1979 Valor Cup Tournament

 

Story

At Ottawa’s Royal Banquet Hall, CIHA President Joseph McGeorge made two announcements. The first one is naming the host for the 1980 Valor Cup Tournament, after meetings within the league presidents, the owners, and GMs made their vote, the result is the tournament will be held at Nanaimo BC, home of the Nanaimo Sharks where their arena got approved by the city to give it an upgrade from 2000 seats to 3500 seat capacity arena which it’s a significant benefit for both the Sharks and the city of Nanaimo. The second announcement is that there will be a showcase tournament that will feature junior stars of the WCLH, OMJHA, AQHL, and a mix of rookies and 2nd-year junior players from all 3 leagues. The tournament will be called the “Valor Star.” The event will be at the Ottawa Civic Forum in the Summer of 1980.

The Kitchener Legionnaires dominated this year's tournament and finished the round-robin with four wins and zero losses. John Herbco scored 10 goals, 15 assists, and 25 points within 4 games.

The Kenora Pioneers and Cape Breton Warriors lost twice to the Legionnaires in a blowout result. Both shared victories, but the Pioneers finished 2nd over the Warriors by goals.

Valor Cup Semi-Finals Kenora Pioneers vs. Cape Breton Warriors

The Pioneers may have 2nd place over the Warriors, but in the first period, they did not look good as the Warriors scored two big impact goals followed by two more in the second period. The Pioneers scored two goals in the third period, but it was not enough as the clock turned to zero, and the Cape Breton Warriors are going to the Valor Cup finals with a 4-2 win.

 1979 Valor Cup Championship Kitchener Legionnaires vs. Cape Breton Warriors

As the puck was dropped to start the first period, shots were made from end to end, the goalies were brick walls, and the defences held the offences until the first-period end. The second period was the same until 3:25 left the Warriors' Luke Davis scored a goal to give them the lead over the Legionnaires 1-0 as the second period ended. John Herbco scored two straight goals for the Legionnaires in the third period. 1:10 left, and the Warriors pulled their goalie, hoping that an extra player would turn the tide in their favour. It didn’t work as John Herbco took control of the puck and lobbed it down all the way to the empty net to seal the deal, as the clock hit zero with the final score of 3-1 and the Legionnaires celebrate winning the Valor Cup. At the same time, John Herbco is named the Valor Cup MVP for the second time in his career.