CIHA Jerseys reveal

Many fans at the Valor Star Tournament in Ottawa saw new uniform sets for all teams, including two new teams in the OMJHA, all made by KI-LO. Some got new jerseys design, while a few just got logo updates to have brand-new logos. Only 13 teams carried their current design over to the KI-LO jersey system.

The AQHL was the first league to showcase the sets; Laval, New Glasgow, and Shawinigan sets are still the same and have no plans for any changes to their jerseys until further notice.

Cape Breton Warriors

For the first time in the team's history, the home and road jerseys have the same design; the road is the same, while on the home jersey, the sleeve numbers are now white with orange trim.

Drummondville Les Rouges

The Les Rouges went back in time as their set is based on their glory days in the old Quebec Junior Hockey League. On this set are simple stripes with oversized cuffs; the TV numbers sit on the shoulders because the stripes take the whole arms.

Fredericton Vikings

Their uniforms are still the same, but their updated logo became the talk. The Viking helmet on the home is purple with orange "V" and white "F" as the horns are white. On the road, the helmet is white with an orange "V," and the "F" is silver.

Manchester Americans

The stripes on the arms are thinner, just enough for the TV numbers to move from the shoulders to the arms.

Moncton Bears

The Bears showed off their updated logo, replacing the pentagon around the paw with a nameplate that says "BEARS" with thick trims around the logo. They also add a logo (minus the nameplate and wide trims) on the shoulders.

Portland Clippers

The arms, hem and socks got thick stripes and thin trim stripes. The logo gains a trim around it. The numbers on both now got two trims around it.

Sherbrooke Loups

The Loups introduced their new logo with the team playing in a brand-new arena. A circle logo with a wolf paw and a moon with the letter "S" on it. The jersey design is the same, but the stripe on the arms is now straight.

Trois-Rivieres Titans

The Titans add a small "T" on top of the big "T" logo to represent their 1976-77 CIHA Valor Cup championship. The home jersey has three thick stripes with two thin strips together, while the road has just two stripes and no sign of white whatsoever.

Verdun Knights

The home and road jerseys have the same stripes design, but it has no yokes, the collars have only one colour, and both maroon and gold on the stripes switched roles.

Next is the OMJHA to show off. With the league now at 14 teams, only 6 teams (Barrie, Legionnaires, Oakville, Orangeville, Owen Sound and Waterloo) kept their set the same while the rest showed off their new look.

Buffalo Bees

The stripes on the arms and hem are a little thinner, the TV numbers are moved from the shoulders to the sleeves, and the primary logo has a thick trim around it.

Burlington Metros

Burlington showed off their new logo featuring a building behind the "METROS" wordmark. One tower got two hockey sticks, and the other got numbers (2,3 and 6) that are a nod to the first 3 stars Patrick William (2,) Chris Petersons (3,) and Joe Tilburg (6), who were part of the back-to-back Smyth Cup run and the trio went on to a so-far successful run in the pros. The jersey designs got no yokes and added grey to the stripes. The numbers changed to a different font with a trim and a drop shadow trim to go with it.

Kitchener Generals

Both Jerseys got a cuff stripe along with a stripe on the socks. The road jersey no longer got a white yoke, but the collar is now white.

Milton Micmacs

The logo had thick trim around it with red and gold only, and it would switch roles on both home and road. The home jersey is the same, but the numbers no longer got trimmed around it. The road has no sign of white whatsoever. The pants just got two thin gold stripes.

Oshawa Diamonds

The arms, hem, and socks on home would have three stripes, just like the road jersey.

Peterborough Braves

The Braves set got simple stripes on the arms, hem, and socks. The numbers and the nameplate are blue with red trim, while on the road, the nameplate is gold with red trim, and the numbers are red with gold trim. The road jersey got a red yoke and gold collar; as for the home jersey, no sign of colour on the yoke, but the collar is blue.

Toronto Hornets

The logo is based on a front grill from Hornet Motors' top-selling car, the "Shark," but it is hockey sticks instead of shark fins on top of the grill. The jersey colours are classy navy blue, silver, and gold.

Toronto Neon

The big "N" with neon colours around it as trim is the team's logo. On the home, it got a big black stripe with thin neon colours inside the stripe. The road jersey's neon colours (including white) stripes are thicker. The most out of the box on this jersey are the colours for the numbers; on the one arm, the numbers are neon green, the other arm is neon pink, and the number on the back is neon yellow.

 

Finally, at the WCLH, many show off their new looks except for Billings, Kenora, Portage la Prairie, and Swift Current, who choose to carry their current design over to KI-LO.

Abbotsford Forest Kings

The 1980 Valor Cup champions had changed their look not too much. The stripes changed on both home and road, the current logo gained a trim so fans can see it better, the pants are now black, and finally, on the road, numbers are black with white and gold trims, unlike their previous road was white with black and gold trims.

Brandon Buffalos

The Buffalos introduce their new logo, and the helmets are now white for both home and road. The jerseys got a thick stripe and two thin trims on the arms, the hem, and the socks.

Fargo Owls

The Fargo Owls were among many that made the most significant change to their look. Black is nowhere to be seen. The brown is darker, and the orange is slightly brighter. The new logo is a giant "F" with the name and an owl sitting inside of it. The Jersey design is still the same but just brown and orange, the pants are brown with orange stripes, and the helmets are orange.

