National College Prospects Hockey League

Last updated
National College Prospects
Hockey League
Director of OperationsBob Black
Deputy CommissionerPeter Preteroti
Founded2016
Folded2017
Recent ChampionsRochester Rebels (2017)
Headquarters Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Website NCPHL

The National College Prospects Hockey League was a junior ice hockey league based in Northeast United States and Ontario. During its first season, the NCPHL was sanctioned as a Tier III league by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union.

Contents

History

The NCPHL was announced in the spring of 2016. Originally announced as an eight-team league, as many as twelve different teams were announced for the 2016–17 season with several team changes before making it to opening night. Some teams also announced an affiliation with teams from the Western States Hockey League. [1] [2] By the start of the inaugural season, the league had six active teams.

One of the original eight teams, the Lake Erie Warriors, garnered media attention when the logo was largely criticized for its depiction of a Native American warrior and was called racially insensitive. The team quickly rebranded as the Lake Erie Gulls [3] for one day and then again to the Lake Erie Eagles on July 30, 2016. [4]

The Toronto Stealth defeated the Lake Erie Eagles 7–5 in the first league game on October 6, 2016. On February 18, 2017, the NCPHL hosted its first All-star competition and game. In the end, Team White won by a score of 7–4 with the MVP, Curtis Anderson of the Toronto Stealth, recording 3 goals and 2 assists. Despite dominating the regular season with a record of 28–2–0, the Stealth chose not to participate in the NCPHL's playoffs, called the "Frosty Four," in Erie, Pennsylvania. Four teams participated in the playoffs with the Mississauga Bruins also sitting out after not playing a league game since January. With the Rochester Rebels the only remaining team with a winning record (20–15–5), they earned an automatic berth to the championship game. The bottom two teams then played a two-game aggregate qualifier series with the winner facing the Lake Erie Eagles in a semifinal game. [5]

After its first season, the NCPHL was removed as a junior program by the United Hockey Union and then listed itself as a junior-aged academic league. In the 2017 offseason, the league announced several new teams including an NCP Canada division led by the Almonte Jr. Sharpshooters organization. However, after many of the teams folded after failing to sign enough players, the league website and all social media was shut down in September 2017. [6] Four of the NCPHL teams joined the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League: the Almonte Jr. Sharpshooters, EOHA Wolves, Lake Erie Eagles, and the Maniwaki Mustangs. [7]

Teams

Teams at the time of folding

DivisionTeamCityArenaJoined
Canada
Almonte Jr. Sharpshooters Almonte, Ontario Almonte & District Community Centre2017
Chelsea Hurricanes Chelsea, Quebec Meredith Centre2017
Eastern Ontario Hockey Academy (EOHA) Wolves [8] Ottawa, Ontario 2017
Maniwaki Mustangs Maniwaki, Quebec Gino Odjick Center2017
Toronto Stealth Burlington, Ontario Wave Twin Rinks2016
USA
Lake Erie Eagles Erie, Pennsylvania Erie Insurance Arena 2016

Former teams

Champions

SeasonSeason ChampionsPlayoff Champions
2016–17Toronto StealthRochester Rebels [lower-alpha 1]
  1. The Toronto Stealth and Mississauga Bruins did not participate in the 2017 "Frosty Four" playoffs

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References

  1. "Blazers Sign Affilitaion with Rochester Rebels for 16-17 Season". Oklahoma City Blazers. May 15, 2016. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  2. "Knights Announce Affiliate". Phoenix Knights. May 26, 2016.
  3. "Hockey Team's Logo Was So Bad, They Changed The Whole Damn Team Name". Deadspin. July 29, 2016.
  4. Paul Lukas (July 30, 2016). "Lake Erie Warriors Renamed Lake Erie Eagles (probably)". Uni-Watch.
  5. "Lake Erie Eagles in contention for inaugural NCPHL title". GoErie.com. 15 March 2017.
  6. "The Death Pool – NCPHL Officially Dead". The Junior Hockey News. September 18, 2017.
  7. "CPJHL ADDS FOUR TEAMS FOR UPCOMING '17-18 SEASON". CPJHL. September 18, 2017.
  8. "Announcement Concerning our EOHA Wolves U16, U18, Junior Program". Sharpshooters. 7 June 2017.