American Premier Hockey League

The American Premier Hockey League formerly the Union Hockey League is a American men's senior hockey league announced in September of 2022 as the North Eastern Hockey League. On August 2, 2023 the league announced on a new website that the league was was called the Union Hockey League. It begins play with the 2023-24 playing season in October of 2023. With the change over to the new name the league is now listed as being a "Senior A" level playing league after originally being listed as a hybrid men's senior/semi-pro league.
==Announcement of Teams==
A July 14th posting on the league Facebook announced 5 teams (Boston Gold Kings, North Shore Nighthawks, Pittsburgh River Monsters, Rockland Polar Bears, and Soo Apollos), with a planned additional 7 or more teams for the inaugural season.https://www.facebook.com/NorthEasternHockeyLeague/posts/pfbid0GDHF67WyFsKHCodLd2X3JjH2bczt59nPYX8GWjKACvf1FvtYAQfoozNp2f9xwWgsl 
By July 23rd the Soo Apollos were not listed on the league teams page with the Holyoke Royals, New Jersey Hockey Club, Philadelphia Frozen Fury and Poughkeepsie Vikings being added.
As part of the league branding announcement, the league annouced that eight teams will compete for the 2023-24 season. The posting affirmed the Boston Gold Kings, Holyoke Royals (later renamed the Holyoke Papermen, North Shore Nighthawks, Pittsburgh River Monsters, and Poughkeepsie Polar Bears (changed from the Poughkeepsie Vikings and/or Rockland Polar Bears) teams, while adding the Dyer, Indiana based Midwest Mammoths, Chelsea, Michigan based Motor City Apollos (apparently changing from being located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan), and Niagara Falls, New York based Niagara Falls Buffalos. The New Jersey and Philadelphia teams are no longer listed on the website.
On October 2nd the league would announce the addition of four additional teams for the 2023-24 season, adding the Canton, Massachusetts based Canton Mallards, the East Rutherford, New Jersey based Mid-Atlantic Frozen Fury, the Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan based Soo Nordiques, and the Sun Prairie, Wisconsin based Sun Prairie Killer Bees.https://www.facebook.com/TheUnionHockeyLeague/posts/pfbid0prFTqh5RYkeCRTnRWcPDRF3hVruDE6zYGRHR9BTzyJz1PfXAHEHumjuZSaCJUEnl
On November 16, 2023 it was announced that the Mid-Atlantic Frozen Fury would be taking a leave of absence citing looking for a new rink to play out of. The same annoucement introduced the addition of the Norwich Whalers who would likely be based out of the Norwich Municipal Ice Rink.https://www.facebook.com/TheUnionHockeyLeague/posts/pfbid02Kj2E8AvetgndFjLLPN3bqx4jSVQjXu52cuYGsBMBza94hX3ay55pLdfY5s8jJF5ql
The Pittsburgh River Monsters would have to change home rinks for the season when they relocated from the Printscape Arena in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania to the Beaver County Ice Arena in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
The Poughkeepsie Polar Bears would be renamed the Hudson Valley Vipers. The Midwest Mammoths would be renamed the Chicago Mammoths.
The Motor City Apollos would relocate from Chelsea, Michigan to Royal Oak, Michigan and be renamed the Motor City Generals. The name change is appaently due to a name swap with the 2024-25 expansion team planned on being called the New Jersey Apollos.
The league has the Cleveland, Ohio based Lake Erie Voyagers, Newark, New Jersey based New Jersey Apollos, Philadelphia Frozen Fury, and St. Louis Wranglers listed as 2024-24 expansion teams as of mid-November 2023.
By Christmas the Chicago Mammoths, Cincinnati Pilots, Norwich Whalers, and Vermont Loggers would be listed as inactive for the season.
By opening day the Canton Mallards relocate their home games to the Joseph J. Zapustas Arena in adjacent Randolph, Massachusetts and are renamed the Norfolk Mallards. The Conway Yetis are no longer listed on the league website, with the Niagara Falls Buffalos being shifted to the Eastern Division to replace them and the Toledo Mobsters are added to the Western Division.
In January 2024 the Kenosha Americans were announced as joining the league for the 2024-25 season.https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/weekly-sports-league-and-franchise-report/n-6054781
On February 6, 2024 the league announced it would be going from 12 teams to 48 teams across the country and is declaring itself as Senior AAA for the 2024-25 season, indicating the announcement of further teams on May 6th.https://www.facebook.com/TheUnionHockeyLeague/posts/pfbid04fw94ToYgWNE3yvsidz3K1KHhQesRmyaG5RurxayR6XtJqZCEj9B1hzioxfC1tztl
The league would rename itself in early March of 2024 to the APHL and declare that it was Senior AAA already and that all but the Motor City Generals made the jump to the league under the new name.
==Teams==
Team 	City 	Arena 	Joined
Flint Lumberjacks 	Flint, Michigan 	Flint Iceland Arena 	2024
Hudson Valley Vipers 	Poughkeepsie, New York 	McCann Ice Arena 	2023
Iron City Forge 	Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania	Beaver County Ice Arena 	2024
Kalkaska Battlers 	Kalkaska, Michigan 	The Kaliseum 	2024
Soo Nordiques 	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	Chi Mukwa Arena 	2023
Summit City Distillers 	Fort Wayne, Indiana 	SportONE/Parkview Icehouse	2024
Toledo Mobsters 	Toledo, Ohio 	Team Toledo Ice House 	2023
West Michigan Sentinels	Cedar Springs, Michigan 	Cedar Rock Sportsplex 	2023
==Seasons/Champions==
Season 	Champion
2023-24	Hudson Valley Vipers
==References==
==Links==
*League website
*League Facebook page
Category:Established in 2022
Category:Ice hockey leagues in the United States