North American 3 Eastern Hockey League The North American 3 Eastern Hockey League ( NA3EHL ) was founded for the 2012 - 13 season as the Northern States Junior Hockey League , the league also referred to itself as the Northern States Hockey League . The league was founded out of the Super Elite division of the International Junior Hockey League , which played from 2006 to 2012 and was previously known as the Interstate Junior Hockey League , which played from 1999 to 2006 before being renamed . The league was founded as a member of the Amateur Athletic Union and its United Hockey Union program . Several of the league ' s teams had previously played in other leagues while some were entirely new franchises . The league came under the control of the North American Hockey League prior to the 2014 - 15 season very shortly after withdrawing from the AAU / UHU . On March 4 , 2016 the league announced it was being absorbed into the North American 3 Hockey League and would form 2 of the league ' s divisions for the 2016 - 17 season . League History . The initial seven teams in the league were the Cape Cod Islanders ( based in Hyannis , Massachusetts ) ; the Eastern Kodiaks ( based in Exeter , New Hampshire ) ; the Junior Mariners ( based in Salem , New Hampshire ) ; the New England Stars ( based in Tyngsborough , MA ) ; the Syracuse Stampede ( based in Mexico , NY ) ; and the Trenton Habs . All of these teams joined from the International Junior Hockey League . The Lake George Fighting Spirit ( based in Lake George , New York ) joined the league as a new organization . For the 2013 - 14 season the league added the Hallowell based Maine Moose ; the Biddeford based Maine Wild and the Wilkes - Barre Miners were added to the league . While the Lake George Fighting Spirit moved to Waterville Valley , NH and became commercially known as the American Hockey Institute Fighting Spirit ( Waterville Valley Fighting Spirit for non - commerical references on this wiki ) when there previous home arena decided they would not lay down ice for the 2013 - 14 season . The Trenton Habs were renamed the Jersey Shore Wildcats when they moved their operations to Wall , New Jersey on May 2 , 2013 . The New England Stars moved operations to Hudson , NH but did not change their name . The Eastern Kodiaks moved operations to Jamestown , NY and dropped from the league . The league had also planned to add the Williston based Vermont Coyotes for the 2013 - 14 season but the team never came to be as their website was last updated March 13 , 2013 The league has annouced that it will add three New York state based teams Roc City Royals , the Morrisville based Central New York Stallions ( listed as CNY on the league websites team directory ) , and the Lockport Express for the 2014 - 15 season . They also announced that the Maine Moose franchise was sold and will be renamed the Maine Timberwolves along with a possible relocation to China Village , Maine ( located between Augusta and Bangor ) as indicated with a new mailing address on the league website . In mid - March 2014 the Fighting Spirit announced a move to Laconia , New Hampshire for the 2014 - 15 season . ( They had played at least two playoff games in Laconia during the 2013 - 14 season . The Central New York Stallions team appears not to have come to fruition as the CNY organization ' s ( which runs teams at lower levels ) and the league ' s website no longer mention the team . The Timberwolves announced that the would play in the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston . However , the sale of the Timerwolves fell through and the franchise folded prior to the season starting . The Junior Mariners were renamed the East Coast Minutemen as the league was renamed . As a member of the AAU and the UHU the league sent its regular season and Playoff champions ( NSHL Cup ) to the AAU / United Hockey Union National Championship . The league sent the Syracuse Stampede ( eliminated in semifinals ) to the 2013 Championship as the Lake George Fighting Spirit ( eliminated in round robin ) won both the regular season and playoffs . The league sent the Jersey Shore Wildcats ( eliminated in round robin ) and the Waterville Valley Fighting Spirit ( eliminated in the semifinals ) to the 2014 Championship Withdrawal from AAU and the future . A posting on the http : / / thejuniorhockeynews . com website dated September 10 , 2014 stated that the league left the AAU . Another article that also stated that league commmisioner , Wayne Sheehan that discussions had taken place with the North American Hockey League about taking operational control of the league and possibly making the league part of the North American 3 Hockey League and giving the NAHL a presence in the northeastern part of the United States for the first time . The league operated independently of either the AAU or USA Hockey for the balance of the 2014 - 15 season . The NAHL stated that they will apply to have the league sanctioned by USA Hockey for the 2015 - 16 season . The league is following USA Hockeys guidelines with the exception of the import rule for the 2014 - 15 season . The league was approved by USA Hockey on May 7 , 2015 . For the 2015 - 16 season the league has so far announced the addition of a franchise in Stockholm , New Jersey to be known as the Skylands Kings . The New Hampshire Fighting Spirit announced a relocation from Laconia , New Hampshire to Lewiston , Maine where they will be known as the L / A Fighting Spirit . On April 9 , 2015 the league announced the addition of the Northeast Generals to be based out of Canton , Massachusetts . The league had added to New York Aviators from the USPHL . The league was granted " USA Hockey Tier III Indpendent " status for 2015 - 16 on May 8 , 2015 and are presently planning on playing with 13 teams for 2015 - 16 .