The International Junior B Hockey League (IJBHL) was a Canadian

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

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 in the

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 ...

and

Northern Michigan Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan (known colloquially to residents of more southerly parts of the state and summer residents from cities such as Detroit as " Up North"), is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popul ...

regions. The league was controlled by the Northern Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and was founded in 1965 and lasted until 1981.

History

The International Junior B Hockey League was created in 1965 to fill the gap in the region between the

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association (NOJHA) was a Junior A ice hockey league based in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. The league lasted from 1962 until 1972 and competed for the Memorial Cup from 1962 until 1970 and the Manitoba Centenni ...

and the

Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League The Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League (TBJHL) was a Canadian junior ice hockey league that existed from c. 1920 to 1980. The TBJHL operated in Northwestern Ontario, primarily in the Thunder Bay region. The Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League wa ...

. The league encompassed the Greater-Sault Ste. Marie region to the West in Wawa plus the edge of Northern Michigan. John Reynolds was league commissioner in the early years. The league became very significant after the NOJHA folded in 1972 and competed against the NOHA Jr. B Hockey League and the Northwestern Ontario Junior Hockey League for Northern Ontario hockey supremacy. In 1972, the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

-eligible NOJHA folded. The league's top two teams, the Sudbury Wolves and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, moved to the

Ontario Major Junior Hockey League In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate indepe ...

and the North Bay Trappers moved to the newly formed Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. This left the

Chelmsford Canadiens The Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Rayside-Balfour, Ontario, Canada. This defunct hockey team was a part of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. History A very successful franchise, the Sabrecats won the D ...

and dozens of junior-capable players without a league. This caused the expansion of the infantile NOHA Jr. B Hockey League who took the IJBHL to task in their first three years to win three straight NOHA titles from the IJBHL. In 1973, the Coniston Cubs defeated the Soo Indians, in 1974 the Rayside Balfour Canadians defeated the

Wawa Travellers The Wawa Travellers were a Junior "B" team based out of Wawa, Ontario. They played in the North of Superior Junior B Hockey League. History The Travellers played in all eight of the NSHL's seasons. After a slow start, the team moved through ...

, and in 1975 the Onaping Falls Flyers defeated the Blind River Beavers. In 1978, the NOHA Junior B Hockey League was promoted to Junior A and became 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 ...

Teams

Marty Pavelich Trophy Playoff Champions

External links

NOJHL's Official Website
Defunct ice hockey leagues in Ontario Sport in Northern Ontario Defunct junior ice hockey leagues in Canada Sports leagues established in 1965 Sports leagues disestablished in 1981 1965 establishments in North America 1981 disestablishments in North America {{icehockey-league-stub