New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the northeastern United States.

Its population is over 9,200,000.

The capital is Trenton and the largest city is Newark.

History of hockey in New Jersey

The Bergen Ice Polo Club issued a challenge to other teams to play for a championship in the Jersey Journal on January 21, 1888. Rutgers University played a "picked team of Princeton men" on Weston's Mill Pond in February 1892, winning 4-2. The South Orange Field Club played three games in 1895, losing 5-0 to the Staten Island Cricket Club, 4-1 to New York St. Nicholas, and tying the Orange Athletic Club 1-1. The Jersey City Ice Polo team challenged any ice polo team in Brooklyn, Jersey City or Hoboken. They had supposedly never suffered a defeat. Princeton University paid a visit to Baltimore and defeated the Baltimore Club 5-0 at the North Avenue Rink on March 2, 1895. In 1896, the Jersey City, South Orange Field, Passaic, Montclair, and Clifton ice polo clubs all faced teams from New York. Rutgers edged the New Brunswick Gun Club on January 18. The New York Hockey Club beat the Montclair Athletic Club 7-0 on April 2. The Montclair Athletic Club played 16 games (both of hockey and ice polo) during the 1896-97 season, mostly in New York. The South Orange Field Club and Passaic Ice Polo Club were also active. At Crystal Lake in West Orange in February 1898, a short film entitled Hockey Match on the Ice, was recorded by William Heise, an employee of Thomas Edison's film production studio. The game, which featured the first footage of hockey being played, was partaken in by rail workers from Montreal.

The Montclair Athletic Club joined the American Amateur Hockey League for the 1897-98 season, finishing 1-7. Montclair had the same record the following year, and then dropped out of the league. Although they had previously played informal matches, Princeton University officially established their hockey program for 1899-1900. In 1901-02, the Short Hills Hockey Club had a rather successful season, even beating the Brooklyn Crescents 5-3 on February 4. They were active again the following year. For 1909-10, there was a New Jersey Hockey League, composed of South Orange, Short Hills, Montclair, and Englewood. It returned for 1910-11. The South Orange Field Club was the most enduring of the early teams, and was still active in 1918.

The Newark Bulldogs played in the Canadian-American Hockey League in 1928-29. On December 28, 1929, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall hosted an NHL regular season game between the New York Rangers and the Ottawa Senators. The Rangers won 3-1. The Atlantic City Sea Gulls began play as an independent team in 1930-31. They won the 1931-32 United States National Senior Championship, before joining the Tri State Hockey League for 1932-33, winning the title in that league too. The Seagulls then became founding members of the Eastern Hockey League, which they remained in until 1952. In more recent times, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies played in the ECHL from 2001-2005. The River Vale Skeeters played in the EHL from 1939-1942. Atlantic City had an amateur team that faced Baltimore and played for the US Intermediate crown in 1953-54, and the Atlantic City Inlets were active from 1954-1956.

The Monte Carlo Hockey Club played at the outdoor Monte Carlo rink in Asbury Park in 1951-52. On December 28, 1951, they defeated Cranford 1-0, and beat them again two days later, 5-2. On January 4, 1952, they triumphed over Cranford for a third time, 6-2. On February 5, they won their seventh game of the season (against no defeats), blanking Peddie School 3-0. In 1954-55, the Shore Hockey Club went 11-0, playing at the Monte Carlo rink. They tied the Somerville Packards 2-2 on February 10, 1956. They beat the Packards 9-2 four days later, bringing their record to 3-0-1 on the year. The Asbury Park Casinos were active for three seasons from 1963-1965, spending two in the Middle Atlantic Hockey League.

The Cherry Hill based Jersey Larks competed in the EHL in 1960-61. Later the Jersey Devils were members of the league from 1964-1973, and the Northeastern Hockey League in 1978-79. The Jersey Knights played in the World Hockey Association in 1973-74, after the New York Golden Blades were forced to relocate. The Trenton Titans (known as the Devils from 2007-2011) played in the ECHL from 1999-2013. The New Jersey Outlaws were members of the Federal Hockey League in 2011-12. The Jersey Rockhoppers played in the Eastern Professional Hockey League in 2008-09. The South Mountain Rockets (also known as the New Jersey Rockets), based in South Orange, were a semi-pro team formed in 1960. They played in the Garden State League for much of the 1960s, and as an independent team, before joining the Mid-Eastern Hockey League in 1975, remaining active until 1984. The Garden State League was formed in 1956-57. The New Jersey Mets were one of the founding members and played in the Eastern AHA Championship in 1961-62. The Northern New Jersey Hockey League ran from 1961-1966. The Bergen Brewers were active from 1971-1974. The New Jersey Devils have competed in the National Hockey League since 1982, winning the Stanley Cup on three occasions.

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