Lethbridge Cougars

For only the 1980-81 season, the Cougars will wear special jerseys for this occasion as part of the 75th anniversary. The home jersey, the team, paid homage to their first-ever season in 1905 with the word "Cougars" across the number "75" under it. The road jersey is based on their first season as part of the WCLH, but instead of the wordmark, it is the team's current logo, with the numbers being silver.

 Medicine Hat Hawks

The Hawks got a simple change as the arms, hem, and socks got two stripes; the rest is still the same.

Moose Jaw Wings

The jerseys are still the same, but the helmets are now white, and the one thing that everyone is talking about is the pants are now white with red and blue stripes; there are many questions about the move, and even James Name is not a big fan of white pants and hopes that it will change very soon.

Nanaimo Sharks

The logo is updated by replacing the "HC" with the letter "N" on the background behind the "SHARKS" wordmark. Simple straight stripes on the arms, hem, and socks. The colours are the same, but the black is dropped for now.

Saskatoon Cats

The biggest questions made by many about the Cats rebrand is the logo, which is a smiling cat missing some teeth and a big black eye, the secondary logo is the same, but the face is replaced with the letter "S." The KI-LO jersey design group got their work cut out, but Trevor the head design team got an idea. The arms and the hem got two stripes and in between the stripes are checkerboards.

1980 Valor Star Tournament

 1980 Valor Star Tournament (Ottawa, ON) (Arena: Ottawa Civic Forum)

Many fans got a treat; during the round-robin, many fans not only got the chance to watch all four teams showcase talents but also got a tour at the Ottawa Royal Banquet Hall as they witnessed a hall of jerseys, but they were not just jerseys; they were KI-LO jerseys that all three leagues are going to wear for the 1980-81 season.

Team CIHA had some strong offence, but the lack of defence hurt them as they won only one out of six games. “We didn’t do well at this tournament. We are a young group that hasn’t clicked on the defence side of the game; in the end, we had a great experience in this tournament, and everyone is going to keep an eye on these young guns closer than ever.” Team CIHA coach Leon Cowern said at the round-robin post-interview.

Team WCLH and Team AQHL battled back and forth to finish 2nd place. WCLH suffered a heartbreaking loss to AQHL (2-1) in the first game against each other. Their second game against each other was a controversial 3-3 tie game where the WCLH had a lead but one call by the referee that gave the AQHL the penalty shot instead of a power play with 1:19 left in the third period. Both got the same record of 2-3-1, but Team AQHL took second place while Team WCLH finished third place.

Team OMJHA top the tournament with a perfect 6-0-0 record with their top stars in their roster, forwards scoring goals, defence keeping the opponents from getting to the net, and the goalies were brick walls as 4 of their six wins were shutouts. Team OMJHA is determined to win it all in Ottawa.

In the semi-finals, Team OMJHA shut out Team CIHA for the third time in the tournament; unlike the last two matchups were blowouts (8-0, 10-0), they scored only two goals, but they were enough as Team OMJHA moved on to the finals with the score of 2-0. Team AQHL and Team WCLH battled back and forth to a 4-4 tie game going into overtime. With 5:33 left in overtime, Team WCLH Matthew Atlas scored the overtime winner as Team WCLH beat Team AQHL 5-4. In the finals, it was all Team OMJHA as they kept on the offence all over Team WCLH; as the clock hit zero, Team OMJHA celebrated with a 5-1 win and was named the Valor Star champions.

1980 Off-season part 2: News

New CIHA President Randy Howard had been checking out all three league drafts this year, and he saw some numbers of players from Europe being drafted. He may consider putting together an import draft, but the numbers are not big enough. But if more Europe players are being drafted next year, then Randy and the trio presidents would be in a meeting about creating the import draft.

With new uniforms made by the KI-LO, all three Presidents announced that teams will have to wear white jerseys in their home games and dark uniforms for road games. The only teams that did not sit well with them were the Lethbridge Cougars, who wore their green jerseys at 90% of all their home and road games, and the Saskatoon Cats were at 90% of both home and road games in white. 

After rumours turned into real news, James Name announced that two new teams would be added to the WCLH. The two teams are from B.C., one from Chilliwack and the other from Surrey. Both got arenas to play in, and the owners successfully put together a staff. The only thing left for them is the expansion draft which will happen after the 1980-81 season; after that, both teams will be ready for the 1981-82 season.

The 1980-81 season marks the Lethbridge Cougars' 75th anniversary. Once started as an amateur pro club in the early 1900s until 1939, the team lost half of the roster to WW2. To keep the team afloat, they brought in some young players younger than 18. In 1946 WW2 ended, but the amateur pro league they were part of the ceased operation. They decided to change their status as a junior club with nowhere else to go and a roster full of under 18-year-old players. They played different junior leagues until, in 1950, they found a league to stay put known as the WCLH. One year into the WCLH, the Cougars won their first Jade Trophy by beating the league's first champions, the Edmonton Bulldogs; after that, they won four more titles before the league joined with 2 other leagues to form the CIHA. In 1975 the Cougars won their first Valor Cup championship. They will wear unique uniforms just for the 1980-81 season. After that, they will go back to their regular set.

It's official, Gerald Herbco is no longer the owner of the Kitchener Generals; the ownership belongs to Todd Holmes, it took 4 years for Todd to finish the purchase of the team, and with Todd now the team owner, the OMJHA rules go if became the owner of a club that person cannot be GM nor coach of the team with that Todd announced that Tyler Shaw will be the new G.M. of the Kitchener Generals, Tyler used to be assistant G.M. with the Barrie Admirals. The Generals will move forward into the Todd Holmes era without Patrick Herbco as he chose to commit to a pro hockey career as he got drafted by the Ottawa pro hockey club 5th overall.

