Eastern Junior Hockey League
SportIce Hockey
Founded1993
Ceased2013 – Disbanded with teams joining the USPHL and EHL
CEODan Esdale
No. of teams14
CountryUnited States
Last
champion(s)		New Jersey Hitmen
Most titlesNew Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (7x)

The Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey league. Founded in 1993 by Dan Esdale,[1][2] the EJHL had fourteen teams from across the Northeastern United States. The EJHL champion then competed for the National Championship against the champions of the other Tier III leagues and a host city.[3] The New Jersey Hitmen were the final EJHL Champions after the 2012–13 season.[4]

History

The league was formed in 1993 with the NECDL Classics, the Rhode Island Sharks, the Tyngsborough Huskies, the Matt O'Neil Lightning, the Granite State Stars and the Springfield Olympics. The following year the Niagara Scenics joined the league from the North American Hockey League. The Scenics later left for the Metro Junior A Hockey League in Ontario. In the subsequent years, the league has added the Bridgewater Bandits (1996); Valley Jr. Warriors (1996); NY Apple Core (1997); Capital District (1999); Bay State Breakers (1999); Junior Bruins (1999); Green Mountain Glades (2000); NJ Hitmen (2004) and the Syracuse Stars (2005 and later moved to Rochester in 2010) who joined from the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. The league has quickly been gaining prestige across the United States as teams such as the Hitmen and Monarchs compete with other top junior teams.

However, during the 2012–13 season, EJHL members the Boston Junior Bruins, Islanders Hockey Club (formerly Middlesex Islanders), New Jersey Hitmen, and the South Shore Kings announced they were forming a new league called the United States Premier Hockey League. They would eventually be followed by the Bay State Breakers and the Portland Jr. Pirates from the EJHL while adding other teams to make up the Premier Division of the USPHL.[5] The EJHL would disband when the Boston Bandits, Connecticut Oilers, New Hampshire Junior Monarchs, New York Apple Core, Philadelphia Revolution, and the Valley Jr. Warriors joined the Atlantic Junior Hockey League which would rename itself to the Eastern Hockey League.

Teams

Teams that played in the final 2012–13 season.

Northern Division
Team Location
Boston Bandits Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Boston Jr. Bruins Marlborough, Massachusetts
Middlesex Islanders Tyngsborough, Massachusetts
New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs Hooksett, New Hampshire
Portland Jr. Pirates Saco, Maine
Rochester Stars Rochester, New York
Valley Jr. Warriors Haverhill, Massachusetts
Southern Division
Team Location
Bay State Breakers Rockland, Massachusetts
Connecticut Oilers Norwalk, Connecticut
New Jersey Hitmen Wayne, New Jersey
New York Apple Core Long Beach, New York
Philadelphia Revolution Warwick Township, Pennsylvania
South Shore Kings Foxborough, Massachusetts
Springfield Pics West Springfield, Massachusetts

Champions

The winning team in the EJHL was awarded the Gary Dineen Cup,[6] named for Gary Dineen, one of the founders of the New England Junior Hockey League (1973–1989, an indirect predecessor of the EJHL), and of the EJHL New England Junior Falcons.[7][8][9]

source:[4]

Timeline of teams

References

  1. ^ Quincy Patriot Ledger, Dec. 18, 2004, "College Boards: Top hockey players .... Eastern Junior Hockey League"[1][permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Official Game Pucks, EJHL Puck "1993-Present"
  3. ^ USA Hockey Junior Nationals Web Page Archived January 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b "Juniors Hockey News".
  5. ^ "Premier League could reshape juniors landscape". New England Hockey Journal. April 5, 2013.
  6. ^ March 2007 EJHL News article "Mello, Thompson Fuel Monarchs to Second Straight Title" [2]
  7. ^ Sports Reference.com Archived 2009-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "New England Junior Falcons web site". Archived from the original on 2009-03-09. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  9. ^ "AHL Obituary for Gary Dineen". Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-13.

External links

Junior ice hockey leagues in North America
Categories