The Eastern Hockey League is a Boston, Massachusetts based Tier III junior hockey league. The league was announced in the following twitter release on June 6, 2013: "The Atlantic Junior Hockey League has added six new members and is now the Eastern Hockey League!" The league is made up of teams from the former Atlantic Junior Hockey League and the Eastern Junior Hockey League.
The six teams joining from the EJHL were the Boston Bandits (based in Bridgewater, MA), the Connecticut Oilers (based in Norwalk, Connecticut, the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (based in Hooksett, NH), New York Apple Core (based in Brewster, NY), Philadelphia Revolution (based in Warwick Township, PA), and the Valley Jr. Warriors (based in Haverhill, MA). The Long Island Royals and Metro Fighting Moose merged during the spring of 2017 as the Long Island Royals.
The league's Director of Operations is Mark Kumpel. The chairman of the Board of Governors Executive Committee is Bill Flanagan of the Northern Cyclones.
Teams[]
Eastern Hockey League[]
New England Division[]
Mid-Atlantic Division[]
Eastern Hockey League Premier[]
North Conference[]
South Conference[]
Member Teams[]
Developmental League Team Timeline[]
Expansion/relocation/withdrawals[]
- The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights and New Jersey Junior Titans organizations discontinued their EHL teams when the organizations joined the North American Hockey League in 2015
- The Washington Jr. Nationals organization was sold and moved to Burlington, Vermont to become the Vermont Lumberjacks for the 2014-15 season
- Laconia Leafs organization moves to Waterville Valley, New Hampshire and are renamed the New England Wolves for the 2014-15 season
- The Bedford, Massachusetts based East Coast Wizards are added as an expansion franchise for the 2014-15 season
- The Connecticut Nighthawks are awarded as an expansion team for the 2015-16 seasoon
- An 18th team was added for the showcase events for the 2015-16 season to balance off the schedule: the New England Wolves (which is a team of the American Hockey Institute based in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire).
- On June 16th, 2016 the New England Wolves announced they had moved their higher level team back to Laconia, New Hampshire after having played out of Waterville Valley, New Hampshire for the past five seasons. The elite division team was already based out of Waterville Valley.
- The New York Bobcats were removed from the league listing in mid-July of 2016. The team's head coach was named the coach of the New Jersey Junior Titans of the North American Hockey League and the team was unable to name a new head coach in a reasonable amount of time to prepare for the season and the team had attempted to relocate to the Jr. Titans arena in Middletown, New Jersey but was unable to work out a workable arrangement. The team announced that they were sitting out the 2016-17 season and would be planning on returning for the 2017-18 season.
- On December 22, 2016 the USPHL announced that the Boston Bandits, Connecticut Nighthawks, Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, New Jersey Rockets, and Northern Cyclones organizations are leaving the Eastern Hockey League and joining the United States Premier Hockey League for the 2017-18 season. This moved would bring six premier level and five elite junior teams. The 16U, 18U and youth porgrams of these organizations would also be involved in this move. The Boston Bandits, New Jersey Rockets, and Northern Cyclones would be also be part of the National Collegiate Development Conference when it commences play for the 2017-18 season.
- USA Hockey approved the addition of the New Hampshire Avalanche as an expansion franchise for the 2017-18 season. The organization has a history of running teams from mite to U-18. The team is apparently a replacement for the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs who announced they were joining the USPHL for the 2017-18 season. The team will be based out of the Ice Den Arena in Hooksett, NH.
- In February of 2017, the league announced that they would expand to include six of the seven members of the North American 3 Atlantic Hockey League ( the Central Penn Panthers, Jersey Wildcats, Long Island Royals, Metro Fighting Moose, New Jersey Renegades, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. The only NA3AHL team not included was the Exton Bulls, which dropped its junior team to focus on its' youth programs.
