The Wooster Oilers are a

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 ...

team and member of 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), ...

'Premier' level. The Oilers play home games at the

Alice Noble Ice Arena Alice Noble Ice Arena is a 900-seat multi-purpose arena in Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Wayne County. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Clevel ...

Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Wayne County. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Cleveland, southwest of Akron and west of Canton. The population was 27,232 at t ...

History

The franchise started in 2006 as an expansion team in the

America East Hockey League America East Hockey League was a Junior A league that folded in August 2008. The League had teams in the Northeastern region of the United States. Its stated goal was to develops its players to play on college, Major Junior, and professional tea ...

(AEHL). After the 2007–08 season the team moved to the

United Junior Hockey League The Northern Junior Hockey League (NJHL) was an independent regional junior ice hockey league based in Jamestown, New York. The league operated from 2008 to 2010. History United Junior Hockey League The United Junior Hockey League (UJHL) was cre ...

(UJHL) for the 2008–09 season along with two other AEHL teams. The Wooster Oilers finished third overall in their first season in the UJHL. The following season after the UJHL collapsed, the Wooster Oilers, along with many other UJHL franchises, joined the

Northern Junior Hockey League The Northern Junior Hockey League (NJHL) was an independent regional junior ice hockey league based in Jamestown, New York. The league operated from 2008 to 2010. History United Junior Hockey League The United Junior Hockey League (UJHL) was cre ...

. After the 2009–10 season, the Oilers announced they would join the Tier III

Great Lakes Junior Hockey League The Great Lakes Junior Hockey League (GLJHL) was an American inline hockey league. Sanctioned by the AAU, the league is based in the Great Lakes region of the Midwestern United States. From 2008 until 2012, the league was a USA Hockey-sanction ...

. The 2012–13 season brought changes again as the Oilers joined the

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 ...

-sanctioned Tier III

Minnesota Junior Hockey League The Minnesota Junior Hockey League (MnJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey league operated out of Minneapolis-Saint Paul. History Established in 1974, the MnJHL developed players 20 years old and younger for over 40 years ...

(MnJHL). The Oilers finished fifth overall in their inaugural season and made it to the semifinals in playoffs. On December 18, 2014, the

announced that it was adding the Central Division of the MnJHL teams to their new Midwest Division including the Oilers. However, on February 12, 2015, the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Junior ice hockey#Tier III, Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, M ...

announced that its board of governors had approved the sale and relocation of 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, ...

membership to owners of the Oilers for the 2015–16 season, allowing the Oilers to join the NA3HL. Originally the owners had planned to play two Tier III teams for the 2015–16 season, but by June it was reported that they had dropped their plans for the USPHL team and would only play in the NA3HL. However, after three seasons in the NA3HL, the Oilers left the league for the USPHL's Premier Division, now a non-sanctioned league, for the 2018–19 season. After a one-season hiatus due to the uncertainty of their home arena possibly closing, the Wooster Oilers returned to the USPHL for the 2020–21 season.

Season-by season records

References

External links

Official site
Junior ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 2006 Ice hockey teams in Ohio 2006 establishments in Ohio Wayne County, Ohio {{Ohio-sport-team-stub