1983 OMJHA playoffs

 Round 1

Hero Division

Oakville Oaks vs. Toronto Hornets

The Oaks had a tough time winning the first two games and losing game three 3-2 in overtime to the Hornets. However, they got in a groove in game four, 4-1 and finished the Hornets off in game five, 4-2, to win the series in five games. The Oaks wins the series 4-1.

Barrie Admirals vs. Milton Micmacs

The first two games were close, but after the game 2 overtime loss, the Admirals fell apart as the Micmacs won both games three and four to complete a game sweep and, for the second time, beat the Admirals in the first round. The Micmacs wins the series 4-0.

Steel Division

Buffalo Bees vs. Owen Sound Arrowbirds

The Arrowbirds couldn’t find any answers to win against the Bees until game four, where they had the lead 4-2 going into the third period when William VanDean finally started scoring goals for the first time since December 6th, and he did it with three goals to give the Bees game four wins and the sweep to move on to the next round. The Bees wins the series 4-0.

Waterloo Maroons vs. Toronto Neon

The Maroons had some hiccups in the first two games at the hands of the Toronto Neon, but they would turn it around, win four straight, and head to the Steel Division finals. The Maroons wins the series 4-2.

Hero Division Final

Oakville Oaks vs. Milton Micmacs

Both teams had been back and forth most of the series; in game five, trailing 3-1 going into the third period, the Oaks went tooth and nail to come back with Jake Dahl’s two goals within 30 seconds out of 1:20 left in the third to tie the game at three apiece. In overtime, Oaks rookie Vince Olson made an opportunity moment as one of the Macs players made a weak pass; Vince took the puck, got a breakaway to the net, and scored the overtime winner to take game five 4-3. The Macs ran out of gas in game six as the Oaks shut them out 4-0 to win both game six and the series to punch their ticket to the Smyth Cup Championship. The Oaks wins the series 4-2.

Steel Division Final

Buffalo Bees vs. Waterloo Maroons

The Maroons got themselves in a challenging situation as Adam Newhook and Larry Arsenal got called up to their pro teams for a playoff push. At the same time, Tom Zehr and Vernon Fetisov suffered an injury bug, and even Nick Ross going on a cold streak since losing games one and two in the first round with the Toronto Neon. The Buffalo Bees took advantage and shocked the whole league with a sweep of four straight games, only allowing just 4 goals. The Bees wins the series 4-0.

Smyth Cup Finals

Buffalo Bees vs. Oakville Oaks

“The Rematch,” which everyone has been waiting for since last season between the Bees and the Oaks. Game one the Bees William VanDean scored 2 goals, 5 points to give them a win 5-2 over the Oaks. Game number two William scored only one but made 4 assists for 5-3 win once again. Game three the Oaks had a good lead but both Greg Dahlstrom and Floyd Currie each scored 2 goals to give the Bees 4-3 win over the Oaks. Things turned around for the Oaks as Jake Dahl scored 2 goals within 3 minutes left in the third period, forcing the game into overtime. Then Jake scored the OT winner to take game four 4-3. The Oaks didn’t have enough gas as the Bees took game five thanks to Mark O’Reilly’s 5 assists with the score of 5-1 final, and once again, the Buffalo Bees are the 1983 Smyth Cup Champions and taking a trip to Medicine Hat for the Valor Cup Tournament. The Bees wins the series 4-1.

1982-83 OMJHA season

 

As the new season began, there were silents around the league in the aftermath of the departure of the Metros. The next problem was the Kitchener Legionnaires, whose owner, John Rupert, had been in the league. President Tom Van Ryan asked how many teams haven’t received any money to question his role. The rent for the Kitchener Memorial Centre went up this season, and Generals owner Todd Holmes claims that he is paying more than John Rupert Todd threatened to sue, but Tom tried to fix the problem, but the city demands more money from Todd than John, with that Todd Holmes file a lawsuit on John Rupert, even thou John had better evidence, but for some unknown reason there were no payment records, John Rupert said that it was stolen but the court found John Rupert guilty. The Court forced John Rupert to hand over the Legionnaires team to Todd Holmes; after that, Todd announced that after this season, both the Generals and the Legionnaires would merge into one team, and the Generals would add red to their jerseys soon down the road. Unhappy with the outcome, many fans in Kitchener have made it clear that they won’t go to any Generals home game until Todd Holmes tells the truth that he is stealing money from other teams, but there is not enough proof that others will start supporting the Waterloo Maroons next year.

The Orillia Lakers are also in the news that their first home game of the season was a dud. The attendance wasn’t good for the Lakers, who had an average of 300 out of 1500 capacity Orillia Arena seating. “This is a joke. Not even our fans came along with us to play against the Lakers; it is sad to tell you the truth,” Milton Micmacs Jesper Nelson said in an interview with a radio station in Milton.

The 1982 Smyth Cup Champions Buffalo Bees finally topped the Steel division for the first time, also for the time they topped the league. “It was the best season we ever had, and let me tell you, we got plenty more to show.” Bees GM Ryan Byron Jr. said at a press conference after the last game of the season. The Waterloo Maroons had a slow start after losing Nick Ross to injury at the beginning of the season, Nick made up for it by finishing this season with 29 goals and 56 points run within 35 games, but the Maroons finished 2nd place. With the right moves and good coaching by Warren Coyle, the Toronto Neon jumped from last to 3rd place, and they are hoping for a deep run in the playoffs. After a challenging number of games, the Owen Sound Arrowbirds took 4th place, and hopefully, they will be in better shape come playoff time. Rounding off the Steel Division are the O’s in 5th place, Legionnaires in 6th place, 7th place belongs to the Bolts, and last place is the Lakers.

