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| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | UHU |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Affiliation | Amateur Athletic Union |
| Chairman | Keith Noll |
| CEO | Ron White |
| Official website | |
| www | |
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The United Hockey Union (UHU), founded in 2012, is a group of ice hockey leagues in North America. The UHU is overseen and insured by the Amateur Athletic Union. Neither body is recognized by USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, or the International Ice Hockey Federation.
In 2011, the AAU expressed interest in sanctioning junior ice hockey leagues. Until this time, USA Hockey was the only governing body of ice hockey in the United States and is still the only organization recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation.
In the summer of 2011, the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) defected from USA Hockey to join the AAU. As a test case, their 2011–12 season went without a hitch. In 2012, they were joined by the Northern States Junior Hockey League (NSHL) and the Midwest Junior Hockey League (MWJHL). At this point, their partnership, under AAU supervision, was named the United Hockey Union.
The UHU finished off the 2012–13 hockey season with the first-ever UHU National Junior Hockey Championship. The UHU Championship went to the WSHL's Idaho Jr. Steelheads in its inaugural run, with the Steelheads going undefeated in a six-team tournament held in Las Vegas, Nevada in April 2013.
In May 2014, the UHU added a fourth league, the Canadian International Hockey League (CIHL). [1] In July 2014, the Canadian Independent Junior Hockey League (CIJHL) [2] of British Columbia applied for AAU sanctioning as well, but despite the sanctioning, the league shuttered its doors in September without playing a single game.
On September 10, 2014, the NSHL left the AAU umbrella. On November 10, the CIHL also left the AAU umbrella over insurance and expansion disagreements. In turn, half the CIHL broke away and formed the World United Hockey League as UHU members. In March 2015, the MWJHL announced it was joining the United States Premier Hockey League (a USA Hockey-sanctioned league) as part of its new Midwest Division starting in the 2015–16 season. [3]
In 2015, the AAU announced that WSHL had been promoted to "Tier II" and that it was adding a "Tier III" prospect league for WSHL development teams called the Western Prospects League. [4] Despite using the USA Hockey sanctioning terms of Tier II and III, the UHU-sanctioned leagues continued to operate under pay-to-play terms (called tuition) similar to USA Hockey Tier III or Hockey Canada Junior A guidelines.
In 2016, the UHU added two new junior hockey leagues; the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League [5] and the National College Prospects Hockey League, [6] The CPJHL planned to have no more than 12 teams centered around Barrie, Ontario, for the 2016–17 season and would start the season with eight teams. The NCPHL began its season with six teams. With the launch of these two leagues and several WSHL teams' affiliating with the NCPHL, it appeared the Western Prospects League had been dissolved.
On September 5, 2016, the UHU announced they would be launching a free-to-play Tier I league for the 2017–18 season. The new league was to consist of six founding teams affiliated with the current Tier II and Tier III leagues. On September 12, the new league was announced as the Central One Hockey League (C1HL) and composed of six WSHL organizations: the Colorado Jr. Eagles, Casper Coyotes, El Paso Rhinos, Ogden Mustangs, Oklahoma City Blazers, and the Springfield Express, [7] [8] [9] although Ogden was later removed. However, sometime in early 2017, the C1HL website was taken down, replaced near the end of the year, and removed again in March 2018. Some teams have since mentioned that the launch of the C1HL had been postponed to the 2018–19 season. [10] The UHU has also announced plans to launch a western Canada-based Tier II league in 2018, called the Western Provinces Hockey Association (WPHA), [11] that began play as the Provinces Division of the WSHL in 2018–19. After one season, the WPHA's relationship with the WSHL dissolved and the WPHA teams left for the Ontatio-based Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League. [12] [13]
In the 2019–20 season, both the UHU's junior leagues had to cancel their postseasons due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic limiting travel and arena availability. The WSHL subsequently lost 11 teams to the United States Premier Hockey League (which had left USA Hockey sanctioning in 2017) [14] and the North American 3 Hockey League. [15] [16] In May 2020, the WSHL also announced they had cancelled their 2020–21 season due to the pandemic. [17]
| League | Level | Joined | Teams | Most recent champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western States Hockey League | Tier II Junior | 2012 | 9 | El Paso Rhinos |
| Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League | Tier III Junior | 2016 | 8 | Essa Stallions |
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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 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 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 Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) was an American Tier III junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. Its championship trophy was the Cascade Cup.
