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.

1981-82 OMJHA Season

 

The Waterloo Maroons dominated the league once again. For the first time since John Herbco in the 1978-79 season, a player finished a season with over 100 points as Larry Arsenal scored 50 goals and 65 assists for a total of 115 points, talks are that Larry could be eligible for the pro hockey draft after this season many staff in the Maroons club wants him to stay for one more year, but reports said that Larry will decide on his future once the playoffs are over. The big story this season was the Buffalo Bees; the first three-pick plan works, and the results show it as the Bees took 2nd place in the Steel Division and went to the playoffs for the first time since the 1977-78 season when they were the Guelph Crusaders, Bees GM Ryan Byron Jr. gave the Toronto Hornets their 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks for a 1st round pick, reports believe that the Bees could be the team to have a dynasty pretty soon the way Junior is putting the team together the right, but some said that Ryan Byron Sr. felt different about the moves. Taking third place in the Steel Division is the Orangeville O’s after winning 7 of the last ten games to take that spot. Missing the playoffs last season woke the Arrowbirds up, and they bounced back and took the 4th place and the final playoff spot. Finishing 5th was not what Peterborough had in mind as they announced that they replaced their name. The Braves will be called the Bolts for the 1982-83 season, in 6th place Kitchener Legionnaires, as winning games isn’t the only thing they got problems with; for some odd reason, they are having financial problems as well and just like the Burlington Metros they want answers on why they haven’t received any money from the bank what so ever as Tom Van Ryan is dodging everyone with these issues. Finally, the Toronto Neon takes last place.

Over at the Hero Division, many teams switch places this season; taking 1st place is the Oakville Oaks taking a big jump from 4th place last season. Keith Dunn leads the team well, and rookie d-man Jake Johannsson plays like he is in the pros; head coach Leon Cowern believes that the Oaks will have a deep run come playoff time. The Milton Micmacs jumped a big leap and went to the playoffs for the first time since the 1974-75 season, led by Kurt Jenkins, who made 25 goals and 89 points and would go on and win this season's Rookie of the Year award. As many top players move on to the pro level to even collages, the Barrie Admirals decline themselves down to 3rd place; both Phillip Smith and Ty Joly got their work cut out this season as talks that one of them could be traded this off-season as the Admirals shopping to improve the defences in hopes to stay afloat before thinking of rebuilding the team. With the drama between John Lewis and Tom Van Ryan to the breaking point, the Metros kept it together as they won enough games to take 4th place and headed to the playoffs. From finishing 1st place even with the Admirals last season to finishing 5th this season as the Gems did not do well as rumours are making rounds that they could start the rebuild stage come off-season, the Toronto Hornets made some good moves but not strong enough to move up the ladder, taking last place overall the Kitchener Generals on ice was poor this season but overshadowed by team owner Todd Holmes as he fired three GMs in one season. He made contact with a former GM of a pro hockey club with no word on who it is, but he will get answers in the off-season.

1981-82 AQHL Playoffs

 

1st Round

1st New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 8th Laval Tigers

The Laval Tigers hit a brick wall badly as the Highlanders took the series in their hands by sweeping them in four games; only in game three did the Tigers score one goal, while the rest all shutouts. New Glasgow wins the series 4-0.

2nd Sherbrooke Loups vs. 7th Shawinigan Voltages

The Loups thought that they got this series in the bag, but the Volts had other ideas in games one and two in Sherbrooke; the Volts won both of them, to the Loups took it as a wake-up call that the Loups turned it around and won four straight to win the series, “I hope that we don’t take any team that we play against lightly and keep our “A” game going.” Josh Winter said after game six. Sherbrooke wins the series 4-2.

3rd Moncton Bears vs. 6th Cape Breton Warriors

Last season it took the Bears six games to beat the Warriors; this time, it took only four games to beat the Warriors as they didn’t stop scoring goals and holding the offence up. The Bears would be ready for the second round hungrier than ever. Moncton wins the series 4-0.

4th Verdun Knights vs. 5th Fredericton Vikings

In game one, the Knights had a 3-0 lead going into the third period Tom Acomb suffered a sprained knee after his skate blade broke on him; five minutes later, Rob Grand-Pierre took a check very hard and headed to the locker room and didn’t came back, and Andre Perreault try to check a player miss it and crash to the boards and was out cold and got carried out. With those injuries, the Vikings took advantage and scored four unanswered goals to win game one. Since then, the Vikings would go on and take the last three games to shock everyone as they swept the Knights in four games. Fredericton wins the series 4-0.

2nd Round

1st New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 5th Fredericton Vikings

Both teams know that they are one step closer to the Bronz Cup finals, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get there. The first two games were all Highlanders; in games three and four, the Vikings got their wins, but in game five, the Highlanders won 6-5 in overtime; it took a lot out of the Vikings; in game six, the Highlanders finished the series with a 4-1 win, and for the second time in three seasons, the New Glasgow Highlanders is going to the Bronz Cup finals. New Glasgow wins the series 4-2.

