The Minnesota Junior Hockey League (MnJHL) was a

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 governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...

-sanctioned Tier III 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 operated out of Minneapolis-Saint Paul.

History

Established in 1974, the MnJHL developed players 20 years old and younger for over 40 years. Many MnJHL players, coaches and officials alumni have moved on to college hockey and professional hockey leagues. Since the inaugural season, the MnJHL had expanded up to 17 teams in the 2014–15 season with teams in

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Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

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and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. The league has a history of USA Hockey national championship teams. League members won national championships six times in the 1990s. In 2012, the MnJHL expanded outside of the Minnesota and Wisconsin areas adding teams from the Great Lakes Junior Hockey League. The GLJHL switched from

to the

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and eight of its teams refused to go with it. The eight Great Lakes Division teams formed their own division in the MnJHL while the original teams compete in the Minnesota Division. The Great Lakes Division would be renamed the Central Division prior to the 2014–15 season. The league also expanded into southern Minnesota for 2012–13.

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, based in Owatonna, were approved by the league board and play out of Four Seasons Centre. The

United States Premier Hockey League The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States fielding teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), ...

announced on December 18, 2014, the formation of a Midwest Division to begin in the 2015–16 season by adding the entire Central Division of the MnJHL. By the end of the season most of the remaining teams in the MnJHL (all teams other than the Rochester Ice Hawks and the dormant Twin Cities Northern Lights) had announced their intentions to join the USPHL Midwest. On April 29, 2015, it was announced that the league had disbanded for the 2015–16 season. On May 21, 2015, the Rochester Ice Hawks were approved to join the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New Yo ...

(NA3HL) to begin playing in the 2015–16 season. In June, the

Wooster Oilers The Wooster Oilers are a junior ice hockey team and member of the United States Premier Hockey League 'Premier' level. The Oilers play home games at the Alice Noble Ice Arena in Wooster, Ohio. History The franchise started in 2006 as an expansio ...

would drop out of the USPHL and only field a team in the NA3HL using the

Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks The Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks were a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team played their home games at the Ice Land USA in Strongsville, Ohio. The players, ages 16–20, ...

franchise it had purchased on February 12, 2015. Prior to starting their first season in the USPHL, the Ironwood Fighting Yoopers and Minnesota Owls announced they would go dormant for the 2015–16 season due to lack of players, the Crystal Lake Rampage were replaced with the Chicago Cougars, the Fort Wayne Federals were replaced with the Indiana Attack but ceased operations prior to their first season, the Hudson Crusaders were renamed the SCV Magicians, the St. Louis Frontenacs were renamed the St. Louis Storm but ceased operations prior to their first season, and the Maple Grove Energy were relocated to become the Blaine Energy.

Teams at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season

Former teams

* Central Wisconsin Saints (2012–2014) - relocated and became the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings *

Chicago Jr. Bulldogs (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

(2012–2013) - joined from GMJHL, moved to NA3HL *

Dubuque Thunderbirds The Dubuque Thunderbirds were a Tier III junior ice hockey team based in Dubuque, Iowa that played in the multipurpose Five Flags Event Center from 2001 through 2010. The Thunderbirds franchise was formed to fill a vacancy for Dubuque hockey fans ...

(2000–2006) - moved to CSHL * Edina Jr. Stingers - folded *

Granite City Lumberjacks The Granite City Lumberjacks are a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) and plays their home games at the Armadillo Deck Sports Arena, located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. The Lumberjacks play 48 r ...

(2007–2011) - moved to NA3HL *

Iron Range Yellow Jackets The Iron Range Yellow Jackets were a Junior "B" ice hockey team from Coleraine, Minnesota, Coleraine, Minnesota, United States. This defunct hockey team was a part of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League and an interleague member of the Junior "A" S ...

(1999–2002) - folded *

Minnesota Flying Aces The Willmar WarHawks are a Tier III ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the Willmar Civic Center located in Willmar, Minnesota. NA3HL teams play a 48-game regular season, in ad ...

(2007–2011) - moved to NA3HL * Minnesota Wildcats (2005–2011) - folded and replaced with the

Maple Grove Energy The Blaine Energy were a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team playing in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL)-Elite Division. The team played their home games at the 1,200-seaFogerty Arenalocated in Blaine, Minnesota. History Founded in ...

. * Jr. Kodiaks (?–2000) – folded * North Suburban Hawks – folded * South Suburban Steers – became the Twin Cities Northern Lights * St. Louis (Twin Bridges) Lightning (2004–2005) - sold & relocated to Maple Grove ( Minnesota Wildcats) * Shattuck-St. Mary's Sabres (?–2003) - team now plays a Midget Major schedule in CSDHL * Tri-Metro Whalers - folded *

Wisconsin Mustangs Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Mich ...

(2004–2010) - moved to

SIJHL The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) is a junior A ice hockey league and a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada. The league operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of M ...

* Wisconsin Rampage (?–2013) relocated to

Crystal Lake, Illinois Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Named after a lake southwest of the city's downtown, Crystal Lake is 45 miles northwest of Chicago. The population is 40,269 as of the 2020 Census, a 1.2% decrease from 201 ...

Playoff champions

National champions

* 1989–90: Northland Voyageurs * 1991–92: Northland Voyageurs * 1992–93: West Suburban Kodiaks * 1994–95: Minneapolis Kodiaks * 1996–97: Jr. Kodiaks * 1998–99: East Metro Lakers

References

External links

MnJHL.com
{{Junior Hockey 3

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 ...

1974 establishments in Minnesota Sports leagues established in 1974 2015 disestablishments in Minnesota Sports leagues disestablished in 2015