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.