The 2013–14 USPHL Premier season was the inaugural season of the Premier Division of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). The regular season ran from September 2013 to February 2014 with an 50-game schedule. The Boston Junior Bruins won the regular season championship and went on to defeat the New Jersey Hitmen 2 games to 0 for the Dineen Cup.
League formation In 2013, six teams from the Eastern Junior Hockey League (Bay State Breakers, Boston Junior Bruins, Islanders Hockey Club, New Jersey Hitmen, Portland Jr. Pirates and South Shore Kings) withdrew from the league to form a new league of their own. Though initially the United States Premier Hockey League was not going to receive sanctioning from USA Hockey, the USPHL did eventually get approval before the start of the season. At the time of its founding, the USPHL made the Premier Division the top level of play and enticed three additional programs to join. The Connecticut Yankees independent junior team agreed to join the league. Additionally, the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders organization founded a junior team and joined the new league, while the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, who had their primary junior team signed up to play in the new Eastern Hockey League, founded a secondary junior team for the USPHL. Many other junior teams also joined the USPHL at this time but they took their place in one of the lower leagues (Elite, Empire, or U18).
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:
Note: y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title
Standings Team yz – Boston Junior Bruins 48368476184103 y – New Jersey Hitmen 483611173209106 y – South Shore Kings 483113466166139 y – Philadelphia Jr. Flyers 482817359176157 y – Islanders Hockey Club 482321450159157 y – P.A.L. Jr. Islanders 482221549134147 y – Bay State Breakers 481823743132161 y – Portland Jr. Pirates 48143043297186 Connecticut Yankees 48839117120237
Dineen Cup playoffs Divisional Round Teams are reseeded after the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds.
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
References
General reference
External links Official website of the USPHL Premier Division