Over at the Hero Division, the Oakville Oaks made it to 1st place after making 12 a game-winning streak helped by Jake Dahl’s 38 goals 75 points. The performance did wonders and showed everyone that this team is going back to the Smyth Cup finals, and this time, they will win it. Taking 2nd place is the Barrie Admirals, as they had a slow start with losing 8 of the first 10 games, but Ty Joly finally shows why he should be in the top 10 NIHA draft this year. With news about the team being up for sale soon the Milton Micmacs is showing their value by finishing third place, hopefully they have a buyer will have the idea of buying the team and keep it in Milton. The Toronto Hornets won 10 of the last 15 games to finish 4th place, making their first playoff appearance in team history. Brantford Skyflyers in 5th, Oshawa 6th, and the Kitchener Generals in last are rounds off the division.

1982 CIHA Off-season

 Expansion Draft

Four teams joined the CIHA (2 in the OMJHA and 2 in the AQHL) as they put their team together, hoping to get great results two to three years later. In the OMJHA, the Brantford Skyflyers didn’t take any top players in their picks, only some 2nd liners that want a crack at the 1st line. The only best pick they got is goalie Dale Hulse, the backup for the Waterloo Maroons in his third season in the league. Dale hoping to get noticed by the scouts. Orillia Lakers picked up some good forwards, but they hit a good defenceman from the Kitchener Generals, Greg Ford, who could put the Lakers on target for a deep run for the playoffs. For Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds, they got their hands on forward Rich Johansson from Manchester. Val-d’Or Monarchs' top pick was Mark Tremblay from New Glasgow, who could help lead the team to a decent first season.

Brantford Skyflyers

1. Dale Hulse, G (Waterloo)

2. Alex Darby, F (Legionnaires) 

3. Edward Murry, D (Oakville)

4. Shawn Imlach, D (Buffalo)

5. Anton Riley, D (Tor Hornets)

Orillia Lakers

1. Peter Washburn, F (Tor Neon)

2. Nick Osgood, F (Oshawa)

3. Greg Ford, D (Generals)

4. Jamie Mills, F (Barrie)

5. Frank Cole, F (Oakville) 

Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds

1. Rich Johansson, F (Manchester)

2. Leo Klee, D (Drummondville)

3. Keith Lapointe, F (Cape Breton)

4. Chris Rochefort, G (Verdun)

5. Norman York, F (Sherbrooke)

Val-d’Or Monarchs

1. Trent Yake, D (Sherbrooke)

2. Mark Tremblay, F (New Glasgow)

3. John Riendeau, F (Shawinigan)

4. Steph Raymond, G (Portland)

5. Robert Flower, D (Manchester)

1982 AQHL Draft

For the first time in 15 years (before the establishment of the CIHA), a defenceman got picked 1st overall and that D-man is Aaron Mellanby from Montreal, QC, drafted by Trois-Rivieres last season Aaron made history by scoring 40 goals in a season; by a defenceman while playing for the Montreal AAA club. Drummondville scored a forward from Chatham, NB Shawn Merkosky; he improved scoring between last season and two seasons ago while playing for the Moncton Jr C club. One of the big head turners made in the draft, New Glasgow drafted Aleksey Filimonov, a forward who lived in Halifax, NS, for most of his life after his family left their home in Moscow. But their hockey blood lives within, and he played very well; that caught many scouts' eyes. He could be the next big star in the pros, and the Highlanders is the team built for him to be part of it. The dark horse of the draft is the Sherbrooke Loups, who drafted a goalie named Timothy Moreau from Rimouski, QC, after talks that after next season, Lenny Tardif could go pro into the pro draft when he was named number 3 of the top 10 goalie prospect for the pro league with Lenny gone that could hurt themselves in the goalie department more than 2 seasons down the road.

1. Trois-Rivieres Titans – Aaron Mellanby, D (Montreal, QC)

2. Drummondville Les Rouges – Shawn Merkosky, F (Chatham, NB)

3. New Glasgow Highlanders (from Manchester) – Aleksey Filimonov, F (Moscow, USSR)

4. Portland Clippers – Tom Hislop, G (Shawville, QC)

5. Laval Tigers – Matt Nasreddine, F (Shawinigan, QC)

6. Shawinigan Voltages – John Orlando, D (Terrebonne, QC)

7. Cape Breton Warriors – Franklin Olson, D (Moncton, NB)

8. Fredericton Vikings – Wayne Daoust, F (Rouyn-Noranda, QC)

9. Laval Tigers (from Verdun) – Alan Mallaby, D (Hull, QC)

10. Moncton Bears – Shawn Metcalfe, G (Moncton, NB)

11. Sherbrooke Loups – Timothy Moreau, G (Rimouski, QC)

12. Portland Clippers (from New Glasgow) – Frank Orr, F (Saint John, NB)

1982 OMJHA Draft

With the Metros gone, the first round is only 13 teams drafting players; many teams felt different without the Metros, but they had no choice but to move on. The Generals started by presenting their new GM, William Darby, who had grand experience as a GM for the Minnesota Pro Hockey Club for 10 years. The reason for his departure from them was that he wanted to be close to his hometown of Woodstock, Ontario, and the Kitchener Generals is where he can bring them back to the glory days of winning championships. The plan begins with drafting Matthew Bellows from Hamilton, a real solid defenceman who can help the Generals with their defence issues. The Toronto Hornets took forward Tim Bear, who made a name for himself as one of the top scorers in the Metro Toronto area hockey league and could be the one the Hornets need to move them up to playoff contenders next season. Buffalo strikes a trade deal with the Toronto Neon to receive the third overall pick, and they choose Todd Zemlak as part of the improvement to the defence core in the hope of a back-to-back title for the Bees.

