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.