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The Pittsburgh Vengeance are a non-sanctioned junior ice hockey team and are members of the Great Lakes Conference in the United States Premier Hockey League's Premier Division. The team plays at the Alpha Ice Complex in Harmar Township, Pennsylvania, a township outside of Pittsburgh. In addition to the junior team, the organization also fields teams at the former Tier III Junior B/C levels and various youth levels of play. From 1997 until 2012, the team was known as the Pittsburgh Jr. Penguins.
The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 1994 to 2011. Teams played approximately 50 games in the regular season schedule, mimicking what players would experience at the collegiate level. As of January 2022, there are no active teams in the league following the creation of the Can-Am Junior Hockey League by former WSHL teams.
The Billings Bulls were a junior ice hockey organization based in Billings, Montana. They most recently played home games at the 550-seat Centennial Ice Arena and due to the arena's small size, the Bulls frequently sold-out games. They previously played their home games in the Metrapark which had a max capacity of 9,000 for hockey games. However, a negotiating dispute with arena officials and local county commissioners resulted in the team losing its lease.
The El Paso Rhinos are a junior ice hockey organization based in El Paso, Texas. Their home games are played at the County Events Center located within the El Paso County Coliseum complex. The Rhinos are members of the Tier II junior North American Hockey League (NAHL) after adding the team as an expansion franchise in 2021. The organization also has a Tier III team that was originally a member of the Amateur Athletic Union-sanctioned Western States Hockey League from 2006 to 2020 before joining the North American 3 Hockey League for the 2020–21 season.
The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Sanctioned by USA Hockey, for most of the league's existence, the winner of the NA3HL playoffs would advance to play for the Tier III National Championship, however, this has not been held since 2015.
The St. Louis Jr. Blues are a Tier III ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the Affton Ice Rink in Affton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.
The Chicago Hitmen were a Junior A Tier II ice hockey team based out of the Chicago region.
The Rochester Grizzlies are a Tier III junior ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the 2,600-seat Rochester Recreation Center, located in Rochester, Minnesota. The team typically plays more than 45 regular season games, in addition to showcase and postseason games.
The Granite City Lumberjacks are a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) and plays their home games at the Armadillo Deck Sports Arena, located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. The Lumberjacks play 48 regular season games, in addition to showcase and post-season tournament games.
The Helena Bighorns are a Junior A ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) based in Helena, Montana United States. The team plays their home games at the 1,600-seat Helena Ice Arena.
The Vermont Lumberjacks are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey organization from Burlington, Vermont.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights are a junior ice hockey organization from Pittston, Pennsylvania. In 2015, the Knights' junior hockey organization purchased the dormant Dawson Creek Rage franchise in the Tier II North American Hockey League (NAHL) and placed their Tier III franchise in the Eastern Hockey League into dormancy. The organization has reactivated and deactivated their Tier III level teams at various times, but plans to launch teams in the United States Premier Hockey League's Premier and Elite Divisions, non-USA Hockey sanctioned leagues that operate similar to the Tier III level. The organization also has several youth ice hockey teams in its development program.
The Sheridan Hawks are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays home games at the Sheridan Ice M&M’s Center in Sheridan, Wyoming.
The Motor City Chiefs were a Tier III ice hockey organization that played in the Central States Hockey League (CSHL) and Great Lakes Junior Hockey League (GLJHL). The team played their home games at the Canfield Ice Arena in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. The players, ages 16–20, carried amateur status under Junior A guidelines and hope to earn a spot on higher levels of junior ice hockey in the United States and Canada, collegiate, and eventually professional teams. The Chiefs have also fielded select youth teams at the Squirt, Bantam, Midget Minor U16, and Midget Major U18 and girls program at the U12, U14, U16 levels as well as roller in-line hockey teams.
The Metro Jets are a non-sanctioned junior ice hockey team that plays their home games at Mount Clemens Ice Arena in Mount Clemens, Michigan. They are members of the Great Lakes Conference in the United States Premier Hockey League's Premier Division. Players are ages 16–20, carry amateur status under Junior A guidelines and hope to earn a spot on higher levels of junior ice hockey in the United States and Canada, Canadian major junior, collegiate, and eventually professional teams. The Jets won the 2002 USA Hockey Junior B Silver Cup national championship.
The Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks were a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team played their home games at the Ice Land USA in Strongsville, Ohio. The players, ages 16–20, carry amateur status under Junior A guidelines and hope to earn a spot on higher levels of junior ice hockey in the United States and Canada, Canadian Major Junior, Collegiate, and eventually professional teams.
The Maine Nordiques were a Tier III Junior "A" ice hockey team from Lewiston, Maine. The team was a member of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) since 2016 and played home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée since 2015. The franchise relocated several times under the operation of the Fighting Spirit organization before it was sold to the Colisée owner, Jim Cain, in 2017.
The Minnesota Loons are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at Breezy Point Ice Arena in Breezy Point, Minnesota. The organization was originally known as the Breezy Point North Stars and was founded as a non-profit corporation operated by Whitebirch, Inc.
The Mid-Cities Jr. Stars are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at Children’s Health StarCenter in Euless, Texas.
The Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks are a USA Hockey-sanctioned junior ice hockey organization based in Danbury, Connecticut. The organization has junior teams in the Tier II North American Hockey League and the Tier III North American 3 Hockey League, both of which play home games at the Danbury Ice Arena.
References
- ↑ "Jr. Predators bring Nashville new level of hockey". The Tennessean . October 2, 2014.
- ↑ "The Death Pool – Special Report – NA3HL's Nashville Jr Predators Shot In The Head". The Junior Hockey News. November 15, 2017.
- ↑ "The NA3HL – Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures". The Junior Hockey News. November 28, 2017.
- ↑ "2014–15 NA3HL Season Standings". Pointstreak. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ↑ "2015–16 NA3HL Season Standings". Pointstreak. Retrieved March 20, 2017.