- On March 16, 2017 The Superior Roughriders of the Western States Hockey League announced they were changing thier affiliate program in Connecticut to be named the Connecticut RoughRiders which will be based out of the SoNo Ice House in Norwalk, Connecticut. The balance of the teams based out of the facility will also take the RoughRiders name. The existing Connecticut Oilers team will move to the Louis Astorino Arena in Hamden, Connecticut.
- Around the same time two additional teams were announced as the Hyannis, Massachusetts based Total Athletics Seahawks and the Middletown based New Jersey 87's were announced as expansion teams. The New York Bobcats were also announced as planning on returning to the league after withdrawing for the 2016-17 season when their coach was hired by the North American Hockey League's New Jersey Junior Titans and there was not enough time to get a replacement coach hired and have them be able to adequately prepare for the season.
Formation of EHL Elite Division[]
The league announced the formation of the EHL Elite Division in December 2014 with a start up of league play for the 2015-16 season.The division will be made up of the elite level teams of the Boston Bandits, Boston Jr Rangers, New England Wolves, New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, Northern Cyclones, Valley Jr. Warriors, Vermont Lumberjacks, and Walpole Express.
Reorganization of Elite Division for 2016-17[]
The league announced on March 1, 2016 that the Elite Division was being reorganized as the 19U Elite Division. The Elite Division will focus upon development of players for higher levels of play. As part of this reorganization the league is adding seven teams from the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League (New Jersey Rockets, New York Applecore, Brewster Bulldogs, Connecticut Nighthawks, Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, and Philadelphia Revolution, and the Lehigh Valley Jr. Rebels. As a result of this reorganization the membership of the MJHL was decimated. The MJHL was absorbed by the North American Hockey League and the league was reorganized as the North American 3 Atlantic Hockey League in a similar manner to what the former Northern States Junior Hockey League had done when they became the North American 3 Eastern Hockey League prior to joining the North American 3 Hockey League's Eastern Division for the 2016-17 season.
League Reorganization for 2017-18[]
On December 22, 2016 the United States Premier Hockey League announced that the league would be adding six organizations from the EHL. The Boston Bandits, Connecticut Nighthawks, Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, New Jersey Rockets, and Northern Cyclones would be leaving the league as part of that announcement.
On February 17, 2017 the league issued a release and announced the addition of eleven new members for the 2017-18 season. USA Hockey had previously approved the addition of the New Hampshire Avalanche to the league. Six of the seven current members of the North American 3 Atlantic Hockey League will join the Elite Division (Central Penn Panthers, Jersey Wildcats, Long Island Royals, Metro Fighting Moose, New Jersey Renegades, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights). As part of the announcement the league announced the return of the New York Bobcats from hiatus. Three additional teams were announced as part of the release, the Total Athletics Seahawks (Hyannis, Massachusetts) (Premier), Connecticut Hawks (unspecified division but appear to disappear by late March, possibly being taken over by the Connecticut RoughRiders team as an organization named the CT Ice Hawks youth program was based out of the same arena (SoNo Ice House) prior to the RoughRiders being announced), and New Jersey 87's (Middletown, New Jersey).
On February 23rd, the Long Island Royals announced they would be joining with the New York Bobcats (who had been on leave in the EHL for 2016-17 season) for the 2017-18 season as the Bobcats Elite Division affiliate As of early May this appears to have fallen through as neither organization was listed on the team listing.
On March 16, 2017 the Superior Roughriders of the Western States Hockey League announced they were changing their affiliate program in Connecticut to be named the Connecticut RoughRiders which will be based out of the SoNo Ice House in Norwalk, Connecticut. The balance of the teams based out of the facility will also take the RoughRiders name. The existing Connecticut Oilers team will move to the Louis Astorino Arena in Hamden, Connecticut.
The league issued the alignment by divisions for 2017-18 on March 23, 2017. The following additions were made the Connecticut Oilers will be adding a Elite Division team (later changed), the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights will have teams in both divisions, and the East Coast Wizards and New York Applecore (later changed to the former Brewster Bulldogs who played out of the same arena being renamed with the Applecore moniker) are dropping their Elite Division teams.
