The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association (NOJHA) was a Junior A

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

league based in

Northeastern Ontario Northeastern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, which lies north of Lake Huron and east of Lake Superior. Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timisk ...

, Canada. The league lasted from 1962 until 1972 and competed for the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

from 1962 until 1970 and the

Manitoba Centennial Trophy 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 consists of a ten-team round robin featuring the ...

from 1970 until 1972.

History

The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association was founded in 1962 at the Caswell Espanola Hotel in

Espanola, Ontario Espanola (2021 population census 5,185) is a town in Northern Ontario, Canada, in the Sudbury District. It is situated on the Spanish River, approximately west of downtown Sudbury, and just south of the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 17. ...

. Founded with five

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

communities and one

Northern Michigan Northern Michigan (also known as Northern Lower Michigan and colloquially within Michigan as "Up North") is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. The region, which is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsul ...

team, the league was founded in an effort to stop the flow of Northern Ontario talent from going to the OHA Junior A Hockey League and the various Junior B leagues. The NOJHA was a top tier Junior A hockey league and was eligible to compete for the

, the trophy of Canadian junior hockey supremacy. The original six teams of the NOJHA were the

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (often shortened to Soo Greyhounds) are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was founded in 1962 as a team in th ...

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

, North Bay Trappers, Garson-Falconbridge Native Sons,

Espanola Eagles The Espanola Eagles (aka Espanola Screaming Eagles) were a Canadian Junior ice hockey team. The team was coached for eighteen years by Red McCarthy who then managed it for another four. The Eagles were located in Espanola, Ontario and played in ...

, and

Soo Michigan Realtors The Soo Michigan Realtors were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. This defunct hockey team was a part of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Junior ice ho ...

. By 1964, Soo Michigan dropped from the league. In 1969, the Native Sons moved to become the Chelmsford Canadiens. In 1970, there was a massive shift in junior hockey. The NOJHA found itself relegated to a new level of hockey known as Tier II Junior A. In 1971, the

dropped from the league to the newly formed NOHA Junior B Hockey League. A season later, the entire NOJHA was forced to fold. With only four teams remaining, Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury sought moves to the

Ontario Major Junior Hockey League In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate ind ...

and were accepted. At the same time, North Bay applied for acceptance into the newly formed

Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league dates back to 1954 where i ...

, another Tier II league, and were accepted. With one team remaining, the league closed its doors. The remaining team, Chelmsford, followed Espanola's lead and joined the NOHA Junior B Hockey League. In 1978, the NOHA Junior B Hockey League was promoted to Tier II Junior A status and renamed the

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Junior ice hockey league with eleven teams in Northeastern Ontario and Upper Michigan. The league is a constituent member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and is governed by the ...

Eastern Memorial Cup play

This is a complete list of

play for NOJHA teams. In eight years, the NOJHA failed to win a single series despite close calls in 1967 and 1968. ''1962-63 Finals'' :

Niagara Falls Flyers The Niagara Falls Flyers were two junior ice hockey franchises that played in the top tier in the Ontario Hockey Association. The first, a Junior "A" team existed from 1960 until 1972, and the second in Tier I Junior "A" from 1976 until 1982. B ...

( OHA) defeated

''4-games-to-none'' ''1963-64 Semi-finals'' :

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...

( OHA) defeated North Bay Trappers ''4-games-to-none'' ''1964-65 Semi-finals'' :

( OHA) defeated Garson-Falconridge Native Sons ''4-games-to-none'' ''1965-66 Semi-finals'' :

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...

( OHA) defeated North Bay Trappers ''4-games-to-none'' ''1966-67 Quarter-finals'' :

Cornwall Royals The Cornwall Royals were a junior ice hockey team based in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981, and the Ontario Hockey League from 1981 to 1992. This team shared its name with o ...

( OHDJHL) defeated

''4-games-to-3'' ''1967-68 Quarter-finals'' :

( OHDJHL) defeated North Bay Trappers ''4-games-to-3'' ''1968-69 Quarter-finals'' :

Sorel Black Hawks Sorel may refer to: Places * Sorel, Somme, a commune of the Somme ''département'', in France * Sorel-Tracy, city in Quebec, Canada ** Sorel Airport, near Sorel-Tracy People Given name * Sorel Carradine (born 1985), American actress * Sorel C ...

(

QJAHL The Quebec Junior A Hockey League (QJAHL) was a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Quebec that operated from 1972 until 1982. The QJAHL was a member of Hockey Quebec and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and was eligible for the Dud ...

) defeated

''4-games-to-none'' ''1969-70 Semi-Finals'' :

Montreal Junior Canadiens The Montreal Junior Canadiens were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Junior Hockey League from 1933 to 1961, and the Ontario Hockey Association from 1961 to 1972. They played out of the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. History Th ...

( OHA) defeated

''4-games-to-1''

Eastern Centennial Cup play

This is a complete list of

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 ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey. It consists of a ten-team ...

play for NOJHA teams. In two years, the NOJHA failed to win a series. ''1970-71 Quarter-finals'' :

Thunder Bay Marrs The Port Arthur Marrs were a junior ice hockey team that played in Port Arthur, Ontario (now part of the city of Thunder Bay). They were named for trucking company and sponsor W.H. Marr, Ltd., and contested the 1967 Memorial Cup, which they lost t ...

(

TBJHL The Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League (TBJHL) was a Canadian junior ice hockey league that existed from c. 1920 to 1980. The TBJHL operated in Northwestern Ontario, primarily in the Thunder Bay region. The Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League was ...

) defeated

''4-games-to-3'' ''1971-72 Quarter-finals'' :

Guelph CMC's The Guelph Platers were a junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Ontario Hockey League, Ontario Junior Hockey League, and Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League. They were originally known as the CMC's un ...

( SOJHL) defeated

''3-games-to-none''

Teams

* Chelmsford Canadiens/Garson-Falconbridge Native Sons *

* North Bay Trappers *

Regular Season Champions

*1963 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds *1964 North Bay Trappers *1965 North Bay Trappers *1966 North Bay Trappers *1967 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds *1968 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds *1969 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds *1970 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds *1971 Sudbury Wolves *1972 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

Playoff Champions

*1963 Espanola Eagles *1964 North Bay Trappers *1965 Garson-Falconbridge Native Sons *1966 North Bay Trappers *1967 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds *1968 North Bay Trappers *1969 Sudbury Wolves *1970 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds *1971 Sudbury Wolves *1972 Sault Ste. Marie GreyhoundsNOJHL Statistical Package by Dave Harrison, League Historian

References

External links

Official NOJHL website
{{CJAHL Defunct ice hockey leagues in Ontario Sport in Northern Ontario Sports leagues established in 1962 1962 establishments in Ontario 1972 disestablishments in Ontario Sports leagues disestablished in 1972