History
The year 1974 saw the founding of the Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League. The league consisted mostly of "inner ring" teams from the Niagara District Junior B Hockey League. The "outer ring" teams maintained with the Niagara league. In 1978, the Golden Horseshoe league jumped from six to nine teams by swallowing the majority of the short-lived Southwestern Junior B Hockey League. A season later, the Niagara District league folded and their final champion, the Fort Erie Meteors, came aboard as the GHL's tenth team.
In 1995-96 and 1996–97, the GHL played an interlocking schedule with USA Hockey's North Eastern Junior Hockey League. In 1997-98, the league even allowed the expansion of one of the NEJHL's teams, the Rochester Jr. Americans for a single season.
In 2005-06, the GHL allowed another former NEJHL team, the Wheatfield Jr. Blades, to participate in the league.
In 2007, the league merged with the Western Ontario Hockey League and the Mid-Western Junior Hockey League to form the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).
The Mid-Western Junior Hockey League (MWJHL) was a junior ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association from 1973 until 2007. In 2007, the league became a division of the newly formed Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League along with the Western Ontario Hockey League and Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League.
In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I and Tier II. In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate independently of the OHA. Finally in 1980, the OMJHL became the Ontario Hockey League.
The Buffalo Jr. Sabres are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Buffalo, New York. They are part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League. Its current general manager is Sean Wallace.
The Markham Royals are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Markham, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. From 1973 until 2015, the team operated in Hamilton, Ontario as the Kilty's and the Red Wings.
The Hamilton Kilty B's are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Hamilton, Ontario. They play in the Golden Horseshoe Conference of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team was known as the Stoney Creek Warriors prior to 2013 and the Ancaster Avalanche until 2018.
The Thorold Blackhawks are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Thorold, Ontario. They play in the Golden Horseshoe division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Cambridge Winter Hawks were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Elmira Sugar Kings are a junior ice hockey team based in Elmira, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Fort Erie Meteors are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Golden Horseshoe division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Niagara Falls Canucks are a junior ice hockey team based in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Golden Horseshoe division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Ancaster Avalanche were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Ancaster, Ontario. They played in the Golden Horseshoe Conference of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team was known as the Stoney Creek Warriors prior to 2013. In 2018, they relocated to become the Hamilton Kilty B's.
The Buffalo Regals were an American junior "B" ice hockey team based in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga, New York. They played in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL). The organization also had several youth hockey teams.
The Chatham Maroons are a junior ice hockey team based in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL). The Maroons were the 1970 Western Ontario Junior A Champions and 1973 Southern Ontario Junior A Champions. The Maroons have won multiple Junior B league titles and the 1999 Sutherland Cup as Ontario Hockey Association Junior B Champions. In the 2021-2022 season, the Maroons won the GOJHL Western Conference Championship 4-2 over the Leamington Flyers. The Maroons dedicated their Championship in honour of their longtime equipment manager and team volunteer, Randy DeWael, who died suddenly during the playoffs.
The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. The league is considered Junior B by the OHA, although it has attempted several times to be promoted to Junior A.
The Hespeler Shamrocks are a junior ice hockey team based in Hespeler, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the Provincial Junior Hockey League. The team was known as the Simcoe Storm from 1989-2017 and had played in Simcoe, Ontario since 1959 before relocating in 2018.
The Niagara District Junior B Hockey League was a Canadian Junior ice hockey league in the Golden Horseshoe of Ontario from 1954 until 1979. The league was a part of the Ontario Hockey Association of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and was eligible for the Sutherland Cup.
Rory Glaves is a former professional lacrosse player. Glaves played for the Anaheim Storm, Edmonton Rush and the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League from 2005 to 2013. Glaves also played two years of college lacrosse for the University of Hartford. Glaves has won two Minto Cup championships with the St. Catharines Athletics and one Mann Cup championship with the Victoria Shamrocks (2005).
The Stoney Creek Warriors were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Golden Horseshoe division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League as well as the Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League and the Niagara & District Junior C Hockey League. As of 2013, the team was relocated to Ancaster, Ontario and renamed the Ancaster Avalanche.
Rick Morocco is a Canadian-Italian ice hockey executive, and former professional player. A native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, he played junior ice hockey in Ontario, before winning a national university championship with the York Lions. During six seasons of professional hockey in Italy, he also played for the Italy men's national team at the World Championships and Winter Olympics. After his playing career, he served as an executive for Ontario University Athletics, the Professional Hockey Players' Association, the Canadian Junior Hockey League, and the Ontario Junior Hockey League. He was inducted into the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame in 2005.