On May 5, 2017 the league announced that the higher level league would be known as "Eastern Hockey League" and that the lower level league would be known as the "Eastern Hockey League Premier". By the time of this announcement the Brewster Bulldogs Premier team were now known as part of the New York Applecore organization, the Connecticut Oilers and Lehigh Valley Jr. Rebels were both gone from the Premier league.
2018-19 changes[]
At the end of the 2017-18 the EHL franchises affiliated with the Connecticut Oilers organization were sold and then relocated to the Newington Arena in Newington, Connecticut.
The New York Bobcats Royals are dropped from the league listing.
On April 12, 2018 the newly established Maryland Black Bears of the North American Hockey League established an affiliated team to be based out of their home arena, the Piney Orchard Ice Arena in Odenton, Maryland. The EHL team would be named Team Maryland on May 8, 2018.
The North Carolina Golden Bears were announced as a new member, they will be based out of the Garner Ice House in Garner, North Carolina The Lehigh Valley Jr. Rebels and New Jersey 87's who already had teams playing in the lower level 19U and Premier Divisions respectively add second teams to play in the higher level league The Charleston Mariners were originally announced as an expansion team for the 2018-19 season. On May 16, 2018 the team had announced on its website that it would participate at the Junior A level in 2019-20 and that the timing is not appropriate for a 2018-19 start date.
In late May, 2018 the league announced the 2019 Frozen Finals will return to Schneider Arena on the campus of Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island for the second straight season It will be held March 21-24, 2019.
2019-20 Changes[]
On April 23, 2019 the league announced the leagues teams for the 2019-20 season. Among the changes:[1]
- The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights would be moving to the North American 3 Hockey League.[2]
- The Lehigh Valley Jr. Rebels are not returning after being removed from the league during the 2018-19 season for using an overaged player.
- The Exeter, New Hampshire based Seacoast Spartans will be added to the higher level league, The organization had previously operated youth teams at several different levels. The team will be based out of the Rinks at Exeter.
- The Worcester Jr. Railers will be added to both of the leagues. The team swill be based out of the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center.
- The New Hampshire Avalanche and New York Applecore are adding teams the Premier Division. Both organizations have already operated teams in the main league.
- The Staten Island based New York Bridgemen are being added to the Premier Division. The team appears to be based out of the Staten Island Skating Pavilion.
Championships[]
AJHL/EHL-Premier/EHL[]
| Season | Regular season | Playoff | National Tournament result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | Hartford Jr. Wolfpack | Washington Jr. Nationals | |
| 2004–05 | Boston Bulldogs | Boston Bulldogs | |
| 2005–06 | New York Bobcats | New York Bobcats | |
| 2006–07 | New York Bobcats | New York Bobcats | New York Bobcats lost Semifinal game vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL) Northern Cyclones lost Semifinal game vs. Bay State Breakers (EJHL)[3] |
| 2007–08 | New Jersey Rockets Portland Jr. Pirates |
Northern Cyclones | Northern Cyclones lost Semifinal game vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL) New Jersey Rockets eliminated in Round Robin[4] |
| 2008–09 | Northern Cyclones | Northern Cyclones | Northern Cyclones and New York Bobcats eliminated in Round Robin[5] |
