1975-76 AQHL Season

 

Standings

1. Drummondville Les Rouges

2. Cape Breton Warriors

3. Moncton Bears

4. Fredericton Vikings

5. Verdun Knights

6. Laval Tigers

7. Portland Clippers

8. Trois-Rivieres Titans

9. Sherbrooke Loups

10. New Glasgow Highlanders

Story:

The Titans show some good progress from their previous season to make it bigger for them; they even beat the defending Bronz Cup champions Les Rouges twice. Those two wins help the Titans finished 8th place and enter the playoffs, where they gave Drummondville a run for their money. In the end, the Titans fell one win short as they got eliminated by the Les Rouges 2 games to 1.

The league would witness one of the most lopsided trades in history. The Highlanders traded forward Sam Wilkinsburg, goalie Nathen Williams and 1st round pick to the Portland Clippers for forward Paul Frank, forward Tim Keith, and 5th round pick. The trade looks good on paper, but Frank got injured and was out for the season, while Tim got the call to play for Denver Pro Hockey club; with them out, New Glasgow finished the last place and with the 1st round pick belongs to the Clippers the Highlanders are outside looking in. For the Clippers, it was not much improvement, but with the 1st pick in their hand, things are looking up in a big way.

Despite losing two games in the season series to an 8th seeded team, the Les Rouges squeezed in 1st place with a 3-1 win over the Verdun Knights and thanks to Fredericton Vikings 4-2 win over Cape Breton Warriors.

In the 1st round, it all top seed teams moving on, but in the 2nd round, both the league and the top 2 teams received a shocking upset. The first place Drummondville Les Rouges lost both games 2 and 3 to fourth place Fredericton Vikings after winning a 9-0 blowout win in game 1. Second place Cape Breton Warriors got swept by third-place Moncton Bears. What's worse for the Warriors, they got outscored by the Bears with a total score of 10-4 in 2 games.

In the all New Brunswick series, both teams went back and forth until game number 5. It was all Moncton where Forward Rick Wilson scored two big goals in the 3rd period as the Bears win the series and become the first maritime team to win the Bronz Cup.

1975-76 OMJHA season

 

Standings

1. Kitchener Legionnaires

2. Waterloo Maroons

3. Burlington Metros

4. Kitchener Generals

5. Guelph Crusaders

6. Oakville Oaks

7. Owen Sound Arrowbirds

8. Oshawa Diamonds

9. Barrie Admirals

10. Milton Micmacs

Story:

Before the season starts, the Diamonds made a vital trade with the Generals. The Diamonds get forward Greg Lewis in, the 2nd round and 3rd round. While the Generals take 1st round, 5th round and forward Jack Hillmen. This trade benefits the Generals as they finished 4th place, while the Diamonds take 8th place and show better things to come soon in Oshawa.

The big news that happened was the Milton Micmacs as the team fired head coach Jim Jackson after winning only 2 out of the first 20 games. Shawn Harper became the team's new coach as they would win four more games and finish in tenth place.

With all rumours about teams being relocated during the off-season, the Owen Sound Arrowbirds are not on the list as the city agreed in adding more years to the arena lease. Trevor Thunder, the team's owner, hopefully, makes enough money to build a new arena and keep the team in Owen Sound. 

Another Coaches change in the league happened in Waterloo; the Maroons hire Louis Kelly to coach after Ron Pool stepped down for personal reasons as the team finished 2nd with a big 15-game winning streak.

In his second season with the Legionnaires, John Herbco became the team's captain after Roger Walton got the call to play for the New York pro hockey club. John steps up to the plate as the team leader and leads them to 35 wins, two losses, and three ties skyrocketing to 1st place. John would win the scoring title, best forward player, MVP and was named number 2 of the pro hockey's top prospect player of the year.

John Herbco and the Legionnaires would roll through the playoffs and swept the Metros in 3 games to win the Smyth Cup, their first since 1965. The Legion has punched its ticket to Vancouver for the 1976 Valor Cup.

1975-76 WCLH Season

 Jersey changes

Nanaimo Sharks: As was told by Jake Peterson, the Sharks showed off their new set. The logo is the word "SHARKS" across with bite marks on it with the letters "H" and "C" on the background. Jerseys are blue and teal, along with black and grey as a tribute to the team's previous owner Greg Peterson.

