The Canadian International Hockey League (CIHL) was a Canadian independent Junior

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 h ...

league based in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...

Central Ontario Central Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario that lies between Georgian Bay and the eastern end of Lake Ontario. The population of the region was 1,123,307 in 2016; however, this number does not in ...

, and the Greater Toronto Area.

History

The CIHL was officially announced on April 8, 2014 with the unveiling of its website. The league was started by Tim Clayden, owner of the Espanola Rivermen, a team that just finished their first year in the

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Canadian Junior ice hockey league and member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League and Northern Ontario Hockey Association. The winner of the NOJHL playoffs competes for the Dudley Hewitt Cup ...

and then left. In May 2014, the league was accepted into the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

's United Hockey Union. The AAU provides insurance and oversight to its leagues, but is not a recognized governing body of ice hockey by Hockey Canada or the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 ...

. The league initially announced two other confirmed teams: the Bracebridge Phantoms and the Colborne Cramahe Hawks (formerly Bobcaygeon Bucks) from the

Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League The Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL) is a Canadian developmental junior ice hockey league. The league has primarily had teams in the Greater Toronto Area, Central Ontario, Northeastern Ontario, and Quebec. In 2019, they added three ...

. A week after announcing Bracebridge as a team, the team decided to stay with the GMHL under new ownership. The league then announced the following teams for its inaugural season:

Barrie Stars Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

, Batchewana Attack, Collingwood Ice, Greater Sudbury Royals, Milton Cobras and St. Charles Spirit. In early August it was announced that Barrie would not continue with the league. On August 27, the CIHL officially announced the

Toronto Junior Hockey Academy Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

as a league member. On October 4, 2014, the CIHL kicked off its inaugural hockey weekend. The first-ever puck drop took place in St. Charles, Ontario where the St. Charles Spirit hosted the Greater Sudbury Royals. The Spirit would win the first-ever CIHL game 5-3. That same day in

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie ( ) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is at the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay. The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants ...

, the Batchewana Attack hosted the Espanola Rivermen, winning 6-2. On November 10, 2014, the CIHL left the

United Hockey Union The United Hockey Union (UHU), founded in 2012, is a group of ice hockey leagues in North America. The UHU is overseen and insured by the Amateur Athletic Union. Neither body is recognized by USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, or the International Ice Hoc ...

and the AAU. In addition, the CIHL allowed its first American team into the league, the

Kalkaska Rhinos Kalkaska may refer to several places or things associated with the U.S. state of Michigan: * Kalkaska, Michigan, a village in Kalkaska Township and county seat of Kalkaska County * Kalkaska County, Michigan * Kalkaska Township, Michigan * Kalkaska ...

. Within a week, the CIHL experienced an exodus of teams, seeing Colborne, Collingwood, Milton and Toronto leaving the league to form their own AAU-sanctioned

World United Hockey League The World United Hockey League (WUHL) was a junior ice hockey league. The WUHL were members of the United Hockey Union (UHU), an affiliate of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). History Formed in November 2014, the WUHL was formed by four teams wh ...

(WUHL). The St. Charles Spirit folded days later. The Collingwood Ice would also fold after playing nine games in the WUHL. In late November, the CIHL announced the formation of the

Markstay-Warren Spirit Warriors Markstay-Warren is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Sudbury District. Highway 17, from the city limits of Greater Sudbury to the Sudbury District's border with Nipissing District, lies entirely within Markstay-Warren. ...

, a new team who would assume the St. Charles' schedule and win-loss record. After playing one game (losing 6-0), the Markstay-Warren Spirit Warriors joined the ever-growing list of former teams when they folded in order to send players to the Greater Sudbury Royals. This provided a boost to the winless Royals, who were also on the verge of folding. The Royals would fold in later January. In February, the Kalkaska Rhinos left the CIHL to become an independent team, leaving only the Espanola Riverman and the Batchewana Attack, putting the league's future in question. In April 2015, the league decided against operating for a 2nd season.

Teams

Regular season champions

Playoff champions

Former teams

References

External links

Official CIHL Twitter
{{Junior Hockey Defunct ice hockey leagues in Ontario O Canadian Inter Sports leagues established in 2014 Sports leagues disestablished in 2015 2014 establishments in Ontario 2015 disestablishments in Ontario