The Lethbridge Cougars are celebrating a milestone 75th anniversary. To celebrate this season, the team lifted banners of retired numbers worn by some Cougars greats, including Cliff Burns and his number 25, up to the rafters. On their home opener, they took the win in a big way over the Saskatoon Cats 8-2. After their home opener, they kept on the gas as they won 36 of 50 games to finished 1st in the west and the league.
The Abbotsford Forest Kings opened their home game with the rising of the 1980 Jade Trophy banner and the CIHA Valor Cup banner. As fans have a good reason to be excited for this year as both Ed Bram and Luke White will play their final season before they will be eligible for the 1981 Pro Hockey Draft. Both combine 78 points to help the Forest Kings stay in the top 2 in the west division.
The Billings Trains took a mid-season gamble by trading their last 4 round picks (2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th) to the Fargo Owls for forward Jack Clarke, and it worked for them as Jack made 23 goals and 56 points, leading the Trains to finished 3rd in the west and making to their 1st playoff in team history.
Moose Jaws took a lot of criticism for wearing white pants to their classic set, so much so that there are talks that both League President James Name and other owners are considering putting a ban on any teams that thinks about wearing white pants down the road. Despite all the white pants fiasco, the Wings took it as fuel as they won 12 of the last 20 games to finished 4th and headed to the playoffs for the 5th year in a row.
Even though Juuso Heinola's scoring improved more than his previous season to even win the league scoring title, it didn't help the Nanaimo Sharks this season as they once were playoffs contenders, now being the tanker, they lost a good number of players during the off-season. In the end, they finished 5th.
The Medicine Hat Hawks had some promising young talent, but they finished the season with only 9 wins landing them in last place in the west.
Kenora Pioneers had a rough start by losing 9 of their first 15 games; after that, they turned it around by winning 16 of the last 20 games to finished 1st in the big east thanks to rookie goalie Luke Hay as he won 10 out of 15 games and letting in just 16 goals and got just 1 shutout.
With the record of 27-20-3, 57 points gave the Swift Current Battalion a 2nd place finish and will go to the playoffs for the first time since 1976 when they were the North Battleford Crusaders.
Last season the Portage la Prairie Magic had a magical 4th place finish, led by Matthew Atlas and rookie Zachary Natyshak with a combined total of 46 goals and 97 points, giving them a 3rd place finish with 24 wins, 19 losses, 7 ties, and 55 points. Zachary Natyshak was a big surprise in the WCLH as the top rookie, many critics believed that he would not even be in the top 10, but as the season ended, Zachary won the rookie of the year award and caught many eyes of many pro hockey scouts.
The 1980-81 season would be what many fans believe to be the last shot for the Brandon Buffalos, with 8 players on their roster overaged. If they failed to do so, they would have to rebuild the team painfully; possibly, the only team that is keeping them from clinching 4th place is the Fargo Owls. Both were neck and neck until the final 5 games. The Buffalos won 3 while the Owls won only 1 game; as the season ended, the Buffalos took 4th place and headed to the playoffs, for the Owls finished 5th, meaning the first time in team history that they missed the playoffs.
The 1980-81 season was not so friendly for the Saskatoon Cats as they finished last overall with winning just 7 games, 3 wins less than their 1960-61 season (pre-CIHA era) 5 years before Stan Jones handed the ownership to his son Rick which he went on and turn the team around. Things are about to get more difficult for the Cats as Edward Gore resigns as head coach after 16 years with the club; the team will name a new head coach after the off-season.
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