA | P | Results | Playoffs |
| 1999-00 | 38 | 21 | 14 | 3 | - | 171 | 133 | 45 | 4th EJHL | |
| 2000-01 | - | - | EJHL | |||||||
| 2001-02 | 38 | 19 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 157 | 138 | 43 | 6th EJHL | |
| 2002-03 | 38 | 20 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 141 | 109 | 42 | 4th EJHL South | |
| 2003-04 | 38 | 25 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 158 | 130 | 52 | 1st EJHL South | |
| 2004-05 | 51 | 20 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 173 | 202 | 47 | 4th EJHL South | |
| 2005-06 | 45 | 16 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 147 | 184 | 36 | 7th EJHL South | |
| 2006-07 | 45 | 16 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 136 | 163 | 37 | 5th EJHL South 11 of 14 League |
did not qualify |
| 2007-08 | 45 | 19 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 146 | 149 | 40 | 6th EJHL South 11 of 14 League |
did not qualify |
| 2007-08 | 45 | 19 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 146 | 149 | 40 | 6th EJHL South 11 of 14 League |
did not qualify |
| 2008-09 | 45 | 8 | 31 | 5 | 1 | 133 | 234 | 22 | 7th EJHL South 13 of 14 League |
did not qualify |
| 2009-10 | 45 | 9 | 31 | 2 | 3 | 126 | 228 | 23 | 6th EJHL North 13 of 14 League |
did not qualify |
| 2010-11 | 45 | 6 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 117 | 251 | 15 | 7th EJHL North 14 of 14 League |
did not qualify |
| 2011-12 | 45 | 1 | 39 | 5 | 103 | 283 | 8 | 7th EJHL North 14 of 14 League |
did not qualify | |
| Connecticut Oilers | ||||||||||
| 2012-13 | 45 | 12 | 28 | 5 | 120 | 179 | 29 | 6th EJHL South 12 of 14 League |
Lost First Round, (Jr. Warriors) | |
| 2013-14 | 44 | 26 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 170 | 121 | 57 | 1st EHL Central 4 of 17 League |
Lost First Round, 1-2 (Jr. Warriors) |
| 2014-15 | 44 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 183 | 103 | 64 | 1st EHL Central 4 of 19 EHL |
Won First Round, 2-0 (Rangers) Won Quarter-finals, 2-0 (Express) Won Semi-Finals, 2-0 (Little Flyers) Won League Finals, 3-2 (Cyclones) EHL CHAMPIONS* |
| 2015–16 | 41 | 28 | 11 | — | 2 | 159 | 130 | 68 | 2nd of 9, South Conf. 4th of 18, EHL-Premier |
Won First Round, 2-0 vs. New Jersey Rockets Won Second Round, 2-0 vs. Hartford Jr. Wolfpack Lost Semifinals, 0-2 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs |
| 2016–17 | 48 | 17 | 27 | - | 4 | 145 | 208 | 38 | 1st of 4 Central Division | Lost First Round, 2-0 vs. New York Applecore |
| 2017–18 (EHL) | 50 | 14 | 33 | - | 3 | 118 | 205 | 31 | 3rd Central | Lost First Round, 2-0 vs. Philadelphia Little Flyers |
| 2018–19 (EHL) | 44 | 13 | 28 | - | 3 | 137 | 198 | 29 | 5th South | Did not qualify |
| 2018–19 (EHLP) | 42 | 21 | 18 | - | 3 | 126 | 143 | 45 | 3rd North | Lost Conf. Semifinals 2g-0 (New England Wolves) |
| 2019–20 (EHL) | 46 | 14 | 28 | - | 4 | 112 | 182 | 32 | 9th New England | Did not qualify |
| 2019–20 (EHLP) | 42 | 9 | 28 | - | 5 | 90 | 204 | 23 | 7th North | Lost Preliminary Round |
| 2020-21 (EHL) | 38 | 17 | 17 | - | 4 | 124 | 138 | 38 | 3rd Central | Lost Division Semifinals |
| 2020-21 (EHLP) | 35 | 12 | 21 | - | 2 | 97 | 143 | 26 | 4th Central | Lost Play-in Round |
| 2021-22 (EHL) | 46 | 18 | 23 | - | 5 | 140 | 158 | 41 | 2nd Central | Lost Division Final |
| 2021-22 (EHLP) | 42 | 15 | 20 | - | 7 | 102 | 135 | 37 | 3rd South | Lost Division
Semifinals |
| Season | GP | W | L | OL | SL | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 EHL | 46 | 15 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 100 | 136 | 36 | 3rd Central | Lost Division Final |
| 2022-23 EHLP | 42 | 14 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 93 | 151 | 31 | 5th New England | Lost Division Qualifier |
- -The team vacated the 2015 league playoff championship as a result of the use of ineligible players due to an apparent filing error
USA Hockey Tier III Jr NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS[]
DIVISION 1 - (NA3HL) x2 teams - (EHL) - (MnJHL)
Round robin play in pool with top 2 teams advancing to final.
| Year | Round Robin | Record | Standing | SemiFinal | Gold Medal Game |
| 2015 |
Although the Oilers won the 2015 EHL Champion, the Northern Cyclones advanced to the USA Championships as the Oilers were stripped of the championship for the use of two ineligible import players from Sweden. The players were ruled ineligible due to a paperwork issue with USA Hockey. The issue was discovered by the league when they were preparing paperwork for the 2015 USA Hockey Tier III Junior National Championship for both teams during the final series. The two players in question were not allowed to play in the fifth and deciding game of the series but the issue was not able to be resolved by the start of the tournament and the Northern Cyclones were sent as the league representative. As of July 21, 2015 the league lists the 2015 playoff champions as "Vacant".
External links[]
- ↑ DAILY DISH: Eastern Hockey League's Switch-a-roo-ski - Junior Hockey News. Junior Hockey News (March 27, 2015).
- ↑ EHL History. Eastern Hockey League. Retrieved on March 2, 2016.