East Coast Junior Lacrosse League|
 East Coast Junior Lacrosse League Logo |
| Sport | Box lacrosse |
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| First season | 2004 |
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| No. of teams | 11 |
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| Country |  Canada |
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Most recent
champion(s) | Halifax Hurricanes (M)
Eastern Shore Breakers (F)
(2023) |
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| Most titles | Halifax Hurricanes (M) (8) |
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| Official website | ECJLL website |
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The East Coast Junior Lacrosse League is a junior-level Canadian box lacrosse league headquartered in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The ECJLL has two divisions, a men's and a women's league. The men's league has five teams in Nova Scotia and one in New Brunswick, and the women's league has four teams in Nova Scotia and one in New Brunswick. The ECJLL operates from May to July, with playoff teams competing yearly for the Garnet Knight Cup (for males) or the East Coast Cup (for females).
History
The league formed in 2004 with five inaugural teams for its first season, the Dartmouth Bandits, Halifax Northwest Rebels, Halifax Southwest Hurricanes, Moncton Mavericks, and Sackville Wolves.
A second-tier "B" league was added in 2012 with Eastern Shore Breakers, St. Margaret's Bay Storm and Truro Bearcats competing against "B" teams from Halifax Northwest, Moncton and Sackville. This league was operational for only two years with St. Margaret's ceasing operation after the 2012 season and Sackville failing to finish their 2013 season.
Only four teams competed in the league in 2014, with the Moncton Mavericks going on hiatus for the duration of the season. Halifax Northwest rebranded as the Northwest Marley Lions. The Mavericks returned in 2015 along with a new team, the Truro-based Mi'kmaq Warriors. In 2016, the Mavericks changed their name from Moncton to the New Brunswick Mavericks.
The 2018 season saw the Halifax Northwest Marley Lions withdraw from play and a dispersal draft spread their players throughout the remaining teams on a one-year release. The ECJLL operated as a five team league for the duration of the season.
Prior to the 2019 season, Halifax Northwest moved to St. Margaret's Bay and rebranded once again as the St. Margaret's Bay Rebels. Previously dispersed players were recalled and the St. Margaret's Bay Rebels began operation, restoring the league to six teams.
The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The league completed a shortened 2021 season with 5 teams, as the New Brunswick Mavericks were unable to compete due to Covid-19 restrictions. The Dartmouth Bandits won their 5th consecutive Garnet Knight Cup, their 7th title overall, making them the most successful franchise in ECJLL history.[1]
League champions have in the past moved on to represent Team Nova Scotia at the Founders Cup, the Canadian National Junior B championship. The ECJLL has produced some notable players, including players who have gone on to play in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, CUFLA and Ontario Junior A and B leagues.
ECJLL (F)
The league announced the creation of a female division, ECJLL (F) in January 2022, and in February announced the inaugural four franchises, the Eastern Shore Breakers, Halifax Hurricanes, Sackville Wolves, and Saint John Rapids)
Between May and June 2022 the 12-game inaugural season was played. The Halifax Hurricanes and Sackville Wolves tied in the standings with identical 10-2 records, but Halifax was awarded first place by virtue of the tie-breaking formula. The Sackville Wolves defeated Eastern Shore Breakers 2-0 in a best-of-three semi-finals and went on to face the Halifax Hurricanes in the finals. Halifax did not allow a goal against in their two shutout wins to take the first-ever ECJLL Female Division Championship and the East Coast Cup.[1]
In the 2023 season, Halifax Hurricanes and Sackville Wolves once again tied in the standings with identical 9-3 records.[2] Halifax was awarded first place in the tie-breaking formula. Finishing third with a 6-6 regular season record, Eastern Shore Breakers went on to defeat Sackville Wolves 2-0 in a best-of-three semi-final series. Halifax Hurricanes took game 1 of this best-of-three final series 7-1. Eastern Shore Breakers beat Halifax 11-5 in the second game. Eastern Shore Breakers took the win in the final 5-2, and were awarded the East Coast Cup. [3]
In December 2023, the ECJLL announced the creation of a fifth franchise for the female division, the Dartmouth Bandits, to begin play in 2024.[4]
The ECJLL(F) has produced some notable players, including players who have gone on to play NCAA Division I and II.
Notable Players / Alumni
The ECJLL has evolved into a highly competitive and skilled lacrosse league producing talented players and coaches who have gone on to continue their lacrosse careers at the NCAA, national and professional levels.[8] Notable players/alumni include:
- Alex Bechard (St. Lawrence University)
- Zac Carrigan (Mars Hill University)
- Brett Draper (Colorado Mammoth)
- Jack Dulong (Team Canada & Grizzlies)
- Jamie Dunbar (New England College)
- Matt Dunbar (Guilford College)
- Adam Gallop (Emmanuel College)
- Michael Gallop (Emmanuel College)
- Brian Huyghue (Limestone College & Team Canada)
- Halley James (Mars Hill University)
- Hannah Kent (Niagara University)
- Chet Koneczny (Halifax Thunderbirds, Philadelphia, Orlando, Washington, Colorado)
- Liam McGrath (Lenoir-Rhyne University & Team Canada)
- Jordan McKenna (Toronto Rock)
- Ian McShane (Victoria Shamrocks)
- Jake Mosher-McGraw (Tampa University)
- Alex Pace (Philadelphia Wings)
- Luke Parker (Briarcliffe College)
- Breton Penney (Lynchburg College)
- Luke Smeltzer (Rochester Institute of Technology)
- Jeremy Vautour (St. Lawrence University)
- Zach Watson (St. Michaels University)