2nd Sherbrooke Loups vs. 3rd Moncton Bears

This series is what everyone wants to see, a rematch from last season's Bronz Cup finals. Moncton got their payback after losing game one in overtime from Sherbrooke; after that, it was all the Bears as they won four straights to take the series, and for the second season in a row, the Moncton Bears head to the Bronz Cup finals. Moncton wins the series 4-1.

Bronz Cup Finals

1st New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 3rd Moncton Bears

With the Sherbrooke Loups out of the picture, the only way that both Highlanders and the Bears can get to this season's Valor Cup tournament is to win the Bronz Cup. In game one, Highlanders Kyle Patrick scored 2 goals, 5 points to give New Glasgow a 6-3 win over the Bears. Game two The Bears fought back to win 4-3 overtime. The Bears Andrew Jones scored a hat-trick to take game three 5-2 over the Highlanders. In game four, the Highlanders turned it around with the help of Roman Klatt held his ground by letting in just one goal as New Glasgow took it 4-1. Roman Klatt held his ground again but didn’t let in any goals as the Highlanders shut out the Bears 3-0 in game five. Game six was a back and forth making shots; in the third period, Brad Edmundson scored to break a deadlock even score, and the Highlanders held on to the lead until the clock hit zero, and the game was over with the score of 3-2. The New Glasgow Highlanders are the 1982 AQHL Bronz Cup Champions; the players and coaches celebrate while in the press box, GM Ray Carter had to soak it all in after years of building this team from the ground up and finally win the Bronz Cup title and now they are going to Sherbrooke Quebec for the Valor Cup Tournament. New Glasgow wins the series 4-2. 

1981-82 AQHL season

 

The New Glasgow was the talk of the league this season, from scoring goals made by both Jaune Poulette and Kyle Patrick, holding up the blue line by Brad Edmundson in his second year, to even goalie Roman Klatt who took over the net in the second half of the season with a 17-5-3 and becoming the first rookie goalie to reach 10 shutouts in AQHL history. With the formula in place, the Highlanders finished 1st overall with the team’s best 81 points. Team’s GM Ray Carter had a moment for himself and looked back 5 years ago when his team was at its lowest point and turned it around and hopes that this season's success can lead them to a championship.

The defending Bronz Cup champions Sherbrooke Loups had a short hangover early into the season but got themselves back on track only to finish 2nd overall. With the Valor Cup tournament being on their home turf, the Loups hope to have the same success as the Waterloo Maroons did the previous season.

Being behind the Highlanders for the second season in a row, the Bears, however, won a season series with the Verdun Knights to take 3rd place. What is better for them is that Alec Dahlin was sent back from the Pittsburgh Pro Hockey Club after they went on bad losing streaks that placed them out of the playoff picture. Alec hopes that he will make one more run in this season's AQHL playoffs and bring the Bronz Cup back to Moncton.

The Verdun Knights had a good run in the first half, but the team struggled, losing ten of the last fifteen games; luckily, they finished 4th place, with some top players on the roster getting called up from Minor to Pro teams for playoffs, the Knights could have a hard time in this season playoffs.

With good draft picks and trades, the Fredericton Vikings expected to win enough games to make it to the playoffs, but everyone did not expect them to finish 5th place at all, and the Vikings showed everyone how they are a real contender by beating the Verdun Knights three of four season series matchups. Many believe that they are the dark horse come this season's playoffs.

Finishing in 6th place is the Cape Breton Warriors; after losing some top players in his second season, Neil Eaton was named captain of the team. It was very hard for him to lead them to the top despite being the league's top scorer, but it only ended with a record of 23-20-7. Lucky for them, they won 10 of the last 15 games in order to make it to the playoffs. If not, they would be out of the playoff picture.

For the second year in a row for the Shawinigan Voltages, this time they move up from 8th to 7th with some key wins to stay as much as they can, and Trevor Corbet really did what he could after starting 40 games only to win just 20 games while having five different back goalies that ended up being sent to lower-level leagues to injuries, the Volts hope to be healthy by the time for the playoffs.

The Laval Tigers may get 22 wins, but it’s enough for them to finish 8th place and head to the playoffs after missing it for two years, they had the highest 7-game winning streak this season, and it helped them to keep pace and hope to try the unthinkable and hope to go deep.

For the second time in four years, the Portland Clippers missed the playoffs finishing 9th (18-27-5). It was painful as they had some youths just getting some good experience, but they hope next year will be their time to shine. This season for the Manchester Americans was a disaster. They had a terrible start by losing the first 20 games after that. It was downhill, they barely finished 10th, but John Rome was not a happy camper; where the Americans made bad trades, even losing some good draft picks, including the 1st round pick to New Glasgow for a forward who never even played one game as he got called up to the pros, many believe that the office is going to be clean out very soon. After squeezing in the playoffs last season, there were no improvements for the Drummondville Les Rouges as they went on finished 11th. Rounding off in last place, the Trois-Rivieres Titans as they tried to turn it around and to even avoid hitting rock bottom, but it didn’t work.

1981 CIHA Off-season

WCLH Expansion draft

The expansion draft came and went for both the Chilliwack Alpines and the Surrey River Dogs as they started to build a team that could be, one day down the road, becoming champions.

