1982 WCLH Playoffs

 

Round 1

1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 4th east Moose Jaw Wings

In game one, the Wings had the Cougars on the ropes with a 4-0 lead going into the third, but Jack Burk made 2 goals and 4 points to tie the game 4-4. 12:17 into overtime, Wes Roy scored the O/T winner in front of a sold-out crowd in Lethbridge as the Cougars win game one 5-4. After game one, it all went downhill for the Wings as they barely scored at least 3 goals within the last three games. As the Lethbridge Cougars swept the Wings and moved on to 2nd round. The Cougars win the series 4-0.

1st east Kenora Pioneers vs. 4th west Abbotsford Forest Kings

The Kenora Pioneers got their revenge on the Abbotsford Forest Kings from last season 2nd round playoffs, it may take them six games to do it but to the Pioneers' head coach Chuck Patton it was well worth it as the two losses they took were overtime. The Pioneers win the series 4-2.

2nd west Billings Trains vs. 3rd east Portage la Prairie Magic

Both teams will do anything to win their first playoff series, but it was all Trains in the first three games. With the series 3-0 in their hands, the Billings Trains believes they are going to win game four, but the Magic have other ideas as they forced overtime and won game four; in games five and six, the Magic are on a roll with wins to force game number seven. Both went back and forth all the way to the 3rd overtime with 2:23 minutes left with a 5-5 tie game when Frank Colton scored the winner as the Trains punched their ticket to the 2nd round. The Trains win the series 4-3.

2nd east Swift Current Battalion vs. 3rd west Medicine Hat Hawks

This series was a back-and-forth in a weird way as each win was shutout; in game seven, the Battalion got the last shutout over the Hawks with a 2-0 win to win the series and move on to the 2nd round for the second year in a row. The Battalion wins the series 4-3.

2nd round

1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 2nd east Swift Current Battalion

A rematch from last year’s playoffs became the same this year, only this time the Battalion won both games one and two, but after that, it was all Cougars as they blew them away four straights to win the series and move on to the Jade Trophy finals. The Cougars win the series 4-2.

1st east Kenora Pioneers vs. 2nd west Billings Trains

Game one was a not-so-pretty one for the Pioneers as referees made many bad calls throughout the game as the Trains took it 5-2; 4 out of 5 goals the Trains made were powerplays. The Pioneers turned it around as they dominated the Trains in four straights to win the series and head off to the Jade Trophy finals again. The Pioneers win the series 4-1.

Jade Trophy Finals

1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 1st east Kenora Pioneers

The Kenora Pioneers, in their third Jade Trophy final in four years, are hoping for a second title in team history, while the Cougars, making their second straight finals, are gunning for a back-to-back. In game one, the Pioneers had the Cougars right where they wanted with a 4-2 score until late in the third, Jack Burk scored two goals for the Cougars to tie it up 4 a piece, and five minutes into overtime, Cougars Karl Fuhr scored the O/T winner to take game one 5-4. It was the same in game two, The Pioneers had the lead, the Cougars tied it up, forced overtime, and the Cougars won it in overtime, but the difference is it took 12 minutes into the O/T and scored by Wes Roy. The Cougars stomped the living daylights out of the Pioneers with a 9-1 game-three win; Karl Fuhr and Jack Burk scored a hat-trick in that game. In game number four, the Cougars scored five goals in the first period and held on to that lead until the Pioneers rookie Jason Classen scored a hat-trick. Still, it wasn’t enough as the clock hit zero, and the Lethbridge Cougars won game four 5-3, the series and the 1982 Jade Trophy championship for the second year in a row. At the press conference, Cougars' head coach Edward Smith said, “Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we rest up, and the next day we are heading to Sherbrooke for the 1982 Valor Cup tournament. The Cougars win the series 4-0.

1981-82 WCLH season

Both the Chilliwack Alpines and Surrey River Dogs debut facing each other on Oct 2 and Oct 3, 1981, as part of the home and home games between both teams. The crowds in both towns have jam-packed the arenas so well that there are talks that some businessman around the B.C. area wants to have a team in their own town. In an interview with James Name, there are talks but have no plans for expansion until the 1983 off-season.

The Lethbridge Cougars top both the west division and the whole league for the second season in a row with a crop of youth that are hungry for wins and show great results, lead by Jack Burk, who really stepped up as the captain of the team just like Cliff Burns in the late 70s. “This the year we will win both the Jade Trophy and the Valor Cup; we got this lock on.” Cougars head coach Edward Smith said at the press conference. Fans in Billings are seeing great results as they put together the right players to make the winning team and finished 2nd place, hoping for a deep run in the playoffs. After two years of missing the playoffs, the Hawks are back in it thanks to their new number 1 goalie Sam Abbot who made 26 wins out of 35 games this season; 6 of them were shutouts was good enough for Medicine Hat Hawks to finish 3rd place. Finished 4th place was the Abbotsford Forest Kings despite losing some of their top stars who led the team in winning the Valor Cup two seasons ago, but they still got some good players in their roster that helped them earn 57 points and head into the playoffs. The Nanaimo Sharks finished 5th place, with lots of players leaving the Nanaimo Sharks ranging from pros to Euros leagues and with more players set to leave after this season, the Sharks would start the rebuild from the ground up. Rounding off 6th and 7th place are the new teams, the Surrey River Dogs and the Chilliwack Alpines.