1. K. General – Matthew Bellows, D (Hamilton, ON)

2. T. Hornets – Tim Bear, F (Penetanguishene, ON)

3. Buffalo (from T. Neon) – Todd Zemlak, D (St. Catharines, ON)

4. Oshawa – Jason Yoke, F (Sudbury, ON)

5. K. Legionnaires – Terrence Wright, G (Orangeville, ON)

6. Peterborough – Herb Wyrozub, D (Omemee, ON)

7. Owen Sound – John Wylie, F (Mount Forest, ON)

8. Barrie – Joe Wilson, F (Markham, ON)

9. Milton – Travis Warrener, G (Brampton, ON)

10. Orangeville – Alex Richmond, F (Woodstock, ON)

11. Oakville – Vince Olson, F (Oakville, ON)

12. Buffalo – Mark O’Reilly, F (Niagara Falls, NY)

13. Waterloo – Vernon Fetisov, D (Barrie, ON)

1982 WCLH Draft

The WCLH draft this year was almost all forwards, with 10 in the first round; also, there are two players from the Euros. Saskatoon takes Matthew Goodfellow from Winnipeg to give more scoring depth within the roster. Clint Abgrall won many faceoffs during his time with the Prince George Jr.B club; that ability is what Chilliwack needs to improve compared to last season. The Surry River Dogs picked Pat Lemelin after turning heads at the WCLH training camp in Vancouver with his stick handling that could help the team move up and get into the playoffs. The Dark Horse of this year's draft was Mike Lessard from Portland, Oregon, who was named top goalie in all Oregon states for the second year in a row; it was good enough for the Forest Kings to pick him and could lead them back to the top of the mountain.

1. Saskatoon - Matthew Goodfellow, F (Winnipeg, MB)

2. Chilliwack – Clint Abgrall, F (Prince George, BC)

3. Surrey – Pat Lemelin, F (Red Deer, AB)

4. Medicine Hat (from Fargo) – Henry Richardson, F (Edmonton, AB)

5. Nanaimo – Isaac Schmidt, F (Regina, SK)

6. Brandon – Clarence Langkow, D (Moose Jaw, SK)

7. Abbotsford – Mike Lessard, G (Portland, OR)

8. Moose Jaw – Kurt Lscroix, D (Seattle, WA)

9. Portage la Prairie – Mark Daneyko, F (St. Paul’s MN)

10. Swift Current – Jake Benoit, G (Calgary, AB)

11. Medicine Hat – Max Gustafsson, F (Umea, Sweden)

12. Kenora – James Matthews, F (Kindersley, SK)

13. Billings – David Lemay, F (Fargo, ND)

14. Lethbridge - Anders Krzysztof, F (Berlin, Germany)

News

The Canadian International Hockey Association Announced that the Medicine Hat Hawks will be the host for the 1983 CIHA Valor Cup tournament. Medicine Hat tops the votes to be the host over Lethbridge, Swift Current, Billings and Fargo. With such great news, Hawks owner Jack Grin could offer deals with the city about putting good money into a new arena soon to replace the old Medicine Hat Auditorium.

Many from other leagues were shocked over the Burlington Metros departure, which means there is a whole new voting to determine which OMJHA team to host the 1984 Valor Cup Tournament; the candidates are Oshawa, Orangeville, Oakville, Barrie, and Buffalo.

The CIHA is in talks of putting patches on teams to represent their own leagues; normally, patches are on the upper left chest; however, others wish to have them on the shoulders, which most teams don’t have secondary logos on them, for now, the tenth-anniversary Valor Cup patch will be on the Medicine Hat Hawks jersey and three other teams that make it to the tournament.

There were other talks that all three leagues could make their season from 50 to 60 games, but the increase won’t happen until the 1985-86 season if the votes are unanimous. As of the 1982-83 season, all players must have visors on their helmets to protect their eyes from injuries. Lastly, the league decided to go with a trial run with long pants from a company called “Lite-sonic” that was made only for roller hockey, but they sold it to six CIHA teams, the Manchester Americans,  Val-d’Or Monarchs, Peterborough Bolts, Toronto Neon, Kenora Pioneers and Moose Jaw Wings will wear them 1982-83 season.

Rumours about the Manchester Americans cleaning house became true as John Rome let go of everyone in the office and started building it from scratch by hiring Nick Yankton as the team’s GM, who had good GM experience in the lower tier junior A team in Concord, New Hampshire. Nick wasted no time as he had a good knowledge of the Manchester hockey program and hired Randy Reinhart, who was a big star in both Manchester Minor Pro and Boston Pro club’s heyday in the ’60s; Randy started coaching many teams and stacking up wins along the way with his coaching skills and bringing his assistant coach Trever Wales and goalie coach Mitch Zachary into the mix the Americans will have a good run down the road.

