1977-78 OMJHA Season

 Standings

1. Kitchener Generals

2. Kitchener Legionnaires

3. Barrie Admirals

4. Oshawa Diamonds

5.  Waterloo Maroons

6. Guelph Crusaders

7. Oakville Oaks

8. Owen Sound Arrowbirds

9. Milton Micmacs

10. Burlington Metros

11. Orangeville O’s

12. Peterborough Braves

Season story

It was a big two days for both Peterborough Braves and Orangeville O’s as both played home and home games against each other. The first game between the two was at Orangeville Arena as the O’s wins the home opener 3-2, and O’s forward Jack Blackbell was the 1st star with two goals and one assist. The second game was big for the folks in Peterborough as they felt like its homecoming, and it shows it as the Braves beat the O’s 4-2 thanks to the 1st star of that game Shawn Steel with a hat-trick. Both teams finished in the bottom 2 with almost the same record, but the O’s got the season series match-up better than the Braves with 3-1-0.

One of the biggest news that did not sit well for the OMJHA, mainly the Milton Micmacs was forward Sam Warner, signed a deal with SWOHL’s Flint Fury. Questions about how it went wrong between the player and the Micmacs, sources say that the Micmacs had the money ready for Sam until suddenly the money was gone to make it worse for the team. They lost good players to injuries and call-ups from the Pro hockey clubs. The Micmacs once had a 12-game winning streak and hit 4th place in the first half of the season but hit a 15-game losing streak in the second half and finished 9th.

The 1977-78 season was the best season that the Barrie Admirals have ever performed. With the help of captain Ross Silverman leading the team and Leo Jackson’s 30 goals, 75 points season and rookie goalie Stan Cole playing like he isn’t a rookie with 25 wins and ten shutouts in 35 games he played skyrocketed the Admirals to finished third place.

Things came from bad to worse for both the Guelph Crusaders and team owner Jack Doan as, for some odd reason, the league fee didn’t when through, and the city of Guelph isn’t happy about it. Jack took both the league and the bank that does the league’s banking to court. However, Jack has the advantage, but the lack of proof both the league and the bank won the court battle with that the OMJHA made an 11 team owner vote by the score of 8-3 Jack Doan's ownership of the Guelph Crusaders is no longer his anymore. Unhappy with the decision, Jack Doan quote, “Mark my words, this league will regret taking this team away from me.” As for the team’s fate in Guelph, that depends on whether anyone is willing to buy the team and keep them in the city. If there is no offer on the table, then the team will be up for sale for relocation.

1978 WCLH Playoffs

 1st Round (best 3 of 5)

1st Fargo Owls vs. 8th Medicine Hat Hawks: Game 1 was back and forth until, in the 3rd period, behind 3-2 Hawks, Sam Park got a breakaway and beat Owls goalie Nate Benn to tie the game 3-3. It took two overtimes to end game 1 as the Owls James Morry scored a top corner with 5:21 left in the 2nd overtime. Game 2 was all Owls as they would beat the Hawks 4-1, then the Owls blank the Hawks 5-0 in game 3 to finish the series in 3 games.

2nd Kenora Pioneers vs. 7th Saskatoon Cats: Pioneers head coach Leo Newton said, “This is our series, plain and simple.” Those words motivated the team as Kenora did more than sweep the Cats in three games. They also kept the Cats from scoring goals as Pioneers goalie Zack Mick shut Saskatoon out in all three games.

3rd Abbotsford Forest Kings vs. 6th Moose Jaw Wings: Game 1 was essential for the Wings, with forward Shawn Ryan scoring 2 goals and 2 assists, defencemen Herb Williams shutting down the Forest Kings offence, and rookie forward Joe Robin playing like he is the veteran with 1 goal, 4 assists as the Wings beats Forest Kings 5-2. Abbotsford got a wake-up call from game 1, so they turned it around in-game number 2 as forward Grey Bushey led the way with 2 goals, 1 assist and forward Rick Queen made 3 assists as Forest Kings took it 3-1 to even the series one apiece. Forest Kings got themselves on a roll as Grey Bushey scored a hat-trick which would be it as Abbotsford won it 3-1 to take the lead in the series 2-1. Game 4 was a must-win for the Wings as they played just like game 1 as Shawn Ryan made 2 goals, 3 assists as Moose Jaw won it over Abbotsford with a 6-3 final to tie the series 2-2. In-game number 5, the first two periods were even between the two, but when period number 3 started, it was all Moose Jaw as Herb Williams shocked everyone as he scored his first-ever goal. After that, three other Wings players score goals as the Moose Jaw Wings win game 5 with a score of 6-2 and win the series 3-2.

4th Nanaimo Sharks vs. 5th Brandon Buffalos: The drama in Brandon shows it as both Luke James and Paul Cole tried to put their difference aside, but it wasn’t enough as Nanaimo swept the Buffalos in 3 games, all thanks to forward Luke Stillman with 4 goals, and 8 assists in 3 games, also international junior star Kenta Takamachi played great with 5 goals, 4 assists in 3 games. “With my players step their game up to another level, it’s just what we needed to be ready for round 2.” Sharks head coach Sam McLee said at the press conference after game 3.

