 | |
| Conference | ACHA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division 2 |
| Region | Northeast |
| Most titles | TCNJ Lions (2 titles) |
| Official website | Official website |
The Great Northeast Collegiate Hockey Conference (GNCHC) was an ACHA Division II ice hockey league based in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The league was disbanded in 2017.
| Season | Champions | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2006–2007 | Muhlenberg | Rowan |
| 2007–2008 | Rowan | TCNJ |
| 2008–2009 | Scranton | Muhlenberg |
| 2009–2010 | C.W. Post | Scranton |
| 2010–2011 | NJIT | Muhlenberg |
| 2011–2012 | TCNJ | Millersville |
| 2012–2013 | Kutztown University | Millersville |
| 2013–2014 | TCNJ | Millersville |
| 2014–2015 | La Salle | Lafayette |
| 2015–2016 | Rutgers | Scranton |
| 2016–2017 | Bloomsburg | Kutztown |
Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance and shoot a closed, vulcanized, rubber disc called a "puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender. Ice hockey is a full contact sport.
The National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The NHL is the fifth-wealthiest professional sport league in the world by revenue, after the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the English Premier League (EPL).
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada. Teams play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving on to play for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship. WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 19 times since the league became eligible to compete for the trophy. Many players have been drafted from WHL teams, and have found success at various levels of professional hockey, including the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Swedish Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Swedish ice hockey champions have been crowned through various formats since 1922, the title and the Le Mat Trophy have been awarded to the winner of the SHL playoffs since the league's inaugural 1975–76 season.
Hockey Canada is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority of organized ice hockey in Canada. There are some notable exceptions, such as the Canadian Hockey League, U Sports, and Canada's professional hockey clubs; the former two are partnered with Hockey Canada but are not member organizations. Hockey Canada is based in Calgary, with a secondary office in Ottawa and regional centres in Toronto, Winnipeg and Montreal.
The SM-liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagues of the Champions Hockey League and currently allocated five spots - the maximum number - based on success in previous editions. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, but the league and association have an agreement of cooperation. SM is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruus, "Finnish championship".
The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the United States and Canada. The league was headquartered in Rochester, Michigan, and, in its last year, consisted of seven teams. It folded in 2010, with most of its teams joining the Central Hockey League. The Central Hockey League teams still operating in 2014 were then added to ECHL. The only former CoHL/UHL/IHL teams still active as of 2022 are the Fort Wayne Komets and Kalamazoo Wings.
Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur and operate within regions of each country.
The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. Established in 2000, the AIHL is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia. The league is run by its own board of directors led by the AIHL commissioner. The AIHL is considered a semi-professional league with players receiving a variety of benefits such as a weekly stipend, travel expenses, motor vehicles and accommodation. The AIHL champion is awarded the Goodall Cup, the world's third oldest ice hockey trophy, having been first awarded in 1909. The AIHL is currently contested by eight franchised teams from five Australian states and territories. The most successful team in AIHL history is the Newcastle Northstars, which has claimed six AIHL championships. The current champions, from 2022, are the CBR Brave.
The National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) is a set of professional ice hockey leagues administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is currently the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League. Formerly called the English National Ice Hockey League (ENIHL), it was renamed in 2012 to recognise the inclusion of several teams from Scotland and Wales.
The Supreme Hockey League (SHL), also known as the Major Hockey League or Higher Hockey League (HHL), is a professional ice hockey league in Eurasia, and the second highest level of Russian hockey.
Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from class to class. In North America, the rules are governed by the national bodies, Hockey Canada and USA Hockey, while local hockey associations administer players and leagues for their region. Many provinces and states organize regional and provincial championship tournaments, and the highest age groups in Canada and USA also participate in national championships.
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, is one of the oldest ice hockey teams in the world.
The ICE Hockey League, known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently features additional teams from Hungary, Italy, and Slovenia. The league was known as the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL) from 2003 until 2020 and as the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League during the 2021-22 season.
Scottish Ice Hockey, abbreviated to SIH, is responsible for the administration of all ice hockey in Scotland, with the exception of Scotland's Elite Ice Hockey League teams.
The Ice Hockey Federation of Russia is the governing body overseeing ice hockey in Russia. In 2019 Russia had 110,624 ice hockey players registered with its ice hockey federation. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Ice Hockey Federation suspended Russia from all levels of competition.
The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (19), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1) and China (1) for a total of 22 clubs.
Ice hockey in Australia is a sport with relatively poor popularity, having low participation and spectator attendance figures when compared with many other sports played in the country.
