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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
WBSKnights logo
City: Pittston, Pennsylvania
Founded: 2005 (EHL franchise)
2010 (NAHL franchise)
2022 (USPHL)
Operated: 2010-present
Home Arena: Revolution Ice Centre
Colors: Navy, Gray, and White


              

Owner(s): Dr. Louis DeNaples Jr.
Franchise history
: First franchise (AJHL/EHL/NA3HL)
2005–2010: Binghamton Jr. Senators
2010–2015, 2016-2019: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
2015-present: Binghamton Jr. Senators
: Second franchise (NAHL)
2010–2012: Dawson Creek Rage
2015–2020: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
2020-present: Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks
: Third franchise USPHL

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights are an USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier II Jr. A ice hockey team from Pittston, Pennsylvania.[1] Starting in the 2015–16 season they will play in the North Division of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) after purchasing the dormant Dawson Creek Rage franchise, moving up from the Central Division of the Tier III Eastern Hockey League (formerly the Atlantic Junior Hockey League until 2013).

The players, ages 16–20, carry amateur status under Junior A guidelines and hope to earn a spot on higher levels of junior hockey in the United States and Canada, Canadian Major Junior, Collegiate, and eventually professional teams.

History[]

AtJHL/EHL[]

Until 2010 the team played in Binghamton, New York as the Binghamton Jr. Senators at the Chenango Ice Rink in the Atlantic Junior Hockey League (AtJHL). After relocating, the organization would also field a team at the Jr. B level in the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League as well as youth hockey select teams at the Midget U18, Midget 16U, Bantam, Peewee, and Squirt and Mite levels. The Knights have taken their name from the youth organization which was formed in 2005. Along with Revolution Ice Centre, the Knights also practice at Revolution Training Centre in Dunmore, PA. The training center has two skating surfaces: one synthetic ice and the other is an 85 x 45 ice surface.[2]

The Knights won the AtJHL Championship during the 2012–13 season. The Knights came out victorious in the best of three series against the Northern Cyclones and earned the AtJHL President's Cup. The Knights lost the first game of the series 0-2 against the Cyclones, however, the Knights bounced back from their first loss of the playoffs with a lopsided 9-2 win. During the last game the Cyclones had a 2-1 lead and it looked like they would hoist the President's Cup, but Knights forward Matt Cessna tied the game at 2-2 with just 22 seconds remaining in the third period. Then, with just over four minutes remaining in the first overtime, Matt Cessna scored the game-winner. For his in-game heroics, Cessna was named the Most Valuable Player of the Playoff Championship Series. The Knights 2012–13 AtJHL Championship Team contained some well-known last names in the hockey world, including team captain Jack Ceglarski (Grandson of Len Ceglarski) and the defenceman Oscar Nyquist (Brother of Gustav Nyquist).[3][4]

NAHL[]

See also: Dawson Creek Rage

On May 1, 2015, it was announced that the Knights had purchased the dormant Dawson Creek Rage franchise in the North American Hockey League and will begin play as a Tier II team in the 2015–16 NAHL season.[5]

On May 11, 2020 the NAHL announced the relocation of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights to Danbury, Connecticut where they would be renamed the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks.[6]

NA3AHL/EHL[]

The organization would start back up a tier-III team for the 2016-17 season with a team placed in the North American 3 Atlantic Hockey League. This team would move along with most of the league's membership to the Eastern Hockey League for the 2017-18 season. The team would transfer to the NA3HL for the 2019-20 season but the team would fold due to a lack of players in mid-September.[7]

USPHL[]

On February 3, 2022 the USPHL announced the addition of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights to the NCDC for the 2022-23 season. The team will be based out of the Revolution Ice Centre in Pittston, Pennsylvania with a secondary home of in Binghamton, New York.[8]

Season-by-season records[]

Eastern Hockey League[]

Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
Eastern Hockey League (Tier III)
2013–14 44 19 16 8 1 47 121 111 4th, Central Div.
8th of 17, EHL
Won Round 1, 2-0 vs. Philadelphia Junior Flyers
Lost Quarterfinals, 0-2 vs. Northern Cyclones
2014–15 44 28 14 2 0 58 155 126 2nd, Central Div.
6th of 19, EHL
Won Round 1, 2-1 vs. Boston Bandits
Lost Quarterfinals, 0-2 vs. Northern Cyclones

North American Hockey League[]

Dawson Creek Rage[]

Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2010–11 58 24 31 2 1 51 160 209 5th of 6, West Do not qualify
2011–12 60 12 44 2 2 28 139 265 6th of 6, West Do not qualify

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights[]

Season GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
NAHL (Tier II)
2015–16 60 22 28 10 - 54 150 232 4th of 4, East Div.
20th of 22, NAHL
Lost Div. Semifinals, 0-3 vs. Aston Rebels
2016–17 60 30 25 1 4 65 201 193 4th of 5, East Div.
T-12th of 24, NAHL
Lost Div. Semifinals, 0-3 vs. Aston Rebels
2017-18 60 30 24 5 1 66 175 196 3rd of 5, East Div.
12th of 23, NAHL
Won Div. Semifinals, 3-2 vs New Jersey Titans
Won Div. Final, 3-0 vs Philadelphia Rebels
L Robertson Cup Semifinals, 0-2 vs Shreveport Mudbugs
2018-19 60 26 29 4 1 57 153 175 5th of 6, East Div.
T-17th of 24
Did not qualify
2019-20 53 26 22 4 1 57 165 181 3rd of 7, East Div. Playoffs cancelled


Season GP W L OL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
NA3AHL (Tier III)
2016–17 36 32 4 0 64 289 100 2nd of 7 Lost, Final
Eastern Hockey League (Tier III)
2017-18 50 24 25 1 49 170 180 3rd Mid-Atlantic L, Conf Quarterfinals 1-2 (New York Applecore)
2018-19 44 27 13 4 58 167 116 3rd Central W, Conf Quarterfinals 2-0 (New York Applecore)
W, Conf Semifinals 2g-1 (New Jersey 87's)
Eliminated in Semifinal Round Robin

USPHL[]

Season GP W L OL SL GF GA Pts Finish Playoffs
2021-22 USPHL Elite 44 35 8 0 1 192 97 71 1st Mid-Atlantic Lost Semifinal
2021-22 USPHL Premier 44 39 3 2 - 228 89 80 1st Atlantic East W, DSF 2-0 (Buffalo Jr. Stampede)
Finish in 1st Pool A
W, QF 2-1 (ot) (Minnesota Blue Ox)
L, SF 1-8 (Metro Jets)
2022-23 USPHL Elite 44 39 3 2 0 260 105 80 1st Mid-Atlantic Lost Championship game
2022-23 USPHL Premier 44 35 7 2 0 217 92 72 2nd Mid-Atlantic W, DQF 2-0 (Elmira Jr. Enforcers)
W, 2-1 (Utica Jr. Comets)
W, 5-1 eighthfinal (Tampa Bay Juniors)
L, QF 1-2 (Northern Cyclones)
2022-23 NCDC 50 17 28 2 3 138 190 39 7th South Did not qualify

Alumni[]

The Junior Senators have produced a number of alumni playing in higher levels of junior hockey, NCAA Division I, Division III, ACHA college and professional programs, including:[9]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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