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Springfield Pics
CityWest Springfield, Massachusetts
LeagueUSPHL
Founded1993
Home arenaOlympia Ice Center
ColorsBlue, white
General managerRobert Bonneau
Head coachRobert Bonneau
Websitewww.springfieldjrpics.com
Franchise history
1993–1995Springfield Olympics[1]
1995–1997New England Jr. Whalers
1997–2004New England Jr. Coyotes
2004–2009New England Jr. Falcons
2009–presentSpringfield Pics

The Springfield Pics are an American junior ice hockey organization playing in West Springfield, Massachusetts at the Olympia Ice Center. They field two Tier III teams and a number of Youth teams.

History

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The franchise was founded as the Springfield Olympics (or Pics for short) as charter member of the Tier III Junior A Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) in 1993.[1] The team would relocate across the Massachusetts-Connecticut border to Enfield, Connecticut in 1995 and were renamed the New England Jr. Whalers named after the local National Hockey League team in Hartford. After the Hartford Whalers moved to Carolina in 1997, the franchise was renamed the New England Jr. Coyotes and later the Jr. Falcons after the local Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League. During this time, the organization also fielded a team in the Tier III Empire Junior B Hockey League (EmJHL) (later the Empire Junior Hockey League).

In the 2009 off-season, the Jr. Falcons EJHL and EmJHL teams merged with the Springfield Pics of the Continental Hockey Association (CHA) and the Bay State Bucs Midget team, members of the NEMHL.[2] This led the now merged Pics organization to field teams in the EJHL, EmJHL, and CHA.

USPHL Premier Division

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In 2013, many Tier III junior hockey leagues were re-organized in the northeastern United States and the Springfield Pics became founding members of the new United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). Their former Junior A team (USA Hockey dropped Junior A and B designations in 2011) which had participated in the EJHL joined the USPHL Elite Division for the 2013–14 season. In their first year in the USPHL-Elite League the Pics finished second and then went on to win the playoffs. The playoff win propelled the team to the 2014 USA Hockey Tier III Junior Nationals where they won their pool before losing the semifinal game to the eventual National Champions, the Boston Jr. Bruins.[3] The Elite Division team was promoted to the Premier Division prior to the 2014–15 season.

USHPL USP3 Division

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Their former Junior B team from the EmJHL joined the USPHL Empire Division for the 2013–14 season. In 2015, the Empire Division became the USP3 Division.

Former Junior B ESHL team

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Their second Junior B team last competed in the Eastern States Hockey League (formerly the CHA). Following the 2013 re-organization, this team was eliminated in favor of Under 18 and Under 16 teams which play in corresponding USPHL leagues.

