| Connecticut Chiefs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Newington, Connecticut |
| League | Eastern Hockey League |
| Division | Central |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Home arena | Newington Arena |
| Colors | Green, Black, Gray, and White |
| Owner(s) | Ryan Hughes Jacques de Saint Phalle |
| General manager | Greg Heffernan |
| Head coach | Greg Heffernan |
| Franchise history | |
| 1996–2012 | Capital District Selects |
| 2012–2018 | Connecticut Oilers |
| 2018–present | Connecticut Chiefs |
| Championships | |
| Playoff championships | 2014–15 |
The Connecticut Chiefs are a Junior Tier III ice hockey team from Newington, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL).
Previously known as the Oilers, the organization also had youth teams, ranging from age groups of 6 to 16-years-old, and competed in the Atlantic Youth Hockey League (AYHL) out of the SoNo Icehouse in Norwalk, Connecticut.[1][2] However, these teams joined the Connecticut RoughRiders organization when the Oilers relocated to Hamden.
History
The franchise was founded as the Capital District Selects playing out of Troy, New York. After several seasons as an independent midget team, the CD Selects joined the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) in 1998 as a part-time member, joining full-time in 1999. The team was owned and coached by former RPI coach Jim Salfi. Beginning with the 2002–03 season, the Selects played in the Eastern Junior Hockey League's South Division, until the Boston Junior Shamrocks were sold and moved to Philadelphia which moved the Selects to the North Division.
In 2012, the team was sold and relocated to Norwalk, Connecticut, and renamed the Connecticut Oilers and became affiliated with the United States Hockey League's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.[3] During the summer of 2013, Tier III junior hockey was drastically reorganized in the north eastern United States resulting in the Oilers moving to the Atlantic Junior Hockey League. On June 6, 2013, the AJHL became the Eastern Hockey League.
The Oilers would have their best season in 2014–15 and won the EHL playoffs and league championship. Winning the league championship would normally qualify the team for the 2015 USA Hockey Tier III National Championships, however due to a clerical error with a pair of the Oilers' import player's paperwork, the runner-up Northern Cyclones represented the EHL.[4] Due to these circumstances, the EHL would later void their playoff championship and claim a "vacant" playoff champion for that season.[5]
After the 2016–17 season, the Oilers relocated to Hamden, Connecticut, when the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders established an EHL expansion team in Norwalk called the Connecticut RoughRiders.[3]
In 2018, the Connecticut Chiefs, a youth hockey organization in Newington, Connecticut, obtained the Oilers' franchise rights and plan to operate the franchise in the EHL during the 2018–19 season.[6]
Due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the junior teams temporarily relocated halfway through the 2020–21 season to West Springfield, Massachusetts, as the Western Mass Chiefs.[7][8]
Season-by-season records
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital District Selects | ||||||||||
| 1999–00 | 38 | 21 | 14 | 3 | — | 45 | 171 | 133 | 4th of 11, EJHL | |
| 2000–01 | no data | 7th EJHL | Lost Quarterfinal game, 2–4 vs. Boston Jr. Bruins[9] | |||||||
| 2001–02 | 38 | 19 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 43 | 157 | 138 | 4th of 6, South 7th of 12, EJHL | Lost Quarterfinal game, 1–8 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs[10] |
| 2002–03 | 38 | 20 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 141 | 109 | 4th of 6, South 6th of 12, EJHL | Lost Quarterfinals vs. Boston Jr. Bruins[11] |
| 2003–04 | 38 | 25 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 52 | 158 | 130 | 1st of 6, South 3rd of 12, EJHL | Won Quarterfinals vs. Boston Harbor Wolves Lost Semifinal game, 5–6 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs[12] |
| 2004–05 | 51 | 20 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 47 | 173 | 202 | 4th of 7, South 8th of 13, EJHL | Won Play-in game, 5–3 vs. New England Junior Huskies Lost Quarterfinals, 0–2 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs[13] |
| 2005–06 | 45 | 16 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 147 | 184 | 7th of 7, South 12th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify |
| 2006–07 | 45 | 16 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 136 | 163 | 5th of 7, South 11th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify |
| 2007–08 | 45 | 19 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 146 | 149 | 6th of 7, South 11th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify |
| 2008–09 | 45 | 8 | 31 | 5 | 1 | 22 | 133 | 234 | 7th of 7, South 13th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify |
| 2009–10 | 45 | 9 | 31 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 126 | 228 | 6th of 7, North 13th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify |
| 2010–11 | 45 | 6 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 117 | 251 | 7th of 7, North 14th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify |
| 2011–12 | 45 | 1 | 39 | — | 5 | 7 | 103 | 283 | 7th of 7, North 14th of 14, EJHL | Did not qualify |
| Connecticut Oilers | ||||||||||
| 2012–13 | 45 | 12 | 28 | — | 5 | 29 | 120 | 179 | 6th of 7, South 12th of 14, EJHL | Lost First Round, 0–2 vs. Valley Jr. Warriors[14] |
| 2013–14 | 44 | 26 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 57 | 170 | 121 | 1st of 6, Central 4th of 17, EHL | Lost First Round, 1–2 vs. Valley Jr. Warriors |
| 2014–15 | 44 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 64 | 183 | 103 | 1st of 5, Central 4th of 19, EHL | Won First Round, 2–0 vs. Boston Junior Rangers Won Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs.Walpole Express Won Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Philadelphia Little Flyers Won Finals, 3–2 vs. Northern Cyclones League Champions* (voided)[4] |
| 2015–16 | 41 | 28 | 11 | — | 2 | 68 | 159 | 130 | 2nd of 9, South Conf. 4th of 18, EHL-Premier | Won First Round, 2–0 vs. New Jersey Rockets Won Second Round, 2–0 vs. Hartford Jr. Wolfpack Lost Semifinals, 0–2 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs |
| 2016–17 | 48 | 17 | 27 | — | 4 | 38 | 135 | 208 | 1st of 4, Central Div. 5th of 8, South Conf. 14th of 17, EHL-Premier | Lost First Round, 0–2 vs. New York Apple Core |
| 2017–18 | 50 | 14 | 33 | — | 3 | 31 | 118 | 205 | 3rd of 4, Central Div. 6th of 8, South Conf. 14th of 16, EHL | Lost First Round, 0–2 vs. Philadelphia Little Flyers |
| Connecticut Chiefs | ||||||||||
| 2018–19 | 44 | 13 | 28 | — | 3 | 29 | 137 | 198 | 5th of 5, South Div. 10th of 10, New England Conf. 16th of 18, EHL | Did not qualify |
| 2019–20 | 46 | 14 | 28 | — | 4 | 32 | 112 | 182 | 9th of 11, New England Conf. 15th of 19, EHL | Did not qualify |
| 2020–21 | 38 | 17 | 17 | — | 4 | 38 | 124 | 138 | 3rd of 7, Central Div. 9th of 17, EHL | Won First Round, 2–0 vs. Seahawks Hockey Club Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Walpole Express |
| 2021–22 | 46 | 18 | 23 | — | 5 | 41 | 140 | 158 | 2nd of 4, Central Div. 14th of 17, EHL | Won First Round, 2–0 vs. Connecticut Roughriders Lost Div. Semifinals, 1–2 vs. Worcester Jr Railers Lost Wild Cqard Gm 2-3(ot) New Jersey 87's |
| 2022–23 | 46 | 15 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 100 | 136 | 3rd of 5, Central Div. 17th of 19, EHL | Won Semifinals, 2–1 HC Rhode Island Lost Div. Semifinals, 1–2 vs. Worcester Jr Railers |
Notable alumni
- Dave Evans - Clarkson University (Carolina Hurricanes 1999 Draft Pick)
- Ben Guite - University of Maine (Montreal Canadiens 1997Draft Pick)
- Jay Leach - Providence College (NHL player)
- David Leggio - Clarkson University (TPS Turku SM-liiga player)
- Nick Petrecki - Boston College (San Jose Sharks 2007 1st Round Draft Pick)
- Matthias Trattnig - University of Maine (Chicago Blackhawks 1998 Draft Pick)
- Curtis Valentine - Bowling Green University (Vancouver Canucks 1998 Draft Pick)
- Shawn Weller - Clarkson University (Ottawa Senators 2004 Draft Pick)
- Brian Robbins - UMass - Lowell
References
- ↑ "Connecticut Oilers Youth Hockey home page". Connecticut Oilers. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
- ↑ "AYHL home page". AYHL. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
- 1 2 "CT RoughRiders Press Release". Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. March 6, 2017.
- 1 2 "DAILY DISH: Eastern Hockey League's Switch-a-roo-ski - Junior Hockey News". Junior Hockey News. March 27, 2015.
- ↑ "EHL History". Eastern Hockey League. Archived from the original on August 8, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
- ↑ "CT Chiefs Join Eastern Hockey League". CT Chiefs. January 28, 2018.
- ↑ "EHL First Round Playoff Preview: Five Best-Of-Three Series Set To Begin This Week". Hockey Night in Boston News. March 2, 2021.
- ↑ "Around the #EShow - First Half Recap". YouTube. January 4, 2021.
- ↑ "EJHL Playoffs".
- ↑ "| Amateur Hockey News | March 28, 2002".
- ↑ "| Amateur Hockey News | March 28, 2003".
- ↑ "Feisty Forward for Golden Knights | Amateur Hockey News | March 28, 2004".
- ↑ "EJHL Playoffs, Updated Daily | Amateur Hockey News | March 14, 2005".
- ↑ "Junior hockey -- Oilers ousted from EJHL playoffs". 27 February 2013.
