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The league announced the addition of a franchise out of [[Sandy Point, Georgia]] to start play with the 2015-16 seaason |
The league announced the addition of a franchise out of [[Sandy Point, Georgia]] to start play with the 2015-16 seaason |
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| − | The league formally announced the addition of the [[Evansville ThunderBolts]] to the league on April 3, 2015. The team will play in the South Division and be based out of the [[Swonder Ice Arena]]. The addition of Evansville will give the South Division 7 teams and the league overall 32 teams. The team is owned by |
+ | The league formally announced the addition of the [[Evansville ThunderBolts]] to the league on April 3, 2015. The team will play in the South Division and be based out of the [[Swonder Ice Arena]]. The addition of Evansville will give the South Division 7 teams and the league overall 32 teams. The team is owned by the same ownership group that owns the [[Point Mallard Ducks]] organization. |
The Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks were relocating to [[Wooster, Ohio]] and were to be renamed the Wooster OIlers (the team may be actually jumping to the USPHL's Midwest division. |
The Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks were relocating to [[Wooster, Ohio]] and were to be renamed the Wooster OIlers (the team may be actually jumping to the USPHL's Midwest division. |
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Revision as of 00:07, 22 May 2015
| North American 3 Hockey League | |
| |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 1994 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country(ies) |  United States
|
| Most recent champion(s) | Chicago Hitmen |
| Official website | http://www.na3hl.com |
The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III Junior "A" ice hockey league that consists of thirteen teams from Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri. The NA3HL is a member of USA Hockey, and the winner of the NA3HL's playoffs goes on to play for the National Championship against the champions of the five other Tier III leagues and a host city.
League History
The league began as the a Junior B-level league known as the Central States Hockey League (CSHL), during the early 1980s it was known as Metro Detroit Junior Hockey League.[1] but returned to the CSHL name until 2010. The league moved up from Junior B to Tier III Junior A status in the summer of 2007 because it was considered to be one of the top Junior B leagues in the United States. The past four years, the St. Louis Jr. Blues proved their dominance on the national stage winning the national championship four years in a row. The Jr Blues made history during the 2006-2007 season. They were the first team to win four consecutive national titles, breaking a record that was set over 60 years ago.
CSHL logo
During the 2008-2009 season, it was announced that the Pittsburgh Jr. Penguins would be joining the CSHL for the 2009-2010 season, bringing the number of teams to 13. The league will return to 12 teams for 2010-11, as the Dubuque Thunderbirds franchise folded making room for the return of the Dubuque Fighting Saints in United States Hockey League.
On November 1, 2010 it was announced that the North American Hockey League would take control of the CSHL immediately. The NAHL-CSHL affiliation allows for a more structured Jr. hockey system to provide athletes with more opportunities to advance to college and pro hockey. At the time of the take over the league was renamed to the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL).[2][3]
In May, 2011 it was announced that the Granite City Lumberjacks, Minnesota Flying Aces, North Iowa Bulls and the Twin City Steel would be joining the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) beginning with the 2011-2012 season bringing the total number of teams in the NA3HL to 16. [4] [5]
In a press release dated June 17, 2013 the league announce plans to expand with 4 teams in South Division for the 2013-14 season (two franchises in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, one in Houston, TX, and Topeka, KS). The league also announced the formation of a West Division for the 2014-15 season (two teams in Southern California, one in San Jose, Ca, and one in Phoenix, AZ). [6]
The NA3HL and the American West Hockey League announced in March of 2014 that the AWHL was being merged into the league forming its new Frontier Division.
The league announced on April 1, 2014 that the Battle Creek Revolution were being rebranded as the West Michigan Wolves.
The league announced in May 2014 that it would add three teams to its southern division for the 2014-15 season, the Point Mallard Ducks based in Decatur, Alabama, the Texas Brahmas based in North Richland Hills, Texas to be run by the Lone Star Brahmas of the NAHL, and a yet to be named team based in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. The Flint Jr. Generals were sold to the same ownership group that owns the Coulee Region Chill. The team is being relocated to La Crosse, Wisconsin and being renamed the La Crosse Freeze.
2015-16
The league announced the addition of a franchise out of Sandy Point, Georgia to start play with the 2015-16 seaason
The league formally announced the addition of the Evansville ThunderBolts to the league on April 3, 2015. The team will play in the South Division and be based out of the Swonder Ice Arena. The addition of Evansville will give the South Division 7 teams and the league overall 32 teams. The team is owned by the same ownership group that owns the Point Mallard Ducks organization.
The Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks were relocating to Wooster, Ohio and were to be renamed the Wooster OIlers (the team may be actually jumping to the USPHL's Midwest division.
The Metro Jets franchise was relocating to Fraser, Michigan from Waterford, Michigan. The team did not announce any plans to change the team's name as both cities are in the greater Detroit area.
On May 21, 2015 the league added the Rochester Ice Hawks (formerly of the recently defunct Minnesota Junior Hockey League) as an expansion team for the 2015-16 season.
Alumni
Many prominent college and pro hockey players have played in the CSHL at one point in their careers, including 2007 Hobey Baker finalist Eric Ehn (Metro Jets), Colorado Avalanche forward and 2010 U.S. Olympian Paul Stastny (St. Louis Jr. Blues) and Chris Butler (St. Louis Jr. Blues), now in the Calgary Flames' organization.
Current Teams
| West Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Location | Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| Alexandria Blizzard | Alexandria, Minnesota | Runestone Community Center | |||||||||||||||||
| Breezy Point North Stars | Breezy Point, Minnesota | Breezy Point Hockey Center | |||||||||||||||||
| Granite City Lumberjacks | Sauk Rapids, Minnesota | Rhino Deck Area East | |||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota Flying Aces | Little Falls, Minnesota | Exchange Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| North Iowa Bulls | Mason City, Iowa | North Iowa Ice Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| Twin City Steel | Vadnais Heights, Minnesota | Vadnais Sports Center | |||||||||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Location | Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks | Strongsville, Ohio | Ice Land USA | |||||||||||||||||
| Flint Jr. Generals | Flint, Michigan | Flint Iceland Arenas | |||||||||||||||||
| Metro Jets | Waterford, Michigan | Lakeland Ice Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| Michigan Mountain Cats | Burton, Michigan | Ice Mountain Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh Vengeance | Harmarville, Pennsylvania | Bladerunners- Harmarville | |||||||||||||||||
| Toledo Cherokee | Toledo, Ohio | Team Toledo Ice House | |||||||||||||||||
| Central Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Location | Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| Battle Creek Jr. Revolution | Battle Creek, Michigan | Revolution Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| Chicago Jr. Bulldogs | Romeoville, Illinois | Canlan Ice Sports Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati Swords | Evendale, Ohio | Sports Plus Cincinnati | |||||||||||||||||
| Peoria Mustangs | Peoria, Illinois | Owens Recreation Center | |||||||||||||||||
| St. Louis Jr. Blues | Affton, Missouri | Affton Ice Rink | |||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin Whalers | Madison, Wisconsin | Hartmeyer Ice Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| South Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Location | Arena | |||||||||||||||||
| Dallas Jr. Stars | Euless, Texas | Dr. Pepper StarCenter (Euless) | |||||||||||||||||
| McKinney Warriors | McKinney, Texas | Dr. Pepper StarCenter (McKinney) | |||||||||||||||||
| Sugar Land Imperials | Sugar Land, Texas | Sugar Land Ice & Sports Complex | |||||||||||||||||
| Topeka Capitals | Topeka, Kansas | Kansas Expo Centre | |||||||||||||||||
NOTE - McKinney Warriors ceased operations early in the 2013-2014 season.