The Toronto Neon takes the Steel Division for the second season in a row, big thanks to their star player Frank Grant, who topped the league in scoring, breaking records and caught many scouts' eyes, mainly from the Minnesota Nationals scout, hoping to get Frank as the first pick at the 1985 NIHA Draft. Frank Grant was not the only one who got noticed; both Kenny Barkersons and Ben Topeka were on everyone’s radar for the draft pick as well. The trio could top the first three picks; it’ll be the first time that has ever happened for the OMJHA. Slowly but surely the Owen Sound Arrowbirds is hitting all the issues from the past and able to finish 2nd place, what give the team more life to it is that both them and the town have agreed to build a fresh new arena to replace the old Arrowbird Rink that been in repairs for quite some time and can’t keep up with modern systems, what’s even more up lifting is that the team is going to change their look come next season. Even thou there are signs a downfall is coming, the Buffalo Bees were able to finish 3rd in the Steel Division, even with backlash on Ryan Byron Sr. after turning his back on his son Jr. as Sr. takes the reign of the team, little did everyone know that this team needs a good GM and not Sr. to run the team. Struggle is the word for the Waterloo Maroons, who lost many key players during the offseason; however, Nick Hope stepped up to take the captain role, turned the team around, and won 6 of the last 10 games to take 4th place and the last playoff spot. The Peterborough Bolts got a new look, but the roster wasn’t good at all as they finished 5th place, and the Orangeville O’s ended last place in the Steel Division.
The Hero Division was all Oakville Oaks for the 4th year in a row, even though they lost two key players (Jake Dahl and Jake Johannsson) to the NIHA Draft, but there are good key core players that carry the weight with no issues and could go deep into the playoffs and win another Smyth Cup. Taking 2nd place is the Toronto Hornets. They may finish six points less than last season, but they work hard to maintain 2nd place in hopes of going all the way to the finals. After a long rebuild, to backlash from many fans off the ice, the Kitchener Generals are back in the playoffs after winning eight of the last 10 games of the season to finish 3rd place. The newly relocated Newmarket Express played so well that it drew fans without any issues, but it lost its last three games and finished 4th. Brantford Skyflyers takes 5th place, Barrie Admirals 6th, and Oshawa Gems 7th and last in the league.
1985 OMJHA Playoffs
Round 1
The first round of the playoffs saw all four series finish in four games. The Newmarket Express may be a new team and put up a good fight, but against the Oakville Oaks, the Oaks kept their game right and swept the Express. The Hornets were losing in game two when the Generals almost won, but the Hornets came back to win in overtime, and the last two games were all Hornets. The Neon and Maroons series was insane, as all four games went to overtime; in the end, the Neon won the series in four games. Many Bees fans were not happy with the outcome of the Sr. and Jr. fallout, but they began to see signs of a downfall after being swept by the Owen Sound Arrowbirds in four games. To make matters worse, all four of them were shutouts for the Arrowbirds.
Round 2
The second round was drama written all over. The Neon vs. Arrowbirds series was nothing but penalties, mainly against the Arrowbirds, that made many critics question the referee’s calls in a big way and believe it might come back to bite not just the Neon but the referees involved as well. The Oaks vs. Hornets was a all seven game series, in game seven the Hornets was going to win with a 3-1 lead halfway into the third period until Warren Burk scored 2 goals to tie the game up and force it into overtime where 12 minutes in overtime Warren scored the winner and head to the Smyth Cup for the fourth season in a row.
Smyth Cup Finals
For the second year in a row, the Smyth Cup final match-up is between the Oakville Oaks and the Toronto Neon. In Game one, The Oaks blew the Neon with 3 goals, 5 assists performance by Warren Burk for a 6-0. The Oaks blanked the Neon again, this time only 4-0, with Vince Olson scoring all four of the goals. Game three was a reversal as the Neon’s Frank Grant scored 3 goals in a 5-0 win, which is just what the Neon needed to back into the series. The Oaks thought they had game four in the bag with a 3-0 lead, but the Neon came back with the combination of both Frank Grant and Kenny Barkerson's goals to force overtime, where Ben Topeka scored the winner to even the series 4-3. The Oaks Leonard Ellsworth scored only two goals, but it was enough for a 2-1 win to go to Toronto in hopes of winning the Smyth Cup. Game six was all Neon as three players scored 2 goals in a 7-0 win to force a game seven. It all came down to this, game seven for both the Smyth Cup and a trip to Moncton. The first period was all shots until in the last five minutes were both the Neon and the Oaks scored a goal each, in period number two the Oaks score two goals, one of them was by Warren Burk, the Neon did came back in the third period with Kenny Barkersons scoring two goals to tie it up but however in the last minute of the third period Warren Burk scored the game winner 4-3 with the clock went to zero the team and the fans celebrated as the Oakville Oaks are back-to-back Smyth Cup champions and heading to Moncton for the Valor Cup Tournament once again.
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