The North Battleford Crusaders updated their jerseys with the future not looking good. Stripes on both arms and hem were put together, and a new collar design and nameplates got added. The rest is still the same.

Standings

1. Lethbridge Cougars

2. Fargo Owls

3. Saskatoon Cats

4. Abbotsford Forest Kings

5. Kenora Pioneers

6. North Battleford Crusaders

7. Nanaimo Sharks

8. Medicine Hat Hawks

9. Brandon Buffalos

10. Moose Jaw Wings

Story:

For the fourth year in a row, the Lethbridge Cougars takes the top spot in the league, while both the Owls and the Cats went back and forth for the 2nd place. In the season finale, both the Owls and the Cats got the same record, but the Owls takes 2nd place by having more goals than the Cats.

 The Crusaders made lots of wins and sold out at every home game. Still, however, the hopes for a new arena are looking darker than ever, with both sides cannot agree on it even with Ron Jackins offer 100% of his share to build the arena. Still, the city council believes the arena is still good to play in. However, it is located outside the city, and it's small. The only thing big is the ice rink; if both sides don't agree, Ron would have no other choice but to find a new city to move the team in.

 The Sharks are pretty much in rebuilt mode with Jake Peterson now the owner he had to hand over his GM job to his assistant Paul Rowe, even the coaching staff changed as well were Frank Billiton took a head coaching job for the Seattle Pro hockey club, and he took the rest of the coaching staff with him. With fresh faces on the bench, the Sharks finished 7th but played poorly in the playoffs as they swept by the Owls; both games were shutouts.

The Cougars make it back to back as they beat the Owls 3 to 1, but the Cougars had a hard time with the 5th seed, the Kenora Pioneers were all three games ended in overtime, and in all three games, the Cougars dropped a three-goal leads.

1975 off-season

1975 AQHL Draft

New Glasgow Highlanders 1st pick was forward Shawn Oakley of Charlottetown, P.E.I. Another P.E.I. Local from Summerside forward Jim Goff was picked 2nd by the Trois-Rivieres Titans. In the 3rd pick, the Portland Clippers took defence Roy Will from Lewiston, Maine.

1975 OMJHA Draft

Barrie Admirals select from Newmarket forward Leo Jackson, who has been under the league’s radar for two years, and he almost got drafted by a rival league, the SWOHL’s Windsor Aeros. Still, Leo wants to be close to home, which is a plus for the league. Oshawa Diamonds pick goalie Kevin Round of Mississauga, who helps his Mississauga AAA team win the All-Ontario championship and holds the most shutouts with 12 in one season. Owen Sound Arrowbirds draft forward Joshua Westbrook of Uxbridge.

1975 WCLH Draft

The Brandon Buffalos got themselves a fresh start by drafting forward James Ronaldson of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Moose Jaw takes defence Eric McQueen of Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Kenora Pioneers select forward John Paul of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

News

The day before the 1975 Valor Cup finals, CIHA President Joseph McGeorge announced that Vancouver, B.C. will host the 1976 tournament. Located at the Vancouver Arena, where the Vancouver pro hockey club used to play but is no longer in use ever since the pro team started their 1974-75 season in a brand-new arena. The Vancouver arena is currently being refurbished, and It will be done just in time for the 1976 Valor Cup tournament.

With many teams adding nameplates on the back of the jerseys becomes a thing, all three leagues decide to give the remaining teams that don’t have nameplates on the back of their jerseys have until after 1975-76 season to do so as it will become minatory.

There were no talks about any expansions; however, there were talks of relocations and new owners if the attendants at home games do not improve. An interview with AQHL President Paul Name said there are three teams (not named) who are under the average attendants but not low enough for relocation nor new owners talks.

One team from the WCLH that is in the news is the Nanaimo Greyhounds new owner Jake Peterson announced that the team would be renamed to the Nanaimo Sharks the reason for it is because under Greg’s will that Jake is the team’s new owner but will not keep the name the Greyhounds. The team will officially show off the logo and the jerseys in August, one month before the 1975-76 season. 

The good news, both Sherbrooke Loups and the city, agreed on building a new arena to replace the old Patinoire de Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke Rink). The new arena will be complete and open in the 1980-81 season.