With both Val-d’Or Monarchs and Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds ready for their first season to start in the 1982-83 season, a new team is ready to set up shop, and that is the town of Charlottetown P.E.I. They will be ready for the 1983-84 season as they announced they are called the “Charlottetown Greens,” named after the Island’s story, Anne of Green Gables. The team’s colours are green, blue, and red; they will show off the logo and the jerseys next year off-season.

The Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds showed off their logo and the jerseys at the re-opening of the upgraded Centre Firebird as it once had a seating cap of 1000, now 3000, as team owner Vincent Maurice presented to the crowd team’s GM Willie Bouhard, Head Coach Frank Allen and some players that got picked up from the expansion draft. The logo is the bird's head with wings and a fire sitting on top of the bird’s head in red, light red, yellow and black. The jerseys have thick stripes on the arms and hem with thin black trims in red, gold, and black.

Bill Lamoureux, the owner of the Val-d’Or Monarchs, is ready for their inaugural season by showing off their gear. The Monarch's logo is the giant “V” with an “M” on top of it in navy as the team’s colour. The jerseys have simple trims, nothing too over the top.

With the Metros no longer part of the league, it is now a 15-team league, including Brantford Skyflyers and Orillia Lakers. As for the division, the Skyflyers are part of the Hero division, while the Lakers are in the Steel division.

From ending one drama to the next one, it’s the Kitchener Legionnaires, as they haven’t received any total payout from the league’s bank, just part of it. Once again, questions were all over Tom Van Ryan as he has been dodging reporters and owners about these problems which if he doesn’t find a way to fix it, chances are the Legionnaires will fold after the 1982-83 season.

The Micmacs could leave Milton soon as Harold MacFarland is planning on retiring, but his plans on handing over the team to his son Mitch MacFarland turned upside down as Mitch offered a GM deal from the Calgary Pro Hockey Club after spending 8 seasons with the club as assistant GM if he signs this deal than Harold will put the team up for sale to any local business will have 1 or 2 years to buy and keep the team in Milton if not he will sale to anyone that will buy and move the team to their own location.

The only good news for President Tom Van Ryan was he contacted two businessmen named Isaac and Abram, the Wall brothers, putting a team in Niagara Falls; they are working on getting land to build an arena for a team to play in.

The Brandford Skyflyers showed off their set. Angle stripes on the arms while the hem are normal, all in green and white.

The Orilla Lakers have four shades of blue to represent water. All four blues are on the home jersey. On the road jersey, however only show three, the only forth blue you can see on the road is the trim around the numbers.
 

After letting go of Edward Gore, the Saskatoon Cats looked for a new head coach. They got themselves a former Saskatoon Cats top player, Shawn Billiton, who was part of the Cats dynasty that won three titles in a row from 1966, 1967 and 1968 (years before the Est of the CIHA); after the juniors, he had success in the pros winning 3 pro hockey championships with the Montreal Pro hockey club in the 70s, then he went on doing coaching jobs around the Quebec City area in hopes of getting a job with an AQHL team, but it didn’t happen until a job open from the Cats came in, and he took it. “I am happy to return to a team where I got my career started in the biggest way possible; once I get my staff put together, the build for a dynasty begins.”

With being named the host of the 1983 Valor Cup Tournament, the Medicine Hat Hawks are putting together their roster better than before. “All I can say is the pressure is on for us to enter the tournament with momentum on our side; if our season doesn’t go well, we will be in trouble.” Hawks GM Leon Franklin said in an interview with a local radio station.

1982 CIHA Valor Cup Tournament

Round Robin

Fans came together from all over Canada and even the U.S.A. for this year's tournament in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The Lethbridge Cougars top the tournament with a perfect six wins for a 1st place finish. Coming in 2nd place is the tournament host Sherbrooke Loups, as they are 2-3-1 with a total of 5 points, mainly with a 4-2 win over the Highlanders. The Buffalo Bees lost four games to the Cougars and the Loups, but they got two critical wins over New Glasgow to finish 3rd place and move on to the semi-finals. Ending the tournament last is the New Glasgow Highlanders; even though they got one win, it isn’t enough as the tournament rules go that you need two wins to advance.

Semi-Finals

The Cougars got a bye to the finals, meaning they will see who will face them. The Loups have beaten the Bees twice in the round-robin, but in the semi-finals, the Bees got payback as Floyd Currie made 2 goals and 4 points to lead the Bees to a 6-3 win and have a date with the Cougars for the Valor Cup.

Valor Cup Finals

Lethbridge Cougars vs. Buffalo Bees

First Period: The Bees gave the Cougars a sting as they scored first by William VanDean and Greg Dahlstrom, who scored a goal five minutes before the period ended. The Bees took the lead with a score of 2-0.

Second Period: Within six minutes, the Cougars bounced back as Jack Burk and Karl Fuhr each scored a goal to tie the game up; it would take almost four minutes left into the period for a goal to be made, and that’s what Jack Burk did with his second goal of the game to break the tie, and as the period ended the Cougars know that come the third period it’ll be a war.

