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Defunct junior ice hockey league From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League was a Junior "A" ice hockey league in British Columbia, Canada.
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| Countries |  Canada |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1966 |
| Folded | 1999 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Most successful club | Prince George Spruce Kings |
In 1975, the Quesnel Millionaires and Prince George Spruce Kings joined the Peace Junior B Hockey League (PJBHL). The PJBHL already included the Fort St. John Huskies, Dawson Creek Canucks, and Grande Prairie North Stars. Previously, Fort St. John won the Cyclone Taylor Cup as British Columbia Jr. B Champions in 1969 as a member of the Peace Jr. B League. With the expansion, the PJBHL became the Peace-Cariboo Junior Hockey League (PCJHL). The first championship of the new PCJHL was won by Prince George, but Quesnel won the league and the Cyclone Taylor Cup as BC Champions in 1977, 1978, and 1979 and the Grande Prairie North Stars won the Russ Barnes Trophy and Alberta champions in 1976.
In 1980 the PCJHL became a Junior "A" League, one season after the British Columbia Junior Hockey League-Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League merger. The league's most successful team, by far, was the Prince George Spruce Kings. Every season, their playoff champion earned the right to play for the Mowat Cup, the British Columbia Junior "A" Title. The PCJHL/RMJHL was eligible for the Royal Bank Cup, the Junior "A" National Title.
In 1991, the PCJHL doubled in size when it took in a portion of the Jr. B KIJHL and was renamed the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League (RMJHL). The newcomers, which were concentrated in the southern region, formed the Kootenay Division, and the teams in the northern region formed the Peace-Cariboo Division.
In 1995, the Trail Smoke Eaters moved to the British Columbia Hockey League. In 1996, the entire Peace-Cariboo Division departed the league: the Prince George Spruce Kings and Quesnel Millionaires moved to the BCHL, the Grande Prairie Chiefs moved to the AJHL, the Williams Lake Mustangs folded, and the Fort St. John Huskies moved to Hockey Alberta's North West Junior Hockey League. The Castlegar Rebels joined in 1996, but returned to the KIJHL in 1998. The Cranbrook Colts folded in 1998.[1]
The remaining four teams (Creston Valley Thunder, Kimberley Dynamiters, Nelson Leafs, and Fernie Ghostriders) played an interlocking schedule with the AWHL of USA Hockey. In 1999, the RMJHL proposed that the remaining four teams join the BCHL as a "Kootenay Division", however the BCHL rejected the proposal.[1] The league folded after the 1998–99 season. The Creston Valley Thunder and Nelson Leafs moved to the KIJHL, and the Kimberley Dynamiters and Fernie Ghostriders joined the AWHL.
The Mowat Cup was the championship trophy of Junior A hockey in British Columbia. From 1981 to 1999, it was awarded to the winner between the championship team from the RMJHL and the championship team from the BCHL. The winner would then go on to play the AJHL championship team for the Doyle Cup. In the end, the BCHL had a near spotless record against the RMJHL, winning all 19 series with a record 48 wins and 1 loss. In the final year of the competition, the Kimberley Dynamiters recorded the league's only win against a BCHL championship team, namely the Vernon Vipers, before losing the series. The BCHL continued to award the Mowat Cup to itself until 2016.[2]
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From its founding until 1991, the league's champion was awarded the PCJHL Trophy. From 1992 until 1996, the league's champion was awarded the Citizen Cup. From 1997 until 1999, the league's champion was awarded the Subway/Eddie Mountain Trophy.
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