The Kitchener Generals are not the only team that the ownership changed hands; it was announced that Patrick Tobin has sold the Oshawa Diamonds to Prime Motors, and the President of Prime Motors said in an interview that they are going to rename the team after the 1980-81 season, many fans felt that they should keep the name. Still, at the same time, they understand because Hornet Co. got a vehicle named Diamond.

The day after the OMJHA draft, Franklin Name felt ill after meeting with doctors; he was diagnosed with heart disease. Two days after that, Franklin announced that he was stepping down from his job and named Tom Van Ryan the new President of the OMJHA. Tom is a big-shot lawyer from Toronto who got a good knowledge of the league, but many other owners felt that he is being too distracted over his vision of adding more teams which shows that within two weeks in his job, he said two teams for the 1982-83 season the locations are Brantford and Orillia. Many owners questioned his focus on growing the league than helping teams that had financial problems.

One team that is having financial issues is the Burlington Metros; despite sell-outs, games to even making a profit but for some odd reason, they are losing money which angered the team's owner John Lewis who demands answers on what is going on with the bank company, but Tom Van Ryan told John that everything will be okay and will find answers soon. There are signs that John Lewis could be jumping off the OMJHA wagon and joining the SWOHL; if that happens, it would be a big blow to the league in a bad way.

Paul Name got some good news; he found some businessmen putting some good money into building new arenas for Val-d'Or and Rouyn-Noranda. If things go well, both could start in time for the 1982-83 season. Many questions "what about other cities outside of Quebec?" so far, only one and that one is from Charlottetown P.E.I. the town still got a minor pro hockey team there, but after the 1981-82 season ends, that team will relocate elsewhere, and the town will join the AQHL for the 1983-84 season.

The Sherbrooke Loups office just moved into their brand-new arena named the Arena Commemorative de Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke Memorial Arena), with a capacity of 4000. It could add more seats to the arena if they want to. Allen Poulette Jr is happy with the new arena. "Today is a great day; ever since I took over the team from my father, my goal was for this team to get a new arena to be built, and I did just that now with the team is being rebuilt to be the top team in the league we will have a good run in our new arena." Allen Jr. said in an interview with the Sherbrooke Post. The team will also enter their new arena with a new look as the KI-LO jersey deal is required league-wide. The Loups took advantage of it along with other teams across the leagues, as their set will be showcased during the 1980 CIHA Valor Star Tournament.

1980 Off-season part 1: League Drafts and Expansion Draft

 1980 OMJHA Expansion Draft

With the addition of two new teams from the Toronto area, first Chris Warner came on stage and officially named his team the "Neon" after his company. Along with GM Paul McKeegan and head coach Warren Coyle, the trio went down to business and started drafting. Meanwhile, Herb Pickard has named his team the "Hornets" along with naming Rick Van Allen as GM and Gary Clancy, the team's first head coach. The Hornets went to work on building a dynasty.

Toronto Neon

1. Michael Campbell, F (Barrie)

2. Alex Myers, G (Oshawa)

3. Shane Lane, F (Orangeville)

4. Ian Henry, F (Oshawa)

5. Stan Chapman, D (Peterborough)

Toronto Hornets

1. James Colby, D (Barrie)

2. Adam Newhook, F (Waterloo)

3. Will Stell, F (Orangeville)

4. Collin Mitchell, F (Legionnaires)

5. Leo Berezan, D (Generals)

1980 WCLH Draft

GMs, Coaches, and Owners came together to pick the right players in hopes of improving to become champions. As many hockey reporters expected that defence Drew Eastwood from Regina, SK, got picked 1st by the Billings Trains, it is a first for the club to ever draft a defenceman in the first round. After losing two goalies, one from the pro hockey draft and one committed to college, the Hawks select goalie Sam Abbot from Portage la Prairie, MAN. The Hawks would draft another goalie in the 5th round after drafting three defencemen in hopes to improves the defence after a painful losing season. After missing the playoffs for the first time since 1960, the Cats need a rebuild, but unlike other teams that rebuild within 2 years and only last for 2 to 4 years to do it again, this time, the Cats will take time and put the pieces together starting with forward Nathen Faulk from Calgary, AB that could be one of many keys to the Cats chance to get themselves back on top. The surprised draft pick was made was the 1980 Valor Cup champions Abbotsford Forest Kings select forward Jon Hedberg; he lives in Calgary after he and his family moved from Tampere, Finland, to excel in his hockey career, he became the first European player to be drafted in the first round in WCLH history.

