Congratulations to the Boston Dogs on their first NCDC win of the 2024-25 season. On Wednesday December 4, 2024, the Dogs (aka Jr Terriers) , defeated Thunder HC 3-1 in an NCDC matchup. Game can be viewed on FloHockey- Replay: Home – 2024 Thunder vs Dogs | Dec 4 @ 11 AM
Game Recap- Thunder Hockey Club @ Boston Dogs Wednesday, December 04, 2024 | NCDC
The win is significant in that it is the first situation in the US in recent memory where a team jumped from one league (EHL) to another league (NCDC) with the exact same roster (see below) and seamlessly started play.
A lot can be argued and insinuated about the situation and timing of the Dogs/ Terriers departure. Yet, the results for the Dogs gives even more argument to what this means for the product on the ice. When the Terriers left the EHL they were in 3rd (now 4th ) place in their own division (see image below) after operating for only a single season of Jr hockey and never winning a playoff game. This win is significant because they went from one self – labeled Tier III league to one self- labeled Tier II league with the same roster and are enjoying success with the same group of players within the season.
Additionally, it should be noted that the Thunder HC are 10-8 on the season and sit in a playoff spot in the NCDC. NCDC Team Stats NCDC 2024-2025 | NCDC
What does this say about these leagues level of play? Is it legit Tier III? Tier II?
Could a mediocre NA3HL team (USA Hockey Tier III) go up and play and win against a playoff bound NAHL (USA Hockey Tier II) team?
Theres a lot to unravel about these teams and leagues as the season unfolds and heads into 2025-26. What happens to the Tier labels going forward? What is the real level of play? What does the future of Jr Hockey in the US look like?
Stay tuned.
By Andrew Trimble
