The Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League (SOJHL) is a former

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

league sanctioned by the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

based out of Southwestern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. Prior to the 2012-13 season, the SOJHL was promoted to the Junior C level. In the summer of 2016, the SOJHL was merged into the

Provincial Junior Hockey League The Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey, junior ice hockey league spanning parts of Southern Ontario. The PJHL is the third tier of the Ontario Hockey Association and is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federatio ...

History

Founded in the 1960s as the Shamrock Junior D Hockey League. In 1969, the League would change its name to the Western Junior D Hockey League and its champion would go on to win eleven of the next nineteen provincial championships. In the Summer of 1985, the

North Junior D Hockey League North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

would fold, leaving the Western League and the

Southern Counties Junior D Hockey League Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

. In 1988, the SCJDHL would fold and its remaining teams joined the Western League. Bloated to nineteen teams, the league would continue on as the only Junior D league in Ontario. In 1991, the league became the OHA Junior Development League. In 2006, in an attempt to gain promotion to Junior C, the league dropped any reference of Junior D or Development and renamed itself the Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League. During the summer of 2006, the Yeck Conference applied to break off from the league and start their own Junior C league, but were turned down by the OHA. A talented and entertaining league, the SOJHL has a long-standing tradition of the OHA in the Southwestern Ontario region. Dorchester Dolphins 2013

The SOJHL downsized extensively for the 2008-09 season, losing Mitchell, West Lorne, and Central Elgin. The league also reformatted into three divisions. The SOJHL saw the Central Elgin franchise return, this time as the Port Stanley Sailors, for the 2009-2010 season. As of 2012, the SOJHL is in talks with the OHA as to the future of the league. The 2012-13 season will be played at the Junior C level and the league will be folded and divided up into other leagues in the summer of 2013. In the Spring of 2013, Junior C hockey in Ontario had its first major realignment since the creation of the

Georgian Mid-Ontario Junior C Hockey League The Georgian Mid Ontario Junior C Hockey League is a former Junior "C" ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association. The Champion of the league competed for the All-Ontario Championship and the Clarence Schma ...

in 1994. The 27 teams between the Niagara & District Junior C Hockey League and the Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League were reshuffled. The SOJHL went from 15 to 9 teams, gaining the

Aylmer Spitfires The Aylmer Spitfires are a Canadian junior hockey team based in Aylmer, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League. History The franchise began in Tillsonburg as a Junior B team in 1974, first known as the Mavericks, th ...

, but losing their reigning champion

Ayr Centennials The Ayr Centennials are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Ayr, Ontario. They play in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. History The Ayr Centennials were founded in 1982 as members of the South ...

, the

Burford Bulldogs The Burford Bulldogs were a Canadian Junior Hockey team based in Burford, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Provincial Junior Hockey League. History The Burford Bulldogs were founded in 1988 after a long layoff of junior hockey in the town o ...

Delhi Travellers The Delhi Travellers are a junior hockey team based in Delhi, Ontario, Canada. The Travellers play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. History Prior to 1966, the Delhi franchise was a member of the Shamr ...

Hagersville Hawks The Hagersville Hawks are a Junior ice hockey team from Hagersville, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Provincial Junior Hockey League in the Ontario Hockey Association. History The Hagersville Hawks were founded in 1992. The town was ...

, Norfolk Rebels,

Tavistock Braves The Tavistock Braves are a Junior ice hockey team based in Tavistock, Ontario, Canada. They currently play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. History During the 1981-82 season Tavistock finished first ...

, and

Wellesley Applejacks The Wellesley Apple Jacks are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Wellesley, Ontario. They play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. History The Wellesley Apple Jacks joined the Western Junior D ...

. That summer the Niagara League would divide in half, forming the

Midwestern Junior C Hockey League The Midwestern Junior C Hockey League (MWJCHL) was a Canadian Junior ice hockey league in Southwestern Ontario. The MWJCHL was a member of the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. Its champion competed for the Clarence Schmalz Cup, the ...

with its former Western Division.

The Teams

2015-16 Playoffs

''Winner moves on to the

Clarence Schmalz Cup The Clarence Schmalz Cup is the Ontario Hockey Association's Junior "C" ice hockey championship and championship trophy. The champions of the Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) are awarded the Cup. The PJHL was formed in 2016 from the former ...

.''

Champions

League Title

''From 1989 on, the winner of the league was also provincial champions and was awarded the OHA Cup. Bolded are league champions, italicized are runners-up in years with three divisions.''

Regular Season Champions

This chart starts at the unification of the Junior D leagues, through the SOJHL's ascension to Junior C, until its merger into the

in 2016.

Former Member Teams

* Alvinston Flyers *

* Bothwell Barons *

* Hanover Hurricanes * Hensall-Zurich Combines *

Lambeth Flyers Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

* Langton Thunderbirds *

Mitchell Hawks The Mitchell Hawks are a Junior ice hockey team based in Mitchell, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. History The Mitchell Hawks were founded in 1966 in one of the many Ontario ...

Ohsweken Golden Eagles The Brantford Eagles were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Mid-Western Conference of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. On May 23, 2012, the Eagles were transplanted to Caledonia, On ...

Paris Mounties The Paris Mounties are a junior hockey team based in Paris, Ontario, Canada. They were members of the Midwestern Junior C Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association until the 2016-17 season when it became the Pat Dougherty Division of the ...

Port Dover Sailors The Port Dover Sailors are a junior hockey team based in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Niagara & District Junior C Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association until the 2016-17 season when the league joined the Provincial J ...

* St. George Dukes *

Seaforth Centenaires Seaforth may refer to: Places Australia * Seaforth, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Seaforth, Queensland, a town in the Mackay Region Canada *Seaforth, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * Seaforth, Ontario, Canada, a community Jamai ...

* Strathroy Falcons *

* Thedford Browns *

* West Lorne Lakers * Zurich Dominions

References

External links

OHA Webpage
{{Junior Hockey C C