Atlantic Coast Hockey League [1981-1987] history and statistics

The Atlantic Coast Hockey league formed out of the ashes of the second Eastern Hockey League that operated between 1979 and 1981.The EHL was a very shoddy league with many financial problems, so the team owners decided to scrap the league and start fresh. The Atlantic Coast Hockey League was the result of this.

There were problems from the start. The original cities that expressed interest in the league were too far apart geographically - Utica was the only northern city, the rest of the cites were in Virginia and Maryland. This led to franchises being granted to ownership groups that were not very stable. One such franchise was the Cape Cod Buccaneers, owned by wrestling magnate Vince McMahon. Another two, Schenectady and Fitchburg, were owned by Robert Critelli.

By the time the league got off the ground there were seven teams: Mohawk Valley (Utica), Salem, Baltimore, Cape Cod, Winston-Salem, Schenectady, and Fitchburg. However, the Schenectady and Fitchburg fran... [Click for more]chises were a disaster -- Schenectady played in the sub-par Schenectady Civic Center, which was nearly inaccessible to the public, and Fitchburg played in the Wallace Civic Center, which was basically an amateur hockey rink.

There were rumors of collusion between the Fitchburg and Schenectady franchises, and under some scrutiny by the rest of the league, both teams folded within a week of each other. Cape Cod folded later that season, the rest of the schedule was scrapped and the teams went right into the playoffs.

However, the league managed to survive their rocky first season. The next few seasons saw Erie return from an unsuccessful season in the AHL. A solid group of franchises such as Winston-Salem and Utica anchored the league for seasons to come.

The Birmingham Bulls tried to enter the league in 1983-84, but the team was very poorly organized and managed to last only 3 games, perhaps the shortest tenure of a professional hockey team.

An unusual team to enter the league was the Pinebridge Bucks, based in Spruce Pine, NC. The town of about 2500 built an arena that seated 4,000, and wanted something to fill the dates. A local businessman, the owner of Buck Stove, formed a hockey team and they were marginally successful for two seasons despite playing in an alcohol-free county. But eventually the costs were too high and the region couldn't support the team, so it folded. The Bucks may go down as the team with the smallest population base ever.

The 1985-86 season brought the New York Slapshots, a team that was supposed to play in an arena on Staten Island. However, the rink was never built, so the team played many games as a road-only team before settling into Vinton VA for their home games. The team later moved to Troy NY, but lasted only 6 games before being absorbed into the Mohawk Valley franchise.

Many of the players in the ACHL came from small colleges, they were many times players who lived in the area and who never thought they'd have a chance at playing professionally. There were players who were cut from the higher leagues who would have never received a chance to play without the existence of the ACHL. Many players who got their start in the ACHL such as Ray LeBlanc would have very successful minor league careers.

The league had a reputation for being a goon league. One player, Brian Gustafson, averaged 350 PIM per season over his 3 years in the league. However, the league was also entertaining, and to the southern fans who had grown up with the rough old Eastern Hockey League, the league provided what they wanted.

In 1987 the league merged with the All American Hockey League which had evolved from the Continental Hockey League.

Sources: Dave Gusky, Charlotte Observer.