The River Dogs were focused on defence more than offence. Most of the top 5 are going into their 2nd season in the WCLH; Head Coach Alexander Adams said, “Our goal is to give them a chance to score goals as they already show that they can defend and with the rest of the staff and I will make them into scorers.”

Meanwhile, the Alpines got most of their picks forwards as they would draft defencemen and goalies at the 1981 WCLH draft. “We need good offence so we can work on developing and nurture some defencemen and goalies; that’s why in our expansion draft, we selected mostly veteran forwards; it’s a risk, but I believe in the coaching staff, we can pull it off,” Alpines GM Bert Broda said after the expansion draft.

Chilliwack Alpines

1. Eric Greiner, F (Saskatoon)

2. Rick Cofilin, F (Abbotsford)

3. Gordie Miami, F (Billings)

4. Dan Zachary, F (Moose Jaw)

5. Bruce Cornwall, D (Portage la Prairie)

Surrey River Dogs

1. Sam Abel, G (Swift Current)

2. Steve Patrick, D (Fargo)

3. Jeff Blue, D (Nanaimo)

4. Mitchell Matthiessen, D (Kenora)

5. Bill Gervais, F (Lethbridge)

1981 CIHA Off-Season

WCLH Draft

From the expansion draft to the league draft, teams try to fill the holes they lost to two new teams. Saskatoon Cats got themselves a forward that can score goals in Fred Adams, who have been under the pro hockey league scouts’ radar since he was 12 years old. The Medicine Hat Hawks took Ross Featherstone from Vancouver, that got the potential to be a top forward in the WCLH. From Seattle, WA, defence Mike Dalman has become the first Seattle native to be drafted in the top 3 and could hopefully help the Nanaimo Sharks avoid hitting last place. The draft spotlight was defence Glen Sasakamoose, a nephew of the Saskatchewan pro hockey club's current GM Herb Sasakamoose was selected by the Billings Trains to improve the results better than last season.

1. Saskatoon Cats – Fred Adams, F (Powell River, B.C.)

2. Medicine Hat Hawks – Ross Featherstone, F (Vancouver B.C.)

3. Nanaimo Sharks – Mike Dalman, D (Seattle, WA) 

4. Fargo Owls – Jack Plaxton, F (Minneapolis, MN)

5. Moose Jaw Wings – Colin Fernando, G (Moose Jaw, SK)

6. Brandon Buffalos – David Hartford, F (International Falls, MN)

7. Portage la Prairie Magic – Marc Sasser, D (Calgary, AB)

8. Billings Trains – Glen Sasakamoose, D (Prince Albert, SK)

9. Swift Current Battalion – Eric Wilcox, F (Everett, WA)

10. Kenora Pioneers – Jason Classen, F (Victoria B.C.)

11. Abbotsford Forest Kings – Aaron Boyer, D (Salem, OR)

12. Fargo Owls (from Lethbridge Cougars) – Frank Cupolo, F (Grand Forks, ND)

OMJHA Draft

This year's draft had “risk” written all over from the Bee's first three picks, a player from Alberta and picking a player from their rival territory in the southwest. The Bees took forward William VanDean, goalie Sam Dempsey, and defence Greg Dahlstrom; these three could turn Buffalo from rock bottom to the top of the mountain. The Neon made a bold draft move by picking Frank Grant from Erie, PA, a forward that had been targeted by many teams from the SWOHL, but the Neon took the chance and believed that it could lead them to championships.

1. Buffalo Bees (from Owen Sound Arrowbirds) – William VanDean, F (Niagara Falls, ONT)

2. Buffalo Bees – Sam Dempsey, G (Hamilton, ONT)

3. Buffalo Bees (from Kitchener Generals) – Greg Dahlstrom, D (Syracuse, NY)

4. Toronto Hornets – Leon Jay Jr. F (Markham, ONT)

5. Milton Micmacs – Kurt Jenkins, F (Vaughan, ONT)

6. Kitchener Legionnaires (from Toronto Neon) – Alex Aurora, D (Cambridge, ONT)

7. Toronto Neon (from Kitchener Legionnaires) – Frank Grant, F (Erie, PA)

8. Peterborough Braves – Rick Collin, G (Sudbury, ONT)

9. Oakville Oaks – Jake Johannsson, D (Edmonton, AB)

10. Burlington Metros – Leo Mair, G (North Bay, ONT)

11. Orangeville O’s – Dan Nowak, G (Ottawa, ONT)

12. Oshawa Gems – Keith Patrick, D (Beaverton, ONT)

13. Barrie Admirals – Lester Starr, D (Newmarket, ONT)

14. Waterloo Maroons – Tom Zehr, D (Parry Sound, ONT)

AQHL Draft

With the expansion draft coming next year, many teams are trying to get ready as some players on their roster could be taken by one of two new teams. The Titans took Glenn Pageau from Quebec City, who is the so-called best scorer in Quebec; it is a great pick to turn the Titans around after a terrible last-place finish. Fredericton used their pick to improve the defence core, and Ed Thibault from Bangor, ME, is just what they needed. During the 1980-81 season, scouts for the Laval Tigers told everyone at the front office that Christian Felix was the one that could help them in turning the team around. The spotlight in this year's draft was Roman and Simon; the Klatt brothers got drafted in the first round Roman will be in the net for the New Glasgow Highlanders, while Simon looks after the blue lines for the Verdun Knights.