| 2009–10 | Northern Cyclones | Walpole Express | Walpole Express and New York Bobcats eliminated in Round Robin[6] |
| 2010–11 | Walpole Express | Walpole Express | Walpole Express lost Semifinal game vs. Helena Bighorns (NorPac) Northern Cyclones eliminated in Round Robin[7] |
| 2011–12 | Walpole Express | Walpole Express | No representatives sent to nationals[8] |
| 2012–13 | Northern Cyclones | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights | No representatives sent to nationals[9] |
| 2013–14 | New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs | Northern Cyclones | Northern Cyclones lost Semifinal game vs. North Iowa Bulls (NA3HL) New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs eliminated in Round Robin[10] |
| 2014–15 | Philadelphia Little Flyers | Vacant Connecticut Oilers wins vacated |
Northern Cyclones lost Div. 1 Championship game vs. North Iowa Bulls (NA3HL)[11] |
| 2015–16 | Philadelphia Little Flyers | New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs | Tier III National Tournament not held |
| 2016–17 | Philadelphia Little Flyers | Philadelphia Junior Flyers | |
| 2017–18 | Philadelphia Revolution | New Hampshire Avalanche | |
| 2018-19 | Philadelphia Little Flyers | New Hampshire Avalanche | |
| 2019-20 | Boston Jr. Rangers | Playoffs cancelled | N/A |
| 2020-21 | New Jersey 87's | Boston Jr. Rangers | N/A |
| 2021-22 | New Jersey 87's | Walpole Express | N/A |
| 2021-22 | New Hampshire Avalanche | Boston Jr. Rangers | N/A |
| 2022-23 | New Hampshire Avalanche | Boston Jr. Rangers | |
| 2023-24 | Railers Jr. Hockey Club | Railers Jr. Hockey Club | N/A |
EHL-19U Elite/EHL Premier[]
| Season | Regular season | Playoff | National Tournament result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs | Boston Jr. Rangers | Tier III National Tournament not held |
| 2016–17 | Vermont Lumberjacks | Philadelphia Revolution | |
| 2017-18 | Boston Jr. Rangers | Boston Jr. Rangers | |
| 2018-19 | Boston Jr. Rangers | New England Wolves | |
| 2019-20 | Boston Jr. Rangers | Playoffs Cancelled | |
| 2020-21 | New Hampshire Avalanche | New Jersey 87's | |
| 2021-22 | New Hampshire Avalanche | Boston Jr. Rangers | |
| 2022-23 | Boston Jr. Rangers | New Jersey 87's | |
| 2023-24 | Railers Jr. Hockey Club | Railers Jr. Hockey Club |
Seasons[]
- 2003-04 AtlJHL Season
- 2004-05 AtlJHL Season
- 2005-06 AtlJHL Season
- 2006-07 AtlJHL Season
- 2007-08 AtlJHL Season
- 2008-09 AtlJHL Season
- 2009-10 AtlJHL Season
- 2010-11 AtlJHL Season
- 2011-12 AtlJHL Season
- 2012-13 AtlJHL Season
- 2013-14 EHL Season
- 2014-15 EHL Season
- 2015-16 EHL Season
- 2016-17 EHL Season
- 2017-18 EHL Season
- 2017-18 EHLP Season
- 2018-19 EHL Season
- 2018-19 EHLP Season
- 2019-20 EHL Season
- 2019-20 EHLP Season
- 2020-21 EHL season
- 2020-21 EHLP season
- 2021-22 EHL Season
- 2021-22 EHLP Season
- 2022-23 EHL season
- 2022-23 EHLP season
- 2023-24 EHL season
- 2023-24 EHLP season
References[]
- ↑ https://www.easternhockeyleague.org/news_article/show/1014424
- ↑ http://www.na3hl.com/news/story.cfm?id=26800
- ↑ 2007 Tier III Junior A Nationals. Pointstreak. Retrieved on August 21, 2015.
- ↑ 2008 Tier III Junior A Nationals. Pointstreak. Retrieved on August 21, 2015.
- ↑ 2009 Tier III Junior A Nationals. Pointstreak. Retrieved on August 21, 2015.
- ↑ 2010 Tier III Junior A Nationals. Pointstreak. Retrieved on August 21, 2015.
- ↑ 2011 Tier III Junior A Nationals. Pointstreak. Retrieved on August 21, 2015.
- ↑ 2012 Tier III Nat. Championships. USA Hockey. Retrieved on August 19, 2015.
- ↑ 2013 Tier III Nat. Championships. USA Hockey. Retrieved on August 18, 2015.
- ↑ 2014 Tier III Nat. Championships. USA Hockey. Retrieved on August 18, 2015.
- ↑ 2015 Tier III Junior Nat. Championships. USA Hockey. Retrieved on September 17, 2015.