PHOTO CREDIT: MARISA MASSO

 

 

With summer winding down it means the start one thing, Jr. Flyers Hockey Season! This is the fifth season of the Eastern Hockey League and one of the top priorities is getting players scouted and committed to College. The Jr. Flyers sent 12 players off to DIII Hockey for the upcoming season. There are a few changes to the league for the upcoming 2017-18 season. Last season the EHL was divided into two divisions, Premier and Elite (Junior A, Junior B)

For the upcoming 2017-18 season the divisions will be:

• EHL (Junior A)
• EHL Premier (Junior B)

Last season the EHL it went by Premier and Elite, so let’s do a quick recap. The Jr. Flyers Premier (Junior A) team had an outstanding season. Despite injuries to key players throughout the season there was a next man up mentality and the team caught fire. In the second half of the season, after the holiday break, the Jr. Flyers were one of the hottest teams in the EHL and carried a 14 game win streak into the playoffs. The wins came against top opponents such as the Little Flyers, Revolution and Cyclones. The Jr. Flyers won 20 of their final 21 games and the only loss was in overtime so they still gained a point. The success continued into the postseason beating the Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, and East Coast Wizards in the first two rounds. The Jr. Flyers met the defending Champion New Hampshire Monarchs in the semi finals and swept them earning them a spot in the EHL Finals against their biggest rival, the Little Flyers. In a best of 5 series the Jr. Flyers won the title in overtime of game 5 crowning them the Champions of the Eastern Hockey League.

The Jr. Flyers Elite team also had a successful season. Scoring wasn’t a problem as goals came from lines one through four on a daily basis. It was their depth that made them such dangerous team. All season the bounced back and forth with the rival Philadelphia Revolution. The playoffs were different in the Elite Division so the 1st round of the playoffs was Round Robin. It was in this round that the incredible season for the Jr. Flyers would end.

EHL Division

Now that we are caught up, let’s get back to the changes for the upcoming season. For the EHL Jr. Flyers team the season has been extended to 50 games, two games more than last year. They will play inside their division (Mid Atlantic) for 18 games, meaning they’ll see the Philadelphia Revolution, Philadelphia Little Flyers and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights 6 times each. A big thing changing this year is the Playoff Format. There will be 12 teams that make the playoffs and each division winner will get a first round bye (4 teams total). For the rest of the teams it will be a Best of 3 series. The 2nd round will carry the same format and is best of 3. For the first two rounds, the lower seed only gets a home game if the venues are within 125 miles or less from each other. When there are four teams remaining the playoffs will shift to a neutral site. It will be just one game to see who goes to the finals and then the final two play one game to crown a champion.

Here are the division breakdowns for this season:

NORTHERN CONFERENCE

            New England Division

                        Vermont Lumberjacks

                        New England Wolves

                        Valley Jr. Warriors

                        New Hampshire Avalanche

            Boston Division

                        Boston Jr. Rangers

                        East Coast Wizards

                        Walpole Express

                        Total Athletics Seahawks

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

            Central Division

                        Connecticut RoughRiders

                        Connecticut Oilers

                        New York Applecore

                        New York Bobcats

            Mid-Atlantic Division

                        Philadelphia Jr. Flyers

                        Philadelphia Revolution

                        Philadelphia Little Flyers

                        Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights

 

EHL Premier Division

 As of right now there is no clear playoff format for the Premier Division, and the teams will play in a 44 game season. In the EHL Premier are 13 teams that will be divided into two conferences.

NORTHERN CONFERENCE

            Boston Jr. Rangers

            New England Wolves

            Valley Jr. Warriors

            Vermont Lumberjacks

            Walpole Express

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

                        Central Penn Panthers

                        Jersey Wildcats

                        New Jersey 87s

                        New Jersey Renegades

                        New York Applecore

                        Philadelphia Little Flyers

                        Philadelphia Jr. Flyers

    Philadelphia Revolution

 

You can watch every Philadelphia Jr. Flyers game (Both Divisions) this season live on HockeyTV.com. Just log on and subscribe and Jr. Flyers games will be accessed at the click of a button. You can watch the game from any smart device (phones, TVs, IPad etc.)  and if you miss a game you can go back and watch it in the “On Demand” section of HockeyTV.

Want all things Jr. Flyers? Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter @EHLJRFlyers. Here you'll find in game scoring updates, highlights, and weekly articles. If you want to see what’s happening around the league check them out at easternhockeyleague.org. Also check out the league on Facebook (Eastern Hockey League and Eastern Hockey League Premier) and on Twitter @EHL_Hockey and @EHLP_Hockey.

The preseason is right around the corner as both teams will be taking on the Hampton Road Whalers on September 1st, preseason games won’t be aired but that could change. If so we will notify on our social media platforms. The 2017-18 season is just around the corner as training camp ends on Friday (8/25) and the Jr. Flyers will be in action soon.

 

By: Joe Sindoni

Staff Writer

Play By Play Announcer