1. Billings – Drew Eastwood, D (Regina, SK)

2. Medicine Hat – Sam Abbot, G (Portage la Prairie, MAN)

3. Saskatoon – Nathen Faulk, F (Calgary, AB)

4. Swift Current – Denny Holbrook, D (Surry, BC.)

5. Moose Jaw – Jason Napier, D (Thunder Bay, ONT)

6. Portage la Prairie – Zachary Natyshak, F (Roseau, MIN)

7. Brandon – Peter York, F (West Fargo, ND.)

8. Lethbridge – Karl Fuhr, F (Winnipeg, MAN)

9. Fargo – David Favell, D (Prince Albert, SK)

10. Nanaimo – Greg Lalonde, G (Fort McMurry, AB)

11. Abbotsford – Jon Hedberg, F (Tampere, FIN)

12. Kenora – Luke Hay, G (Burnaby, B.C.)

1980 OMJHA Draft

In the aftermath of the expansion draft, teams scramble from trading players for draft picks to trading lower draft picks for a 2nd round pick. The Oaks selected an Oakville local forward, Jake Dahl, who tops all-Ontario hockey in scoring with 50 goals and 2nd highest points total of 132, "this kid is going to be big and will lead the Oaks to the top." Oaks head coach Leon Cowern said after drafting Jake. Bees GM Ryan Byron Jr. has been making good moves to get good picks, including trading a top player to the Kitchener Generals for a 1981 1st round pick and trading another top player to Owen Sound for another 1981 1st round draft pick which gives the Bees three 1st round draft picks for next year, for now, they only got one 1st round pick this year. They choose defence Floyd Currie from Hamilton; with that, the Bees are hoping for better goals against the average for the 1980-81 season. North York young gun forward Pat Fogolin is what the Peterborough Braves need to score more goals and hope to get themselves out of the bottom of the standings. The Burlington Metros successfully drafted defence Vic Housley after many OMJHA teams tried to recruit his brothers in the past, but their rival league, the SWOHL, took them.

1. Oakville – Jake Dahl, F (Oakville)

2. Buffalo – Floyd Currie, D (Hamilton)

3. Peterborough – Pat Fogolin, F (North York)

4. Milton –Paul Foote, G (Pickering)

5. Kitchener Legionnaires – Shane Stillman, F (Mississauga)

6. Kitchener Generals – Kevin McVon, F (Brampton)

7. Orangeville – Dave Fortier, D (Scarborough)

8. Owen Sound – Dirk Graves, G (Vaughan)

9. Oshawa – Adam Howell, F (Whitby)

10. Burlington – Vic Housley, D (Etobicoke) 

11. Waterloo – Nick Ross, F (St. Catharines)

12. Barrie – Ty Joly, F (Orillia)

1980 AQHL Draft

The first round was interesting. The first five picks featured top players from Quebec, three picks from Nova Scotia, one from New Brunswick, one from PEI, one from Maine, and one from New Hampshire. Drummondville selected forward Lou Baillargeon from Verdun, QC, who played very well in the Jr.B level; his 60 goals and 109 points are what the Les Rouges need to get back on top. The Laval Tigers got themselves a scoring forward from Levis, QC. Alex Chouinard is the Tigers' pick in the process of a rebuild after losing six players from Pro Hockey drafts to collages; in the next two years, the Tigers will be contenders again. The Shawinigan Voltages take defence Shawn Meighan from Longueuil, QC; his enforcer style could help the Volts get themselves out of the bottom of the standings next season. Moncton Bears lost their goalie Herb Hoy as he committed to McGill University; they need a strong goalie in a big way, and they got one from Waterville, Maine, Seth Taylor, who was supposed to be in the top 3 for this year's draft after winning 26 out of 35 games with 8 shutouts, to even consider to be the first goalie to be drafted but Keith Rice was taken by the Trois-Rivieres Titans.

1. Drummondville – Lou Baillargeon, F (Verdun, QC)

2. Laval – Alex Chouinard, F (Levis, QC)

3. Shawinigan – Shawn Meighan, D (Longueuil, QC)

4. Manchester – Roy Messier, F (Sainte-Foy, QC)

5. Fredericton – Dave Messier, F (Sherbrooke, QC)

6. Trois-Rivieres – Keith Rice, G (Oromocto, NB.)

7. Portland – Ron Renaud, D (Truro, N.S.)

8. Moncton – Seth Taylor, G (Waterville, Maine)

9. Sherbrooke – Lenny Tardif, G (Dartmouth, NS.)

10. New Glasgow – Brad Edmundson, D (Windsor, N.S.)

11. Cape Breton – Neil Eaton, F (Cornwall, P.E.I.)

12. Verdun – Mark Klatt, F (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

1980 CIHA Valor Cup tournament

 

Standings:

1. Barrie Admirals

2. Abbotsford Forest Kings

3. Verdun Knights

4. Nanaimo Sharks

Story:

Before the tournament began, all four teams came together at the Nanaimo Hall with the tournament's new rules and announcements. One of the new rules is that the 4th seed team can qualify for the semi-finals if they win 2 games of the now-expanded 6 games. If they cannot, they are eliminated, even if they win just one game, and the first-seed team moves on to the finals. Another announcement was that the Waterloo Maroons would host the 1981 CIHA Valor Cup tournament. The next one was the Valor Star tournament, an All-star event starting this June. Finally, CIHA President Joseph McGeorge announced that after both the Valor Cup and the Valor Star, he is no longer the CIHA President as he will hand that job over to Randy Howard, who is happy to take the role, "It is an honour to take a role to keep an eye on all three leagues, I'm excited to get to work with some of the best minds here at the CIHA."

Round-Robin

The Nanaimo Sharks started the tournament with a 2-1 win over the Barrie Admirals. The Sharks would win one more 4-2 over the Abbotsford Forest Kings. After that, they went on losing the last four games to finished 4th, luckily for them, they got 2 wins which they will play in the semi-finals. The Abbotsford Forest Kings and the Verdun Knights made history by ending their matchup in a 2-2 tie. They would face each other on the last day of the round-robin where Abbotsford beat Verdun in a 4-2 must-win game to go to the semi-finals as both finished with the same record of 2-3-1 with the Forest Kings win, they are placed 2nd while the Knights finished 3rd. The Barrie Admirals lost the tournament opener to the Nanaimo Sharks, but after that, they won the rest, including a 7-1 blowout win over the Sharks to finish 1st place with a 5-1 record.

