Charlottetown Abbies

The Charlottetown Abbies were a Tier-II Junior "A" team based out of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They played in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. Their home rink was the MacLaughlin Arena on the campus of the University of Prince Edward Island.
==History==
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 in the old Charlottetown Forum, and the Abbies who were based at the Simmons Sports Centre. 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.
In May 2008, it was announced that the Abbies' management had applied for a year's leave of absence from the Maritime Junior Hockey League, citing financial problems."Abbies Taking a Break." The Guardian, PEI, May 1, 2008. Accessed July 11, 2008. The team almost relocated to Lewiston, Maine when the Lewiston Maineiacs (QMJHL) tried to relocate to Boisbriand, Quebec.
In May 2009, the commissioner of the MHL stated in a newspaper interview that the Abbies would not operate again. On June 4, 2009, CBC reported the folding of the Abbies franchise. The end of the Charlottetown Abbies meant that, for the first time since 1972, the City of Charlottetown did not have a Junior A team.
===Junior B Revival===
A team in the Junior B level Island Junior Hockey League named the Evangeline Loggers relocated from Wellington relocated to Pownal, outside of Charlottetown for the 2005-06 season; where they became the Pownal Metro Builders.  They would be renamed the Charlottetown Metro Builders for the 2009-10 season and then the Charlottetown Abbies for the 2010-11 season.  The team would end up folding on Janury 7, 2013.
==Season-by-Season Record==
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	T 	OL 	GF 	GA 	P 	Results 	Playoffs 	
1972-73	12 	9 	3 	0 	- 	75 	40 	28 	2nd SNBJHL 	Won League 	
1973-74	29 	7 	20 	2 	- 	115 	178 	16 	6th IJHL 	 	
1974-75	40 	7 	28 	5 	- 	163 	247 	19 	6th IJHL 	 	
1975-76	39 	6 	28 	5 	- 	145 	278 	17 	6th IJHL 	 	
1976-77	40 	12 	25 	3 	- 	194 	224 	27 	4th IJHL 	 	
1977-78	39 	23 	8 	8 	- 	-- 	-- 	54 	2nd IJHL 		Won League 	
1978-79	40 	31 	5 	4 	- 	219 	96 	66 	1st IJHL 	 	
1979-80	39 	19 	14 	6 	- 	210 	167 	44 	3rd IJHL 	 	
1980-81	34 	13 	18 	3 	- 	186 	197 	29 	3rd IJHL 	 	
1981-82	42 	22 	17 	3 	- 	336 	287 	47 	2nd IJHL 	 	
1982-83	42 	10 	29 	3 	- 	212 	301 	23 	4th IJHL 	 	
1983-84	40 	19 	15 	6 	- 	230 	200 	44 	2nd IJHL 	 	
1984-85	38 	15 	18 	5 	- 	175 	211 	35 	3rd IJHL 	 	
1985-86	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available	Statistics Not Available
1986-87	42 	26 	10 	6 	- 	224 	174 	58 	1st IJHL 	 	
1987-88	42 	16 	19 	7 	- 	231 	253 	39 	3rd IJHL 	 	
1988-89	44 	22 	15 	7 	- 	245 	185 	56 	2nd IJHL 	 	
1989-90	40 	30 	5 	2 	3 	203 	121 	65 	1st IJHL 	 	
1990-91	42 	29 	8 	3 	2 	277 	167 	63 	2nd IJHL 	 	
1991-92	47 	22 	16 	9 	- 	276 	203 	53 	3rd MJAHL 	 	
1992-93	48 	20 	19 	8 	1 	199 	227 	49 	4th MJAHL 	 	
1993-94	48 	17 	27 	1 	3 	216 	253 	38 	6th MJAHL 	 	
1994-95	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate
1995-96	54 	18 	29 	3 	4 	217 	272 	43 	7th MJAHL 	 	
1996-97	56 	21 	30 	2 	3 	294 	324 	47 	7th MJAHL 	 	
1997-98	52 	26 	20 	3 	3 	237 	227 	58 	5th MJAHL 	 	
1998-99	48 	41 	5 	2 	- 	266 	141 	84 	1st MJAHL 	Won League, Won FPC 	
1999-00	52 	19 	31 	2 	0 	198 	247 	40 	6th MJAHL 	 	
2000-01	52 	28 	20 	3 	1 	215 	187 	60 	5th MJAHL 	 	
2001-02	52 	24 	24 	4 	0 	198 	194 	52 	7th MJAHL 	 	
2002-03	52 	43 	5 	1 	3 	229 	130 	90 	1st MJAHL 	Won League 	
2003-04	52 	22 	24 	2 	4 	231 	238 	50 	6th MJAHL 	 	
2004-05	56 	26 	19 	7 	4 	207 	205 	63 	5th MJAHL 	 	
2005-06	56 	20 	34 	0 	2 	193 	240 	43 	10th MJAHL 	Lost Division QF 	
2006-07	58 	9 	47 	0 	2 	145 	322 	20 	12th MJAHL 	DNQ 	
2007-08	58 	29 	25 	- 	4 	215 	236 	62 	8th MJAHL 	 	
==External links==
*Official Website
Category:Canadian ice hockey teams
Category:Independent teams in Prince Edward Island Junior Playoffs
Category:Charlottetown City Junior League teams