Round 2 (best 3 of 5)

1st Fargo Owls vs. 6th Moose Jaw Wings: This is the rematch between Fargo and Moose Jaw from last year's playoffs; unlike that year was round 1, this year; it is round 2. Moose Jaw shocked the Owls with a 4-1 win in front of a sold-out Fargo Center in-game one. “We played awful plain and simple I didn’t need to tell my players they know it, and they’ll find a way to turn this around quickly.” Owls head coach Rich Gibs said after the game. The Owls turned it around in games 2 and 3 thanks to goalie Shawn Paxton who let in just 2 of 61 shots he took. Forward Dick Bartram lead the way with 4 goals and 2 assists in two games for the Owls to take the series lead 2-1. Game four is where the event that everyone would call “the comeback” after two periods, the Wings were leading 5-1, but in the third period, Fargo was starting to play like a must-win mode as Dick Bartram scores a hat-trick, followed by defence Jack Moore, and forward Justin Ash to break a tie with 1:07 left in the third period, the Owls went defence mode as Moose Jaw players were shooting pucks all over goalie Frank Watson as they held on until the game clock hit zero. The Fargo Owls completes the comeback with a 6-5 to win game four and the series 3-1.

2nd Kenora Pioneers vs. 4th Nanaimo Sharks: Both teams play hard; Kenora took game one 3-2, the Sharks took game two with a 4-2 win, Kenora bounced back in game three 4-1 victory, but in-game four the Pioneers thought that they’re going to win it but two late goals made by both Curtis Samford, and George Rogers to win it 4-3 to even the series 2 apiece. In-game number 5, the Pioneers suffer a huge heartbreaker. Goalie Zack Mick injured his hip during the first period; Zack finished the period but didn’t come back in the second as he got replaced by backup Luke Osborne, and the Sharks took the advantage and scored 4 unanswered goals as Nanaimo won game five 7-3 to win the series 3-2. “It was my call to sideline Zack. He was hurt real bad I don’t want to have him suffer a career-ending injury that will hunt both him, the team and me, so with that, we will fight another day, and we will be better.” Pioneers head coach Leo Newton said after losing game 5.

1978 Jade Trophy Championship (best 4 of 7)

1st Fargo Owls vs. 4th Nanaimo Sharks: The Fargo Owls are back in the finals for the second year, while the Nanaimo Sharks' last championship appearance was back in 1974 when they were the Greyhounds. In-game one, Fargo got off to a hot start as Dick Bartram did it again with 2 goals and 4 assists as the Owls won 7-4. Fargo took game two with Dick Bartram, who made 3 goals and 5 assists as they blew out Nanaimo 8-2 final to take a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 was a game-changer for the Sharks as Kenta Takamachi scored a hat-trick, his playoff career first, leading the Sharks to a 4-2 win. The Sharks would continue to roll as Luke Stillman made 1 goal and 4 assists as Nanaimo beat Fargo 5-2 to even the series 2-2. Game five is a must-win for both teams. Many said that “if you win game 5, you win the whole series!” That is what the Owls did as Justin Ash and Dick Bartram each scored a goal and kept the Sharks from scoring as the Owls took game five 3-1. Game number six is where the Owls have the answers, while the Sharks do not as the final score is the Owls 3, Sharks 2 as Fargo wins the series 4-2, and the 1978  Jade Trophy Champions, and they will make the trip to Toronto for 1978 Valor Cup Tournament for the second year in a row.

1977-78 WCLH Season

 

Standings

1. Fargo Owls

2. Kenora Pioneers

3. Abbotsford Forest Kings

4. Nanaimo Sharks

5. Brandon Buffalos

6. Moose Jaw Wings

7. Saskatoon Cats

8. Medicine Hat Hawks

9. Lethbridge Cougars

10. Swift Current Battalion

Season Story

October 7, 1977, marks the Swift Current Battalion inaugural season opener that fans have been waiting for as the team played against the Moose Jaw Wings. Battalion rookie forward Ron Gratton scored his first goal in his WCLH career, and he would add 3 assists to give the team their first win in the team’s history. Swift Current would add 12 more wins and end at last place, but the mayor of Swift Current said, “This team is here to stay long term!”

One of many big stories that were all talks about was a trade between Kenora and Saskatoon that suppose to be a win for the Cats as they received forward Jake Folk and defence Reggie Gordy. At the same time, the Pioneers end up getting goalie Zack Mick and a 2nd round pick. Unhappy that he got traded lit a fire inside Zack as he got the chance to start for the Pioneers and went on a roll with a 24-5-1 in 30 games and gave the team a 2nd place finish. While the Cats fell apart in the second half with top key players being injured to even Kevin Vale, Sam Fritz, and Matthew Edwards got the call up from their own pro hockey clubs as Saskatoon finished 7th to make things not sit well for the Cats, they have a playoff match up with the Pioneers.

The team that had their ups and downs was the Brandon Buffalos; in the first half of the season, the team played very well to even placing in 1st until in the second half, where things went downhill. Tim Woods, the teams head coach, had problems trying to keep the team together, mainly with 14 games losing streak that led to a locker room fight between forward Luke James and defence Paul Cole; with that, the team’s chemistry was not there as the Buffalos ended the season in 5th.

For the second year in a row, the Fargo Owls took 1st place in the league with what would be a new record of 43-5-2. To add more records by the Owls, goalie Nate Benn made 15 shutouts out of 30 games.

1977 CIHA off-season

 OMJHA Expansion Draft

As the expansion draft happening, many teams had trade offers to both Peterborough and Orangeville draft picks to keep their players from being drafted by one of two teams. Kitchener Generals had 4 players on target, including Patrick Herbco, so the team traded 1st round, 4th round and 5th round to Orangeville. As for Peterborough, they received 2nd and 3rd rounds from the Generals, and it worked as the Generals kept their players from being drafted while other teams just traded only the 4th and 5th round draft picks. One team that took the expansion draft hard was the Burlington Metros that lost 8 players.