Third Period: With the Cougars leading 3-2, the Bees were shooting all over Greg Finley as he was a brick wall for the Cougars; over the other end, Sam Dempsey was holding his end very well for a rookie goalie, 1:10 left into the final period the Bees choose to pull Sam for an extra attacker, halfway to the bench Sam got hit on the helmet from a puck and a referee called too many men on the ice penalty which gave the Cougars a powerplay, and took advantage as Jack Burk scored his third goal and the Cougars celebrates as the clock hit zero with the score of 4-2 and for the second time in team history the Lethbridge Cougars are the CIHA Valor Cup Champions with Karl Fuhr hoisted the cup. At the same time, Jack Burk hugs the Valor Cup MVP trophy.

1982 WCLH Playoffs

 

Round 1

1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 4th east Moose Jaw Wings

In game one, the Wings had the Cougars on the ropes with a 4-0 lead going into the third, but Jack Burk made 2 goals and 4 points to tie the game 4-4. 12:17 into overtime, Wes Roy scored the O/T winner in front of a sold-out crowd in Lethbridge as the Cougars win game one 5-4. After game one, it all went downhill for the Wings as they barely scored at least 3 goals within the last three games. As the Lethbridge Cougars swept the Wings and moved on to 2nd round. The Cougars win the series 4-0.

1st east Kenora Pioneers vs. 4th west Abbotsford Forest Kings

The Kenora Pioneers got their revenge on the Abbotsford Forest Kings from last season 2nd round playoffs, it may take them six games to do it but to the Pioneers' head coach Chuck Patton it was well worth it as the two losses they took were overtime. The Pioneers win the series 4-2.

2nd west Billings Trains vs. 3rd east Portage la Prairie Magic

Both teams will do anything to win their first playoff series, but it was all Trains in the first three games. With the series 3-0 in their hands, the Billings Trains believes they are going to win game four, but the Magic have other ideas as they forced overtime and won game four; in games five and six, the Magic are on a roll with wins to force game number seven. Both went back and forth all the way to the 3rd overtime with 2:23 minutes left with a 5-5 tie game when Frank Colton scored the winner as the Trains punched their ticket to the 2nd round. The Trains win the series 4-3.

2nd east Swift Current Battalion vs. 3rd west Medicine Hat Hawks

This series was a back-and-forth in a weird way as each win was shutout; in game seven, the Battalion got the last shutout over the Hawks with a 2-0 win to win the series and move on to the 2nd round for the second year in a row. The Battalion wins the series 4-3.

2nd round

1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 2nd east Swift Current Battalion

A rematch from last year’s playoffs became the same this year, only this time the Battalion won both games one and two, but after that, it was all Cougars as they blew them away four straights to win the series and move on to the Jade Trophy finals. The Cougars win the series 4-2.

1st east Kenora Pioneers vs. 2nd west Billings Trains

Game one was a not-so-pretty one for the Pioneers as referees made many bad calls throughout the game as the Trains took it 5-2; 4 out of 5 goals the Trains made were powerplays. The Pioneers turned it around as they dominated the Trains in four straights to win the series and head off to the Jade Trophy finals again. The Pioneers win the series 4-1.

Jade Trophy Finals

1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 1st east Kenora Pioneers

The Kenora Pioneers, in their third Jade Trophy final in four years, are hoping for a second title in team history, while the Cougars, making their second straight finals, are gunning for a back-to-back. In game one, the Pioneers had the Cougars right where they wanted with a 4-2 score until late in the third, Jack Burk scored two goals for the Cougars to tie it up 4 a piece, and five minutes into overtime, Cougars Karl Fuhr scored the O/T winner to take game one 5-4. It was the same in game two, The Pioneers had the lead, the Cougars tied it up, forced overtime, and the Cougars won it in overtime, but the difference is it took 12 minutes into the O/T and scored by Wes Roy. The Cougars stomped the living daylights out of the Pioneers with a 9-1 game-three win; Karl Fuhr and Jack Burk scored a hat-trick in that game. In game number four, the Cougars scored five goals in the first period and held on to that lead until the Pioneers rookie Jason Classen scored a hat-trick. Still, it wasn’t enough as the clock hit zero, and the Lethbridge Cougars won game four 5-3, the series and the 1982 Jade Trophy championship for the second year in a row. At the press conference, Cougars' head coach Edward Smith said, “Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we rest up, and the next day we are heading to Sherbrooke for the 1982 Valor Cup tournament. The Cougars win the series 4-0.

1981-82 WCLH season

Both the Chilliwack Alpines and Surrey River Dogs debut facing each other on Oct 2 and Oct 3, 1981, as part of the home and home games between both teams. The crowds in both towns have jam-packed the arenas so well that there are talks that some businessman around the B.C. area wants to have a team in their own town. In an interview with James Name, there are talks but have no plans for expansion until the 1983 off-season.

The Lethbridge Cougars top both the west division and the whole league for the second season in a row with a crop of youth that are hungry for wins and show great results, lead by Jack Burk, who really stepped up as the captain of the team just like Cliff Burns in the late 70s. “This the year we will win both the Jade Trophy and the Valor Cup; we got this lock on.” Cougars head coach Edward Smith said at the press conference. Fans in Billings are seeing great results as they put together the right players to make the winning team and finished 2nd place, hoping for a deep run in the playoffs. After two years of missing the playoffs, the Hawks are back in it thanks to their new number 1 goalie Sam Abbot who made 26 wins out of 35 games this season; 6 of them were shutouts was good enough for Medicine Hat Hawks to finish 3rd place. Finished 4th place was the Abbotsford Forest Kings despite losing some of their top stars who led the team in winning the Valor Cup two seasons ago, but they still got some good players in their roster that helped them earn 57 points and head into the playoffs. The Nanaimo Sharks finished 5th place, with lots of players leaving the Nanaimo Sharks ranging from pros to Euros leagues and with more players set to leave after this season, the Sharks would start the rebuild from the ground up. Rounding off 6th and 7th place are the new teams, the Surrey River Dogs and the Chilliwack Alpines.