Semi-Finals

Barrie Admirals vs. Nanaimo Sharks

In the first period, the Admirals were all over Shark's goalie Oscar Williams, 24 shots were made, and Oscar let in 4 goals as the first period ended. The Admirals were pretty much in a comfort zone. As the second period passed, the Sharks scored 2 goals, but the Admirals held on until the second period ended with a 4-2. The Admirals held their ground in the third period in a big way; as the clock turned to 1:34 left, Dylan Bouchard scored one more to complete a hat-trick, and with that, the game was over, and the Admirals are heading to the Valor Cup Championship beating the Sharks 5-2.

Abbotsford Forest Kings vs. Verdun Knights

Right off the gate, the Knights were firing shots from left to right until Josh Lucas finally scored a goal on Forest Kings goalie Frank Ford; the first period came to an end with the Knights on top 1-0. The Forest Kings came back as Ed Bram scored two goals, and the second period came to an end as the score was 2-1 Forest Kings. In the third, the Knights kept on shooting, but Frank Ford was holding his ground; as the clock was ticking away, the Knights pulled their goalie for an extra attacker to tie the game, but it didn't work as Luke White flipped the puck up in the air and slides right to the empty net, after that the third period came to an end and the Forest Kings wins it 3-1 and headed to the 1980 Valor Cup finals.

1980 Valor Cup Finals

Barrie Admirals vs. Abbotsford Forest Kings

Abbotsford had a hard time scoring against Barrie in the round-robin as the Admirals outscored the Forest Kings 9-2. In the first period, the Forest Kings may have finally found a way to outplay the Admirals as forward Jack Lazar, in his second season with the Forest Kings, scored a goal that the Admirals defence did not see it coming it raddle them good, as the first period came to an end with the score of 1-0. The second period was tight between the two teams; midway into the second, another Forest Kings player that the Admirals defence did not expect would be rookie forward Ryan Wedgewood, who sneaked into a breakaway and scored to make it 2-0. Everything fell apart for the Admirals as Ed Bram and Luke White scored two goals, and Barrie scored two goals. Still, it was too late as the horn sounded off to end the game with the score of 6-2, and the Abbotsford Forest Kings are the 1980 CIHA Valor Cup Champions. The Valor Cup MVP, Ed Bram, lifted the cup over his head in front of his teammates as the celebration began.

1979-80 AQHL Playoffs

Round 1

1st Verdun Knights vs. 8th Fredericton Vikings

The Knights top the league in a big way. While the Vikings squeeze themselves into this season's playoffs, the odds for the Vikings are not in their favour as the Knight swept them in the season series. In games one and two, the Knights pick up where they started in their season series with the Vikings as they took the first two games 6-2 and 4-1. In the last two games, the Knights finished off the Vikings by winning game three 6-2 and game four 7-2 to win the series 4 games to none.

2nd Cape Breton Warriors vs. 7th Trois-Rivieres Titans

Last season both battled for the Bronz Cup. This season it is all about who will move to the 2nd round. Luke Davis scored two goals in-game one to give the Warriors a 4-1 win over the Titans. In-game two, the Titans scored, but it was not enough as Shane Abrams made 4 assists to give Cape Breton a 5-3 win. Trois-Rivieres Titans found no answers for games three and four as the Cape Breton Warriors took them down (5-2, 7-3) to complete the sweep 4 games to 0 to move on to the 2nd round.  

3rd New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 6th Portland Clippers

The New Glasgow Highlanders made their 2nd playoff appearance and hopes of getting their first playoff series win. While the Portland Clippers made their return after missing last season's playoffs and hopes of a playoff series win since 1974. Games one and two were Highlanders (4-2, 6-1) as Jaune Poulette made 10 points (3G, 7A) to give the Highlanders two games to none lead. In Portland, the Clippers turned it around in the third period to force overtime, but the Highlanders Kyle Patrick scored the overtime winner 4-3 to take three games to none lead. In-game four, the Clippers did it again, but this time Frank Logan scored 2 straight goals to give the Clippers a 5-3 game four win to stay alive in this series. Back at New Glasgow, the Highlanders took game five into their hands as Jaune Poulette scored 2 goals, Kyle Patrick scored two goals as well; the biggest was Guy Dubois made 4 assists, the highest in his hockey career as New Glasgow won it 5-2 and move on to the 2nd round for the first time in team history with the series win 4 games to 1.

4th Sherbrooke Loups vs. 5th Moncton Bears

Fans came together in the jampack Patinoire de Sherbrooke as the Loups were ready for what they were hoping for a deep playoff run one last time before saying goodbye to the old barn, but the Bears had other ideas. The Bears played very well in game one as they held the Loups off with a 4-2 win. In-game two, the Loups got revenge as they blanked the Bears 5-0 to even the series one game apiece and headed over to Moncton. In-game three in Moncton, the Bears and the Loups battled all the way to overtime. In the end, Bears forward Andrew Jones, who has been quiet all season, made some noise in this series and scored the overtime winner as Moncton took the series lead with a game three win 3-2. Game four was like game three, it went all the way to overtime, and just like game three, Andrew Jones scored the O/T winner 4-3 to take the series lead three games to one. In Sherbrooke, the Loups are in a hole going into game five, but they are not going down on their turf as Christian Dupont leads the Loups with 5 points (2G, 3A) in a 6-3 win to force game six after the game fans stood up and gave the Loups a standing ovation as the Loups heads to Moncton for game six in hopes to force a game seven. Even thou the Loups got more goals than the Bears in this series, it was not enough as Moncton beat the Loups 3-1 game six win, thanks to Andrew Jones 3 goals to end the Loups season and move on to the 2nd round with the series win 4 games to 2.