Orangeville O’s

1: F – Shawn Andersons, Burlington

2: G – Jack Glenn, Waterloo

3: F – Shane Lane, Guelph

4: D – Jim Hall, Kitchener Legionnaires

5: F – Will Steel, Milton

Peterborough Braves

1: D – Lenny Haynes, Waterloo

2: F – Herb Edwards, Milton

3: F – Jack Blackbell, Barrie

4: D – Chris Watson, Oshawa

5: G – Thomas Marsden, Owen Sound

AQHL Expansion Draft

With only one team added to the league, the teams can breathe a little, mainly with Drummondville that successfully traded their 2nd and 3rd round pick to the Voltages in hopes of keeping their roster together and stay with the Titans in the standings next season. Both Moncton and Fredericton lost their key players to the expansion draft despite offering draft picks to the Voltages to turn them down.

Shawinigan Voltages

1: F – Rick Dennis, Moncton

2: G – Kevin Garfield, Fredericton

3: D – Jean Lacombe, Laval

4: D – Vincent Leroux, Sherbrooke

5: F – Guy Beirnes, Verdun

1977 AQHL Draft

New Glasgow Highlanders hit the jackpot with the first two picks in hand. They waste no time and make their picks. The Highlanders' first pick from Halifax, Nova Scotia forward Kyle Patrick, who has been on every team’s radar for some time as he shows some potential, is the son of Halifax hockey legend Ronald Patrick. The team’s second pick from Quebec City, Quebec Guy Dubois a defenceman who can not only hit hard but also, he can score goals too, which will give the team the chance to go to the playoffs finally. The Clippers pick from Montreal, Quebec forward Paul Benoit is just what the team needs in the hope of a deep playoff run.

1977 OMJHA Draft

There was an almost trade between the Metros and the Arrowbirds. The asking price from the Arrowbirds was too much for the Metros, so the deal fell apart. Milton Micmacs first pick is forward Kevin Bedford from Guelph, which should be a plus for Milton mainly after helping the Guelph Jr. B hockey club wins the all Ontario hockey championship with 30G, 55A, 85 points in 40 game season along with 20G, 35A, 55 points in the playoffs. The 2nd pick made by the Metros is Eddie Baxter, a defenceman from Port Colborne who became an excellent enforcer for the Aurora Jr. B hockey club and could give more strength to the Metro’s defence come the 1977-78 season. The Oakville Oaks takes forward Derek Dunn from Collingwood, the Owen Sound AAA Major hockey club top scorer with 30 goals in 40 games, is just what the Oaks need to improve scoring that they lack most of the 1976-77 season.

1977 WCLH Draft

At the draft, the new owner of the Swift Current hockey team, Patrick Cox, announced the team’s name would be called the Battalion. After that, they made their first pick, and they take forward from Regina, SK Ron Gratton, who may not be a scorer but is the best playmaker making 65 assists during the 1976-77 season with the Yorkton Jr. B hockey club. Medicine Hat Hawks select goalie Mark Eire from Cranbrook, B.C. Mark played very well with 15 wins in 20 games, and his save % is way above the .500 mark. 3rd pick made by the Moose Jaw Wings is Joe Robin, a forward from Vancouver, B.C. Joe’s playmaking style will help the Wings play better offence come 1977-78 season.

News

CIHA

The Valor Cup tournament returns to Toronto and will be played at the Toronto Metro Complex, home of the Toronto Pro Hockey club. “You know when you hit the big times where you can showcase top junior players across the North in a pro hockey arena,” said CIHA president Joseph McGeorge.

AQHL

Trois-Rivieres Titans had a scare during the 1977 pro hockey draft where their 5 players are on the list. Luckily only Mark Lewis and Jac LeClair got drafted. “I hope these two come back and play with us, but it’s not that easy. I hope they have a great future in the pros.” Said Titans GM Jacques Norm.

With Shawinigan Voltages set to play for the 1977-78 season, John Rome announced the name for his team come 1978-79 season will be the Manchester Americans as he stood in front of the brand new rebuild Manchester Forum. As the hype for two new teams is all talks, both Paul Name and the owners discuss splitting the league into two divisions. If that happens, that means the playoffs could change the format the way is.

OMJHA

With two more teams set for the 1977-78 season, there were talks of adding more expansion teams, but there have been issues with some teams not paying the league fee full. Some organizations said that some money was taken from them, questions were not being answered; even Franklin Name had a hard time answering them. Thanks to this problem, talks of future expansions are put to the side for now.

Jack Doan was having paying issues with the league even though his team is making money. He claims that someone has been taking his money, so the city of Guelph put their money in to have another season in the league.

With his son, John could be the next number 1 pick in the pro hockey draft next year, and Patrick is making every scout keeping an eye on him. Gerald Herbco has noticed that his sons could have a pro hockey career down the road and his dairy farm business getting busier, he decides to put the Generals up for sale. The buyer is the team’s GM Todd Holmes, who has more interest in the team than anyone else, and Todd hopes to purchase the team before the 1979-80 season.

WCLH

With the relocation of North Battleford Crusaders to Swift Current and renamed the Battalion now out of the way, the league announced two new teams would be added for the 1978-79 season. First, to be part of the association from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The second is from Billings, Montana. Both will show off the name, logos, and jerseys come 1978 off-season.

