Mid-Cities Junior Stars Explained

The Mid-Cities Jr. Stars are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at Children’s Health StarCenter in Euless, Texas.

History

Established in 2013 as the Dallas Jr. Stars, the club entered the league to form a South Division along with the Topeka Capitals and Sugar Land Imperials. After a second place finish in their inaugural regular season, the Jr. Stars (16–22–2) went on a playoff run that ended in the Silver Cup Finals. A first round series sweep against third place Sugar Land Imperials earned a spot in the division finals against Topeka Capitals. The Stars eliminated Topeka,[1] who finished the regular season 33 points ahead of Dallas, to advance into the 2014 NA3HL Silver Cup Finals. Dallas lost all three round robin games to close their first season.

In the summer of 2015, the team announced an affiliation agreement with the Coulee Region Chill of the North American Hockey League. Shortly after the affiliation, the team was purchased by KWM Kids, Inc. led by Michelle Bryant of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and owner of the Chill.[2] [3] As part of the new purchase the team became the Euless Jr. Stars.

In 2017, the team was once again sold. The new owners were Brass Roots Hockey, LLC. led by Brad Allen who announced a new head coach in Tom Train and hired Tony Curtale as an advisor.[4] The team was then re-branded as the Mid-Cities Jr. Stars for the 2017–18 season.

Season-by-season records

Season GP W L OTL Pts GF GA PIM Regular Season Finish Playoffs
2013–14 40 16 22 2 34 137 167 1052 2nd of 3, South Div.
15th of 21, NA3HL
Won Division Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Sugar Land Imperials
Won Division Finals, 2–1 vs. Topeka Capitals
Eliminated in Silver Cup Round Robin
(L, 1–7 vs. North Iowa Bulls; L, 2–5 vs. Flint Jr. Generals; L, 1–8 vs. St. Louis Jr. Blues)
2014–15 47 10 33 4 24 109 221 1091 5th of 6, South Div.
27th of 31, NA3HL
did not qualify
2015–16 47 9 36 2 20 106 279 806 6th of 6, South Div.
31st of 34, NA3HL
did not qualify
2016–17 47 23 20 4 50 195 191 1136 3rd of 6, South Div.
24th of 48, NA3HL
Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Atlanta Capitals
2017–18 47 30 16 1 61 192 117 1405 3rd of 6, South Div.
17th of 42, NA3HL
Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Atlanta Capitals
Lost Div. Finals, 0–2 vs. Texas Jr. Brahmas
2018–19 47 21 24 2 44 188 154 876 4th of 5, South Div.
24th of 36, NA3HL
Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Texas Jr. Brahmas
2019–20 47 19 25 3 41 160 202 682 4th of 5, South Div.
21st of 34, NA3HL
Playoffs cancelled
2020–21 40 5 35 0 10 54 268 719 7th of 7, South Div.
31st of 31, NA3HL
did not qualify
2021–22 47 10 37 0 20 124 307 1210 7th of 8, South Div.
30th of 34, NA3HL
did not qualify
2022–23 47 2 44 1 5 78 350 1451 8th of 8, South Div.
34th of 34, NA3HL
did not qualify

Alumni

The Jr. Stars have had a number of alumni move on to collegiate programs, higher levels of junior ice hockey in the United States and Canada.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dallas Jr. Stars Win Division Championship. 23 March 2014. Junior Hockey News.
  2. Web site: NA3HL’s Jr. Stars purchased by Chill, Freeze ownership. 4 August 2015. Junior Hockey News.
  3. Web site: 34 in 34: Euless Jr. Stars. 8 August 2015. NA3HL.
  4. Web site: Euless Jr. Stars announce new ownership and head coach . NA3HL . May 30, 2017.