Round 2

1st Verdun Knights vs. 5th Moncton Bears

The Knights are one series away from going to the finals, but the problem is both Josh Lucas and Max Victor both are on injured reserve, and Nick Leflamme got the flu, so they are short 3 stars which could be what the Bears need to get payback from being swept from last season. In-game one, the Bears had a big lead after the first period with a score of 4-0; when the second period started, the Knights fought back as rookie forward Tom Acomb made 2 goals and an assist to make it 4-3 as the second period came to an end, the third period started, and the Knights tied it thanks to defence Rob Grand-Pierre scored it, with 2:14 left in the third forward Larry Kuntz scored the game-winner as the Knights take game one 5-4. In-game number two, the Knight's top three stars are still on the IR list, but the Bears had a hard time scoring goals against rookie goalie Andre Perreault was a brick wall after letting in 4 goals from game one, as the first period turned to the second period, Tom Acomb scored a goal, followed by Rob Grand-Pierre one goal to make it 2-0, as the third period ticking down the Bears did everything, they can to do to score at least one goal but Andre Perreault held on as the third period came to an end, and the rookie goalie made history by becoming the youngest goalie to earn a playoff shutout at the age of 15, the final score 3-0. Andre Perreault may let in just 3 goals, but the Knights scored 6 goals as they take game three from Moncton 6-3. Before game four, news came out that Nick Leflamme was healthy and ready. Still, Knights head coach Nathen Giguere chose to sit him out to be prepared for the Bronz Cup championship. So Andre Perreault got the nod to start, the Bears did score 2 goals, but the Knights scored 4 goals thanks to the returning duo of Josh Lucas (2G, 1A) and Max Victor (1G, 3A) for a game four win 4-2 as the for the second year in a row the Verdun Knights swept the Moncton Bears 4 games to 0.

2nd Cape Breton Warriors vs. 3rd New Glasgow Highlanders

The battle of Nova Scotia could not be higher than ever as the winner of this series will go to the Bronz Cup championship. In-game one, the Warriors' Luke Davis made 5 points (2G, 3A) in a 6-2 win. But in game two, the Highlanders take it with a 4-1 win thanks to Jaune Poulette's 4 points (2G, 2A) game playing. In-game three, the Warriors came back on top 3-1 win over the Highlanders. In-game four, the Highlanders tied the series up with a 5-2 win over the Warriors. In Cape Breton, Shane Abrams made only 3 points (1G, 2A), but it was enough for the Warriors 3-2 win to take game five. Highlanders Kyle Patrick helped the team with his 4 points (2G, 2A) performance to even the series with a 4-2 game six win. It is all come down to game seven. It was a back and forth in both the first and the second periods. Going into the third period, the Warriors had the lead 4-2 until Guy Dubois shocked everyone by scoring two straight goals to tie it up; 3:21 left into the third, Jaune Poulette scored the tie-breaker goal to give the Highlanders a lead, as the clock ticking away the Warriors pulled their goalie for an extra attacker to try to tie the game, but it was too late as the clock hit zero, the Highlanders win game seven 5-4 to win the series 4 games to 3, and for the first time in the team's five years of existence the New Glasgow Highlanders are going to the Bronz Cup Championship.

1980 Bronz Cup Championship

1st Verdun Knights vs. 3rd New Glasgow Highlanders

The Verdun Knights are in the Bronz Cup finals for the second time in the team's history. For New Glasgow, it is their first shot for their first championship win. In Verdun, the Knight's top goalie Nick Leflamme is back between the pipes after missing out on the 2nd round from the flu. His performance was like in round one held off shots throughout the game. Larry Kuntz scored two goals in the third period as the Knights took game one with a 3-0 shutout win. In-game two, the Highlanders kept the Knights from scoring but not enough, as Max Victor scored a game-winner in a 1-0 win. In New Glasgow, both teams' defence held up as the third period ended and headed into overtime. Five minutes left in overtime, Larry Kuntz got a breakaway and scored the winner as the Knights won game three in overtime 1-0. Game number four was back and forth in the first period; as the second period started, the Knights Josh Lucas scored two goals within a minute; after that, they held the Highlanders off all the way to the end of the game, and the Verdun Knights celebrated with the 2-0 game four wins, the series 4 games to 0, and Josh Lucas rise the Bronz Cup as the 1980 AQHL Bronz Cup Champions. The Knights will rest for the next two days. After that, they are heading to Nanaimo, BC, for the 1980 Valor Cup tournament.

1979-80 AQHL Season

 

Standings

1. Verdun Knights (QUE)

2. Cape Breton Warriors (ATL)

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3. New Glasgow Highlanders (ATL)

4. Sherbrooke Loups (QUE)

5. Moncton Bears (ATL)

6. Portland Clippers (ATL)

7. Trois-Rivieres Titans (QUE)

8. Fredericton Vikings (ATL)

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9. Manchester Americans (ATL)

10. Shawinigan Voltages (QUE)

11. Laval Tigers (QUE)

12. Drummondville Les Rouges (QUE)

Story:

At one point, the Verdun Knights were the only Quebec division team in the playoffs pictures until the Sherbrooke Loups made a big 20-game winning streak out of their final 25 games (20-1-4) to finish 4th overall. The Trois-Rivieres Titans were also a Quebec division team that squeezed into playoffs with a 10-game unbeaten streak (7-0-3) in the final stretch to finish 7th. Shawinigan Voltages had won the last 10 games this season, but their 17-game losing streak earlier hurt them badly as they finished 10th. Laval Tigers took a dive out of the playoffs picture as they lost 3 key players to the pro leagues and 2 to season-end injuries, with a total of 5 players as the Tigers finished 11th.

