Jersey Hitmen (Tier III)

The Jersey Hitmen are a Tier III junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Premier Hockey League's, Premier Division. The organization also has junior teams in the USPHL's NCDC and Elite Divisions, as well as multiple youth teams from 10U to 18U. The teams play their home games at the Ice Vault Arena in Wayne, New Jersey.

History

The Hitmen's Tier III club was founded in 2003 and joined the Eastern Junior Hockey League the same year. In 2013, US junior hockey experienced a significant realignment that saw several leagues merge and discontinue. As the deck chairs were shuffled, the then-New Jersey Hitmen joined with several former EJHL clubs to form the United States Premier Hockey League and continue under the umbrella of USA Hockey sanctioning. Four years later, when the league became a fully independent organization, the USPHL created a separate Tier II circuit called the National Collegiate Development Conference. New Jersey was one of several teams to found a new program and have it compete in the new league. Unfortunately, as a result of directing most of its attention to the new club, the Jersey Hitmen's Tier III franchise began to suffer and the team went through an extended slump and hasn't posted a winning record since 2019.