Empire B Junior C Hockey League

Empire B Junior "C" Hockey League
Head Office Cambridge, Ontario
Official Web site EBJCHL
Chairmen Trevor Tinney and Jon Gibbons
Convenor Corrie Abrams
Founded 1989

The Empire B Junior C Hockey League is a Junior "C" ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association.

Eastern Ontario Junior "C" Hockey League 1989 - 1996
Empire B Junior "C" Hockey League 1996 to Present

Contents

History

Formed in 1989 as the Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League, the league had to change its name in 1995 to avoid ongoing confusion with the neighbouring Ottawa District Hockey Association's long running Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League. The forerunner of the EBJCHL was the Quinte-St. Lawrence Junior C Hockey League, which merged into the Central Junior C Hockey League in 1986.

The league features six franchises, which are located through Central-eastern Ontario in Amherstview, Campbellford, , Frontenac (near Godfrey), Napanee, Port Hope, and Picton. The Port Hope Panthers is the new name of the transferred Colborne Cobras franchise.

The Gananoque Islanders of the Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League are a potential future 7th team of the league. Gananoque neighbours the city of Kingston, Ontario, but has special permission to compete within the neighbouring Ottawa district, the Ottawa District Hockey Association.

The teams play a 40-game regular season, with four home and away dates against each of the other Empire B teams, and the top four teams make the playoffs — two rounds of best-of-seven play. The Empire playoff champions will advance to the OHA quarterfinals against the Central champions and compete for an All-Ontario Championship and the Clarence Schmalz Cup. In its 20-year history, only one Empire B team, the 1993 Napanee Raiders, has won the Schmalz Cup. The Raiders also advanced to the finals in 1996 and recently returned to the semifinals in 2008.

The Empire league has had a number of winners of the OHA Junior C player of the year award. Most recently, Napanee's Pete Sergeant took the honours in 2008-2009. Among the previous winners are Jason Sutton (Napanee), Adam Walsh (Picton), Joe Curry (Campbellford), and Ryan Zufelt (Amherstview). It is a remarkable accomplishment.

Though just entering its 21st season, the league has had a few graduates make it to the NHL. In 2006, Carolina's Justin Williams became the league's first graduate to hoist the Stanley Cup. He played with the former Colborne/Brighton franchise. Former Amherstview Jets defencemen Jay McKee (Pittsburgh), Bryan Allen (Florida), and Kip Brennan (New York Islanders) have also skated in the pro league.

The teams

Team Centre Founded
Amherstview Jets Amherstview 1989
Campbellford Rebels Campbellford 1992
Napanee Raiders Napanee 1989
Picton Pirates Picton 1989
Port Hope Panthers Port Hope 2004

2010-2011 League Playoffs

For the Ontario Hockey Association "All-Ontario Jr. "C" Championship", please go to the Clarence Schmalz Cup.

  Semi-final League Final
                 
1  Napanee 4  
4  Port Hope 0  
    1  Napanee 2
  3  Picton 4
2  Amherstview 3
3  Picton 4  

The Pirates advance to play the Winner of the Central Junior C Champions in the OHA Schmalz Cup quarterfinals.

Tod Trophy Playoff Champions

Eastern Ontario Champions

Quinte-St. Lawrence Champions

Eastern Champions

Former Teams

Quinte-St. Lawrence Teams

External links