New England Stars | ||
League | North Eastern Hockey League | |
Founded | 2006 | |
Home Ice | Danbury Ice Arena | |
Based in | Danbury, Connecticut | |
Colors | Red, Black and Gold |
The New England Stars were a North Eastern Hockey League (NEHL) team based in Danbury, Connecticut, who started play at the end of 2006. The team filled the void when the Danbury Trashers left the Danbury Ice Arena, after the Trashers folded due to involvement in illegal business.
The New England Stars swept the two game championship series 2–0 to finish the season an astounding 22-0 .The Stars were by far the most successful team in the 2006–07 season, going undefeated as of March 18, 2007. Their superiority against the rest of the league was tested on March 18 when they played against an all-star team made up of the best players on the other three NEHL teams. However, they lost the game 4–3. They finished the regular season 20–0.
Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately 50 miles (80 km) northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest city in Connecticut.
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 1997.
The Danbury Trashers were a United Hockey League (UHL) professional ice hockey team located in Danbury, Connecticut, first established in 2004 as an expansion team. The team was named for its owner's business in waste management; James Galante purchased the franchising rights for $500,000 and named his 17-year-old son, A. J., president and general manager. As part of the franchising agreement, Galante invested an additional $1.5 million to upgrade the team's home arena, Danbury Ice Arena, from a 750-seat facility to a 3,000-seat venue.
The Danbury Ice Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Danbury, Connecticut, that can seat about 3,000. It was built in 1999 with renovation and expansion in 2004.
The Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey league. Founded in 1993 by Dan Esdale, the EJHL had fourteen teams from across the Northeastern United States. The EJHL champion then competed for the National Championship against the champions of the other Tier III leagues and a host city. The New Jersey Hitmen were the final EJHL Champions after the 2012–13 season.
Brent Gretzky is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and the brother of Wayne and Keith Gretzky. He briefly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Colton "Bobby" Douglas Orr is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Having played nearly 500 games in the NHL, Orr was known as an enforcer for his physical style of play and for regularly fighting.
James Galante is an American convicted felon and associate of the Genovese crime family, owner of the defunct Danbury Trashers minor-league hockey team and a defunct racecar team fielding cars for Ted Christopher, and ex-CEO of Automated Waste Disposal (AWD), a company that holds waste disposal contracts for most of western Connecticut and Westchester and Putnam counties in New York.
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, Maine, 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 Danbury Mad Hatters were a professional ice hockey team based in Danbury, Connecticut at the 3,050-seat Danbury Ice Arena. The Mad Hatters were a member of the Eastern Professional Hockey League.
The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. Don Kirnan is the league's commissioner. The league also occasionally branded itself as the Federal Professional Hockey League from 2015 to 2018 until it began using the name Federal Prospects Hockey League and completing the rebrand in 2019.
The Danbury Whalers were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League that began play in the 2010–11 season. Based in Danbury, Connecticut, the Whalers played at the Danbury Ice Arena, located in CityCenter Danbury. Their name comes from the Hartford Whalers, who were a professional ice hockey team based in Connecticut and played in Hartford from 1975 to 1997 before relocating to North Carolina as the Carolina Hurricanes.
Professional ice hockey in Connecticut has a rich tradition dating from the mid-1920s. Most of these teams were NHL minor league affiliates located in New Haven, though with the closure of the New Haven Coliseum, minor league affiliates now exist only exist in Hartford and Bridgeport. Hartford had its own Major league team, the Whalers team that existed in Hartford from 1974-97. Independent hockey leagues teams have also been gaining a foothold in Danbury starting in 2004.
The North Eastern Hockey League was a semi-professional ice hockey league from 2003 until 2008. It was created by entrepreneur Jim Cashman, who served as league president. The NEHL was built to focus on giving players that were not quite ready for the ECHL, United Hockey League, and the Central Hockey League a place to play and develop after their Junior and college careers had finished. In the 2003-04 season, nine total players moved up to the "AA" level and remained there and six of those players came from the York IceCats alone.
The Connecticut Whale were a professional ice hockey team based in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Simsbury, Connecticut at the International Skating Center of Connecticut. The team was established in 2015 as one of the four charter franchises of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), which became the PHF in 2021. Their name and colors paid homage to the Hartford Whalers, a former NHL and WHA franchise based in Connecticut. The team folded along with the PHF in 2023 as part of the creation of a new, unified women's league, the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
The Brewster Bulldogs were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League playing in Brewster, New York. The team played in the 2015–16 FHL season.
The Danbury Titans were a professional ice hockey team based in Danbury, Connecticut. Replacing the Danbury Whalers, the team was founded as an expansion team in the Federal Hockey League. They played their home games at the Danbury Ice Arena.
The Danbury Hat Tricks are a professional ice hockey team based in Danbury, Connecticut. The team is a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League and plays at the Danbury Ice Arena.
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.