OHA denies Jr. B league’s appeal

WATERLOO — The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League will consider legal action after its latest appeal to be reclassified as a Tier 2 Jr. A loop has once again been denied by its provincial governing body.

No reason was given to the Jr. B league for the snub by the Ontario Hockey Association, said GOJHL commissioner Chuck Williams.

“We will followup — likely with an appeal,” said Williams. “(Legal action) is one of our options we will also discuss,” he said.

Other alternatives to be discussed by the league include leaving the OHA altogether, league members have said.

“We certainly gave a great presentation (to the OHA in July) that rationalized why we should be reclassified to Jr. A. I’m a little disappointed that the OHA did not come to the same conclusion,” he said.

The GOJHL was informed of the OHA’s decision over the weekend.

The 27-team GOJHL includes local entries — the Kitchener Dutchmen, Waterloo Siskins, Cambridge Winter Hawks and Elmira Sugar Kings — and reaches from near Windsor to Fort Erie and Buffalo, north to Listowel and as far east as Brampton.

It is the highest level of junior hockey — outside the major Jr. A Ontario Hockey League — offered to players in southwestern Ontario.

The Jr. B loop also had its request for reclassification struck down a couple years ago because the OHA said it had an exclusive deal for Tier 2 Jr. A hockey with the Ontario Junior Hockey League. But that rejection only stoked the Jr. B league’s fire because the GOJHL contends that exclusive deal is unconstitutional.

Ever since, the GOJHL’s representatives have worked tirelessly preparing their case and they are not about to abandon their cause now, league members have said.

The OHA could not be immediately reached for comment.