Eastern Hockey Federation
The Eastern Hockey Federation is an independent American Youth Minor ice hockey league. Established in early 2004, when the Bay State Breakers, Boston Jr. Eagles, Boston Jr. Terriers, Bridgewater Bandits, Middlesex Islanders, Minuteman Flames, Providence Capitals, South Shore Kings, and Top Gun left the Metropolitan Boston Hockey League.
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Country |  |
| Official website | fedhockey.com |
Its stated goal is to foster and govern an elite amateur minor hockey league comprising the top youth hockey organizations in the region.
History
During the league's inaugural 2004-2005 season, ten programs committed to participate:
- Bay State Breakers
- Boston Jr. Bruins
- Boston Jr. Eagles
- Boston Jr. Terriers
- Boston Bandits
- Middlesex Islanders
- Minuteman Flames
- Providence Capitals
- South Shore Kings
- Top Gun
During the summer of 2005, the Eastern Hockey Federation announced that three new teams would be joining the league for the 2005-2006 season:
- Connecticut Riptide
- Portland Jr. Pirates
- Brewster Bulldogs
In March 2006 the Eastern Hockey Federation's board of directors announced that the Exeter Freeze would be joining the League for the 2006-2007 season. The board also announced the establishment of a Western Division for the '06-07 season that would consist of two New York-based organizations—the Westchester Express and the Syracuse Stars.
Later that month, the Eastern Hockey Federation revealed that the 1A Division would be replaced by the AA Division with nine teams aligned to compete in that grouping:
- Bay State Breakers
- Bridgewater Bandits
- Connecticut Riptide
- Exeter Freeze
- MassConn Braves
- Minuteman Flames
- New England Moose
- Team Dynamic
- Top Gun
- New England Junior Falcons
Also, in 2009 the Boston Little Rangers were added to the league.
On March 6, 2011 the New England Junior Falcons joined the Eastern Hockey Federation.
On May 29, 2013 Eastern Hockey Federation announced the addition of two new AAA programs, The New England Bulldogs and the North Shore Shamrocks, will be joining the Eastern Hockey Federation's AAA division as well as the Eastern Minor Hockey League for the upcoming 2013-2014 season.
On June 14, 2018, the Eastern Hockey Federation announced it would be merging with the United States Premier Hockey League. The team Elite and Tier I teams and structure remained. The merger allowed the new Eastern Hockey Federation Selects Midget division to be scheduled with United States Premier Hockey League's full season Midget teams.
On March 8, 2019, the Eastern Hockey Federation announced plans to integrate the United States Premier Hockey League's High Performance Youth Division and create a South division, expanding the league's footprint into the Mid-Atlantic region. The South Division began their inaugural season on September 14, 2019.