History
The Amherst Ramblers were founded in 1966 as the Berwick Shell Junior Bruins, and were founding members of the "Metro Valley Junior Hockey League". The league, then a junior B league, was eventually renamed the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. In 1967 the Bruins were relocated to Amherst and renamed the Amherst Ramblers.
The Ramblers have been known by two different names since moving to Amherst. Between 1994 and 1998 the team was known as the Moosheads. The logo consisted of a large letter "A" and the moose from Moosehead beer - similar in design to the current Halifax Mooseheads logo.
The Ramblers are known to draw some of the largest crowds in the Maritime Hockey League, and have placed third in average attendance the last few years, only behind the Yarmouth Mariners and the Weeks Crushers.
The Ramblers hosted the Centennial Cup (now known as Royal Bank Cup) in 1993, and they also hosted the Fred Page Cup in 2019.
The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. Officially the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League until 2023, the league includes teams in Quebec and the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.
Amherst is a town in northwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, and 22 km (14 mi) south of the Northumberland Strait. The town sits on a height of land at the eastern boundary of the Isthmus of Chignecto and Tantramar Marshes, 3 km (1.9 mi) east of the interprovincial border with New Brunswick and 65 km (40 mi) southeast of the city of Moncton. It is 60 km (37 mi) southwest of the New Brunswick abutment of the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island at Cape Jourimain.
The Halifax Forum is an arena and multi-purpose facility in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its uses include sporting events, bingo, ice skating, concerts and markets. It was built in 1927 on the site of the former Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition which was badly damaged by the Halifax explosion in 1917. It opened on 26 December 1927 and incorporated the first artificial ice surface east of Montreal. It is the second biggest arena in Nova Scotia, and the fifth biggest in Atlantic Canada. The building was added to the Canadian Register of Historic Places in 2003.
The Moncton Wildcats are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The franchise was granted for the 1995–96 season, known as the Moncton Alpines for one season, and as the Wildcats since. The team played at the Moncton Coliseum from 1995 until 2018, and moved into the Avenir Centre for the 2018–19 season. After winning the 2005–06 QMJHL championship, the team hosted the 2006 Memorial Cup. The Wildcats also won the 2009–10 QMJHL championship, which sent the team to compete in the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba. They were eliminated from contention after going winless in the round robin portion of the tournament.
The Halifax Mooseheads are a Canadian major junior ice hockey club in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The team was founded in 1994 and began play in the Dilio Division of the QMJHL from the 1994–95 season. They have appeared in the President's Cup Finals five times, winning in 2013. The other four appearances were in 2003, 2005, 2019 and 2023. They hosted the Memorial Cup tournament in 2000 and 2019 and won the Memorial Cup in 2013. The team plays their home games in the Scotiabank Centre.
The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) is an association of Canadian junior A ice hockey leagues and teams and was formed in November 1993, emerging from the Canada West Association of Junior 'A' Hockey. The champion of the Canadian Junior Hockey League wins the Centennial Cup.
The Amherst Stadium is a 2,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is home to the Amherst Ramblers Ice hockey team of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. The arena hosted the 1993 Centennial Cup. It also hosts various minor hockey contests and trade shows every year. The facility's nickname is "The Jungle". The rink also hosts the CCMHA minor hockey teams.
The John Brother MacDonald Stadium was a multi-purpose arena in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada. With ice in, the capacity including mezzanine was 3,013, while without ice the arena held 3,723. It was home to the Weeks Crushers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League from 2004 to 2012 and was home the Weeks Major Midgets of the Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League (NSMMHL), as well as the high school North Nova Education Centre Gryphons of the NSSAF Division I Hockey League. The venue hosted the Air Canada Cup, in 1997, and the 2001 World Under 17 Hockey Championships. In May 2008, it hosted the Fred Page Cup, the Eastern Canadian Junior A Championship tournament.
The Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. It consists of six teams from New Brunswick, which make up the EastLink North Division, five teams from Nova Scotia, and one team from Prince Edward Island which make up the Eastlink South Division. The winner of the MHL playoffs competes for the Fred Page Cup against the winners of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League and the Central Junior A Hockey League. The winner of the Fred Page Cup then moves on to compete for the Canadian National Junior A Championship, formerly known as the Royal Bank Cup.
The Truro Bearcats are a Junior "A" ice hockey team based out of Truro, Nova Scotia. The Bearcats are one of six Nova Scotia teams in the Maritime Junior Hockey League.
The Weeks Jr 'A' Crushers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. They are in the Maritime Junior Hockey League's Eastlink South Division along with five other clubs. The Crushers play their home games at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.
The Yarmouth Mariners are a Junior "A" team based in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. They play in the Maritime Junior Hockey League. All home games are played out of the 1,501 seat Mariners Centre. The season usually runs from mid-September to early March every year.
The Charlottetown Abbies were a Tier II Junior "A" team based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They played in the IJHL and the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. Their home rink from 2003 to 2008 was the MacLauchlan Arena on the campus of UPEI. Before then, it was the Charlottetown Civic Centre.
The Edmundston Blizzard are a junior ice hockey team from Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada. They play in the Maritime Junior Hockey League.
The Woodstock Slammers were a junior "A" hockey team based in Woodstock, New Brunswick. They played as part of the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL). The team played their home games at the Carleton Civic Centre, formally known to fans as "Slammerland" or "Slammertown, Canada". The Slammers were a relatively successful team in their 18 year history, winning a NB Junior B League title and Don Johnson Cup (2000), three Kent Cups, one Fred Page Cup (2012) and a silver medal at the RBC Cup (2012). In 2018, the franchise relocated to Grand Falls, New Brunswick, changing their name to the Grand Falls Rapids.
William James Riley is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and was the third black player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets between 1974 and 1980. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1974 to 1984, was spent in the minor leagues.
The 1993 Centennial Cup is the 23rd Junior "A" 1993 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.
The 2013–14 Maritime Junior Hockey League season was the 47th season in league history. The season consisted of 52 games played by each MHL team.
The 2019 Fred Page Cup was the 25th Canadian eastern junior A ice hockey championship for the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The Amherst Ramblers hosted for the first time in team history. The tournament was held May 1 to May 5 at Amherst Stadium in Amherst, Nova Scotia. The tournament champions qualified for the 2019 National Junior A Hockey Championship, held in Brooks, Alberta, and hosted by the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Brooks Bandits at the Centennial Regional Arena.
Troy Ryan is a Canadian ice hockey coach and the current head coach of both the Canadian national women's team and PWHL Toronto in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