1. Trois-Rivieres Titans – Glenn Pageau, F (Quebec City, QC)

2. Fredericton Vikings – Ed Thibault, D (Bangor, ME)

3. Laval Tigers – Christian Felix, F (Terrebonne, QC)

4. Manchester Americans – Ted Dill, G (Plattsburgh, VT)

5. Drummondville Les Rouges – Garry Cambridge, D (Saint John, NB)

6. Verdun Knights (from Shawinigan Voltages) – Frank Young, G (Verdun, QC)

7. Portland Clippers – Paul Gamble, F (Moncton, NB)

8. Cape Breton Warriors – Mike Gamble, F (St. John, NL)

9. Moncton Bears – Eric Gall, D (Halifax NS)

10. Manchester Americans (from Sherbrooke Loups) – Kevin Gassoff, F (Quebec City, QC)

11. New Glasgow Highlanders – Roman Klatt, G (Cornwall, ONT)

12. Verdun Knights – Simon Klatt, D (Cornwall, ONT)

News

CIHA

Many had been waiting for news of who is hosting the 1982 Valor Cup tournament; after numbers of votes by owners, GMs, and even coaches that were, the tournament is officially headed to Sherbrooke, Quebec, just beating Cape Breton by just one vote. “It’s an honour to have this tournament here and play in a brand-new rink!” Allen Poulette Jr said at the press conference after his team was named the 1982 Valor Cup tournament host.

Reporters ask about when the next Valor Star tournament is; CIHA president Randy Howard said that they have no plans for now, but he said that come the 1984 off-season, they’ll consider putting the tournament back up for 1985, the location is either in Toronto or in Montreal there are some talks that some teams are placing bids to host the tournament.

AQHL

With the additions of 2 new teams for the 1982-83 season, both teams presented their new names. They are called the Val-d’Or Monarchs and Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds. Both teams will be in the Quebec division, making the total number of teams in that division 8 while the Atlantic division stays at six; the word is over at P.E.I. the contract between Charlottetown Arena and the Minor pro hockey club ends after the 1981-82 season became official after negotiations fell through, once their season ends the city will put good money in giving the arena some upgrades mainly the press boxes as one was torn down last year after it fell apart and landed all over some empty seats during the off-season. There is also a local businessman who has a high interest in owning a team; history tells that he’s been trying to buy an AQHL team but failed to do so, but he hopes that he gets a team in P.E.I this time.

The town of Moncton got some great news from the Bears. The team is getting a new arena after the Reese brothers purchased land that once was an old town hall that got burned down many years ago, and it has been empty since then. That will change as the Reese Brothers show off the blueprint of what the new arena would look like, and the number of seats is where everyone thought it was unthinkable. This new arena will have 5000 seats. The new arena will be built and ready for the 1984-85 season.

OMJHA

The Peterborough Braves lost one of the club members, Michael Hawk, the club president, as he passed away peacefully. He had a great 15 years of his pro hockey playing career, including becoming the first Indigenous hockey player to win a pro hockey league MVP title, making a pro hockey league record of 50 goal season 5 years in a row and getting inducted into the pro hockey hall of fame. In 1977 he was named the team’s president, and the reason for naming the team the Braves after an all-indigenous army group that served in World War II. With his passing, the owner of the club, Nathen Runnels, announced that the 1981-82 season would be the last for the team to be called the “Braves” as they would open a “name a team” contest; the reason is he felt that he can’t move forward with the current name no matter what.

During the Valor Cup tournament, the Oshawa Gems revealed the new logos and new colours for the 1981-82 season; the feedback about the new look was so bad that the owners decided to go ahead with the new name but scrap the new look and just keep the current look from the beginning the same for now.

The 1981 Valor Cup Tournament was so successful that Guy Perry is in talks with the city of Waterloo about putting in good money to build a new arena in hopes of hosting any future Valor Cup tournaments to increase the city's economies in a big way.

WCLH

With two new teams added for the 1981-82 seasons, both the Chilliwack Alpines and the Surrey River Dogs are put in the west division, with that the Moose Jaw Wings are now in the east division, so no one can question anything about why the Wings was in the west division what’s so ever.

The league is now at 14 teams; many ask, “Will more teams be added?” WCLH President James Name said, “As of right now, we are laying low on it, but some businessmen are talking to some of their hometowns about putting good money on upgrades to even building new arenas.” One of them is Thomas Hendricks, a former promoter for a wrestling company called “Edmonton Championship Wrestling” (ECW), who made many top stars that many other wrestling promotions want to get their hands on; recently, his promotion has been losing money after many of his top stars have been taken by big-time wrestling promotions one of the most significant loss was his number 1 star Scott Chambers signed with Frontier Wrestling Federation, with that signing Thomas decides to close his promotion and invested his money in to bring a WCLH team in his hometown Red Deer, Alberta.