The Kenora Pioneers top the east division for the third season in a row, and there is no slowing down for this team as they will try to get back into the Jade trophy title picture after getting eliminated from the playoffs last season. For the second time in a row, the Battalion finished 2nd with 3 wins more this season than last season; their scoring improved more than last season, and hope this season will be the one that will lead them to the Jade trophy finals. Taking 3rd place for the second season in a row is the Portage la Prairie Magic, as their goal come playoff time is getting their first playoff win after getting swept last year; they are hoping for a better run this time around, from finishing 4th place in the west division last season to finishing 4th place in the east division as the Moose Jaw Wings won 15 of their last 20 games of this season. The Buffalos had a rough season after many players left the team during the off-season, losing 15 of their first 25 games, showing no chance of heading back to the playoffs. Taking 6th was the Fargo Owls, and the Saskatoon Cats took 7th place in the division and rock bottom overall again.

The playoffs are set; the 1st place west division and defending Jade Trophy champions Lethbridge Cougars take on the 4th place east division Moose Jaw Wings. 1st place east division Kenora Pioneers battles 4th place west division Abbotsford Forest Kings in a rematch from last season’s semi-finals. 2nd place west division Billings Trains faces 3rd place east division Portage la Prairie Magic in a battle of the 1978 established club. Finally, the 2nd place east division Swift Current Battalion battles 3rd place west division Medicine Hat Hawks.

1981-82 OMJHA Playoffs

1st Round

Steel Division

1st Waterloo vs. 4th Owen Sound

The Waterloo Maroons wasted no time by taking the Arrowbirds out in four games. The Arrowbirds had a hard time scoring more than one goal during the whole series. The Maroons win the series 4-0.

2nd Buffalo vs. 3rd Orangeville

The Buffalo Bees make the most of their first playoff appearance by winning their first series win, but it took them seven games to beat the O’s, but it’s well worth it to the fans' minds. The Bees win the series 4-3.

Hero Division

1st Oakville vs. 4th Burlington

This series was back and forth until game six, where the Oaks won 6-3 to win the series but was overshadowed by controversy when the Metro owner John Lewis handed over his paperwork to league president Tom Van Ryan about moving to London, Ontario, Tom told him that there was no vote on the location at all and said to John that the Metros will be back next season, but John told him that he and other owners made a private vote and they voted him out, with that as of now the Metros are no longer part of the OMJHA anymore starting in the 1982-83 season the league will be one less team as the Burlington Metros joins the South West Ontario Hockey League as the London Metros. The Oaks win the series 4-2.

2nd Milton vs. 3rd Barrie

Even though many believe that the Admirals got this series in the bag, the Micmacs had other ideas as Jeper Nelson played better in the playoffs than in the season with 8 goals and 21 points as the Milton Micmacs won their first playoff series win since 1972 (a season before the CIHA established.) The Micmacs win the series 4-3.

2nd Round

Steel Division

1st Waterloo vs. 2nd Buffalo

Both the Maroons and the Bees went back and forth all the way to game seven, as Larry Arsenal scored four goals in the first two periods to give the Marrons a 5-2 lead. In the third period, Floyd Currie, Greg Dahlstrom, and William VanDean each scored a goal to tie the game. William VanDean had the open net to score, but the clock went to zero before the puck slid into the net. In the first overtime, both teams made shots at the nets, but both goalies kept their game up; the goalies did it again in the second overtime, keeping the pucks from going in the net. With 5:25 left in the third overtime, Floyd Currie took a risk that no defencemen would ever do, and that goes for a breakaway he did as he skated all the way to the Maroons goalie Pat Hudson and Floyd Currie scored the overtime winner; with that goal, the Buffalo Bees becomes the first American team to advance to the Smyth Cup Championship in the OMJHA history. The Bees win the series 4-3.

Hero Division

1st Oakville vs. 2nd Milton

The Micmacs had a good momentum going into the series by winning games one and two, but as game three came, it was all the Oaks as they kept on going until they finished the Macs off in game six; with that win, the Oakville Oaks are going to the Smyth Cup Championship. The Oaks win the series 4-2.

Smyth Cup Finals

Oakville vs. Buffalo

Game number one was rough as the Oaks barely got a win over the Bees, thanks to Keith Dunn scoring the overtime winner with the score of 4-3. In game two, the Bees turn their game up a notch as Sam Dempsey stops 43 out of 45 shots to give the Bees a 4-2 win over the Oaks. Sam Dempsey did it again, this time a shutout after taking 49 shots in a 3-0 game three win over the Oaks to take the series lead. The Bees played their game right once again as William VanDean scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 game four victory. In game five, the Oakville Oaks finally bounced back from losing three straight games, with both Keith Dunn and Jake Dahl scoring 2 goals each plus one more goal in an empty netter way as the Oaks forced a game six with a 5-3 win. Fans at the Regal Forum in Buffalo, New York, are going crazy for game six as they believe they are one win away from winning the Smyth Cup title. The Bees made sure that they would win it for their fans as Floyd Currie and Greg Dahlstrom held their grounds to keep the Oaks from attempting to shoot the puck at Sam Dempsey, while William VanDean scored 2 goals in the third period, as the clock hit zero game six ends with a 4-1 win. The fans celebrate as the Bees players made a dog pile on top of each other as the Buffalo Bees are the 1982 OMJHA Smyth Cup Champions and punched their ticket for a trip to Sherbrooke, Quebec, for the Valor Cup Tournament. The Bees win the series 4-2.

