| New England Intercollegiate Hockey League | |
| Founded: | 1936 |
| Folded: | 1954 |
| Teams: | 8 to 11 |
| Sports: | Ice hockey |
| Region: | Northeastern United States |
The New England Intercollegiate Hockey League is a defunct NCAA Division I ice hockey-only conference. The league was an early attempt by second-tier programs to form a conference and stabilize their schedules during the Great Depression. The champion of the league received the Donald Sands Memorial Trophy.[1]
While the upper echelon of college hockey teams had been creating formal leagues for decades, many of the 'lesser' schools were frozen out of these conferences. In the mid-30's, several teams in New England decided to band together and form their own aggregation, the New England Intercollegiate Hockey League.[2] Originally, The league was made up by eight members, however, there were few requirements with regards to participation. All games between league members were counted in the standings, however, teams were not required to play against all of their conference opponents. This loose policy led to an unbalanced schedule and the teams with the superior records not necessarily being the best.
The league continued unaltered until World War II forced several members to suspend operations. In 1942, Hew Hampshire, Colby and Bowdoin were replaced by Tufts and Norwich. The following year, the league was suspended due to most other programs stopping for the duration of the war. The league returned in 1946, once college hockey resumed in full. A year later, the league held its first postseason and became the first unofficial conference to hold a postseason game in over 40 years. In 1949, Boston College became the first league member to win a National Championship.
Unfortunately, despite the successes of some members, the league itself was not in a good position. Because members weren't required to play one another, the better programs could ignore the lower clubs, creating an effective class system within the conference. Additionally, upon the creation of the Tri-State League in 1950, the NEIHL was one of three conferences in the northeast and not the best of the bunch. The conference continued during the early years of the 1950s but, after Boston College didn't bother attending the conference tournament in 1952, the postseason was abandoned. In its place, BC, BU and Northeastern joined with Harvard to found the Beanpot the following year. Largely superfluous by then, the league fizzled and was formally dissolved in 1954.
While the conference's demise was unfortunate, most of the league members would eventually join to help form ECAC Hockey in 1961, a 28-team super-conference.[3] Tufts suspended its program from 1960 to 1986 while Fort Devens State closed its doors in 1949.
| Institution | Nickname | Location | Founded | Tenure | Current conference | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow Jackets | Springfield, Massachusetts | 1885 | 1948–1954 | Atlantic Hockey | ||
| Eagles | Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | 1863 | 1936–1954 | Hockey East | ||
| Terriers | Boston, Massachusetts | 1839 | 1936–1954 | Hockey East | ||
| Polar Bears | Brunswick, Maine | 1794 | 1936–1954 | NESCAC | ||
| Mules | Waterville, Maine | 1813 | 1936–1954 | NESCAC | ||
| Chiefs | Ayer, Massachusetts | 1946 | 1947–1949 | College closed | ||
| Engineers | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 1861 | 1936–1954 | Program Suspended | ||
| Panthers | Middlebury, Vermont | 1800 | 1936–1954 | NESCAC | ||
| Wildcats | Durham, New Hampshire | 1866 | 1936–1954 | Hockey East | ||
| Huskies | Boston, Massachusetts | 1898 | 1936–1954 | Hockey East | ||
| Cadets | Northfield, Vermont | 1819 | 1936–1954 | NEHC | ||
| Jumbos | Medford, Massachusetts | 1852 | 1942–1954 | NESCAC | ||
Colors = id:men value:rgb(0.5,0.9,0.5) legend:men id:line value:black id:bg value:white
PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:UNH color:men from:06/01/1936 till:06/01/1942 text:New Hampshire (1936–1942, 1946–1954) bar:BOW color:men from:06/01/1936 till:06/01/1942 text:Bowdoin (1936–1942, 1946–1955) bar:COL color:men from:06/01/1936 till:06/01/1942 text:Colby (1936–1942, 1946–1955) bar:BC color:men from:06/01/1936 till:06/01/1943 text:Boston College (1936–1943, 1946–1954) bar:BU color:men from:06/01/1936 till:06/01/1943 text:Boston University (1936–1943, 1946–1955) bar:MID color:men from:06/01/1936 till:06/01/1943 text:Middlebury (1936–1943, 1946–1955) bar:MIT color:men from:06/01/1936 till:06/01/1943 text:MIT (1936–1943, 1946–1955) bar:NOE color:men from:06/01/1936 till:06/01/1943 text:Northeastern (1936–1943, 1946–1955) bar:BC color:men from:06/01/1946 till:06/01/1954 text: bar:BU color:men from:06/01/1946 till:06/01/1954 text: bar:BOW color:men from:06/01/1946 till:06/01/1954 text: bar:UNH color:men from:06/01/1946 till:06/01/1954 text: bar:COL color:men from:06/01/1946 till:06/01/1954 text: bar:MID color:men from:06/01/1946 till:06/01/1954 text: bar:MIT color:men from:06/01/1946 till:06/01/1954 text: bar:NOE color:men from:06/01/1946 till:06/01/1954 text: bar:TUF color:men from:06/01/1942 till:06/01/1943 text:Tufts (1942–1943, 1946–1947, 1949–1954) bar:NOR color:men from:06/01/1942 till:06/01/1943 text:Norwich (1942–1943, 1946–1954) bar:NOR color:men from:06/01/1946 till:06/01/1954 text: bar:TUF color:men from:06/01/1946 till:06/01/1947 text: bar:TUF color:men from:06/01/1949 till:06/01/1954 text: bar:DSC color:men from:06/01/1947 till:06/01/1949 text:Fort Devens State (1947–1949) bar:AIC color:men from:06/01/1948 till:06/01/1954 text:American International (1949–1954)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:01/01/1936
| 5–1–1 | — | [4] | |||
| 5–1–2 | — | [5] | |||
| 6–0–0 | — | [6] | |||
| 10–0–0 | — | [7] | |||
| 8–0–0 | — | [8] | |||
| 8–0–0 | — | [9] | |||
| Northeastern | 7–2–0 | — | [10] | ||
| 11–0–1 | — | [11] | |||
| 12–1–0 | [12] | ||||
| 9–0–0 | [13] | ||||
| 8–1–0 | [14] | ||||
| 6–1–0 | [15] | ||||
| 7–2–0 | Boston University^ | [16] | |||
| 5–2–1 | — | ||||
| 6–0–0 | — |