With Cliff Burns now no longer eligible to play juniors level next season, most of the top players on the roster are pretty much-going pro soon, and long-time head coach Martin White retired. They decide to rebuild the team from the ground up by getting some top picks in hopes of being ready for the 1980-81 season in time for the 75th anniversary of their existence. In the progress of the rebuild, the team promoted Edward Smith from assistant coach to head coach. Also, the team traded forward Nick Verdon, defenceman John Pool, and 5th round picks to the Abbotsford Forest Kings for goalie Ross Davis, forward Ryan Lou Finn, and 2nd round pick. “It’s going be not so pretty for the next three years, but in the end, we will be built and ready for a darn good run.” Cougars GM Frank Finley said.

1977 Valor Cup tournament

 

1977 Valor Cup tournament: Winnipeg, MA

Teams: Fargo Owls, Kitchener Generals, Trois-Rivieres Titans.

Standings

Trois-Rivieres Titans: 4W, 0L.

Kitchener Generals: 2W, 2L.

Fargo Owls: 0W, 4L.

Story:

The Fargo Owls may become the first American team to be part of the Valor Cup tournament, but they became the first team to be eliminated after going winless. For the third time in four years that a 3rd seed team finish the round-robin round winless.

Kitchener Generals had a half and half tournament with 2 wins and 2 losses, but Patrick Herbco helped the team stay in the competition with crucial game playing with scoring goals and assisting teammates in advancing to the finals.

The Trois-Rivieres Titans dominated the whole tournament finished 4-0 and made a Valor Cup record of 20 goals while just letting in just 3 goals.

The Valor Cup Finals was what everyone thought was supposed to be a one-sided final, but the Titans faced a different Generals.

In the first period, the Titans take the lead by scoring 3 goals within 10 minutes, then only 2 minutes left; in the first period, the Generals Cal Winston scores a goal with help from Patrick Herbco.

The second period was all Generals game playing as Patrick Herbco scored 2 goals within 4 minutes to tie the game until 4 minutes left in the second Allen Guay broke the tie game with a long shot and hit the top corner.

The third period is where things get rougher for both goalies as they took shots like crazy from everywhere. 10 minutes left, Patrick hit a hat trick to tie the game at four apiece. With 1 minute left, controversy struck the Generals with what many fans call it “the high stick goal” as Andre Doucet lift his stick high enough to tip the puck in the net, the Generals claim it was a high stick to the Titans defence Andre is 6”11, while Generals goalie Sam Rogers is 5”10 so it is hard to call a high stick penalty. The Titans win it 5-4 final and complete their historic season as they are the 1977 Valor Cup Champions, and Mark Lewis is named MVP of the 1977 Valor Cup.

1976-77 AQHL Season

 

Standings

1. Trois-Rivieres Titans

2. Cape Breton Warriors

3. Drummondville Les Rouges

4. Moncton Bears

5. Verdun Knights

6. Fredericton Vikings

7. Laval Tigers

8. Portland Clippers

9. New Glasgow Highlanders

10. Sherbrooke Loups

Story:

AQHL President Paul Name announced that Shawinigan is the new team to join the league come 1977-78 season. After the number of nicknames for the team, the Voltages were voted the best name for the team. They will show off the logo and the jerseys during the off-season.

The Clippers' rookie forward, Frank Logan, had a hay day this season, putting in 30 goals, 75 points. Despite that, the Clippers lost some key players to injuries, even losing 20-year-old defence Rick Cooper to the Pittsburgh Pro Hockey club as he got called up mid-season for a playoff push. With that, Portland finished 8th place and got swept by the Titans in 3 games.

New Glasgow Highlanders got so many bad lucks this season. Assistant coach Frank Jensen suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire from coaching. Then goalie coach Vince Davidson got busted for speeding downtown and putting some players riding with him in danger; a week after that, he was fired. Lastly, the head coach of the team, Bill Cooper, did not do a good job at coaching and got let go in mid-season; the Highlanders hired Doug Reid to take over. The result they finished 9th place, but it did show some better results down the road. GM Ray Carter worked on redeeming himself (and save his job) by trading away defence Tim Jones, forward Will Bradley, and both 2nd and 3rd round pick to Sherbrooke for 16-year-old goalie Pierre Meloche and 1st round pick gives the Highlanders the first two picks for the 1977 draft.

Trois-Rivieres Titans show everyone why they guarantee a 1st place finish. All the rebuild they did has paid off with 5 players sitting in the top 10 in points leaders, forward Jim Goff was named MVP of AQHL, goalie Max Hebert played excellently and made a record of 15 shutouts. The Titans finished with 38-1-1, one of the best records in team history.

The Titans continue their historic season by beating Drummondville Les Rouges in 4 games to win the 1977 Bronz Cup. With that win, the Valor Cup is the team’s final piece to the puzzle to complete history in the making.

1976-77 OMJHA Season

 

Standings

1. Kitchener Legionnaires

2. Kitchener Generals

3. Waterloo Maroons

4. Owen Sound Arrowbirds

5. Oshawa Diamonds

6. Guelph Crusaders

7. Barrie Admirals

8. Oakville Oaks

9. Burlington Metros

10. Milton Micmacs

Story:

A lot of buzzes are happening this season, with new teams coming next season. Orangeville announced the name for their team would be known as the “O’s.” Over at Peterborough, they will be named the “Braves” after the original Braves club the played the OMJHA from 1948 to 1962. Both teams will reveal their logo and jerseys during the off-season.

