The New York Apple Core are a Tier III Junior A

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 ...

team from

Brewster, New York Brewster is a village and the principal settlement within the town of Southeast in Putnam County, New York. Its population was 2,390 at the time of the 2010 census. The village, which is the most densely populated portion of the county, was nam ...

, playing in the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart ...

. The team plays home games at the Brewster Ice Arena. The Apple Core organization is based out of Long Beach, New York, on Long Island, however, their top level junior team has played in Brewster since the start of the 2011–12 season. The Apple Core organization also fields a Tier III team in the Eastern Hockey League-Premier Division, as well as youth hockey select teams at the Bantam, Peewee, and Squirt and other various levels.

History

The franchise was a full-time member of the

Eastern Junior Hockey League The Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey league. Founded in 1993 by Dan Esdale, the EJHL had fourteen teams from across the Northeastern United States. The EJHL champion then competed for th ...

(EJHL) from 1998 to 2013. The team was originally formed in 1993 in the Junior B Metro League. In 1997–98, they played a handful of games against the EJHL, and became a full-time member a year later. In 2003, the Apple Core won the Triple Crown EJHL Championship, finishing as regular season and post-season champions. In 2013, the various Tier III junior hockey leagues in the north east went through a re-organization, which included the Apple Core joining the Atlantic Junior Hockey League. The Atlantic Junior Hockey League then re-branded itself as the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) after the dissolution of the former EJHL. Since joining the EJHL in 1998, the organization has also fielded multiple Tier III Junior B/C teams in the

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 ...

, Eastern States Hockey League, and

Metropolitan Junior Hockey League The Metropolitan Junior Hockey League was an American Tier III Junior ice hockey league with teams throughout the eastern United States. The MJHL was part of the Atlantic Metropolitan Hockey League organization. Founded in 1966 by New York Rang ...

, and the United States Premier Hockey League - Empire Division. In 2016, their developmental team (formerly known as Tier III Junior B/C) moved from the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League to the EHL's Elite Division (and then called Premier Division since 2017) and continues to play home games in Long Beach, New York.

Season-by-season records

Alumni

Apple Core has produced a number of alumni playing in higher levels of junior hockey,

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I and

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

, and ACHA

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

programs, and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

hockey, including: * Anthony Bitetto -

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

(

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

) * Erik Burgdoerfer -

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

(

) *

Mark Eaton Mark Edward Eaton (January 24, 1957 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Named an NBA All-Star in 1989, he wa ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

(

) *

Rich Hansen Richard John Hansen (born October 30, 1955 in Northport, New York) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 14 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues a ...

Rapid City Rush The Rapid City Rush are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Rapid City, South Dakota, and play their home games at The Monument. The Rush are currently a minor affiliate of the Calgary Flames NHL franchise. History On June 2, ...

( CHL) *

Mārtiņš Karsums Mārtiņš Karsums (born 26 February 1986) is a Latvian professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for MHk 32 Liptovský Mikuláš of the Slovak Extraliga. Karsums was selected in the second round, 64th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entr ...

- Dinamo Riga (

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...

) *

Ryan Cruthers Ryan Cruthers (born July 4, 1984, in Farmingdale, New York) is a former professional ice hockey player. In 2019, he became the assistant coach of the NCAA Robert Morris of Atlantic Hockey. During Cruthers' pre-collegiate career he won an East ...

Orlando Solar Bears The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

(

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

) * Doug Murray -

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

(

) *

Eric Nystrom Eric Thore Nystrom (born February 14, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was a first round selection of the Calgary Flames, taken 10th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, and made his NHL debut with Calgary in 2005. ...

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

(

) * Jekabs Redlihs - Dinamo Riga (

) *

Steven Santini Steven Michael Santini (born March 7, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing for the Springfield Thunderbirds in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the St. Louis Blues of the Nationa ...

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

(

) * Kevin Schaeffer -

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affi ...

(

) * Rob Scuderi -

(

) * Ryan Vesce -

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

(

) *

Matt Gilroy Matthew J. Gilroy (born July 20, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who last played for the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League (NL). Gilroy played in National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers, ...

(

) In 2005, the Apple Core became the first junior team to be represented by all four competing schools in the Beanpot hockey tournament. Representing the Apple Core were Kevin Schaeffer and Jekabs Redlihs of

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, Mike Brennan of Boston College, Jon Pelle and Bill Keenan of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, and Louie Liotti and Steve Birnstill of Northeastern University.

References

{{reflist

External links

Apple Core Website
Ice hockey teams in New York (state) Sports in Long Island