1975 Valor Cup tournament

 

1975 Valor Cup tournament: Montreal, Quebec

Teams: Lethbridge Cougars, Oakville Oaks, Drummondville Les Rouges

Standings

Lethbridge Cougars: 3 W, 1 L.

Drummondville Les Rouges: 2 W, 2 L.

Oakville Oaks: 1 W, 3 L.

Story:

Hockey fans were in a treat as the 1975 Valor Cup would be a future star showcase with talents on the ice every game, the Cougars, Les Rouges game was the best game fans enjoyed, and pro hockey scouts eyeing on that right player for the draft. The Cougars won that game 6-5.

Cougars Cliff Burns is making a name for himself, scoring 12 goals in 4 games, the most in Valor Cup tournament history. The best game that Burns made was the last game of the round-robin against the Les Rouges, scoring five goals in an 8-2 win, creating one of the biggest blowouts in the tournament.

What was worse than getting blown out by the Cougars? How about losing the semi-finals to the Oaks that Les Rouges beat in the round-robin twice in a shutout result, the reason for this semi-final loss was the Les Rouges didn’t take the Oaks seriously even with their upset win over the Cougars. The Oaks beat the Les Rouges 5-4 overtime after the Oaks came back from behind 4-0 after the 2nd period and forced overtime.

The Valor Cup finals was a rubber match as both the Cougars and the Oaks had a win in a piece from each other in the round-robin, but in the end, the Cougars came out on top with Cliff Burns scoring three goals, three assists with a total of 6 points as the Cougars wins it 7-3 over the Oaks. Cliff was named MVP in the tournament.

1974-75 AQHL Season

 

Standings

1. Drummondville Les Rouges

2. Cape Breton Warriors

3. Laval Tigers

4. Moncton Bears

5. Fredericton Vikings

6. Verdun Knights

7. Sherbrooke Loups

8. Portland Clippers

9. Trois-Rivieres Titans

10. New Glasgow Highlanders

Story:

1974-75 season was an eye-opener for the league as two of the three bottom teams rose in the standings both Moncton and Fredericton plated very well enough to finish in 4th and 5th, for Trois-Rivieres even though they got some good trades to good picks. Still, the team is the youngest in the league finished 9th out of the playoffs.

The Verdun Knights surprised the league with some good young players, and some starving veterans want to show what they can do as they finished 6th place and going to the playoffs.

The expansion draft to even pro draft took its toll on the Loups as they had a rough 30 games, winning six games but won all their last ten games to finished 7th.

Drummondville Les Rouges took 1st place from the Cape Breton Warriors in the standings, and to add more salt to the wound, the Les Rouges swept the Warriors in 3 games to take home the Bronz Cup and punched their ticket for a quick jog to Montreal for the Valor Cup.

1974-75 OMJHA Season

 

Standings

1. Burlington Metros

2. Waterloo Maroons

3. Oakville Oaks

4. Kitchener Legionnaires

5. Guelph Crusaders

6. Kitchener Generals

7. Milton Micmacs

8. Owen Sound Arrowbirds

9. Oshawa Diamonds

10. Barrie Admirals

Story:

1974-75 began with two new teams, the Barrie Admirals and the Oshawa Diamonds. Both teams played very well in the first half of the season. Still, all went downhill in the 2nd half; the Admirals went 0-18-2 in the final 20 games, while the Diamonds won only 5 in the last 20 games. Luckily, it was enough for them to finished 9th.

Both the 1974 Smyth Cup champion Burlington Metros and the Waterloo Maroons battled for the top spot in the league, it was back and forth, but in the last game of the season, the Metros won the game against the Maroons 4-2 to take the sole spot of 1st place.

The Legionnaires rookie John Herbco tops the league in goals with 40, the most made by a rookie in OMJHA history, which also helped the team stay in the top 4.

With the OMJHA now a ten-team league, they expanded from a six-team playoff format to 8 team playoff formats. However, the number of games in each round is still the same as the owners and Franklin Name are discussing a possible extending more playoff games for next year.

The Metros may take 1st place in the league but didn’t become the league champions for the third year in a row. That title belongs to the Oakville Oaks as it took all five games, including games 1 to 4, ending in overtime. The Oaks win game 5 in regulation to win the Smyth Cup and a trip to Montreal for the 1975 Valor Cup tournament.