The Generals Patrick Herbco had a grand rookie season, with 30 goals, 65 points, just 5 points shy of even his brother’s rookie year record. However, on January 31st, 1977, Patrick makes a record of 10 points in one game with 5 goals and 5 assists in the Generals 10-2 win over the Micmacs.

 The Barrie Admirals made a big surprise in the league by making it to their first playoffs ever thanks to winning 7 of the last 10 games with the help of forward Leo Jackson and forward Ross Silverman. In the playoffs, they ran out of gas as they got eliminated by the Generals in 3 games.

The battle of Kitchener heats up in a big way as both teams try to claim the top spot in the league. After 4 games between each other, both tie with 1-1-2, and to even the same record of 37-1-2, the only thing that kept the Generals from taking 1st place is the goals. The Legionnaires were 5 goals more to take 1st place over the Generals.

The Generals may not get the top spot in the league, but they became the top of the mountain as they beat the Legionnaires in 6 games to win the Smyth Cup title and will take a lovely trip to Winnipeg for the Valor Cup.

1976-77 WCLH Season

 

Standings

1. Fargo Owls

2. Saskatoon Cats

3. Kenora Pioneers

4. Nanaimo Sharks

5. Abbotsford Forest Kings

6. Brandon Buffalos

7. Lethbridge Cougars

8. Moose Jaw Wings

9. Medicine Hat Hawks

10. North Battleford Crusaders

Story:

The downfall of the Cougars has begun with losing their 1st 15 games until they finally get their 1st win of the season. But their luck would turn around when the Vancouver Pro Hockey Club assigned Cliff Burns to the team, and they went on winning the last ten games and finished 7th. However, they got swept by the Cats in 3 games in the playoffs.

The Fargo Owls made history as they became the first American team to finish 1st in the WCLH by winning 33 games, followed by losing just 2 and 5 ties.

On February 15, 1977, a piece of bombshell news hit both the league and the town of North Battleford as the Crusaders owner Ron Jackins officially sold the team to businessman Patrick Cox. He would go on and announced that the team would move from North Battleford to Swift Current in a brand-new arena called “Swift Current Veteran Memorial Centre” this is excellent news for Swift Current. Still, horrible news for North Battleford as no one cannot agree on a new arena deal at all. “This is one of the things that we let the past get into our heads and fall apart, I mean, we were the 1960 Jade Trophy champions, and we can’t seem to work together to build this team better and put funds in a better arena.” Former Crusaders player Neal England said after the news broke. The team finishes last and will start the 1977-78 season in Swift Current.

One of the best series ever played happened in the 2nd round was Saskatoon Cats vs. Kenora Pioneers. They battled all five games, and all of them were overtimes, and in-game five, the Cats' left-winger Pete Quinn scored the overtime winner with the score of 2-1 to win and move on to the Jade Trophy finals.

Fargo kept their historic run to the finals as they beat the Saskatoon Cats in 6 games. Led by the Owls' top scorer Tom Gregson made 9 goals and 21 points as the Owls become the first American team to win the Jade Trophy title and will make a trip up north to Winnipeg for the 1977 Valor Cup tournament.

1976 Valor Cup Tournament

 

1976 Valor Cup Tournament: Vancouver B.C.

Teams: Lethbridge Cougars, Kitchener Legionnaires, Moncton Bears.

Standings

Lethbridge Cougars: 3 W, 1 L.

Kitchener Legionnaires: 3 W, 1 L.

Moncton Bears: 0 W, 4 L.

Story:

This year's tournament was a successful showcase for both the Cougars and Legionnaires performed great as both teams finished in a tie for first place with three wins, one loss. As for the Bears, not so much as they finish a 0-4 record, and as the tournament rules go, if the last place team ends without a win, they are eliminated.

The Valor Cup Final was an epic back and forth game. In the first period, the Cougars draw first blood with Cliff Burns scoring two goals, followed by Herb Holmes putting in a goal to make it 3-1. The second period was a turning point for the Legionnaires where goalie Jake Phillips came in after Kirk Smith twisted his knee late in the first; Jake played so well it gave John Herbco to score with one minute left in the second to make 3-2. The third period is where John Herbco shines as he sets up a pass to defence Leon Kirkland as he slaps it and goes past goalie Tony Will into the net, and the game is tied 3-3 as the third period hits zero. For the first time in Valor Cup history, the finals will be decided in overtime. Shots after shots save after saves. With 3:50 minutes to go in overtime, John Herbco dash through two defensemen then shoots the puck and scores the Valor Cup clincher goal. As the Legionnaires celebrate a 4-3 overtime win, both Jake Phillips and Tony Will shake hands with each other in respect for their performance. The 1976 Valor Cup MVP John Herbco raises the Valor Cup as the Legionnaires become the first OMJHA team to win it all.

1976 Off-season

 

1976 WCLH Draft

Moose Jaw selects forward Kyle Ferrell of Edmonton, AB. Brandon Buffalos takes Pat Myles, a forward from Prince Albert, SK. The 3rd pick to the Nanaimo Sharks after a trade with Medicine Hat Hawks as they received forward Alex Jorden. The Sharks pick goalie Max Tayler of Surrey, B.C.

1976 OMJHA Draft

Ever since the Diamonds and Generals trade, some top teams offer players for draft picks, but both the Micmacs and the Admirals would not budge as they made their picks. Micmacs choose Milton local forward Bo Chapman. The Admirals select forward Shawn Greene of Barrie. The Generals wasted no time and picked forward Patrick Herbco of Thamesville. With Pat and some good players on their roster, the Generals are set for a deep run. Generals GM Todd Holmes said, "Get ready for a dynasty in the making!"