Jersey Changes

Lethbridge Cougars: After the team’s 75th anniversary season, the Cougars returned to their previous seasons with the addition of coloured yokes on both home and away sets.

Peterborough Braves: For the 1981-82 season, the team is wearing a memorial patch to honour Michael Hawk, the team’s first president of the club; after that, the team will reveal their new name for next season.

New team’s jerseys

 Surry River Dogs: A round corner square logo with a “SURRY” above the dog sitting with navy and light blue stripes behind it with orange trim around it, the logo on the road is vice versa. The jerseys got a thin orange stripe and a thick stripe on the cuffs and the hem. The nameplate is just one solid colour, but the numbers are light blue with navy and orange trims that stay the same on both the home and the road.

 Chilliwack Alpines: A diamond shape with the letter “A” on the top and underneath it a mountain upside down in sky blue, grey, and a touch of green trim for a logo. The home and road design has two thick stripes with a thin green stripe. The team was going to have sky blue pants, but after the team did a photo shoot on the ice, it looked like they were wearing white pants, so the team changed them to green.

1981 CIHA Valor Cup Tournament

 

Many came for this year's Valor Cup tournament at the Maroon Auditorium in Waterloo, Ontario, as four teams battled for a chance of becoming the 1981 CIHA Valor Cup Champions. The host team, the Waterloo Maroons, started hot in a big way and finished the round-robin perfect 6-0-0 record with 12 points thanks to Larry Arsenal, who made a record of 18 goals, 36 points, and made a record of scoring 3 goals in every 6 games in what everyone calls it “the six hat-tricks,” also Pat Hudson made history by getting 4 shutouts out of his 6 wins but also set a record for the fewest goals against with only letting in just 3 goals. The WCLH’s Lethbridge Cougars may lose 2 games to the Maroons, but they won 4 games, including 2 key overtime wins over the Loups, as they finished 2nd place, but Jack Burk kept the team in the tournament with 9 goals and 20 points. Sherbrooke Loups got 2 wins, but those came from the Oshawa Diamonds. The rest are losses, with 2 heartbreaking overtimes by the Cougars and 2 ugly, painful losses to the Maroons. The Diamonds played very poorly, barely scoring only 3 goals and finishing in last place with 6 losses. The rule goes that they are eliminated if the 4th seed team does not win at least 2 games. With that rule, the Maroons would get a bye in the semi-final, moving on to the finals waiting for who wins the Cougars Loups semi-finals.

Semi-finals

Lethbridge Cougars vs. Sherbrooke Loups

Both teams are aiming for a date with the Maroons; as the first period started, the Loups came firing shots at Cougars goalie Shawn Hoff like crazy until 3:31 left in the first, the Loups finally scored a goal made by Shawn Thomas, as the first period ends there is a shoving match between the two then Shawn Hoff fell and twisted his blocker arm, with that questions are up in the air on if Shawn can be 100% for the second period. As both teams came back on the ice, on the Cougars' end, the goalie that standing in front of the net was not Shawn Hoff but Greg Finley, the son of the Cougars' GM Frank Finley, the Loups believed that this was an easy scoring spree, but as the second period pass the 10:00 mark, it became opposite as Karl Fuhr, Jack Burk, and Wes Roy each scored a goal for the Cougars. When the second period ended, it was 3-1. In the third period, the Loups couldn’t find a way to score as Greg was a brick wall and holding his ground solidly as the Cougars added two more goals before the third ended. The clock hit zero to end the game with a 5-1 Cougars win, and they are headed to the Valor Cup Finals to face the Waterloo Maroons.

Valor Cup Finals

Waterloo Maroons vs. Lethbridge Cougars

During the national anthem, Maroons Larry Arsenal and Cougars Jack Burk were eyeing each other. As the puck dropped, both were determined to outplay one another Larry may not be as good as Jack, but Larry has teammates helping him out more like Larry helping them as he made three assists in the first period to take a 3-1 lead. The Cougars bounced back by scoring two goals, but 20 seconds after a 3-3 tie game, Larry scored a goal to give the Maroons a 4-3 lead as the second period ended. In the third period, the Cougars ran out of gas as the Maroons added three more goals, two of them were by Larry Arsenal, as the Maroons celebrated along with the fans at the Maroon Auditorium, winning the 1981 Valor Cup Championship with the score of 7-3. Larry lifted the Valor Cup along with the MVP award of the tournament.

1981 AQHL Playoffs

 

1st Round

1st Verdun Knights vs. 8th Drummondville Les Rouges

The Drummondville Les Rouges made an ugly history as they went through all four games without scoring a goal. Even thou the Knights blew the Les Rouges in the first two games (7-0 and 9-0), the last two were more painful for Drummondville as the total shots on goal in those last two games was 14 (game 3: 9 shots, game 4: 5 shots) as the game clock hit zero the Verdun Knights win the series in four games all shutouts.

2nd New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 7th Shawinigan Voltages

The Highlanders played very well in the first three games until, in game four, the Volts came back from a 3-0 score midway through the second period. Then Christian Gaudreau scored the overtime winner for the Volts. In game five, the Highlanders' Kyle Patrick scored a hat-trick to finish off the Volts for a win and the series 4 games to 1.

