New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of three Maritime provinces in Canada. It has a population of about 750,000 and its capital is Fredericton.
History of hockey in New Brunswick
Ice polo (played with six players, curved sticks, and a hard ball) was popular in New Brunswick during the 1880s. In 1885, seven teams competed in the Lansdowne Polo League - Carleton, Wellington, Maliseet Indians, City, Long Reach, Lansdowne, and the Bluenoses, who won the Saint John city title. Games were played at the Landsowne Rink, situated on lot 219 to 235 Charlotte Street. A team from Saint John also played roller polo in Halifax in January 1885, beating the Wanderers 3-0. Ice polo soon faded, although the game remained popular on roller skates.
Organized ice hockey was first played in New Brunswick in 1891 when city bank clerks and the Saturday Night Club of the Victoria rink faced each other in Saint John. Several other scratch games were played that winter and in 1892, and the Saint John Athletic Club and the Bicycle club both formed hockey teams in 1893. A year later, the Saint John Hockey League was created and consisted of the following: Bicycle, St. John Athletic (Hockey Club), Y.M.C.A. and the Victorias teams. The YMCA team was soon replaced by the Mohawks. Games were typically held on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings at the Singer Rink, located on Charlotte Street. The Saint John Hockey Club defeated the Bicyclists Hockey Club for the 1894 championship. The Saint John League was contested every year until 1902.
Several teams from Nova Scotia visited Saint John in 1895, including the Wanderers, Chebuctos, two teams from Dartmouth, and Acadia University. The local men won all but won game, a 2-1 defeat to Acadia. An All-Halifax team traveled to Saint John in 1896 and were beaten in both games. On February 25, 1897, an intermediate team from Montreal beat All-Saint John 4-2 at the Singer Rink.
The Canadas Winter Port Hockey Team won the Maritime Championship in 1898. The Moncton City Hockey League was in operation by 1895-96. Hockey activities were also underway in Fredericton and Marysville by 1897 and teams from the two towns met in the York County Playoffs starting in 1900. The Fredericton City Hockey League was formed in 1897. It added a team from Marysville and became the York County League in 1909. The New Brunswick Senior Hockey League was established in 1900, and at various points featured teams from Saint John, Marysville, Moncton, Sackville, St. Stephen, and Fredericton. The Moncton Orioles won the inaugural championship. The league ran until 1911 when it was replaced by the New Brunswick Hockey League. Sackville claimed the Maritime title in 1907.
The Moncton Victorias, who joined the NBSHL in 1905, played in the Interprovincial Professional Hockey League in 1910-11 and the Maritime Professional Hockey League from 1911-1913. They challenged for the Stanley Cup in 1912.
The first intercollegiate hockey competition in the Maritimes was the Hewson Cup, which was first played in 1906 and featured teams from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It was succeeded by the Intercollegiate Hockey League in 1909 and the Maritime Intercollegiate Athletic Association (now Atlantic University Sport) in 1920. New Brunswick competed for the first Maritime Senior Championship in 1921, and the Junior Championship in 1932.
Overview
| Teams |
|---|
| Minor Pro (AHL) |
| Fredericton Express (1981-1988) |
| Fredericton Canadiens (1990-1999) |
| Moncton Hawks (1978-1994) |
| Saint John Flames (1993-2003) |
| Major Junior (QMJHL) |
| Acadie-Bathurst Titan (1998-) |
| Moncton Wildcats (1995-) |
| Saint John Sea Dogs (2005-) |
| Stanley Cup Challenge Era |
| Moncton Victorias |
| University (AUS) |
| Mount Allison Mounties (1919-) |
| New Brunswick Varsity Reds (1919-) |
| St. Thomas Tommies (1938-) |
| Moncton Blue Eagles (1964-) |
| Leagues |
| Junior A |
| Maritime Junior A Hockey League (1983-) |
| New Brunswick Junior Hockey League (1970-1983) |
| Maritime Junior Hockey League (1968-1969) |
| Maritimes Junior Championship (1932-1970) |
| Junior B |
| New Brunswick Junior B Hockey League (1982-2003; 2009-) |
| Southern New Brunswick Junior B Hockey League (1974-2000) |
| Junior C |
| New Brunswick Junior C Hockey League (2003-2011) |
| Senior |
| Maritimes Senior Championship (1921-1967) |
| Maritimes Intermediate Championship (1932-1968) |
| Northern New Brunswick Senior Hockey League (1939-1978) |
| New Brunswick Eastern Hockey League (1972-1973) |
| New Brunswick Senior Hockey League (1968-73; 1978-92) |
| Ligue de Hockey Senior de la Cote Nord-New Brunswick (1996-2010) |
| Southern New Brunswick Senior Hockey League (1962-68; 73-80; 91-94; 04-10) |
| North East Senior Hockey League (2011-) |
League, regional and national championships
| Championship | Times won | Description |
| Calder Cup | 2 | American Hockey League champion |
| President's Cup | 5 | Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion |
| Memorial Cup | 1 | Canadian Major-Junior national champion |
| Allan Cup | 3 | Canadian senior national champion |
| Fred Page Cup | 2 | Eastern Canada Junior "A" regional championship |
| Royal Bank Cup | 0 | Canadian Junior "A" national champion |
| Don Johnson Cup | 3 | Atlantic Canada Junior B champion |
| Maritime-Hockey North Championship | 6 | Regional Junior "C" Champion |
| University Cup | 9 | CIS national men's university champion |
| Canadian Provinces | |
 Alberta -  British Columbia -  Manitoba -  Newfoundland and Labrador -  New Brunswick
| |
 Nova Scotia -  Ontario -  Prince Edward Island -  Quebec -  Saskatchewan
| |
Territories:  Northwest Territories -  Nunavut -  Yukon
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