Charlottetown Abbies
| Charlottetown Abbies | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island |
| League |
Maritime Junior A Hockey League Island Junior Hockey League Southeast New Brunswick Junior B Hockey League |
| Operated | 1972-2008 |
| Home arena |
Charlottetown Civic Centre MacLauchlan Arena |
| Colours | Yellow, Black, and Red |
| Franchise history | |
| 1972-1977 | Charlottetown Abbies |
| 1977-1986 | Charlottetown Eagles |
| 1986-2008 | Charlottetown Abbies |
| Previous franchise history | |
| 1968-1973 | Charlottetown Islanders |
| Circa 1971-1976 | Charlottetown Colonels |
| 1976-1977 | Charlottetown Generals |
The Charlottetown Abbies were a Junior "A" team based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They played in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. Their home rink from 2003 to 2008 was the MacLauchlan Arena on the campus of UPEI. Before then, it was the Charlottetown Civic Centre (now Eastlink Centre).
In 1972, the Charlottetown Abbies were a Midget Hockey program with little competition. They applied for entry into the Island Junior Hockey League in 1972. The IJHL turned down their application on the basis that they were too weak for Junior B competition. The Abbies, undeterred, applied for entry into the Southeast New Brunswick Junior B Hockey League instead. The New Brunswick league allowed the Abbies to join and after a slow start the Abbies ended up finishing second in the regular season (to the Dieppe Voyageurs) and winning the league playoffs. To win the playoffs, the Abbies defeated the Bouctouche Seals 3-games-to-none (9-3, 9-3, forfeit) in the Semi-final and then defeated the Memramcook Legionnaires 3-games-to-none (8-1, 10-2, forfeit) in the League Final. The Abbies then failed to qualify for the 5-team New Brunswick provincial championship round robin because they lost the Southeast New Brunswick qualifier to the independent Moncton Flyers 2-games-to-none (4-3, 3-1). In 1973, the IJHL was promoted to Junior A and the Abbies were granted expansion into the league.
The Abbies were an institution in Junior hockey in Charlottetown for several decades. In the 70s the Island Junior Hockey League (IJHL) boasted two Charlottetown teams, the Generals who played out of the old Charlottetown Forum, and the Abbies who were based at the Simmons Sports Center. The league also included at one time or another the Kings County Kings, Summerside Crystals (Summerside Western Capitals), West Prince Bluefins, North River North Stars, and the Sherwood-Parkdale Metros. Eventually the two Charlottetown teams merged, maintaining the Abbies moniker. As costs became prohibitive for an Island wide league at the Junior A level in the late 80s, teams in the league folded. Eventually, in 1991 the Abbies and the Summerside Western Capitals left to join teams in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to form the Maritime Junior Hockey League.
...
Wikipedia