| Eastern Hockey League | |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Founded: | 2003 |
| Teams: | 18 — EHL 16 — EHL Premier |
| Champion: | EHL — Boston Jr. Rangers EHLP — New Jersey 87's |
| Champ Season: | 2022–23 |
| Most Successful Club: | 3 (Northern Cyclones), (Walpole Express) |
| Country: | United States |
| Website: | EHL |
The Eastern Hockey League (EHL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league with teams in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. The EHL was officially announced on June 6, 2013, after the Atlantic Junior Hockey League (AtJHL)[1] [2] welcomed six new members from the old Eastern Junior Hockey League and the AtJHL re-branded itself under the EHL banner
The league prepares high school and college aged players for possible advancement to college and professional hockey.
The Atlantic Junior Hockey League was part of the Atlantic Metropolitan Hockey League organization and was formed in 2003 with a stated goal to "meet the needs of the junior hockey community and the players it serves in the Eastern United States". The AtJHL played its first season in 2003–04 with six teams that had previously played in the Junior B Metropolitan Junior Hockey League. On May 30, 2012 the AtJHL announced that after nine years of being a part of the Atlantic Metropolitan Hockey League, the 12 AtJHL ownership groups successfully became a stand-alone entity. After the split, the AtJHL was managed and governed solely by the league owners.
In 2013, Tier III junior hockey leagues underwent a large reorganization that led to the dissolution of the Eastern Junior Hockey League and six of their former members joining the AtJHL. Prior to the 2013–14 season, the AtJHL re-branded to become the Eastern Hockey League (EHL).[3] The six members who came from the EJHL were the Boston Bandits, Connecticut Oilers, New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, New York Apple Core, Philadelphia Revolution, and the Valley Jr. Warriors.
In December 2014, the EHL announced the Connecticut Nighthawks as an expansion franchise to start in the 2015–16. They also announced the formation of the EHL-Elite Division and that eight teams would participate in the first season composed of the former Junior B teams for EHL organizations. The formation of the Elite Division led to the previous Junior A members to be placed in the EHL-Premier Division. In May 2015, the North American Hockey League, a Tier II league, announced that the New Jersey Junior Titans and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights had been approved to elevate their organizations. After their promotion, the two EHL franchises went dormant.[4]
In March 2016, the EHL announced that it was changing the name of the Elite Division to 19U Elite Division for the 2016–17 season and doubling in size by adding eight more teams, mostly the prospect teams from the Premier Division's South Conference teams.[5] However, the 19U Elite Connecticut Nighthawks team were dropped from the schedule prior to their first season.
In December 2016, it was announced that six organizations (the Boston Bandits, Connecticut Nighthawks, Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, New Jersey Rockets, and the Northern Cyclones) would be leaving the EHL for the 2017–18 season for the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL).[6] The Bandits, Rockets, and Cyclones had already been announced as adding free-to-play teams in the USPHL's National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) for the 2017–18 season.[7] All six organizations will add their Premier and Elite teams to the USPHL's Premier and Elite Divisions.
In February 2017, the EHL announced that they would expand[8] to make up for the teams lost to the NCDC. The first team announced was New Hampshire Avalanche, an organization that previously only had youth teams. Next, it was announced the league would be adding the teams from the North American 3 Atlantic Hockey League (the former Metropolitan Junior Hockey League). The six teams from the NA3AHL were the Central Penn Panthers, Jersey Wildcats, Long Island Royals, Metro Fighting Moose (who left for the USHPL after the announcement), New Jersey Renegades, and the return of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. The league also listed the New Jersey 87's and Cape Cod-based Total Athletics. The one-year dormant New York Bobcats also returned as the Bobcats Royals as part of an organizational merger with the Long Island Jr. Royals of the NA3AHL. The Connecticut Oilers relocated from Norwalk to Hamden following the announcement that the ownership of the USHL's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders added a team called the Connecticut RoughRiders that will play out of the Oilers' former arena in Norwalk.[9]