The Southern Oregon Spartans were a junior ice hockey team that played their home games at The RRRink in Medford, Oregon.
The Fresno Monsters are a junior ice hockey team based in Fresno, California. The team is a member of the United States Premier Hockey League and plays in the Premier Division. The Monsters' home venue is Gateway Ice Center.
The West Sound Warriors were a junior ice hockey that played at the Bremerton Ice Center in Bremerton, Washington. Formerly, the team was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III ice hockey team that played in the Northern Pacific Hockey League (NorPac/NPHL) and the United States Premier Hockey League-USP3 (USPHL-USP3). In the 2017–18 season, the team was an AAU-sanctioned junior team in the Western States Hockey League. The WSHL franchise was sold to a new ownership group in Bremerton after the one season and became the West Sound Admirals.
The Valencia Flyers were an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)-sanctioned junior ice hockey team based in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California. The team played in the Western Division of the Western States Hockey League at the Ice Station Valencia.
The San Diego Sabers are a junior ice hockey team and are a member of United States Premier Hockey League. The team is based in Carlsbad, California, and plays at the Carlsbad Icetown. The team was the fourth team to be known as the San Diego Gulls from 2008 to 2015 until it gave up the nickname to the American Hockey League San Diego Gulls before the 2015–16 season.
The Bakersfield Jr. Condors were a USA Hockey-sanctioned Junior A Tier III ice hockey team based out of Bakersfield, California. Their host facility was the Bakersfield Ice Sports Center. The Jr. Condors were members of the Western States Hockey League and played in the Western Division of the WSHL. The team joined the WSHL as an expansion team for the 2009–10 season along with the Fresno Monsters, Arizona RedHawks, and Idaho Jr. Steelheads. The team would be moved to Ogden, Utah as the Mustangs in 2011. Junior hockey would return to Bakersfield in 2022 with the Bakersfield Roughnecks of the USPHL.
The New England Stars were a Tier III Junior "A" ice hockey team. The junior Stars played at the Skate 3 Arena located in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, as members of the North American 3 Hockey League.
The New England Knights were a Tier III junior ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team played out of Raynham IcePlex in Raynham, Massachusetts. The Knights' organization are owned by Lovell Hockey, which also operates boys' and girls' Knights youth teams as well as the Boston Advantage organization in the United States Premier Hockey League. The junior Knights team was not listed as a member of the NA3HL for the 2020–21 season, but the organization continued to host its youth teams.
The Midwest Junior Hockey League (MWJHL) was an American junior ice hockey league. The MWJHL were members of the United Hockey Union and sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). On March 10, 2015, the league announced it would be joining the United States Premier Hockey League as part of a new Midwest Division beginning in the 2015–16 season.
The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States fielding teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), Premier, Elite, EHF, 18U, 16U, 15U, and High Performance youth divisions.
The Canadian International Hockey League (CIHL) was a Canadian independent Junior ice hockey league based in Northern Ontario, Central Ontario, and the Greater Toronto Area.
The Lewiston/Auburn 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 World United Hockey League (WUHL) was a junior ice hockey league. The WUHL were members of the United Hockey Union (UHU), an affiliate of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).
The Tahoe Icemen were an Amateur Athletic Union-sanctioned junior ice hockey team in the Western States Hockey League and based in South Lake Tahoe, California. Home games were at South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena.
The Oklahoma City Ice Hawks, formerly the Oklahoma City Jr. Blazers, were a Tier III junior ice hockey team, based in Edmond, Oklahoma, in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The Ice Hawks competed in the USA Hockey-sanctioned North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) after playing as a member of the United Hockey Union-sanctioned Western States Hockey League (WSHL) from 2014 to 2020. Their home games were played at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena.
