The Eastern Hockey League season recently culminated during the week of March 26-30, 2024 on the campus of Providence College, in Providence, Rhode Island. This is the 5th season they have held their Annual Championship Series at Schneider Arena (2019-20 was cancelled & 2020-21 was held in Pennsylvania due to COVID), and each season has raised the bar for the league, making the Frozen Finals one of the best events in all of US Junior Hockey.
This year’s event feature 4 teams in the EHL and 4 teams from the EHL Premier competing in one location all vying for the championship honors in their respective leagues. My New England Wolves EHLP team advanced to the championship series after winning the New England Division playoffs, with playoff sweeps of the New Hampshire Avalanche in round 1 and the Vermont Lumberjacks in round 2. This is the 3rd opportunity our Wolves program has advanced to the Finals in Providence having won the EHLP championship in 2018-19 and advanced to the final’s series in the EHL in 2021-22.
Since our last attendance, the EHL’s Frozen Finals has grown and improved, building upon this already stellar event, with even more unique features for its players, parents and organizations. Foremost, the use of all of the Division 1 facilities at Providence College now allows for video review of goals by officials and teams. This came into play in almost all of the games played at the finals.
Furthermore, the EHL’s staff does a tremendous job at the venue and on social media, promoting the event with in- game and post-game interviews of players and coaches. This helps to create an improved viewer experience for all watching at home on FloHockey, the EHL’s exclusive online broadcast platform.
The contests themselves were competitive and well organized, starting promptly each day, and each of the EHL’s best of 3 series all reaching the 3rd game. Each team attending at the EHL level had between 5-10 college commitments per team, with still many players making their college decisions in the coming weeks. This event truly was a showcase for the league, demonstrating the quality of play and operational standards of the league.
At each game, given the events easily accessible location, I was able to observe college coaches and scouts from all over New England attend and watch these games. The Providence Coach, Nate Leeman, was in the building on Friday morning, but most of the scouts hailed from traditional EHL recruited leagues such as NCAA Division II and Division III Hockey. These included Saint Anselm College, UMass- Dartmouth, MCLA and many more.
Although my team did not win the championship on Saturday, as a member of the EHL, I marveled at how far the league has come in putting together one of the finest events in all of Junior Hockey. A tremendous amount of credit goes to Neil Ravin, Joe Bertagna, Mark Kumpel, the staff at HNIB including Jake and Mike Basile and a host of others who have had the vision to put this event together and grow it into the fantastic experience it has become for all involved.
Click below videos for my post-game comments following each of my New England Wolves games. Also go to the EHL website for highlights, news, and much more surrounding this exceptional event- Eastern Hockey League
Game 1 Post Game
Game 2 Post Game
Game 3 Post Game
Andrew Trimble is the General Manager and Co- Owner of the New England Wolves Hockey Club. He is also the Owner of Scoring Concepts LLC, a New Hampshire based hockey training company that offers camps, clinics, private lessons and teams. He has coached at all levels from Learn to Skate to College Hockey. For more info on his teams and programs check out- www.scoringconcepts.com or www.ne-wolveshockey.com