1974-75 WCLH Season

 

Standings

1. Lethbridge Cougars

2. Saskatoon Cats

3. Fargo Owls

4. Medicine Hat Hawks

5. Nanaimo Greyhounds

6. Abbotsford Forest Kings

7. North Battleford Crusaders

8. Kenora Pioneers

9. Moose Jaw Wings

10. Brandon Buffalos

Story:

On January 5, 1975, Greg Peterson passed away, his brother Jake takes over the club. One of Greg’s requests is to have his brother change the team’s name. Jake will announce the team’s new name comes to the 1975 off-season. The team put a patch with “GP” on both jerseys to honour Greg.

The new team, the Kenora Pioneers, surprised many critics with some good key wins, including winning the season series against the defending Jade Trophy champions Brandon Buffalos (2-1-1.) The team played well enough to finish 8th place and becoming the first team in WCLH history to make it to the playoffs on their first season.

Thanks to that history by the Pioneers, another one was made but not in a pretty way for the Buffalos. They lost their players from expansion drafts to Pro hockey drafts during the off-season. The team went through a rough season, including a 15-game losing streak that landed them in the last place, making them the first team in WCLH history to ever miss the playoffs after winning the Jade Trophy title a season ago.

Fargo made a big jump this season thanks to their goalie Shawn McNaughton of Grand Forks ND, with 20 wins and eight shutouts, the highest made by a goalie to this date. Owls rookie Tom Gregson made an impression with 25 goals, 32 assists. It would not be enough for the Owls to get swept by the Cats in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

3rd time was a charm for the Cougars as they seeded 1st for the third season in a row and went all the way to the finals beating the Saskatoon Cats 3 to 1 to win their first Jade Trophy title since winning the title in 1965.

1974 CIHA Off-season

Expansion Draft

It’s the day that many fans are excited about and the team GM’s nightmare as the rules go the Expansion teams can take two players from each current team unless they can trade them for late draft picks (round 4 to 6) to make things scarier the expansion team gets early access to tryout camps to find that right players/goalies to be part of their team.

WCLH

Moose Jaw Wings

1. F - Jake Oak, Brandon

2. D - Ed Queen, Nanaimo

3. G - Keith Sanders, Saskatoon

4. F - Alex Grant, Abbotsford

5. F - Paul Russell, Brandon

Kenora Pioneers

1. F - Peter Ekman, Brandon

2. G - John Dickerson, Brandon

3. F - Don Jones, Medicine Hat

4. D – Chris Dawson, North Battleford

5. D – Kevin Holly, Lethbridge

OMJHA

Barrie Admirals

1. F - Jack Farrell, Milton

2. F – Brian Bedford, Kitchener Generals

3. G – James Roy, Waterloo

4. D – Blake Hunt, Guelph

5. F – Lawson West, Kitchener Generals

Oshawa Diamonds

1. F – Doug Lyle, Kitchener Legionnaires

2. D – Ronald Haas, Owen Sound

3. F – Dusty Armstrong, Oakville

4. G – Danny Caldwell, Burlington

5. D – Joe Wright, Oakville

AQHL

New Glasgow Highlanders

1. F - Jaune Gill, Sherbrooke

2. G - Guy Dionne, Drummondville

3. D - Jean Guevremont, Trois-Rivieres

4. D - Brian Briere, Laval

5. D - Ian Ward, Portland

Verdun Knights

1. D - Denis Parizeau, Trois-Rivieres

2. F - Alain Charbonneau, Laval

3. G - Daniel Blanchard, Sherbrooke

4. F - Marc-Jean Belanger, Moncton

5. F - Aaron Richards, Fredericton

1974 AQHL Draft

This year was a surprise for the Titans fans, where the team received the 1st pick, and former 1st picked Rey LeClair from Fredericton for a 2nd pick and goalie Max DePaul, the Titians select forward Halifax native Mark Lewis. At the same time, the Vikings take forward Phillip Neuville from Blainville QC. And Moncton picks defence Rick Wyn from Summerside PEI.