This season mainly was all Atlantic division. The 1979 Bronz Cup champions Cape Breton Warriors may have topped the division but finished 2nd overall. Taking 3rd overall is the New Glasgow Highlanders, who made some excellent key wins, including a big season series sweep over the Sherbrooke Loups, which was a good thing after getting swept in the season series with Cape Breton. The Moncton Bears made an improvement from 8th last year to 5th this year and could be even better next year as they made a mid-season trade with the Laval; the Tigers received 3 players while the Bears got the 1980 1st round pick and the 1981 1st round, Bears co-owner Ron Reese said, "the Bears are going nowhere but to the top!" Portland Clippers made 22 points improvement, a big thanks to their 10-game winning streak. Both Fredericton Vikings and Manchester Americans battled for the final playoff spot, the Americans may get one win more than the Vikings, but points play in Fredericton's favour. In the end, the Vikings took 8th while the Americans finished 9th.

Cape Breton Warriors played all their home games at the Membertou Arena as the Warrior Arena getting some upgrades. Team owner Will Rollins announced a delay in completing the Arena upgrades, meaning that the Warriors must play their home playoff games in Membertou.

1979-80 OMJHA Playoffs

Round 1

Hero Division

1st Barrie Admirals vs. 4th Kitchener Generals

It is a rematch between the Barrie Admirals and the Kitchener Generals from last season's Hero Division finals. In-game one, Generals Patrick Herbco scored 3 goals in the first period, but in both second and third periods, the Admirals came back scoring 4 goals and with 0:39 left in the game, Admirals Seth Samuel scored an empty netter as Barrie took game one 5-3. In-game two, the Generals' forward Dave Ward was the one that scored 3 goals. In the second period, Admirals Herb Max-Louis scored two goals to make it 3-2; with 1:48 left in the third, Admirals Adam Hunter scored his first junior career playoff goal to tie the game and then the third period came to an end with the score of 3-3, twelves minutes into overtime Herb Max-Louis scored the first hat-trick of his junior playoff career as the Admirals win game two in overtime 4-3. The Generals Patrick Herbco scored 3 goals and 7 points to win a game three over the Admirals 7-5. Before game four happened, the Generals got some bad news, both Nick Hooker and forward Mike Stanley got called up by their own representative pro hockey teams (Nick with Toronto and Mike with the Edmonton) as both those teams are making a playoff push. With two players gone, the Generals would rework the lines to keep the momentum going, but that did not happen as the Admirals took game four 5-2. Patrick Herbco may score 3 goals for the Generals, but it was not enough as the Barrie Admirals won game five 6-3 and this series 4 games to 1.

2nd Burlington Metros vs. 3rd Oshawa Diamonds

Both teams got eliminated in the first round last season, one of them will more likely advance to the second round, and both are determined to do whatever it takes to win this series. The Oshawa Diamonds drew first blood thanks to their rookie goalie Simon Gibson who stepped up big time as he made 48 saves out of 50 shots to lead them to a 4-2 game one win. The Diamonds did it again in game two, but it took 2 overtimes to win game two, 3-2, thanks to Ian Henry, who scored the O/T winner. In-game three, The Diamonds dominated the Metros with a big 8-2 winner. The Diamonds got some bad news: their goalie Simon Gibson suffered low blood sugar, that the coaches were concerned about his heath, so they put him on the IR list and used backup Johnny Barron. The Metros took it to their advantage as they beat the Diamonds 4-2 game four wins to avoid the sweep. Burlington Metros kept their momentum going as they won game five 6-2 thanks to Matthew Walton and Nick Ryan, scoring 3 goals each. In-game six, the Diamonds had a big lead, 5-2, going into the third period when Mike Mellon got his game back after going cold mid-way into the season from injuries by scoring 3 straight goals to tie the game. 12 minutes in overtime, Mike Mellon scored his fourth goal for an overtime win 6-5, and the Metros came back from being down 3 games to none to force game seven. After recovering from having a scary low blood sugar Simon Gibson is back at the net for game seven and held his ground big time as Ian Henry did not score any goals. Still, he did make 3 assists as the Oshawa Diamonds avoided a disaster at the hands of the Metros 3-1 game seven win and the series 4 games to 3.

Steel Division

1st Waterloo Maroons vs. 4th Kitchener Legionnaires

Fans got themselves a match-up that they have been waiting for. The last time that both played each other in the playoffs was the 1969 Smyth Cup championship. Since then, they have not crossed paths in the playoffs until now. The Maroons take it 4-3 despite the Legionnaires giving them a run for their money. The Maroons win game two in overtime 3-2 after blowing a 2-0 lead in the third period. In-game three, the Legionnaires finally got a win over the Maroons 5-3 thanks to forward Rick Backs 1 goal and 3 points. In-game four, the Maroons had a hard time with the Legionnaires, trailing 4-2 going into the third period forward. Adam Newhook and Larry Arsenal scored a goal to tie the game and held on until the clock hit zero to end the third period. 10 minutes in the first overtime defence Collin Mitchell scored the overtime winner for the Legionnaires to even the series two games apiece with a 5-4. In-game five, the Maroons' Larry Arsenal’s 7 points (3G, 4A) performance was just what the Maroons needed as they won it big 7-3. The Legionnaires cannot find any answer as the Maroons win game six 5-2 thanks to Larry’s 3 goals and 4 points as the Waterloo Maroons win the series 4 games to 2 and move on to the Steel Division finals.

