Newfoundland Junior A Hockey League
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The Newfoundland Junior A Hockey League (NJAHL) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Junior
Junior ice hockey
Junior hockey is a catch-all term used to describe various levels of ice hockey competition for players generally between 16 and 20 years of age...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
league in the province of Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
. The NJAHL was in competition for the Callaghan Cup
Fred Page Cup
The Fred Page Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy, won by tournament, conducted by the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The award is given to the winner of a round robin and playoff between the Bogart Cup champions of the Central Junior Hockey League, the Kent Cup champions of the Maritime...
and the Canadian National Junior A Championship, the Centennial Cup.
History
Founded in 1971, the NJAHL had a short and rocky history. In its first season, the team originated with teams in Gander, Clarenville, Bay St. George, and Port-aux-Basques. The first season had no true playoffs, with the league title being awarded to the Gander Jr. Flyers for having a superior record. Mid-season, Gander was elected to play the St. John's Jr. Capitals, the only Jr. A team in the East, for the Veitch Memorial TrophyVeitch Memorial Trophy
The Veitch Memorial Trophy is the Junior ice hockey Grand Championship of Newfoundland and Labrador. The trophy is awarded by Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...
and the right to proceed in the 1972 Centennial Cup playdowns. St. John's won the series 2-games-to-1.
In the second season, Clarenville and Bay St. George were replaced by Buchans and Corner Brook. With no Jr. A in St. John's, Gander and Buchans would play for the Veitch Memorial Trophy with Buchans winning 4-games-to-3. Buchans would proceed to the 1973 Centennial Cup playdowns, where they lost 3-games-to-none to the Moncton Beavers of the New Brunswick Junior Hockey League
New Brunswick Junior Hockey League
The New Brunswick Junior C Hockey League was a Junior ice hockey league in New Brunswick, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The winner of the playoffs competed in the Maritime-Hockey North Junior C Championships.-History:...
.
In 1973-74, the league expanded to seven teams and separated into two divisions. Joining the league were St. John's and Conception Bay North
Conception Bay
Conception Bay is a Canadian bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. The bay indents the Avalon Peninsula with the opening of the bay to the Atlantic Ocean at the northeast. It is bounded by Cape St. Francis in the south and Split Point near Bay de Verde in the north...
, rejoining were Clarenville and Bay St. George, as the league lost their Buchans entry. In what would be the league's biggest season, the East Division champs, Gander Jr. Flyers, and West Division champs, Bay St. George Huskies, met for the league title and Veitch Memorial Trophy. Gander took the series 4-games-to-1. In the 1974 Centennial Cup playdowns, the Jr. Flyers were defeated by the Island Junior Hockey League
Island Junior Hockey League
The Island Junior Hockey League is a Junior "B" ice hockey league in Prince Edward Island, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada.-History:Since being founded in 1996, the IJHL has been strictly a Junior "B" League—one tier below the Maritime Junior A Hockey League and two tiers below the Quebec Major...
's Charlottetown Colonels 3-games-to-none.
In 1974-75, the NJAHL dropped back down to four teams, losing Port-aux-Basques, St. John's, Conception Bay North, and Corner Brook, but gained Grand Falls. Gander crushed their competition, to the point that no other team in the league had a winning record. Gander took the regular season crown and the playoff crown by defeating the Clarenville Caribous
Clarenville Caribous
The Clarenville Caribous are a senior ice hockey team based in Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador as part of the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League...
4-games-to-none. In the 1975 Centennial Cup playdowns, the Flyers defeated the Island Junior Hockey League
Island Junior Hockey League
The Island Junior Hockey League is a Junior "B" ice hockey league in Prince Edward Island, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada.-History:Since being founded in 1996, the IJHL has been strictly a Junior "B" League—one tier below the Maritime Junior A Hockey League and two tiers below the Quebec Major...
's Charlottetown Colonels 3-games-to-none to win the Atlantic Junior A Championship. In the next round, the Eastern Canada Quarter-final, the Jr. Flyers dropped to the Central Junior A Hockey League
Central Junior A Hockey League
The Central Canada Hockey League is a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey league operating in eastern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ottawa District Hockey Association and Hockey Canada and is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League...
's Smiths Falls Bears
Smiths Falls Bears
The Smiths Falls Bears are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League. They were original members, but then left Smiths Falls in 1976...
in four straight games. The Bears would go on to win the Eastern Crown but lose the Centennial Cup Final.
In 1975-76, the Gander Jr. Flyers folded after the best performance by a Newfoundland Junior A team to date. The teams were reorganized into a Junior B league for that season (under the name West Newfoundland League), with teams in Stephenville, Corner Brook, Port-aux-Basques, and Deer Lake. Stephenville would reign victorious, but when it came to the Veitch Memorial Trophy they couldn't come to terms with the St. John's Jr. Capitals for a series and the Provincial title was vacated.
In 1976-77, the league was complete shut down. Three teams remained and were allowed to declare themselves Junior A: Corner Brook, St. John's, and Stephenville. Corner Brook would defeat Stephenville in the provincial semi-final 3-games-to-none, and then defeat St. John's 2-games-to-1 for the Veitch Memorial Trophy. In the 1977 Centennial Cup playdowns, the Corner Brook Jr. Royals would be dropped 4-games-to-none by the Sydney Millionaires of the Eastern Junior A Hockey League
Eastern Junior A Hockey League
The Eastern Junior A Hockey League was a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey league from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Eastern Junior A Hockey League was in competition for the Manitoba Centennial Cup, the National Junior A Championship from 1975 until 1978.-History:In the mid-1970s,...
.
Junior A hockey would not be played in Newfoundland again until 1989 in the St. John's Junior Hockey League.
Teams
- Bay St. George Huskies/Stephenville Jr. Monarchs
- Buchans Miners
- Clarenville CaribousClarenville CaribousThe Clarenville Caribous are a senior ice hockey team based in Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador as part of the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League...
- Corner Brook Jr. Royals
- Conception Bay North Stars
- Deer Lake Sabres
- Gander Jr. Flyers
- Grand Falls Jr. Cataracts
- Port-aux-Basques Gulls
- St. John's Jr. Capitals
Champions
- 1972 Gander Jr. Flyers
- 1973 Buchans Miners
- 1974 Gander Jr. Flyers
- 1975 Gander Jr. Flyers
- 1976 Stephenville Jr. Monarchs
Veitch Memorial TrophyVeitch Memorial TrophyThe Veitch Memorial Trophy is the Junior ice hockey Grand Championship of Newfoundland and Labrador. The trophy is awarded by Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...
Provincial Junior A Champions
- 1972 St. John's Jr. Capitals (Independent)
- 1973 Buchans Miners
- 1974 Gander Jr. Flyers
- 1975 Gander Jr. Flyers
- 1976 No Jr. A teams in Newfoundland
- 1977 Corner Brook Jr. Royals (Independent)