1981-82 OMJHA Season

 

The Waterloo Maroons dominated the league once again. For the first time since John Herbco in the 1978-79 season, a player finished a season with over 100 points as Larry Arsenal scored 50 goals and 65 assists for a total of 115 points, talks are that Larry could be eligible for the pro hockey draft after this season many staff in the Maroons club wants him to stay for one more year, but reports said that Larry will decide on his future once the playoffs are over. The big story this season was the Buffalo Bees; the first three-pick plan works, and the results show it as the Bees took 2nd place in the Steel Division and went to the playoffs for the first time since the 1977-78 season when they were the Guelph Crusaders, Bees GM Ryan Byron Jr. gave the Toronto Hornets their 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks for a 1st round pick, reports believe that the Bees could be the team to have a dynasty pretty soon the way Junior is putting the team together the right, but some said that Ryan Byron Sr. felt different about the moves. Taking third place in the Steel Division is the Orangeville O’s after winning 7 of the last ten games to take that spot. Missing the playoffs last season woke the Arrowbirds up, and they bounced back and took the 4th place and the final playoff spot. Finishing 5th was not what Peterborough had in mind as they announced that they replaced their name. The Braves will be called the Bolts for the 1982-83 season, in 6th place Kitchener Legionnaires, as winning games isn’t the only thing they got problems with; for some odd reason, they are having financial problems as well and just like the Burlington Metros they want answers on why they haven’t received any money from the bank what so ever as Tom Van Ryan is dodging everyone with these issues. Finally, the Toronto Neon takes last place.

Over at the Hero Division, many teams switch places this season; taking 1st place is the Oakville Oaks taking a big jump from 4th place last season. Keith Dunn leads the team well, and rookie d-man Jake Johannsson plays like he is in the pros; head coach Leon Cowern believes that the Oaks will have a deep run come playoff time. The Milton Micmacs jumped a big leap and went to the playoffs for the first time since the 1974-75 season, led by Kurt Jenkins, who made 25 goals and 89 points and would go on and win this season's Rookie of the Year award. As many top players move on to the pro level to even collages, the Barrie Admirals decline themselves down to 3rd place; both Phillip Smith and Ty Joly got their work cut out this season as talks that one of them could be traded this off-season as the Admirals shopping to improve the defences in hopes to stay afloat before thinking of rebuilding the team. With the drama between John Lewis and Tom Van Ryan to the breaking point, the Metros kept it together as they won enough games to take 4th place and headed to the playoffs. From finishing 1st place even with the Admirals last season to finishing 5th this season as the Gems did not do well as rumours are making rounds that they could start the rebuild stage come off-season, the Toronto Hornets made some good moves but not strong enough to move up the ladder, taking last place overall the Kitchener Generals on ice was poor this season but overshadowed by team owner Todd Holmes as he fired three GMs in one season. He made contact with a former GM of a pro hockey club with no word on who it is, but he will get answers in the off-season.

1981-82 AQHL Playoffs

 

1st Round

1st New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 8th Laval Tigers

The Laval Tigers hit a brick wall badly as the Highlanders took the series in their hands by sweeping them in four games; only in game three did the Tigers score one goal, while the rest all shutouts. New Glasgow wins the series 4-0.

2nd Sherbrooke Loups vs. 7th Shawinigan Voltages

The Loups thought that they got this series in the bag, but the Volts had other ideas in games one and two in Sherbrooke; the Volts won both of them, to the Loups took it as a wake-up call that the Loups turned it around and won four straight to win the series, “I hope that we don’t take any team that we play against lightly and keep our “A” game going.” Josh Winter said after game six. Sherbrooke wins the series 4-2.

3rd Moncton Bears vs. 6th Cape Breton Warriors

Last season it took the Bears six games to beat the Warriors; this time, it took only four games to beat the Warriors as they didn’t stop scoring goals and holding the offence up. The Bears would be ready for the second round hungrier than ever. Moncton wins the series 4-0.

4th Verdun Knights vs. 5th Fredericton Vikings

In game one, the Knights had a 3-0 lead going into the third period Tom Acomb suffered a sprained knee after his skate blade broke on him; five minutes later, Rob Grand-Pierre took a check very hard and headed to the locker room and didn’t came back, and Andre Perreault try to check a player miss it and crash to the boards and was out cold and got carried out. With those injuries, the Vikings took advantage and scored four unanswered goals to win game one. Since then, the Vikings would go on and take the last three games to shock everyone as they swept the Knights in four games. Fredericton wins the series 4-0.

