The Springfield Pics are an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 hock ...

organization playing in

West Springfield, Massachusetts West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,835 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is also known as "West Si ...

at the

Olympia Ice Center Olympia Ice Center is a 2,200-seat hockey rink in West Springfield, Massachusetts. It is currently home to the Western New England University men's and woman's ice hockey teams. The teams compete in the Commonwealth Coast Conference of the NCAA ...

. They field two Tier III teams and a number of Youth teams.

History

The franchise was founded as the Springfield Olympics (or Pics for short) as charter member of the Tier III Junior A

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) in 1993. The team would relocate across the Massachusetts-Connecticut border to

Enfield, Connecticut Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The population was 42,141 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and East Longm ...

in 1995 and were renamed the New England Jr. Whalers named after the local

National Hockey League 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 ...

team in Hartford. After the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

moved to Carolina in 1997, the franchise was renamed the New England Jr. Coyotes and later the Jr. Falcons after the local

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ar ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

. During this time, the organization also fielded a team in the Tier III Empire Junior B Hockey League (EmJHL) (later 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 ...

). In the 2009 off-season, the Jr. Falcons EJHL and EmJHL teams merged with the Springfield Pics of the Continental Hockey Association (CHA) and the Bay State Bucs Midget team, members of the NEMHL.Press release announcing merger http://www.springfieldjrpics.com/juniormerger.html This led the now merged Pics organization to field teams in the EJHL, EmJHL, and CHA.

USPHL Premier Division

In 2013, many Tier III junior hockey leagues were re-organized in the northeastern United States and the Springfield Pics became founding members of the new

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), ...

(USPHL). Their former Junior A team (

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 Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

dropped Junior A and B designations in 2011) which had participated in the EJHL joined the USPHL Elite Division for the 2013–14 season. In their first year in the USPHL-Elite League the Pics finished second and then went on to win the playoffs. The playoff win propelled the team to the ''2014 USA Hockey Tier III Junior Nationals'' where they won their pool before losing the semifinal game to the eventual National Champions, the

Boston Jr. Bruins The Boston Junior Bruins are an American junior ice hockey organization playing in Marlborough, Massachusetts. They currently field three junior and a number of youth teams in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). Mission Junior hock ...

. The Elite Division team was promoted to the Premier Division prior to the 2014–15 season.

USHPL USP3 Division

Their former Junior B team from the EmJHL joined the USPHL Empire Division for the 2013–14 season. In 2015, the Empire Division became the USP3 Division.

Former Junior B ESHL team

Their second Junior B team last competed in the Eastern States Hockey League (formerly the CHA). Following the 2013 re-organization, this team was eliminated in favor of Under 18 and Under 16 teams which play in corresponding USPHL leagues.

Season-by-season records

USA Hockey Tier III National Championships

Round robin play in pool with top 4 teams advancing to semifinal.

References

External links

USPHL Web Site
* 1993 establishments in Massachusetts Ice hockey clubs established in 1993 Ice hockey teams in Massachusetts Junior ice hockey teams in the United States Sports in Hampden County, Massachusetts West Springfield, Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-sport-team-stub