3rd Sherbrooke Loups vs. 6th Portland Clippers

The Clippers knew that they had no chance of winning the series, but that didn’t stop them from giving the Loups a hard time in all four games, all of them in overtime, including game four when Christian Dupont scored two goals to tie the game to force overtime for the fourth game in a row, late into the second overtime Christian Dupont scored the winner and give the Loups the four-game sweep over the Portland Clippers.

4th Moncton Bears vs. 5th Cape Breton Warriors

Both teams went back and forth in the first four games, going into game five with the series tied at 2 games apiece. The Bears Andrew Jones scored two key goals to give them a win. Andrew Jones would score two more goals, including an overtime winner to win game six and the series over the Warriors 4 games to 2.

Round 2

1st Verdun Knights vs. 4th Moncton Bears

The Verdun Knights were on top of their game as they took games one, two, and three in a dominant way. Going into game four, the Knights believe they got this series in the bag, leading the whole game 3-0 when a minor penalty on the Bears became an event that everyone calls “the murdering two minutes” as Andrew Jones 1 goal, 3 points game playing help the Bears tie the game headed into overtime and the Bears forward Alec Dahlin scored the winner to stay alive. Thanks to the OT win, the Bears would keep going by winning games five and six to force game seven. The last game of the series, and a lot of pressure was on the Knights to finish the series, but however, rookie goalie Seth Taylor was a brick wall all game letting in just one goal as the Bears scored two goals to take the lead, as the clock ticks away the sold-out crowd at the Verdun Arena were in a state of shock and witness the Verdun Knights season came to an end as the Bears became the first team in AQHL history to win a playoff series after being down 3-0 to win the series 4 games to 3.

2nd New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 3rd Sherbrooke Loups

In game one, both teams battled all the way to the third overtime as Josh Winter scored the winner for the Loups. After game one, the Highlanders took both games two and three, but bad news hit the team as four key players have been called up by both the pro and minor-pro hockey teams as they’re making a push for the playoffs. The Loups would take games four and five in a close game, but as game six came, the Loups rookie goalie Lenny Tardif was a brick wall, and the fans at the Arena Commemorative de Sherbrooke celebrated as the Loups won game six 4-0 to win the series 4 games to 2 and punch their ticket to the 1981 Bronz Cup Championship.

1981 Bronz Cup Championship

3rd Sherbrooke Loups vs. 4th Moncton Bears

Lenny Tardif and Seth Taylor are both rookie goalies got a lot to prove by playing like veterans that could lead their team in winning this year's Bronz Cup Championship. The Sherbrooke Loups are prime and ready, while the Moncton Bears had a big momentum swing after coming back from a 3-0 deficit to win the series. In game one, both teams battled all the way to the last minute of the third period, tied 2-2 until the Loups Christian Dupont scored the tiebreaker to give the Loups a 3-2 win. Game two was the same as game one but tied at 3-3. Both headed into overtime, and 12:48 into it, the Bears took the win thanks to Alec Dahlin setting up a play that led Andrew Jones to score, and the series is even at 1. At Moncton, the Loups got one goal in mind “win games three and four,” and that is what they did as they took a 4-0 lead after the first period. The Bears scored goals but not enough, as the Loups took game three 4-2. In game three, the Loups did again by taking a big 4-0 lead after the first, but unlike game three, the Bears tooth and clawed their way back to tie it and force overtime. The first overtime didn’t resolve, nor did the second not end anything. 7:19 left in the third overtime Loups got themselves in a pickle as two players of theirs ended up in the penalty box, so the Bears got a 5-on-3 powerplay; everything was all Bears shooting until Lenny Tardif got the puck and flicked it over both defencemen and out of nowhere defence Shawn Thomas sneak pass by them got the breakaway and beat Seth Taylor for a 5-4 third overtime win. As game five began, both teams were firing shots at each other at the end of the second period, it was tied 2-2. In the third period, the Loups scored two key power-play goals. The Bears did everything that they could to get back in the game, but it wasn’t enough as the clock hit zero, and both the Loups and the fans at the Arena Commemorative de Sherbrooke celebrated as the Loups won game five 4-2 to take the series win 4 games to 1 and Josh Winter lifted the Bronz Cup over his head as the Sherbrooke Loups are the 1981 Champions, and for the first time since 1974 they going to the Valor Cup tournament and hopes to win it all like they did before.

1980-81 AQHL Season

 

After 2 seasons of being second place in the Atlantic division, the New Glasgow Highlanders finally hit the top of the division after making a solid 2nd half of the season, including staying unbeaten in the last 10 games of the season 8-0-2. “It was our goal to take 1st place in our division. Now our new goal is to win the Bronz Cup.” Highlanders head coach Doug Reid said at the league press conference in Moncton.

The Moncton Bears made some improvements, just enough to finish 2nd place, thanks to goalie Seth Taylor winning 20 out of 35 games didn’t get any shutouts, but many can see him making more wins down the road and could give this team a chance to go deep into the playoffs.