1976 AQHL Draft

Saint John, New Brunswick local forward Frank Logan becomes a Clipper as Portland took him 1st overall. Sherbrooke Loups rebuild continues as they take Christian Dupont, a forward from Saint-Jerome, QC. Trois-Rivieres Titans pick JP Laflamme, a forward from downtown Trois-Rivieres as he would be one of many locals to represent Trois-Rivieres for a deep run as team co-owner. Lance Chouinard said, "This is it! It is all or nothing for us, and we must finish first place no ifs or buts about it.

News

After a big meeting with owners within all three leagues during the Valor Cup tournament in Vancouver, they all agreed and sign in print that Winnipeg, Manitoba, is the location for the 1977 Valor Cup. The arena will be the Winnipeg Memorial Centre, formerly home of the Manitoba Pro Hockey Club.

Also, in the meeting, the owners had agreed to increase the numbers of games for both the season and in the playoffs, but only the 1976-77 playoff games will rise from the best 2 of 3 games in rounds 1 and 2 to the best 3 of 5, and the finals will be from the best 3 of 5 now the best 4 of 7 games. The season will increase from 40 games to 50 games a year later in 1977-78, just in time for the CIHA 5th anniversary.

 As speaking of 1977-78, the OMJHA have announced that they will be adding two more teams in their league. OMJHA will welcome Peterborough and Orangeville. For Orangeville, it is an excellent opportunity for the city. As for Peterborough, it is a significant return to the league as the city was once part of the OMJHA; from 1946 until 1961, the team folded from low attendants to high prices for travelling. "Today is a great day for both cities to be part of the top tier league," said OMJHA President Franklin Name.

The OMJHA is not the only league to add more teams; the AQHL is also adding two teams to the league but in a different way. 1977-78 season, the league welcomes Shawinigan, QC. While a year later, Manchester, New Hampshire, joins in, making them the 2nd American team to be part of the AQHL. John Rome said, "this is what this city needs after losing a minor pro hockey team that was part of the city in almost 40 years. Finally, we can have a team that we can cheer and enjoy the good old game of hockey."

WCLH got a taste of international flavour as the Nanaimo Sharks signs Kenta Takamachi, a forward from Osaka, Japan, who moved to Vancouver with his Uncle. "He played outstanding hockey in his homeland," said GM Paul Rowe, "but it's a risk to take from word of mouth, but after his tryout, I feel that this could pay off for us down the road."

The town of Lethbridge would hear one of sad news the Cougars star Cliff Burns got drafted 1st overall by the Vancouver Pro Hockey club, along with Tony Will got drafted in 2nd round by the Minnesota Pro Hockey club, and Shane Louis by the Denver Pro Hockey club in the 3rd round. With those three key players going pro and some other players they got could go pro or commit to a college, the writing is on the wall for the team being the top of the league. "This one will be a tough road for us, but we have been there and overcome it. This one will test us, and we will prevail," Cougars GM Rick Hill said.

In OMJHA, two teams made one of the most significant trades ever as Burlington Metros gets forward Thomas Marksman, defence Joe Edwards and Backup goalie Jake Mills. While the Waterloo Maroons received forward Sam O'Brian, defence Luke Stevenson, and goalie Roger Stevenson, this became a turning point for both teams. For the Maroons, it's a need in the hope of staying in contender form for the Smyth Cup. As for the Metros, they realize they need an overhaul after 5 top players from their roster got drafted in the Pro Hockey League draft.

1975-76 AQHL Season

 

Standings

1. Drummondville Les Rouges

2. Cape Breton Warriors

3. Moncton Bears

4. Fredericton Vikings

5. Verdun Knights

6. Laval Tigers

7. Portland Clippers

8. Trois-Rivieres Titans

9. Sherbrooke Loups

10. New Glasgow Highlanders

Story:

The Titans show some good progress from their previous season to make it bigger for them; they even beat the defending Bronz Cup champions Les Rouges twice. Those two wins help the Titans finished 8th place and enter the playoffs, where they gave Drummondville a run for their money. In the end, the Titans fell one win short as they got eliminated by the Les Rouges 2 games to 1.

The league would witness one of the most lopsided trades in history. The Highlanders traded forward Sam Wilkinsburg, goalie Nathen Williams and 1st round pick to the Portland Clippers for forward Paul Frank, forward Tim Keith, and 5th round pick. The trade looks good on paper, but Frank got injured and was out for the season, while Tim got the call to play for Denver Pro Hockey club; with them out, New Glasgow finished the last place and with the 1st round pick belongs to the Clippers the Highlanders are outside looking in. For the Clippers, it was not much improvement, but with the 1st pick in their hand, things are looking up in a big way.

Despite losing two games in the season series to an 8th seeded team, the Les Rouges squeezed in 1st place with a 3-1 win over the Verdun Knights and thanks to Fredericton Vikings 4-2 win over Cape Breton Warriors.

In the 1st round, it all top seed teams moving on, but in the 2nd round, both the league and the top 2 teams received a shocking upset. The first place Drummondville Les Rouges lost both games 2 and 3 to fourth place Fredericton Vikings after winning a 9-0 blowout win in game 1. Second place Cape Breton Warriors got swept by third-place Moncton Bears. What's worse for the Warriors, they got outscored by the Bears with a total score of 10-4 in 2 games.

