The Pacific Junior A Hockey League (PJHL) was a Canadian 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 hock ...

league operating within the

Greater Vancouver Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" is roughly coterminous with the geographic area governed b ...

metropolitan area in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

from 1971 until 1979.

History

From 1962 to 1967, a Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League (PCJHL) had been a Junior "A" league in British Columbia. That PCJHL folded when the New Westminster Royals and the

Victoria Cougars The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1911 to 1924 under various names, and (after the PCHA's merger with the Western Canada Hockey League) in the W ...

moved to the Okanagan-Mainline Junior "A" Hockey League, which immediately renamed itself the

British Columbia Junior Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams. From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Cana ...

(BCJHL, shortened to BCHL in 1995). In 1971, the Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League (PCJHL) name was revived by

Fred Page Frederick Page (September 29, 1915 – December 23, 1997) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator and ice hockey referee. He originated from Port Arthur, Ontario, where he played junior ice hockey, refereed locally and later at the Memorial ...

for a new Junior "B" league, with all six teams located within the

region. Page had deep roots in managing junior hockey leagues, and today there are two championship trophies named for himthe BCHL championship Fred Page Cup, and the

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

Junior "A" championship

Fred Page Cup The Fred Page Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy, won by a tournament conducted by the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The award is given to the winner of a round-robin and playoff between the Bogart Cup champions of the Central Canada Hoc ...

. Page was successful in getting the PCJHL promoted to Tier II Junior "A" for the 1973–74 season, adjusting its name to the Pacific Junior A Hockey League (PJHL). Starting that season, the PJHL champion would compete with the BCJHL champion in the BC Junior "A" Championship, the

Mowat Cup The Mowat Cup is emblematic of the Junior "A" ice hockey Championship of British Columbia (BC). The winner of the Mowat Cup historically moved on to play the winner of Alberta's Carling O'Keefe Cup for the Doyle Cup, signifying the Canadian Pacif ...

, with the winner moving on to what was the precursor to the

Doyle Cup The Doyle Cup is an ice hockey trophy won through a best-of-7 series conducted annually by the Canadian Junior Hockey League to determine the Pacific region berth in the Centennial Cup, the national Junior A championship. From 1971 to 2021, the se ...

. The PJHL's Nor'Wes Caps won the 1976 Mowat Cup, while the PJHL's

Richmond Sockeyes The Richmond Sockeyes are a Junior "B" ice hockey team based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. They were named the "Sockeyes" by the original owner and longtime Richmond resident and B.C. hockey volunteer and leader Bruce Allison in 1972. ...

won the 1977 and 1979 Mowat Cups. Page agreed to allow a merger between his PJHL and the BCJHL for the 1979–1980 season. In five years of Junior "A" competition, after operating for only two seasons as a Junior "B" league, the PJHL defeated the more established BCJHL in three of five

s. In competition against the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The reg ...

champion for the Pacific region championship, the PJHL champion went 0 for 3 and never got a chance to compete for the Western Championship

Abbott Cup The Abbott Memorial Cup, commonly referred to as the Abbott Cup, was awarded annually from 1919 through 1999 to the Junior "A" ice hockey Champion for Western Canada. The Cup was named after Captain E.L. (Hick) Abbott who was a noted hockey pl ...

nor the National Championship

Centennial Cup The Centennial Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), which determines the national champion of junior A ice hockey. It is a ten-team round robin featuring the winners of ...

Teams

Chilliwack Bruins The Chilliwack Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. The 2006–07 season marked the Bruins' inaugural season in the WHL. The team played at Prospera Centre, ...

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...

Comets *

Kerrisdale Kerrisdale is a neighbourhood in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kerrisdale is a neighbourhood located in Vancouver's west side. It features a mix of newer houses and older bungalows as well as various low and mid-rise rental a ...

Couriers * Nor'Wes Caps *

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

Stampeders *

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Jr. Canucks/Canadians

Champions

''In the chart, league champions are bolded.''

External links

BCHL History
{{CJAHL Defunct ice hockey leagues in British Columbia Defunct junior ice hockey leagues in Canada 1971 establishments in British Columbia 1979 disestablishments in British Columbia Sports leagues established in 1971 Sports leagues disestablished in 1979

History

Teams

Champions

See also

External links