After playing in Membertou, the Warriors are back at the newly upgraded Warrior Arena. Fans got to finally see the rising of the 1979 Bronz Cup banner to start the season, they did alright, but the last 10 games were ugly for them, with a 2-6-2 to even losing the head-to-head season series to the Moncton Bears. “We need to get our “A” game going if not, we will be out in the first round in a heartbeat,” said Warriors head coach Lenny Copeland.

The Portland Clippers have once again finished 4th in the division, led by overage Frank Logan, who has been a great leader in the locker room. There will likely be some young players who can step up to the plate next season. For now, they are focusing on the playoffs and hoping to go all the way.

Rounding off the Atlantic division is the Manchester Americans finished 5th after being last place in their first two seasons, while the Fredericton Vikings may get a win more than the Americans, but the Vikings got three losses more to finish last place.

The Verdun Knights took both the Quebec Division and the league despite its 7 points less than last season, but they kept themselves ahead of everyone, including keeping the Highlanders from hitting the 80 points mark on the last game of the season, winning it in a dominating fashion 4-1.

For the third season in a row, the Sherbrooke Loups finished 2nd in the Quebec division. Josh Winter led the team with s 33 goals, and 89 points played a factor in their success. The biggest impact made for the Loups was rookie goalie Lenny Tardif winning 25 out of 40 games with a rookie league record of 18 shutouts. “What a great first year for us at our new Arena, with many broken records. What better way to cap it all is winning both the Bronz Cup and the Valor Cup.”  Allen Poulette Jr said after the team’s last game of the season.

After their first three years, the Shawinigan Voltages are heading to the playoffs after winning 25 games along with 4 ties to make the total of 54 points to make it happen. Team captain Vincent Leroux was on a roll for the Vols until he got called up by the Saskatchewan Pro hockey club midway into the season. After that news, the team put the “C” on Christian Gaudreau. He adapted to the role well in his second season, as his playmaker style boosted the team. They need to finish 3rd place and enter the playoffs 7th seed overall.

After missing the playoffs for 2 straight years, the Drummondville Les Rouges' 32 points were just enough to make it to the playoffs with most of the roster very young players, but they are hungry for wins, but many believe that if they enter the playoffs without the same fire that they got themselves in they will be out of the playoffs very early.

The Laval Tigers ended their season poorly, as they will miss the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row by finishing 5th. The once mighty Titans were on the top of the league but had just hit rock bottom. To make matters worse for the team, they lost their GM Leon Rheaume as he accepted a GM deal with the Quebec City Pro Hockey Club, “it’s a sad day for us, but I wish him the best as we will find ourselves a new GM that can build this team back to the top once again” Titans co-owner Lance Chouinard said.

1981 OMJHA Playoffs

Steel Division

1st Waterloo Maroons vs 4th Kitchener Legionnaires

Last season the Maroons beat the Legionnaires in six games. This season the Maroons are hoping for a sweep like they did in their season series, which they did, but game one, two, and three ended in overtime. In game four, Larry Arsenal scored 2 goals to help the Maroons win in regulation and move on to the next round 2-0. 

2nd Orangeville O’s vs. 3rd Peterborough Braves

Most games of the series were close ones, but the O’s rookie Dave Fortier scored back-to-back hat-tricks in both games five and six to give them those two wins to finish off the Braves in six games and ready for the Maroons in the Steel Division finals.

Hero Division

1st Barrie Admirals vs. 4th Oakville Oaks

The Oakville Oaks made it to the playoffs in hopes of giving the Admirals a hard time, but Barrie was the one that gave Oaks a hard time, mainly keeping them from scoring more than just one goal throughout the series, including the Admirals with a game four overtime win to complete the sweep.

2nd Oshawa Diamonds vs. 3rd Burlington Metros

Both Diamonds and Metros went back and forth all the way to game seven as the Diamonds' Adam Howell scored a hat-trick to tie the game at 3 after trailing behind 3-1 before the start of the 3rd period, in overtime Derek Kelly scored the OT winner to help the Diamonds win the series and keep the momentum going into the 2nd round to face the Barrie Admirals.

Steel Division Finals

1st Waterloo Maroons vs. 2nd Orangeville O’s

The Orangeville O’s top player is all over Maroons goalie Pat Hudson, but he held his ground as his teammates were scoring for the O’s they had to start four different goalies due to their top goalie Jack Glenn getting injured after the game six of the first round, game four the O’s kept it close but the Maroons was too much as once again they win the series in four games and headed to the Smyth Cup Finals for the first time since 1974.

Hero Division Finals

1st Barrie Admirals vs. 2nd Oshawa Diamonds

Both teams tied 1st in the Hero division but the Admirals took 1st place as they won the head-to-head series over the Diamonds, the battle was crazy and both teams was really push themselves to the next level, things got more interesting as that the Waterloo Maroons the host of the 1981 Valor Cup tournament has just swept the Orangeville O’s with that news means that who ever win this series win not only face the Maroons for the Smyth Cup championship but also automatically advance to the Valor Cup tournament, the news gave both teams the fire they need to go all the way to game seven as the Admirals had 2-0 lead going into the third period when out of nowhere the Diamonds scored two straight short-handed goals both made by Derek Kelly, then Adam Howell score a goal that questioned of how it happened, the Admirals was firing shots trying to tie the game up but the game ended with 3-2 Diamonds wins game seven and going to both the Smyth Cup finals to face the Maroons and hopes to be ready for the Valor Cup tournament.

