1979-80 WCLH Season

Standings

West

1. Abbotsford Forest Kings

2. Nanaimo Sharks

3. Lethbridge Cougars

4. Moose Jaw Wings

5. Medicine Hat Hawks

6. Billings Trains

East

1. Kenora Pioneers

2. Fargo Owls

3. Brandon Buffalos

4. Portage la Prairie Magic

5. Swift Current Battalion

6. Saskatoon Cats

Story:

The west division belongs to the Abbotsford Forest Kings for the second year in a row with a 42-2-2, 88 points finished 1st place but 2nd overall. Behind them is the Nanaimo Sharks, who may be 24 points less than the Forest Kings, but their last 5 games of this season were just they need to be ready for the playoffs. After two years of missing the playoffs, the Lethbridge Cougars are back in containership for the Jade Trophy with 59 points mainly their 10-game winning streak was the reason. It was a three-way battle for the 4th place spot, but in the end, Moose Jaw Wings took the spot with 13 wins, while Medicine Hat Hawks finished 5th, and Billings Trains round up the division by finishing last with just 1 point behind the Hawks.

In the east division, it was all Kenora Pioneers. Despite losing two key players, they have a good crop of players hungry for wins as they finished 1st overall with 92 points thanks to a league record of 44 wins, three wins more than the 1976-77 Fargo Owls. Speaking of the Owls, they finished 2nd place with 60 points, but it did not come easy for them as they had a painful 8 game losing streak that included a 6-2 blowout loss to the Billings Trains. Led by the new captain Jeremy Mitchell the Brandon Buffalos went through a rollercoaster of a season as they had a 10-game losing streak, but they had a 12-game winning streak that helped them clinch 3rd place. Portage la Prairie Magic was the biggest surprise this year, as they won the last 4 games to take 4th place and headed to the playoffs for the first time in team history. Both Swift Current Battalion and the Saskatoon Cats round off the bottom two. Believe it or not, for the Cats, they miss the playoffs for the first time since 1960.

After naming Jeremy Mitchell, the captain of the Brandon Buffalos was just they needed to put both Luke James and Paul Cole in their place as they finally started to work together. Little by little, the team began to really show a better result than the previous seasons. In fact, the fans are now starting to believe that this team will go deep in the playoffs. Both the Abbotsford Forest Kings and the 1979 Jade Trophy champions Kenora Pioneers went neck and neck for the top overall spot in the league; in the end, the Pioneers were 2 wins more than the Forest Kings. The Pioneers beat Abbotsford in the head-to-head series 3-1. Fans of the Nanaimo Sharks got themselves a special treat as the team welcomes them to the Nanaimo Arena after upgrading from 2000 seats to 3500 capacity. Many fans are pleased with the result and excited that the city is hosting the 1980 Valor Cup tournament. “This year will be our finest season that everyone will talk about it for years.”  Nanaimo Sharks owner Jake Peterson said at the team’s home opener.

Once again, the playoffs are set as 1st place west Abbotsford Forest Kings will face against 4th place east Portage la Prairie Magic, while 1st place east the defending champions the Kenora Pioneers takes on 4th place west Moose Jaw Wings, 2nd place west Nanaimo Sharks opponent is 3rd place east Brandon Buffalos. Finally, 2nd place east Fargo Owls goes head-to-head with 3rd place west the Lethbridge Cougars.