2nd Round

1st New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 5th Fredericton Vikings

Both teams know that they are one step closer to the Bronz Cup finals, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get there. The first two games were all Highlanders; in games three and four, the Vikings got their wins, but in game five, the Highlanders won 6-5 in overtime; it took a lot out of the Vikings; in game six, the Highlanders finished the series with a 4-1 win, and for the second time in three seasons, the New Glasgow Highlanders is going to the Bronz Cup finals. New Glasgow wins the series 4-2.

2nd Sherbrooke Loups vs. 3rd Moncton Bears

This series is what everyone wants to see, a rematch from last season's Bronz Cup finals. Moncton got their payback after losing game one in overtime from Sherbrooke; after that, it was all the Bears as they won four straights to take the series, and for the second season in a row, the Moncton Bears head to the Bronz Cup finals. Moncton wins the series 4-1.

Bronz Cup Finals

1st New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 3rd Moncton Bears

With the Sherbrooke Loups out of the picture, the only way that both Highlanders and the Bears can get to this season's Valor Cup tournament is to win the Bronz Cup. In game one, Highlanders Kyle Patrick scored 2 goals, 5 points to give New Glasgow a 6-3 win over the Bears. Game two The Bears fought back to win 4-3 overtime. The Bears Andrew Jones scored a hat-trick to take game three 5-2 over the Highlanders. In game four, the Highlanders turned it around with the help of Roman Klatt held his ground by letting in just one goal as New Glasgow took it 4-1. Roman Klatt held his ground again but didn’t let in any goals as the Highlanders shut out the Bears 3-0 in game five. Game six was a back and forth making shots; in the third period, Brad Edmundson scored to break a deadlock even score, and the Highlanders held on to the lead until the clock hit zero, and the game was over with the score of 3-2. The New Glasgow Highlanders are the 1982 AQHL Bronz Cup Champions; the players and coaches celebrate while in the press box, GM Ray Carter had to soak it all in after years of building this team from the ground up and finally win the Bronz Cup title and now they are going to Sherbrooke Quebec for the Valor Cup Tournament. New Glasgow wins the series 4-2. 

1981-82 AQHL season

 

The New Glasgow was the talk of the league this season, from scoring goals made by both Jaune Poulette and Kyle Patrick, holding up the blue line by Brad Edmundson in his second year, to even goalie Roman Klatt who took over the net in the second half of the season with a 17-5-3 and becoming the first rookie goalie to reach 10 shutouts in AQHL history. With the formula in place, the Highlanders finished 1st overall with the team’s best 81 points. Team’s GM Ray Carter had a moment for himself and looked back 5 years ago when his team was at its lowest point and turned it around and hopes that this season's success can lead them to a championship.

The defending Bronz Cup champions Sherbrooke Loups had a short hangover early into the season but got themselves back on track only to finish 2nd overall. With the Valor Cup tournament being on their home turf, the Loups hope to have the same success as the Waterloo Maroons did the previous season.

Being behind the Highlanders for the second season in a row, the Bears, however, won a season series with the Verdun Knights to take 3rd place. What is better for them is that Alec Dahlin was sent back from the Pittsburgh Pro Hockey Club after they went on bad losing streaks that placed them out of the playoff picture. Alec hopes that he will make one more run in this season's AQHL playoffs and bring the Bronz Cup back to Moncton.

The Verdun Knights had a good run in the first half, but the team struggled, losing ten of the last fifteen games; luckily, they finished 4th place, with some top players on the roster getting called up from Minor to Pro teams for playoffs, the Knights could have a hard time in this season playoffs.

With good draft picks and trades, the Fredericton Vikings expected to win enough games to make it to the playoffs, but everyone did not expect them to finish 5th place at all, and the Vikings showed everyone how they are a real contender by beating the Verdun Knights three of four season series matchups. Many believe that they are the dark horse come this season's playoffs.

Finishing in 6th place is the Cape Breton Warriors; after losing some top players in his second season, Neil Eaton was named captain of the team. It was very hard for him to lead them to the top despite being the league's top scorer, but it only ended with a record of 23-20-7. Lucky for them, they won 10 of the last 15 games in order to make it to the playoffs. If not, they would be out of the playoff picture.

For the second year in a row for the Shawinigan Voltages, this time they move up from 8th to 7th with some key wins to stay as much as they can, and Trevor Corbet really did what he could after starting 40 games only to win just 20 games while having five different back goalies that ended up being sent to lower-level leagues to injuries, the Volts hope to be healthy by the time for the playoffs.

The Laval Tigers may get 22 wins, but it’s enough for them to finish 8th place and head to the playoffs after missing it for two years, they had the highest 7-game winning streak this season, and it helped them to keep pace and hope to try the unthinkable and hope to go deep.

For the second time in four years, the Portland Clippers missed the playoffs finishing 9th (18-27-5). It was painful as they had some youths just getting some good experience, but they hope next year will be their time to shine. This season for the Manchester Americans was a disaster. They had a terrible start by losing the first 20 games after that. It was downhill, they barely finished 10th, but John Rome was not a happy camper; where the Americans made bad trades, even losing some good draft picks, including the 1st round pick to New Glasgow for a forward who never even played one game as he got called up to the pros, many believe that the office is going to be clean out very soon. After squeezing in the playoffs last season, there were no improvements for the Drummondville Les Rouges as they went on finished 11th. Rounding off in last place, the Trois-Rivieres Titans as they tried to turn it around and to even avoid hitting rock bottom, but it didn’t work.