1974 OMJHA Draft

Guelph's 1st pick was Rick Donaldson, a forward from North York who made an impression on the team good enough to give the Crusaders a chance to get out of the bottom of the standings. Owen Sound picked forward Fred Norm of Guelph, hoping for some signs of a proper rebuild after losing 4 of their top players to the expansion draft. The Micmacs tried to trade their 3rd pick to the Generals for a veteran defenseman after losing Hal Russell. The Generals shot the offer down. So, the Macs gave the same offer to the Legionnaires, and they took it, which led to a pick that reignites their feud with the Generals as they pick Gerald Herbco’s son John Herbco a power forward from Thamesville, Ontario. The pick did not sit well with the higher-ups of the Generals. The Generals are hoping that they would not make any more mistakes mainly in the next two years when Gerald’s other son Patrick who’s been on top of the game and ready to hit the juniors and hopes to be part of the Generals like his father was in his junior days.

1974 WCLH Draft

The Crusaders were one of 3 teams that got lucky to not feel the expansion draft's effects as they select Red Deer Alberta’s Ron Stevens, a scoring defenseman that could give the team a big offence push. The Hawks took Raymond Taylor, a forward from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, to help the team’s captain Al Gordon after losing his brother Jim from the expansion draft. Fargo may have got themselves a star player with their pick of Tom Gregson from Winnipeg, MA. He played forward very well and got the character that owner Ed Jackson and the fans would like to see and bring the Owls to the top of the WCLH.

News

Both the CIHA President Joseph McGeorge and the Name brothers announced that beginning in the 1974-75 season, all players in their leagues must wear helmets, no ifs or buts about it. The rule is to keep the players safe from any head injuries moving forward. For the owner of the Waterloo Maroons, Guy Perry, its closure for his brother, who suffered a career-ending head injury in 1949. Since then, he’s been pushing for helmets to be mandatory “it’s what should have happened a long time ago; I believe that this is a change that needs to be done.” Guy said.

The CIHA President Joseph McGeorge named Montreal QC as the host for the 1975 Valor cup tournament. Montreal was supposed to host the 1974 tournament. But, other event schedules for that year were put to kibosh. The 1975 Valor Cup should not go through any problems this time around.

WCLH news put the fears on everyone, including the Nanaimo Greyhounds fans, as the team’s owner Greg Peterson was diagnosed with lung cancer. It is unknown if he makes it through or not for the time being. His brother Jake Peterson would take ownership of the team if Greg passed away. Jake was best known for being the team’s GM and one of the reasons why the Greyhounds won both the 1973 Jade Trophy and the Valor Cup. He wanted to own a team, but a few issues kept him from owning one.

1974 Valor Cup tournament

 1974 Valor Cup tournament: Toronto, Ontario

Standings

Sherbrooke Loups: 4 W, 0 L

Burlington Metros: 2 W, 2 L

Brandon Buffalos: 0 W, 4 L

Story

For the 2nd year in a row, the Valor Cup tournament is playing in the Toronto Forum in Toronto, Ontario. Before the match started, the League had a banquet at the Toronto Sparkle Hall with the Name brothers announcing the names of the six new teams coming in for the 1974-75 season.

Paul Name, the AQHL president, was the first to announce the names for the two teams from Verdun QC. They are called the “Verdun Knights.” From New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, the team’s name is the “New Glasgow Highlanders.”

The OMJHA president Franklin Name welcomes the League from Barrie after many fan votes; the team’s name will be the “Barrie Admirals.” Oshawa named their team the “Oshawa Diamonds,” the same name as the team was called since the 1930s until the team folded in 1969 due to the passing of Jack O’Brian.

WCLH president James Name did not waste time and announce the two teams are the “Moose Jaw Wings” and the “Kenora Pioneers.” Moose Jaw Wings, named in honor of the Royal Canadian Air Force. For the town of Kenora, the Pioneers is the team’s new name from a “name a team contest” and voted the best name.

Sherbrooke went perfect for the 2nd time, while the Metros went split 2 apiece, and the Buffalos did not do so well, ending in winless. The tournament rule goes if the 3rd seeded team goes winless; they are eliminated.

With the Buffalos out of the picture, it is just the Metros vs the Loupes. It was a back and forth in both the first and the second period, but in the 3rd period, the Loupes top star forward Jaune Dupont score three straight goals as the Loupes takes it 6-3 over the Metros to win the 1974 Valor cup championship, Jaune Dupont is named the 1974 Valor Cup MVP.

