The Port Hope Panthers are a junior hockey team based in Port Hope , Ontario , Canada. They play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association .
17-896: In 1995, the Trenton Sting made the jump from the Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League . In their wake, they formed a feeder team that was to be known as the Brighton Buzz. The Junior C league changed its name to the Empire B Junior C Hockey League just prior to the 1995-96 season to avoid confusion with the Ottawa District Hockey Association 's Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League . After two seasons, in 1997
34-696: A long and hard-fought battle, the Jets had enough fuel left to win game 7 and the series 4-games-to-3. On May 28, 2009, it was announced the Colborne Cobras would move to Port Hope to fill the void left by the OJHL 's Port Hope Predators moving to Trenton and became the Port Hope Panthers. The Panthers were the league champions for the 2014/15 season and came up short against the Essex 73's during
51-644: Is the new name of the transferred Colborne Cobras franchise. The teams play a 40-game regular season, with four home and away dates against each of the other Empire B teams. The top four teams make the playoffs — two rounds of best-of-seven play. The Empire playoff champions advance to the OHA quarterfinals against the Central champions and compete for an All-Ontario Championship and the Clarence Schmalz Cup . In its 20-year history, two Empire B teams have won
68-524: The 2008-09 season. After 37 games, the Hercs record was 14 wins, 20 losses, and 3 overtime losses. It was confirmed shortly after that the franchise is officially defunct. [2] When the Sting jumped from Junior C to Junior A, they formed a team in the area as a feeder, this team quickly fizzled out in four years. From 1995 until 1997 they were known as the Brighton Buzz, from 1997 until 1999 they were known as
85-564: The Brighton Buzz moved and became the Colborne Blackhawks. The Blackhawks folded mid-season in 1999. The Sting's feeder team had been an utter disaster as it had only won 16 games in 140 contests over four seasons. In 2004, Junior hockey came back to the Town of Colborne. The Empire B league expanded and formed the Colborne Cobras. Their first season was all about survival as the team finished in dead last. The 2005-06 season saw
102-697: The Buzz became the Colborne Blackhawks. Two seasons later, the team folded. The Sting were sold to a private group and changed their name to the Quinte West Pack . After the name change, the Pack played the franchises' worst season since 1996-97. On April 10, 2008, the franchise was renamed the Trenton Hercs . [1] Effective noon January 8, 2009, the Trenton Hercs folded for the remainder of
119-790: The Clarence Schmalz finals. In 2015/16 they repeated as the league champion and repeated their run to the CSC finals only to have Ayr Centennials claim the title. This made the Panthers the final Empire B Junior C champions. On 2016/17 the league became members of the Provincial Junior Hockey League. In the first season of the PJHL the Panthers were the Tod Division Champions and made a playoff run
136-573: The Cobras show some staying power with thirteen wins, despite a fifth-place finish. They made the playoffs, and in the league quarter-final the Cobras drew the Picton Pirates . The Cobras defeated the Pirates 3-games-to-2 to win the team's first ever playoff series. In the league semi-final, the Cobras were swamped by the eventual champion Napanee Raiders 4-games-to-none. The 2006-07 season
153-698: The Colborne Blackhawks. Their entire existence was in the Empire B Junior C Hockey League . Empire B Junior C Hockey League The Empire B Junior C Hockey League is a former Junior "C" ice hockey league in Ontario , Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association . The league was merged into the Provincial Junior Hockey League as the Tod Division in the summer of 2016. Formed in 1989 as
170-790: The Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League, the league had to change its name in 1995 to avoid ongoing confusion with the neighbouring Ottawa District Hockey Association 's long running Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League . The forerunner of the EBJCHL was the Quinte-St. Lawrence Junior C Hockey League, which merged into the Central Junior C Hockey League in 1986. The league features six franchises, which are located through Central-eastern Ontario in Amherstview, Campbellford, Gananoque, Napanee, Port Hope, and Picton. The Port Hope Panthers
187-806: The Junior B and C leagues in Eastern Ontario played as a single league. In those years, listed is the best Junior C team in the joint standings. The league has had a few graduates make it to the NHL . In 2006, Carolina's Justin Williams became the league's first graduate to hoist the Stanley Cup . He played with the former Colborne/Brighton franchise. Former Amherstview Jets defencemen Jay McKee ( Pittsburgh Penguins ), Bryan Allen ( Florida Panthers ), and Kip Brennan ( New York Islanders ) have also skated in
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#1732797410728204-767: The Schmalz Cup. Napanee Raiders were the first in 1993. On May 1, 2013, the Picton Pirates became the second team in Empire league history to win the Clarence Schmalz Cup as OHA Junior C champions, defeating the Essex 73's of the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League 4-games-to-1. The Empire league has had a number of winners of the OHA Junior C Player of the Year award. Most recently, Napanee's Pete Sergeant took
221-546: The honours in 2008-2009. Among the previous winners are Jason Sutton (Napanee), Adam Walsh (Picton), Joe Curry (Campbellford), and Ryan Zufelt (Amherstview). At the conclusion of the 2014-15 hockey season the Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League announced a re-organization which saw them remove six teams from the league. One of those teams, the Gananoque Islanders immediately petitioned and
238-686: The league finals. The finals was a rematch with Ayr Centennials who defended their CSC title. Trenton Sting The Trenton Sting were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Trenton , Ontario , Canada. They were a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League . In 1981, the Belleville Bobcats of the Metro Junior B Hockey League moved to Trenton. In 1987, the Bobcats moved back to Belleville, but Trenton
255-533: Was a breakout season for the Colborne Cobras. With thirty-two wins in thirty-nine games, the Cobras finished in first place overall in the regular season. In the league semi-final, the Cobras drew the fourth seeded Campbellford Rebels . The Cobras dispatched the Rebels with a 4-games-to-none sweep. In the team's first ever league final, the Cobras found themselves up against the Amherstview Jets . After
272-638: Was accepted into the Empire B Junior C League. Following the 2015-16 seasons the Empire B Junior C Hockey League amalgamated with the other southern Ontario junior "C" hockey leagues and became a division within the Provincial Junior Hockey League . For the Ontario Hockey Association "All-Ontario Jr. "C" Championship", please go to the Clarence Schmalz Cup . (*) At times in the 1960s,
289-505: Was granted a Junior C franchise in the Central Ontario Junior C Hockey League . In 1989, the team moved over to the Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League that season, in which they stayed until 1995. In 1995, the ownership of the team was granted the rights to a Junior "A" team, and renamed the Sting. To fill the void in the Junior "C" loop, the Sting created a farm team known as the Brighton Buzz. After two seasons,
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