2nd Owen Sound Arrowbirds vs. 3rd Orangeville O’s

The Owen Sound Arrowbirds coming in this year's playoffs red hot, mainly have the best chance of winning this series over the Orangeville O’s, but one problem, or make that three problems, their top three players (D – Calvin Comrie, F – Andrew Beagle, and G – Alex Myers) got called up to the pros so the Arrowbirds could have a hard time. The Arrowbirds fear came to life as they struggled big time and lost game one to the O’s 4-2. The O’s took the Arrowbirds down again, winning game two 3-1. In-game three, the Arrowbirds had the lead 3-1 after the first two periods, but everything went downhill in the third period where the O’s scored three straight unanswered goals, all made by forward Shane Lane, as the O’s won it 4-3. The Orangeville O’s goalie Jack Glenn was a brick wall all game as the O’s shut out the Arrowbirds 2-0 to complete the sweep 4 games to none.

Hero Division Finals

1st Barrie Admirals vs. 3rd Oshawa Diamonds

Both teams entered their sixth season in the OMJHA, and one could win this series and head to their first ever Smyth Cup Championship appearance. The Barrie Admirals are determined to go to the championship, but the Diamonds have other ideas as they take game one 4-1 in front of a sell-out Barrie Forum. The Admirals bounce back from their loss in game one with a big game two wins 5-1 to even the series one game apiece. The Admirals kept their game going in game three with a 4-2-win led by forward Dylan Bouchard 3 goals and 4 points. In-game four, the Admirals had a 4-1 lead, but at 10:29 left in the third period, Diamonds forward Ian Henry made 3 points (1 G, 2 A) to tie the game, and the Diamonds held on until the clock hit zero and headed into overtime. Admirals forward Michael Campbell scored the winner with 3:44 into the overtime as Barrie Admirals are one away from punching the ticket to the championship with the game four 5-4 win. In-game five in Barrie, the Admirals goalie Jake Wilson let just one goal behind him early in the first period, but after that, he made saves, and defence James Colby scored a goal to tie the game in the second period. In the third period, Michael Campbell scored the game-winner as the Admirals won game five 2-1 and made their first Smyth Cup Championship appearance with 4 games to 1 series win.

Steel Division Finals

1st Waterloo Maroons vs. 3rd Orangeville O’s

The Waterloo Maroons got a chance of a lifetime to advance to the Smyth Cup finals for the first time since 1974, where they lost to the Burlington Metros. While the Orangeville O’s, in their 3rd season part of the league, have odds against them as the Maroons swept them in the season series, all four games the O’s lost to the Maroons were blowouts. Game number one, the Maroons Larry Arsenal made 5 points (1 G, 4 A) to give the team a big win over the O’s 6-2. Larry Arsenal did it again but only 4 points (2 G, 2 A) in a 5-3 game two win in Waterloo. In Orangeville, the Maroons got terrible news, Adam Newhook hurt his right shoulder and is out for game three, which the O’s took full advantage of as Shane Lane made 5 points (2 G, 3 A) as the O’s take game three with a 6-2 win. In-game four, the O’s did it again, this time winning it 4-2 and 3-2 in game five. Game six, however, was all Maroons as Adam Newhook came back from his shoulder injury that took longer than he expected and made a big 6 points (2 G, 4 A) as the Maroons beat the O’s 7-2 to even the series and force a game seven. Waterloo is where the chance of going to the Smyth Cup championship is on the line; through the first and second periods, both went back and forth as the score was 4-4 going into the third period. The O’s scored early to take the lead, but with 0:12 seconds left in the third period, Larry Arsenal scored to tie the game, the clock hit zero, and both the Maroons and the O’s headed to overtime. The first overtime had many close ones, but goals were made as the horn sounded off to end the first overtime. In the second overtime, with 5:33 left, the O’s Ron Green got a penalty for elbowing which the Maroons believed that this was it they were going to win, but out of nowhere, the O’s Will Stell took the puck, got the breakaway and scored the overtime winner with the score of 6-3, winning the series 4 games to 3 as the Orangeville O’s in their 3rd year in the OMJHA are going to 1980 Smyth Cup championship.

1980 OMJHA Smyth Cup Championship

Barrie Admirals vs. Orangeville O’s

This year's finals were hugely different; with no Legionnaires nor Generals, it was the Admirals and the O’s, as many did not expect one of those two to be in the finals. In-game one at Barrie, the Admirals did not take the O’s lightly as Michael Campbell scored two key goals to give the Admirals wins 3-1. In-game two, the Admirals goalie Jake Wilson made 56 saves out of 58 shots to provide the admirals with a 5-2 win to keep the series in their hands. The Orangeville O’s showed some life in game three with a 4-2 lead going into the third period when the Admirals Dylan Bouchard who was on a cold streak since game four of the Hero Division finals, went hot as he scored two straight goals to tie the game up and send it into overtime. Dylan would score his third goal of the game with 6:23 into the first overtime to give Barrie a 5-4 win and have the chance to win it all in game four. In Orangeville, the Admirals kept their foot on the gas pedal as they blanked the O’s 5-0 game four wins as the Barrie Admirals won the series 4 games to 0 and received the Smyth Cup. The Admirals would celebrate in Barrie the next day, rest up the following day, and get ready to head over to Nanaimo B.C. for the 1980 Valor Cup tournament.