The Springfield Pics are an American junior ice hockey organization playing in West Springfield, Massachusetts at the Olympia Ice Center. They field two Tier III teams and a number of Youth teams.
The franchise was founded as the Springfield Olympics (or Pics for short) as charter member of the Tier III Junior A Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) in 1993. The team would relocate across the Massachusetts-Connecticut border to Enfield, Connecticut in 1995 and were renamed the New England Jr. Whalers named after the local National Hockey League team in Hartford. After the Hartford Whalers moved to Carolina in 1997, the franchise was renamed the New England Jr. Coyotes and later the Jr. Falcons after the local Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League. During this time, the organization also fielded a team in the Tier III Empire Junior B Hockey League (EmJHL) (later the Empire Junior Hockey League).
In the 2009 off-season, the Jr. Falcons EJHL and EmJHL teams merged with the Springfield Pics of the Continental Hockey Association (CHA) and the Bay State Bucs Midget team, members of the NEMHL.[1] This led the now merged Pics organization to field teams in the EJHL, EmJHL, and CHA.
In 2013, many Tier III junior hockey leagues were re-organized in the northeastern United States and the Springfield Pics became founding members of the new United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). Their former Junior A team (USA Hockey dropped Junior A and B designations in 2011) which had participated in the EJHL joined the USPHL Elite Division for the 2013–14 season. In their first year in the USPHL-Elite League the Pics finished second and then went on to win the playoffs. The playoff win propelled the team to the 2014 USA Hockey Tier III Junior Nationals where they won their pool before losing the semifinal game to the eventual National Champions, the Boston Jr. Bruins.[2] The Elite Division team was promoted to the Premier Division prior to the 2014–15 season.
Their former Junior B team from the EmJHL joined the USPHL Empire Division for the 2013–14 season. In 2015, the Empire Division became the USP3 Division.
Their second Junior B team last competed in the Eastern States Hockey League (formerly the CHA). Following the 2013 re-organization, this team was eliminated in favor of Under 18 and Under 16 teams which play in corresponding USPHL leagues.
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England Jr. Falcons | |||||||||||
| 2004–05 | 50 | 18 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 45 | 160 | 159 | 5th of 7, South 10th of 13, EJHL | Won Play-in game, 3–0 vs. Green Mountain Glades Lost Quarterfinals, 0–1–1 vs. Boston Jr. Bruins[3] | |
| 2005–06 | 45 | 22 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 51 | 175 | 175 | 1st of 7, South T-4th of 14, EJHL | Won Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Valley Jr. Warriors Lost Semifinal game, 1–3 vs. Boston Jr. Bruins[4] | |
| 2006–07 | 45 | 16 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 39 | 145 | 180 | 5th of 7, South 11th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify | |
| 2007–08 | 44 | 12 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 32 | 125 | 173 | 7th of 7, South 12th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify | |
| 2008–09 | 45 | 16 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 39 | 128 | 149 | 5th of 7, South 10th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify | |
| Springfield Pics | |||||||||||
| 2009–10 | 45 | 16 | 23 | 4 | 2 | 38 | 150 | 179 | 5th of 7, South 10th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify | |
| 2010–11 | 45 | 25 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 182 | 156 | 4th of 7, South 6th of 14, EJHL | Won First Round, 2–0 vs. Rochester Stars Lost Quarterfinals, 1–2 vs. Boston Jr. Bruins | |
| 2011–12 | 45 | 20 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 166 | 175 | 5th of 7, South 10th of 14, EJHL | Lost First Round, 0–2 vs. Green Mountain Glades | |
| 2012–13 | 45 | 24 | 17 | — | 4 | 52 | 137 | 118 | 4th of 7, South 8th of 14, EJHL | Lost First Round, 0–2 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs[5] | |
| 2013–14 | 40 | 32 | 6 | — | 2 | 66 | 212 | 92 | 2nd of 10, North 2nd of 18, USPHL Elite | Won First Round, 2–0 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs-Elite Won Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Bay State Breakers-Elite 2–0–1 in Round Robin (W, 5–0 vs. Hampton Roads Whalers; T, 4–4 vs. Jersey Hitmen; W, 5–0 vs. Florida Eels) Won Championship game, 3–2 vs. Jersey Hitmen-Elite Elite Division Champions | |
| 2014–15 | 50 | 9 | 37 | — | 4 | 22 | 105 | 239 | 11th of 11, USPHL Premier | Did not qualify | |
| 2015–16 | 44 | 11 | 30 | — | 3 | 25 | 123 | 187 | 11th of 12, USPHL Premier | Did not qualify | |
| 2016–17 | 45 | 19 | 22 | — | 4 | 42 | 138 | 174 | 7th of 10, USPHL Premier | Won Play-in Game, 4–0 vs. Okanagan Eagles Won Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Jersey Hitmen Lost Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Islanders Hockey Club | |
| 2017–18 | 44 | 25 | 18 | — | 1 | 51 | 149 | 144 | 7th of 9, North Div. 20th of 44, USPHL Premier | Lost First Round, 1–2 vs. Islanders Hockey Club-Premier | |
| 2018–19 | 44 | 24 | 17 | — | 3 | 51 | 139 | 105 | 2nd of 7, North East Div. 25th of 52, USPHL Premier | First Round bye Lost Nationals qualifiers, 0–2 vs. Syracuse Stars-Premier | |
| 2019–20 | 44 | 29 | 14 | — | 1 | 59 | 167 | 108 | 2nd of 6, North East Div. 17th of 52, USPHL Premier | First Round bye Won Nationals qualifiers, 2–0 vs. Connecticut Jr. Rangers-Premier 0–1–0 USPHL-Premier Nationals round-robin Pool B (L, 1–5 vs. Vengeance; vs. ; vs.) Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2020–21 | 44 | 23 | 18 | — | 3 | 49 | 130 | 127 | 4th of 9, New England Div. 31st of 62, USPHL Premier | Lost First Round series, 1–2 vs. Bridgewater Bandits | |
| 2021–22 | 44 | 25 | 17 | — | 2 | 52 | 135 | 125 | 5th of 9, New England Div. 28th of 64, USPHL Premier | Lost First Round series, 1–2 vs. Boston Jr. Bruins | |
| 2022–23 | 44 | 23 | 19 | — | 2 | 48 | 144 | 150 | 5th of 9, New England Div. 36th of 69, USPHL Premier | Lost First Round series, 0–2 vs. Bridgewater Bandits | |
| 2023–24 | 44 | 21 | 21 | — | 2 | 44 | 149 | 156 | 5th of 7, New England Div. 36th of 61, USPHL Premier | Lost Div. Quarterfinals, 0–2 vs. Gatineau Universel | |
Round robin play in pool with top 4 teams advancing to semifinal.