The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) released their regular season schedule for 2016-2017, Thursday, July 14th. The Lockport Express will be playing under the NA3HL banner this year for the first time, after previously playing in the NA3EHL. The Express will pay a 44-game schedule, with 22 home games to take place at the Cornerstone Ice Arena at 34 Chestnut Street in downtown Lockport.
The NA3HL is entering its seventh season and serves as one of the top training grounds in the country by providing the best coaching, exposure and developmental vehicles available for student-athletes in its classification. Through the NAHL's vast resources for development and exposure, the creation of the NA3HL provides another worthy path for players to grow, on and off the ice, while being showcased in front of the entire junior, college and professional scouting community.
There are 48 teams in the league this year. The Express will see only a handful of those teams in regular season action. They will play in the Northeast Division which consists of six teams: Lockport, Binghamton Junior Senators, Jersey Shore Wildcats, Roc City Royals, Skylands Kings, and the Syracuse Stampede. The Binghamton team was formerly in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Lockport will open the season at home on Friday, September 9th, when they take on Southern Tier Express at 8pm. They will finish the season with a two game homestand, March 4-5, 2017 against East Coast Minutemen.
The NA3HL will finish their season with the Silver Cup Championship Tournament, which crowns the NA3HL's playoff champion. The event will be held from March 29-April 2, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.
Niagara’s Watercooler is the official media partner of the Lockport Express.