1973-74 AQHL Season

 

1. Sherbrooke Loups

2. Cape Breton Warriors

3. Drummondville Les Rouges

4. Laval Tigers

5. Portland Clippers

6. Moncton Bears

7. Trois-Rivieres Titans

8. Fredericton Vikings

Story:

In Moncton, the folks were in shock with the news that the ownership of the Bears had change hands when Todd Lowe sold the team to Ron and Don the Reese brothers, even bigger news to everyone in Moncton, the brothers announced the team is going back to the team’s old colours of brown and white for the first time since the 50s. The previous owners had been buying hand-me-downs jerseys, even when the team played the entire 1969-70 season wearing pink.

Another announcement is next season. Both Verdun QC and New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, are the League’s new additions. The names for both teams will announce during the 1974 Valor Cup tournament.

One year after missing the playoffs due to lack of wins, this time, the Vikings won 8 games, enough to make it to the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Vikings got eliminated by Sherbrooke in 2 games, with both ended in overtimes.

After the 1st round, the Loups went on sweeping the Portland Clippers in the 2nd round and then lastly claim their 2nd straight Bronz Cup title by sweeping Cape Breton Warriors in 3 games. With that victory, the Loups are heading back to the Valor cup tournament.

1973-74 OMJHA Season

1973-74 standings

1. Kitchener Legionnaires

2. Kitchener Generals

3. Waterloo Maroons

4. Burlington Metros

5. Oakville Oaks

6. Milton Micmacs

7. Owen Sound Arrowbirds

8. Guelph Crusaders

Story:

Once again, the OMJHA had a successful season, and once again, both the Legionnaires and the Generals top the League. The only difference is both switched places as the Generals dropped to 2nd, while the Legionnaires take 1st place.

While other teams had success with attendance but not for the Guelph Crusaders, what is worse for the team is that a Guelph Jr. B team got better attendance than the Crusaders. Jack Doan, the team’s owner, hopes that trading draft picks for some better-experienced players and a new look for next season will turn the team around.

It is official, both Barrie and Oshawa are getting their teams in time for the 1974-75 season. For Oshawa, it is their return to the OMJHA after the original team folded in 1969. The city of Barrie is happy to have an OMJHA team in their area as the Barrie Ice Arena is complete and ready to be played. The 1974 Valor Cup tournament will be the event that both teams will announce their names.

The Metros make it back to back for the first time in team history as they played all 5 games and beat the Waterloo Maroons 3 to 2.

1973-74 WCLH Season

 

1973-74 standings

1. Lethbridge Cougars

2. Nanaimo Greyhounds

3. Saskatoon Cats

4. Brandon Buffalos

5. Abbotsford Forest Kings

6. Fargo Owls

7. Medicine Hat Hawks

8. North Battleford Crusaders

Story:

1973-74 season came in strong in a big way all eight teams played very well, and a lot of scouts from the pro hockey leagues are keeping their eyes on the Cougars rookie forward Cliff Burns, a Brooks Alberta native who scored 22 goals, 61 points in 40 games including his 8 points performance on February 24, 1974, as the Cougars blew the Hawks out of the water with a 10-2 win in Lethbridge.

On March 2, 1974, the WCLH announced that Moose Jaw Saskatchewan and Kenora Ontario are the new expansion teams for the 1974-75 season. The names for both new teams will announce during the 1974 Valor Cup tournament.

Just like last year, all eight teams will be in the playoffs.

The Greyhounds made a significant improvement from last year, placing in 2nd place and went all the way to the Jade Trophy finals.

Despite a big improvement, the Greyhounds were 2 wins short as the Brandon Buffalos took the series and the Jade Trophy championship 3 to 1.

1973 CIHA Off-season

 

The League had Montreal, QC to host the 1974 Valor Cup tournament, but the arena that they were supposed to play in was purchased by the Montreal Pro Hockey Club and turning it into a practice facility, so with that, Toronto, ON will once again host the tournament come 1974. The Name brothers and CIHA president Joseph McGeorge had meetings with their leagues about changing to adding rules to adding more teams. The brothers and Joseph McGeorge have agreed to add six more teams, two in each league for the 1974-75 season.

So far in the WCLH, the possible candidates’ locations are Surrey B.C. Red Deer Alberta, Moose Jaw Saskatchewan, and too surprised everyone Kenora Ontario. The two cities not on the list are Regina, Saskatchewan due to it being a minor pro league team playing under the Minnesota Pro hockey club farm system, and Victoria B.C. is the Vancouver pro hockey club’s Minor pro league affiliate club.