In March 2017, the EHL announced their new divisional structure for the 2017–18 season with 16 teams in the Premier and 17 in the Elite,[10] although the Elite would decrease to 13 after the departures of the Connecticut Oilers Elite team, the Lehigh Valley Jr. Rebels, Long Island Royals, and Metro Moose. In May 2017, the league announced that they would reorganize their two-tier league with the top tier (formerly called the Premier) being only called the Eastern Hockey League and the lower tier being called the Eastern Hockey League Premier Division. The naming conventions were changed to put the emphasis on the top-level league for college development.[11]
In 2022, the EHL announced it would be self-governed and withdrew from USA Hockey sanctioning.[12]
| Eastern Hockey League | ||||||
| Division | Team | Arena | Location | Joined | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | Boston Dukes | Breakaway Ice Center | 2018 | |||
| Merrill Fay Arena | 2005 | |||||
| New Hampshire Avalanche | Ice Den Arena | 2017 | ||||
| Valley Jr. Warriors | Haverhill Valley Forum | 2013 | ||||
| Leddy Park Arena | 2003 | |||||
| East | ||||||
| Boston Junior Eagles | - | 2024 | ||||
| Boston Junior Terriers | Canton Sportsplex | 1982 | ||||
| Bridgewater Bandits | Bridgewater Ice Arena | Bridgewater, Massachusetts | 2023 | |||
| East Coast Wizards | Edge Sports Center | Bedford, Massachusetts | 2014 | |||
| Rodman Arena | 2005 | |||||
| Seahawks Hockey Club | Tony Kent Arena | 2017 | ||||
| Central | International Skating Center | 2013 | ||||
| Connecticut RoughRiders | SoNo Icehouse | 2017 | ||||
| HC Rhode Island | Thayer Arena | 2022 | ||||
| Providence HC | Dennis M Lynch Arena | 2023 | ||||
| South | ||||||
| Flemington Ice Arena | 2020 | |||||
| New Jersey 87's | Jersey Shore Arena | 2018 | ||||
| Brewster Ice Arena | 2013 | |||||
| Pennsylvania Huntsmen | Power Play Rinks | 2023 | ||||
| 2003 | ||||||
| Philadelphia Hockey Club | Hollydell Ice Arena | 2022 | ||||
| EHL Premier | ||||
| Division | Team | Arena | Location | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | 2022 | |||
| Merrill Fay Arena | 2015 | |||
| New Hampshire Avalanche | Ice Den Arena | 2019 | ||
| Leddy Park Arena | 2015 | |||
| East | Bridgewater Bandits | Bridgewater Ice Arena | Bridgewater, Massachusetts | 2023 |
| Express Hockey Club | Rodman Arena | Walpole, Massachusetts | 2015 | |
| Seahawks Hockey Club | Tony Kent Arena | 2021 | ||
| Haverhill Valley Forum | 2015 | |||
| Central | Newington Arena | 2018 | ||
| Providence HC | Dennis M Lynch Arena | 2024 | ||
| South | New Jersey 87's | Jersey Shore Arena | 2017 | |
| Flemington Ice Arena | 2020 | |||
| New Jersey Renegades | Aspen Ice Arena | Randolph, New Jersey | 2017 | |
| Pennsylvania Huntsmen | Power Play Rinks | 2022 | ||
| 2017 | ||||
| Union Thunder | Union Sports Arena | 2022 | ||
| Season | Regular season | Playoff | National Tournament result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AtJHL | ||||
| 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)[15] | |
| 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[16] | |
| 2008–09 | Northern Cyclones | Northern Cyclones | Northern Cyclones and New York Bobcats eliminated in Round Robin[17] | |
| 2009–10 | Northern Cyclones | Walpole Express | Walpole Express and New York Bobcats eliminated in Round Robin[18] | |
| 2010–11 | Walpole Express | Walpole Express | Walpole Express lost Semifinal game vs. Helena Bighorns (NorPac) Northern Cyclones eliminated in Round Robin[19] | |
| 2011–12 | Walpole Express | Walpole Express | No representatives sent to nationals[20] | |
| 2012–13 | Northern Cyclones | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights | No representatives sent to nationals[21] | |
| EHL Premier | ||||
| 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[22] | |
| 2014–15 | Philadelphia Little Flyers | vacant | Northern Cyclones lost Div. 1 Championship game vs. North Iowa Bulls (NA3HL)[23] | |
| 2015–16 | Philadelphia Little Flyers | New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs | Tier III National Tournament not held | |
| 2016–17 | Philadelphia Little Flyers | Philadelphia Junior Flyers | ||
| EHL | ||||
| 2017–18 | Philadelphia Revolution | New Hampshire Avalanche | Tier III National Tournament not held | |
| 2018–19 | Philadelphia Little Flyers | New Hampshire Avalanche | ||
| 2019–20 | Boston Junior Rangers | Postseason cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2020–21 | New Jersey 87's[24] | Boston Junior Rangers | ||
| 2021–22 | Boston Junior Rangers | New Jersey 87's | ||
| 2022–23 | New Hampshire Avalanche | Boston Junior Rangers | No longer a member of USA Hockey | |
| 2023–24 | Railers Junior HC | Railers Junior HC | ||
| Season | Regular season | Playoff | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EHL-19U Elite | |||
| 2015–16 | New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs | Boston Jr. Rangers | |
| 2016–17 | Vermont Lumberjacks | Philadelphia Revolution | |
| EHLP | |||
| 2017–18 | Boston Jr. Rangers | ||
| 2018–19 | Boston Jr. Rangers | New England Wolves | |
| 2019–20 | Boston Jr. Rangers | Postseason cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 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 Junior HC | Railers Junior HC | |