Season-by-season records

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Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA Regular Season Finish Playoffs
New England Jr. Falcons
2004–05 50 18 23 7 2 45 160 159 5th of 7, South
10th of 13, EJHL		 Won Play-in game, 3–0 vs. Green Mountain Glades
Lost Quarterfinals, 0–1–1 vs. Boston Jr. Bruins[4]
2005–06 45 22 16 5 2 51 175 175 1st of 7, South
T-4th of 14, EJHL		 Won Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Valley Jr. Warriors
Lost Semifinal game, 1–3 vs. Boston Jr. Bruins[5]
2006–07 45 16 22 4 3 39 145 180 5th of 7, South
11th of 14, EJHL		 Did not qualify
2007–08 44 12 24 5 3 32 125 173 7th of 7, South
12th of 14, EJHL		 Did not qualify
2008–09 45 16 22 3 4 39 128 149 5th of 7, South
10th of 14, EJHL		 Did not qualify
Springfield Pics
2009–10 45 16 23 4 2 38 150 179 5th of 7, South
10th of 14, EJHL		 Did not qualify
2010–11 45 25 16 2 2 54 182 156 4th of 7, South
6th of 14, EJHL		 Won First Round, 2–0 vs. Rochester Stars
Lost Quarterfinals, 1–2 vs. Boston Jr. Bruins
2011–12 45 20 23 0 2 42 166 175 5th of 7, South
10th of 14, EJHL		 Lost First Round, 0–2 vs. Green Mountain Glades
2012–13 45 24 17 — 4 52 137 118 4th of 7, South
8th of 14, EJHL		 Lost First Round, 0–2 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs[6]
2013–14 40 32 6 — 2 66 212 92 2nd of 10, North
2nd of 18, USPHL Elite		 Won First Round, 2–0 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs-Elite
Won Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Bay State Breakers-Elite
2–0–1 in Round Robin
(W, 5–0 vs. Hampton Roads Whalers; T, 4–4 vs. Jersey Hitmen; W, 5–0 vs. Florida Eels)
Won Championship game, 3–2 vs. Jersey Hitmen-Elite
Elite Division Champions
2014–15 50 9 37 — 4 22 105 239 11th of 11,
USPHL Premier		 Did not qualify
2015–16 44 11 30 — 3 25 123 187 11th of 12,
USPHL Premier		 Did not qualify
2016–17 45 19 22 — 4 42 138 174 7th of 10,
USPHL Premier		 Won Play-in Game, 4–0 vs. Okanagan Eagles
Won Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Jersey Hitmen
Lost Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Islanders Hockey Club
2017–18 44 25 18 — 1 51 149 144 7th of 9, North Div.
20th of 44, USPHL Premier		 Lost First Round, 1–2 vs. Islanders Hockey Club-Premier
2018–19 44 24 17 — 3 51 139 105 2nd of 7, North East Div.
25th of 52, USPHL Premier		 First Round bye
Lost Nationals qualifiers, 0–2 vs. Syracuse Stars-Premier
2019–20 44 29 14 — 1 59 167 108 2nd of 6, North East Div.
17th of 52, USPHL Premier		 First Round bye
Won Nationals qualifiers, 2–0 vs. Connecticut Jr. Rangers-Premier
0–1–0 USPHL-Premier Nationals round-robin Pool B
(L, 1–5 vs. Vengeance; vs. Rush; vs. Havoc)
Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 44 23 18 — 3 49 130 127 4th of 9, New England Div.
31st of 62, USPHL Premier		 Lost First Round series, 1–2 vs. Bridgewater Bandits
2021–22 44 25 17 — 2 52 135 125 5th of 9, New England Div.
28th of 64, USPHL Premier		 Lost First Round series, 1–2 vs. Boston Jr. Bruins
2022–23 44 23 19 — 2 48 144 150 5th of 9, New England Div.
36th of 69, USPHL Premier		 Lost First Round series, 0–2 vs. Bridgewater Bandits
2023–24 44 21 21 — 2 44 149 156 5th of 7, New England Div.
36th of 61, USPHL Premier		 Lost Div. Quarterfinals, 0–2 vs. Gatineau Universel

USA Hockey Tier III National Championships

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Round robin play in pool with top 4 teams advancing to semifinal.

Year Round Robin Record Standing Semifinal Championship Game
2014[3] L, Northern Cyclones (EHL) 3-4
W, Flint Jr. Generals (NA3HL) 6-0
W, Bellingham Blazers (NPHL) 8-2		 2-0-1 1st of 4
Pool B (White)		 L, Boston Jr. Bruins (USPHL-Premier) 6-0 —

References

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  1. ^ a b "New England Jr. Falcons Statistics and History". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  2. ^ Press release announcing merger http://www.springfieldjrpics.com/juniormerger.html
  3. ^ a b "2014 Tier III Nationals". USA Hockey. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  4. ^ "EJHL Playoffs, Updated Daily | Amateur Hockey News | March 14, 2005".
  5. ^ "EJHL Semifinals Tonight | Amateur Hockey News | March 20, 2006".
  6. ^ "New York Apple Core EJHL Tier II". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
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