In OMJHA, the only two cities that are on target for expansion are Barrie and Oshawa. Mississauga was initially on the list, but the city is more focused on getting a minor league team set shop with Toronto Pro Hockey club as their contract with Brampton is set to expire after the 1973-74 season. The cities that are not on the list are Brantford, Stratford, Woodstock and London because those cities are in their rival’s territory, the South West Ontario Hockey League (SWOHL.)

Over at AQHL, Granby QC, Verdun QC, Saint John NB, and New Glasgow NS are on the list to be part of the expansion. The league will cut down to two teams, one in Quebec and one in the Maritimes. In New Hampshire, Manchester is hungry for a hockey team as John Rome lost his minor pro league ownership as Boston pro hockey club took his team and sent them to Lowell, Massachusetts. Luckily for Rome is a good friend with the Portland Clippers, Ted Wilkens, who spoked highly about him and hopes to bring AQHL to Manchester, New Hampshire, down the road.

1973 CIHA Valor Cup

 

Standings

Sherbrooke Loups: 4 W, 0 L.

Burlington Metros: 1 W, 3 L.

Nanaimo Greyhounds: 1 W, 3 L.

Story:

The Valor Cup tournament kicked off at the Toronto Forum in Toronto. Both Metros and Greyhounds had hard times in the round-robin with both finished with 1-3 record. In comparison, the Loups played comfortably with a 4-0 record. What’s rubbed both the Greyhounds and the Metros the wrong way was at a motel next door beside them was the Sherbrooke Loups room celebrating, the Loups believes that they are going to be the first Valor Cup champions chanting “PREMIERS CHAMPIONS!” which translate first champions. Unhappy with it, both teams used it as motivation.

The semi-round between the Greyhounds and Metros was a great game as Greyhounds forward Eric Dunn scored 2 goals, 2 assists to help the Greyhounds win 4-3 after coming back from being behind 3-1 after the 2nd period. 

The Greyhounds shocked the world as they beat the Sherbrooke Loups 3-1 to become the first-ever CIHA Valor cup champions lead by the first Valor Cup MVP forward Eric Dunn who had 1 goal, 2 assists.

1972-73 AQHL Season

 

1972-73 standings

1^st: Sherbrooke Loups

2^nd: Laval Tigers

3^rd: Cape Breton Warriors

4^th: Moncton Bears

5^th: Drummondville Les Rouges

6^th: Portland Clippers

7^th: Trois-Rivieres Titans

8^th: Fredericton Vikings

Story:

Paul Name had a long road trip from Moncton to Laval during the league’s season opener. At Moncton, the Bears got the win from Trois-Rivieres 4-2, while Laval lost big time by Sherbrooke 7-2.

The Playoffs format and several games for each round are the same as the WCLH, but for seeding the 8^th place team, they must have at least more than five wins to be in the playoffs. The Fredericton Vikings were in a must-win in hopes of being in the playoffs sadly; on their last game of the season, the Vikings failed to get one more win as they lost 4-3 to the Portland Clippers. The Vikings record of 5 wins, 28 losses and 7 ties. The Loups got themselves a first-round bye.

The Sherbrooke Loups is the league’s best teams as they finished with 35 wins, followed by three losses and two ties, making a total of 72 points. The Loups went on winning the Bronz cup title by beating the Laval Tigers 3 games to 1 and advanced to the Valor Cup in Toronto, Ontario.

1973 Playoffs

1^st Round (best 2 of 3 games)

1^st Sherbrooke Loups: bye

2^nd Laval Tigers: 2 - 7^th Trois-Rivieres Titans: 0

3^rd Cape Breton Warriors: 2 - 6^th Portland Clippers: 1

5^th Drummondville Les Rouges: 2 - 4^th Moncton Bears: 1

2^nd Round (best 2 of 3 games)

1st Sherbrooke Loups: 2 - 5th Drummondville Les Rouges: 0

2nd Laval Tigers: 2 - 3rd Cape Breton Warriors: 1

Bronz Cup finals (best 3 of 5 games)

1st Sherbrooke Loups: 3 - 2nd Laval Tigers: 1