The Buffalo Regals were an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

junior "B"

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team based in the Buffalo suburb of

Cheektowaga, New York Cheektowaga () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is the ...

. They played in the

Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. The league is c ...

(GOJHL). The organization also had several

youth hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cl ...

teams.

History

Founded in 1987, the Wheatfield Jr. Blades played out of the Northeastern Junior Hockey League from 1987 until 1997. In 1997, the Blades jumped to the Tier III Junior B

Empire Junior Hockey League The Empire Junior Hockey League (EmJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey league. The league was classified as Tier III Junior B until the 2011–12 season when USA Hockey combined the Tier III Junior A and Junior B classifi ...

(EmJHL). In the 2005–06 season, the Blades elected to field two teams, one to play in the EmJHL and another to play in the Canadian Junior B

Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League The Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League (GHL) was a junior ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association from 1974 until 2007. In 2007, the league became a division of the newly formed Greater Ontario Junio ...

(GHJHL). Each team's primary players were different, but listed the other team's players as affiliates. In the 2006–07 Season, the Blades sold their EmJHL team to the Buffalo Stars. Before the 2011–12 season, the team was renamed the Buffalo Blades and managed by Jerry Shorthouse and John Bruno. As the Buffalo Blades, the team would only win nine times in 101 games. In 2013, the team was bought by a group with close ties to the local minor hockey association and the team was renamed the Regals. It was announced on September 2, 2014 that the Regals would not play the 2014–15 season after the

OJHL The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best d ...

Buffalo Jr. Sabres The Buffalo Jr. Sabres are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Buffalo, New York. They are a part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League. Its current head coach and general manager is Nick Tuzzolino, who played in the organization during its Buffalo ...

ended an agreement to transfer players between the two teams, causing the Regals to lose a valuable source of talent and unable to field a team. Prior to the 2015–16 season, the Regals failed to file the appropriate reinstatement paper work with

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

in order to play the season. The Regals returned to the GOJHL in time for the 2016–17 season. However, on 21 November, after 24 games, all of which were lost in regulation, the GOJHL announced over social media that the Regals had been removed from the league after the team did not travel to play the

Welland Jr. Canadians The Welland Jr. Canadians are a junior hockey, junior ice hockey team based in Welland, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Golden Horseshoe division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History The Welland franchise, under any of its vario ...

. One day later, the statement was deleted and the Regals played a home game against the

Ancaster Avalanche The Ancaster Avalanche were a Canada, Canadian junior hockey, junior ice hockey team based in Ancaster, Ontario. They played in the Golden Horseshoe Conference of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team was known as the Stoney Creek War ...

, which they lost 7–0. GM Mike Answeeney said: "It's back to normal as far as I’m concerned... We're going to show up for every game scheduled." The team moved to Cornerstone Arena in nearby Lockport, New York, prior to the 2018–19 season and rebranded as the Lockport Regals. The team returned to using the Buffalo name at the start of the 2019–20 season and moved to the Holiday Twin Rinks in

. The 2019–20 postseason was curtailed by the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and the following GOJHL season never took place due to the pandemic-related restrictions. The Regals were the only GOJHL team not listed to return for the 2021–22 season, and then they later resigned from the GOJHL.

Season results

References

External links

Jr. Regals webpageBuffalo Regals organization webpageGOJHL webpage
{{GOJHL Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League teams Sports in Buffalo, New York 1987 establishments in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 1987