In the all New Brunswick series, both teams went back and forth until game number 5. It was all Moncton where Forward Rick Wilson scored two big goals in the 3rd period as the Bears win the series and become the first maritime team to win the Bronz Cup.

1975-76 OMJHA season

 

Standings

1. Kitchener Legionnaires

2. Waterloo Maroons

3. Burlington Metros

4. Kitchener Generals

5. Guelph Crusaders

6. Oakville Oaks

7. Owen Sound Arrowbirds

8. Oshawa Diamonds

9. Barrie Admirals

10. Milton Micmacs

Story:

Before the season starts, the Diamonds made a vital trade with the Generals. The Diamonds get forward Greg Lewis in, the 2nd round and 3rd round. While the Generals take 1st round, 5th round and forward Jack Hillmen. This trade benefits the Generals as they finished 4th place, while the Diamonds take 8th place and show better things to come soon in Oshawa.

The big news that happened was the Milton Micmacs as the team fired head coach Jim Jackson after winning only 2 out of the first 20 games. Shawn Harper became the team's new coach as they would win four more games and finish in tenth place.

With all rumours about teams being relocated during the off-season, the Owen Sound Arrowbirds are not on the list as the city agreed in adding more years to the arena lease. Trevor Thunder, the team's owner, hopefully, makes enough money to build a new arena and keep the team in Owen Sound. 

Another Coaches change in the league happened in Waterloo; the Maroons hire Louis Kelly to coach after Ron Pool stepped down for personal reasons as the team finished 2nd with a big 15-game winning streak.

In his second season with the Legionnaires, John Herbco became the team's captain after Roger Walton got the call to play for the New York pro hockey club. John steps up to the plate as the team leader and leads them to 35 wins, two losses, and three ties skyrocketing to 1st place. John would win the scoring title, best forward player, MVP and was named number 2 of the pro hockey's top prospect player of the year.

John Herbco and the Legionnaires would roll through the playoffs and swept the Metros in 3 games to win the Smyth Cup, their first since 1965. The Legion has punched its ticket to Vancouver for the 1976 Valor Cup.

1975-76 WCLH Season

 Jersey changes

Nanaimo Sharks: As was told by Jake Peterson, the Sharks showed off their new set. The logo is the word "SHARKS" across with bite marks on it with the letters "H" and "C" on the background. Jerseys are blue and teal, along with black and grey as a tribute to the team's previous owner Greg Peterson.

The North Battleford Crusaders updated their jerseys with the future not looking good. Stripes on both arms and hem were put together, and a new collar design and nameplates got added. The rest is still the same.

Standings

1. Lethbridge Cougars

2. Fargo Owls

3. Saskatoon Cats

4. Abbotsford Forest Kings

5. Kenora Pioneers

6. North Battleford Crusaders

7. Nanaimo Sharks

8. Medicine Hat Hawks

9. Brandon Buffalos

10. Moose Jaw Wings

Story:

For the fourth year in a row, the Lethbridge Cougars takes the top spot in the league, while both the Owls and the Cats went back and forth for the 2nd place. In the season finale, both the Owls and the Cats got the same record, but the Owls takes 2nd place by having more goals than the Cats.

 The Crusaders made lots of wins and sold out at every home game. Still, however, the hopes for a new arena are looking darker than ever, with both sides cannot agree on it even with Ron Jackins offer 100% of his share to build the arena. Still, the city council believes the arena is still good to play in. However, it is located outside the city, and it's small. The only thing big is the ice rink; if both sides don't agree, Ron would have no other choice but to find a new city to move the team in.

 The Sharks are pretty much in rebuilt mode with Jake Peterson now the owner he had to hand over his GM job to his assistant Paul Rowe, even the coaching staff changed as well were Frank Billiton took a head coaching job for the Seattle Pro hockey club, and he took the rest of the coaching staff with him. With fresh faces on the bench, the Sharks finished 7th but played poorly in the playoffs as they swept by the Owls; both games were shutouts.

The Cougars make it back to back as they beat the Owls 3 to 1, but the Cougars had a hard time with the 5th seed, the Kenora Pioneers were all three games ended in overtime, and in all three games, the Cougars dropped a three-goal leads.

1975 off-season

1975 AQHL Draft

New Glasgow Highlanders 1st pick was forward Shawn Oakley of Charlottetown, P.E.I. Another P.E.I. Local from Summerside forward Jim Goff was picked 2nd by the Trois-Rivieres Titans. In the 3rd pick, the Portland Clippers took defence Roy Will from Lewiston, Maine.

1975 OMJHA Draft

Barrie Admirals select from Newmarket forward Leo Jackson, who has been under the league’s radar for two years, and he almost got drafted by a rival league, the SWOHL’s Windsor Aeros. Still, Leo wants to be close to home, which is a plus for the league. Oshawa Diamonds pick goalie Kevin Round of Mississauga, who helps his Mississauga AAA team win the All-Ontario championship and holds the most shutouts with 12 in one season. Owen Sound Arrowbirds draft forward Joshua Westbrook of Uxbridge.

1975 WCLH Draft

The Brandon Buffalos got themselves a fresh start by drafting forward James Ronaldson of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Moose Jaw takes defence Eric McQueen of Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Kenora Pioneers select forward John Paul of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

News

The day before the 1975 Valor Cup finals, CIHA President Joseph McGeorge announced that Vancouver, B.C. will host the 1976 tournament. Located at the Vancouver Arena, where the Vancouver pro hockey club used to play but is no longer in use ever since the pro team started their 1974-75 season in a brand-new arena. The Vancouver arena is currently being refurbished, and It will be done just in time for the 1976 Valor Cup tournament.