The Kenora Pioneers top the east division for the third season in a row, and there is no slowing down for this team as they will try to get back into the Jade trophy title picture after getting eliminated from the playoffs last season. For the second time in a row, the Battalion finished 2nd with 3 wins more this season than last season; their scoring improved more than last season, and hope this season will be the one that will lead them to the Jade trophy finals. Taking 3rd place for the second season in a row is the Portage la Prairie Magic, as their goal come playoff time is getting their first playoff win after getting swept last year; they are hoping for a better run this time around, from finishing 4th place in the west division last season to finishing 4th place in the east division as the Moose Jaw Wings won 15 of their last 20 games of this season. The Buffalos had a rough season after many players left the team during the off-season, losing 15 of their first 25 games, showing no chance of heading back to the playoffs. Taking 6th was the Fargo Owls, and the Saskatoon Cats took 7th place in the division and rock bottom overall again.

The playoffs are set; the 1st place west division and defending Jade Trophy champions Lethbridge Cougars take on the 4th place east division Moose Jaw Wings. 1st place east division Kenora Pioneers battles 4th place west division Abbotsford Forest Kings in a rematch from last season’s semi-finals. 2nd place west division Billings Trains faces 3rd place east division Portage la Prairie Magic in a battle of the 1978 established club. Finally, the 2nd place east division Swift Current Battalion battles 3rd place west division Medicine Hat Hawks.

1981-82 OMJHA Playoffs

1st Round

Steel Division

1st Waterloo vs. 4th Owen Sound

The Waterloo Maroons wasted no time by taking the Arrowbirds out in four games. The Arrowbirds had a hard time scoring more than one goal during the whole series. The Maroons win the series 4-0.

2nd Buffalo vs. 3rd Orangeville

The Buffalo Bees make the most of their first playoff appearance by winning their first series win, but it took them seven games to beat the O’s, but it’s well worth it to the fans' minds. The Bees win the series 4-3.

Hero Division

1st Oakville vs. 4th Burlington

This series was back and forth until game six, where the Oaks won 6-3 to win the series but was overshadowed by controversy when the Metro owner John Lewis handed over his paperwork to league president Tom Van Ryan about moving to London, Ontario, Tom told him that there was no vote on the location at all and said to John that the Metros will be back next season, but John told him that he and other owners made a private vote and they voted him out, with that as of now the Metros are no longer part of the OMJHA anymore starting in the 1982-83 season the league will be one less team as the Burlington Metros joins the South West Ontario Hockey League as the London Metros. The Oaks win the series 4-2.

2nd Milton vs. 3rd Barrie

Even though many believe that the Admirals got this series in the bag, the Micmacs had other ideas as Jeper Nelson played better in the playoffs than in the season with 8 goals and 21 points as the Milton Micmacs won their first playoff series win since 1972 (a season before the CIHA established.) The Micmacs win the series 4-3.

2nd Round

Steel Division

1st Waterloo vs. 2nd Buffalo

Both the Maroons and the Bees went back and forth all the way to game seven, as Larry Arsenal scored four goals in the first two periods to give the Marrons a 5-2 lead. In the third period, Floyd Currie, Greg Dahlstrom, and William VanDean each scored a goal to tie the game. William VanDean had the open net to score, but the clock went to zero before the puck slid into the net. In the first overtime, both teams made shots at the nets, but both goalies kept their game up; the goalies did it again in the second overtime, keeping the pucks from going in the net. With 5:25 left in the third overtime, Floyd Currie took a risk that no defencemen would ever do, and that goes for a breakaway he did as he skated all the way to the Maroons goalie Pat Hudson and Floyd Currie scored the overtime winner; with that goal, the Buffalo Bees becomes the first American team to advance to the Smyth Cup Championship in the OMJHA history. The Bees win the series 4-3.

Hero Division

1st Oakville vs. 2nd Milton

The Micmacs had a good momentum going into the series by winning games one and two, but as game three came, it was all the Oaks as they kept on going until they finished the Macs off in game six; with that win, the Oakville Oaks are going to the Smyth Cup Championship. The Oaks win the series 4-2.

Smyth Cup Finals

Oakville vs. Buffalo

Game number one was rough as the Oaks barely got a win over the Bees, thanks to Keith Dunn scoring the overtime winner with the score of 4-3. In game two, the Bees turn their game up a notch as Sam Dempsey stops 43 out of 45 shots to give the Bees a 4-2 win over the Oaks. Sam Dempsey did it again, this time a shutout after taking 49 shots in a 3-0 game three win over the Oaks to take the series lead. The Bees played their game right once again as William VanDean scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 game four victory. In game five, the Oakville Oaks finally bounced back from losing three straight games, with both Keith Dunn and Jake Dahl scoring 2 goals each plus one more goal in an empty netter way as the Oaks forced a game six with a 5-3 win. Fans at the Regal Forum in Buffalo, New York, are going crazy for game six as they believe they are one win away from winning the Smyth Cup title. The Bees made sure that they would win it for their fans as Floyd Currie and Greg Dahlstrom held their grounds to keep the Oaks from attempting to shoot the puck at Sam Dempsey, while William VanDean scored 2 goals in the third period, as the clock hit zero game six ends with a 4-1 win. The fans celebrate as the Bees players made a dog pile on top of each other as the Buffalo Bees are the 1982 OMJHA Smyth Cup Champions and punched their ticket for a trip to Sherbrooke, Quebec, for the Valor Cup Tournament. The Bees win the series 4-2.