Oftentimes during a season parents will approach me and ask about the schedule… How the showcases work? How many times we play a certain opponent? How the opponents are chosen etc…
The USHL plays a 62 game regular season followed by playoffs. The NAHL plays a 59 game regular season in 2024-25. Canadian Major Junior Hockey plays a 68 game Pro- Style schedule.
Most of the other leagues in North America play a regionally competitive, travel- friendly schedule that is unbalanced, meaning you do not play every team the exact same number of times. This allows for cross- conference or divisional play to occur at neutral and geographically friendly Showcase sites. The NA3HL plays at the Blaine Showcase in the fall. The EHL and NCDC have New England based showcases intermixed throughout their regular season schedule. The USPHL plays Premier or Elite showcases all over the US as their footprint consists of the whole United States. Focusing on games within your division allows for less travel, saves money on the budget for owners, and increases divisional rivalries. Additionally less travel means more time for kids to stay in a physical classroom at school (when necessary) and increases availability for a consistent practice schedule, which is a priority of Junior Hockey and player development. Most Junior Hockey teams can expect a 40-60 game schedule (including playoffs) that runs from September to March, with playoffs thereafter.
These schedules are voted on and determined by the owners and management for each of their respective leagues in the spring prior to the start of training camps.
With the increased amount of turnover this spring and summer, and the movement of teams from league to league, one such schedule that doesn’t add up is the Boston Dogs of the NCDC/ USPHL.
Most scheduling has been firm, steady and consistent since the COVID years of 2020-2022, where inter-state travel was restricted, mandates, mask wearing, and social distancing made bus travel difficult, and quarantines led to cancellations.
The Boston Dogs schedule however, is an abnormality. They played a dozen or so games in the Fall in the EHL, where they were in 3rd place in their division. Then they left to join the NCDC and have been consistently inconsistent in their game count, with unannounced opponents and travel all over the United States. Click on link here- Boston Dogs Schedule All Months NCDC 2024-2025 | NCDC
They currently sit at 14 NCDC games versus their peers, which have played 30+ games- NCDC Team Stats NCDC 2024-2025 | NCDC
As noted in the earlier link, they have no future games listed on their schedule and have not revealed past opponents (only TBA) on their calendar. The results have to be viewed through the daily version of the schedule, such as the below links:
5-3 Win over WestChester Wolves- Boston Dogs @ West Chester Wolves Thursday, January 09, 2025 | NCDC
1 Goal Loss to Division leading South Shore- NCDC Daily Schedule and Scores Tuesday, Jan 14, 2025 | NCDC
They even travelled out west to play some of the NCDC West teams prior to the Holiday break.
This must pose a real dilemma for players looking to make college commitments with the Dogs, as College Coaches looking to find their schedule and scout their games have little advance notice on their own league website of when the Dogs will be in action. The Dogs currently have 6 age out players (2004 birth years), and their 1 College Commitment so far, Joey Pankowski, is no longer even on their roster- Boston Dogs Roster NCDC 2024-2025 | NCDC
See Commitments here- NCDC COMMITMENTS BY YEAR | NCDC
In a season of turnover and shake up, and an era when disclosure and transparency are easily accessible through social media and online sources, the Boston Dogs schedule just doesn’t make sense for the players, coaches, recruiters, and parents. Certainly if you are a parent of a player on this team in this pay to play league, you are not getting what you signed up for, and the potential damage of not having an advanced schedule for your son (who is looking to move to the next level in his hockey career) could be causing severe damage to his opportunity for advancement.
By Andrew Trimble
