The Erie Blizzard will join the Midwest Junior Hockey League, a new Tier II Junior A league sanctioned by the American Athletic Union, in the 2012-13 season. But first, Curtis Prue, the club’s owner and general manager, will focus on putting a roster together.
The Blizzard will hold a pair of two-day tryout sessions at Ice Center of Erie – Aug. 11 from 3-4:30 p.m. and Aug. 12 from 9-10:30 a.m., as well as Aug. 25-26 from 3-4:30 p.m. The cost for each session is $75. The league’s inaugural season, which runs from Sept. 14 to March 17, features 16 teams separated into two conferences (American and National) and four divisions (North, Central, East and West).
The Blizzard are in the National Conference’s East Division with the Dayton (Ohio) Aeros, Lake Erie Steelheads (Cleveland) and the Northwest Ohio Grrrowl. Teams will play a 50-game regular season, with the top two teams in each division advancing to three rounds of playoffs. Member teams will play in the Veterans Memorial Cup playoffs. The Veterans Cup champion will qualify for the AAU national championship April 8. Prue said the league should release the schedule in the coming days.
The Blizzard played in the much-maligned Continental Junior Hockey League in their inaugural season two years ago. The CJHL had two teams in 2010-11. As Prue said in December 2011, the Blizzard left the CJHL a season ago because it had one team and the AAU, a national sanctioning body for multiple sports, refused to sanction the league. Prue hastily co-founded the East Coast Jr. Hockey League last season, since the team needed a sanctioned league to register players in order to insure them. But they were a Tier III Junior A independent team.

The Erie Blizzard have chosen to leave the much-maligned Continental Junior Hockey League, coach Curtis Prue confirmed Thursday. The Blizzard will be an independent team for the rest of the season.

“We’re not playing in the league because there’s only two teams,” Prue said of the CJHL, a Tier III Junior A league that has developed a poor track record in less than two seasons of existence. The league had only two teams last season after the Blizzard merged with the Niagara Fury, of Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Prue said the team needs to sever ties with the CJHL in order to reach its goal of a 25-game season. The Blizzard began this season with three games in eight days against the Fury, the league’s only other team.

Officials have contacted club teams in the American Collegiate Hockey Association and junior teams from other leagues. Prue said he has contacted Tom McKinnon, coach of Mercyhurst College’s club team.

Prue said the Blizzard could travel to Dallas, Texas, the first weekend in December to play games against teams from the Tier III Junior A Western States Hockey League. “Nothing is booked yet,” Prue said.

After this season, Blizzard officials want to join a new league. Prue pointed to the Great Lakes Junior Hockey League, a Junior B league based in Indiana and Michigan, and Ontario-based Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League.

The Continental Junior Hockey League, which includes the Erie Blizzard, are moving to Tier II for the 2011-12 season.

The Continental Junior Hockey League has unveiled its revamped schedule for the 2010-11 season. The combined Niagara Fury/Erie Blizzard team is scheduled to begin Oct. 23.

Former Mercyhurst College athletic director Craig Barnett has resigned as coach of the Erie Blizzard, a Tier III Junior A club in the first-year Continental Junior Hockey League – two months after being hired.

Barnett announced his decision on Saturday through an e-mail that read, “With the recent changes in league geography and scheduling due to the desperate efforts to get league operations off the ground this season, I will not be able to commit the time needed as coach of the Erie Blizzard. My family and full-time job are my main priorities, and with the added time commitment now needed, I cannot devote the time and energies that I could before. I wish the CJHL and the Erie Blizzard well in their efforts, as I truly hope they can provide more opportunities for the young hockey players in this area.”

Barnett’s resignation is the latest blow to an already tumultuous start to the team’s inaugural season.

The Blizzard have struggled to build a full roster this summer. Last week, club officials announced the regular season would begin Oct. 17, three weeks later than the original Sept. 25 start date. They also stated that the schedule is set to be released this coming week.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Blizzard of the Continental Junior Hockey League will hold another tryout camp on Aug. 14 and 15 at Ice Center of Erie.

The Blizzard is looking for players ages 15-21 who are looking to take the next step in their hockey career. The times for the try-out camp will be 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and 3:30- 5 p.m. on the 14th and 1:303 p.m. on Sunday the 15th. Players are asked to report an hour early to the first session on Saturday for registration.

Cost for the camp will be $50 per player. Players who participated in the first round of tryouts in July will skate at no cost. Interested players can contact Blizzard general manager Dave Hinz by email at gm@erieblizzardhockey.com or by phone at 449-7813 to reserve their spot.

- From Erie Blizzard news release

Starting in September, Erie will have a new junior hockey team – the Erie Blizzard of the developmental Continental Junior Hockey League. Read the Erie Times-News story by clicking the link.