With many teams adding nameplates on the back of the jerseys becomes a thing, all three leagues decide to give the remaining teams that don’t have nameplates on the back of their jerseys have until after 1975-76 season to do so as it will become minatory.

There were no talks about any expansions; however, there were talks of relocations and new owners if the attendants at home games do not improve. An interview with AQHL President Paul Name said there are three teams (not named) who are under the average attendants but not low enough for relocation nor new owners talks.

One team from the WCLH that is in the news is the Nanaimo Greyhounds new owner Jake Peterson announced that the team would be renamed to the Nanaimo Sharks the reason for it is because under Greg’s will that Jake is the team’s new owner but will not keep the name the Greyhounds. The team will officially show off the logo and the jerseys in August, one month before the 1975-76 season. 

The good news, both Sherbrooke Loups and the city, agreed on building a new arena to replace the old Patinoire de Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke Rink). The new arena will be complete and open in the 1980-81 season.

1975 Valor Cup tournament

 

1975 Valor Cup tournament: Montreal, Quebec

Teams: Lethbridge Cougars, Oakville Oaks, Drummondville Les Rouges

Standings

Lethbridge Cougars: 3 W, 1 L.

Drummondville Les Rouges: 2 W, 2 L.

Oakville Oaks: 1 W, 3 L.

Story:

Hockey fans were in a treat as the 1975 Valor Cup would be a future star showcase with talents on the ice every game, the Cougars, Les Rouges game was the best game fans enjoyed, and pro hockey scouts eyeing on that right player for the draft. The Cougars won that game 6-5.

Cougars Cliff Burns is making a name for himself, scoring 12 goals in 4 games, the most in Valor Cup tournament history. The best game that Burns made was the last game of the round-robin against the Les Rouges, scoring five goals in an 8-2 win, creating one of the biggest blowouts in the tournament.

What was worse than getting blown out by the Cougars? How about losing the semi-finals to the Oaks that Les Rouges beat in the round-robin twice in a shutout result, the reason for this semi-final loss was the Les Rouges didn’t take the Oaks seriously even with their upset win over the Cougars. The Oaks beat the Les Rouges 5-4 overtime after the Oaks came back from behind 4-0 after the 2nd period and forced overtime.

The Valor Cup finals was a rubber match as both the Cougars and the Oaks had a win in a piece from each other in the round-robin, but in the end, the Cougars came out on top with Cliff Burns scoring three goals, three assists with a total of 6 points as the Cougars wins it 7-3 over the Oaks. Cliff was named MVP in the tournament.

1974-75 AQHL Season

 

Standings

1. Drummondville Les Rouges

2. Cape Breton Warriors

3. Laval Tigers

4. Moncton Bears

5. Fredericton Vikings

6. Verdun Knights

7. Sherbrooke Loups

8. Portland Clippers

9. Trois-Rivieres Titans

10. New Glasgow Highlanders

Story:

1974-75 season was an eye-opener for the league as two of the three bottom teams rose in the standings both Moncton and Fredericton plated very well enough to finish in 4th and 5th, for Trois-Rivieres even though they got some good trades to good picks. Still, the team is the youngest in the league finished 9th out of the playoffs.

The Verdun Knights surprised the league with some good young players, and some starving veterans want to show what they can do as they finished 6th place and going to the playoffs.

The expansion draft to even pro draft took its toll on the Loups as they had a rough 30 games, winning six games but won all their last ten games to finished 7th.

Drummondville Les Rouges took 1st place from the Cape Breton Warriors in the standings, and to add more salt to the wound, the Les Rouges swept the Warriors in 3 games to take home the Bronz Cup and punched their ticket for a quick jog to Montreal for the Valor Cup.

1974-75 OMJHA Season

 

Standings

1. Burlington Metros

2. Waterloo Maroons

3. Oakville Oaks

4. Kitchener Legionnaires

5. Guelph Crusaders

6. Kitchener Generals

7. Milton Micmacs

8. Owen Sound Arrowbirds

9. Oshawa Diamonds

10. Barrie Admirals

Story:

1974-75 began with two new teams, the Barrie Admirals and the Oshawa Diamonds. Both teams played very well in the first half of the season. Still, all went downhill in the 2nd half; the Admirals went 0-18-2 in the final 20 games, while the Diamonds won only 5 in the last 20 games. Luckily, it was enough for them to finished 9th.

Both the 1974 Smyth Cup champion Burlington Metros and the Waterloo Maroons battled for the top spot in the league, it was back and forth, but in the last game of the season, the Metros won the game against the Maroons 4-2 to take the sole spot of 1st place.

The Legionnaires rookie John Herbco tops the league in goals with 40, the most made by a rookie in OMJHA history, which also helped the team stay in the top 4.

With the OMJHA now a ten-team league, they expanded from a six-team playoff format to 8 team playoff formats. However, the number of games in each round is still the same as the owners and Franklin Name are discussing a possible extending more playoff games for next year.

The Metros may take 1st place in the league but didn’t become the league champions for the third year in a row. That title belongs to the Oakville Oaks as it took all five games, including games 1 to 4, ending in overtime. The Oaks win game 5 in regulation to win the Smyth Cup and a trip to Montreal for the 1975 Valor Cup tournament.