Smyth Cup Finals

Waterloo Maroons vs. Oshawa Diamonds

In game one, the Diamonds played very well to keep it a 2-2 tie at the end of the third period. In overtime, the Diamonds made a mistake by taking a penalty that created a chance that the Maroons took, and Nick Ross scored the overtime winner. After game one, the Diamonds ran out of gas as the Maroons destroyed them 9-0 in game two. The Diamonds may score two goals, but the Maroons scored two more with a 4-2 game three win. In game four, the Maroons poured on with 7 goals; the Oshawa Diamonds came back but only scored 4 goals as the third period came to an end. The Waterloo Maroons are the OMJHA Smyth Cup Champions for the first time since 1972, a season before the CIHA was established and will be ready for the 1981 Valor Cup tournament.

1980-81 OMJHA Season

 

Fans of the defending Smyth Cup Champions, the Barrie Admirals, had to wait for the home opener as Barrie played their first 10 games on the road, including being both the Neon and the Hornets' first opponent for their inaugural season opener, both of them the Admirals won along with 6 more wins to make their first 10 games 8-1-1 then came to their first 5 home games played without a loss (3-0-2) everything was going go until last 15 games of the season where they had a hard time with 4-8-3 to finish 1st in the Hero Division.

The Oshawa Diamonds have announced a new name for next season. They will call themselves the “Oshawa Gem” and show the new logo, but the jerseys will be the same for the time being. The news may not sit well with many fans, but their 10-game winning streak changed many minds after that. They kept on winning good games here and there to finish with the same record as the Barrie Admirals, but the reason why they finished 2nd is that they lost the head-to-head series, but they showed grand results and gave Prime Motors a good reason to own the team.

Burlington Metros performed very well, led by captain Matthew Walton the Metros finished 3rd place in the Hero division, but this season is overshadowed by an ongoing war between team owner John Lewis and OMJHA President Tom Van Ryan, where John is still wanting answers on why his team and others are losing money in a bad way some said there were some meetings got heated between the two every time when Tom talked about financial issues. “It got ugly pretty fast; I’m just hoping things get settled soon if not, we might have long-term trust issues,” Barrie Admirals owner Luke Ashton said after the owners' meeting.

After many drafts picks, to front office changes, the results for the Oakville Oaks show great improvements, the gamble of naming Keith Dunn the teams captain worked wonders as he finished 3rd as the top scorer in the league and helped the Oaks finish 4th and headed to the playoffs after missing it for 2 years.

The Micmacs did some moves in hopes of turning it around, but it did not happen as for the 6th year in a row, they missed the playoffs by finishing 5th, followed by the newcomer team Toronto Hornets, who won just enough to pass the 30 points mark and enough to take 6th. The dead last of the Hero division title goes to the Kitchener Generals after losing their top stars and bad trades along the way to finish 7th.

The Waterloo Maroons became the top team in league with a 43-6-1 record; the biggest accomplishment the team ever did was winning their first 25 games in a row. They would lose to end a winning streak but would start a new one along the way with a 15-game winning streak. They would lose the last 4 games. Another accomplishment made by the Maroons was Larry Arsenal, who broke a record for the most assists in a season with 85 in a season with a career total of 220, Larry became the first player to pass the 200 assists within 3 seasons, and he got two more seasons to go.

Ron Green became a grand leader in the locker room, and it shows on the ice as he led the O’s to a 72-points 2nd place finish, one of the best in team history. The team and the city brought the good news that during the off-season, the Orangeville Arena is getting more seats added to the numbers from 2000 to 3000. With Waterloo hosting the 1981 Valor Cup tournament, the O’s is planning on doing more upgrades to the arena in hopes of being the host for the 1984 Valor Cup tournament.

The Peterborough Braves struggled throughout this season, but they won 8 of the last 10 games to sit in 3rd place in the Steel division. Losing 28 games didn’t sit well with head coach Rick Pine “we didn’t play well this season; we need to find a spark. If not come playoffs, we will have an early exit very quick,” Rick said during a press conference four days before they played their first playoff appearance in team history.

The Kitchener Legionnaires and the Toronto Neon shared the 4th place spot in the league as the season ended. Both got 38 points, but the Legionnaires got 1 win more than the Neon, so the Legionnaires are going to the playoffs while the Neon will not but on their last game of the season at home, the fans gave them a standing ovation after their first season.

 The Buffalo Bees made some improvements, but they got a long way to go. GM Ryan Byron Jr. believes that the first 3 picks at the 1981 draft could give them a chance to get over the big hump. Lastly, the Owen Sound Arrowbirds took a big dip from being in the top 5 overall last year to hitting rock bottom last place overall, it totally shows that the trade they did with Buffalo pretty much came back and bit them in the butt in a bad way they are hoping that their three 2nd round draft picks could turn them a round for the better.

1981 WCLH Playoffs

 

The matchups look promising to many fans, as it could be an even series. Once again, it's an international style like last season. The top seed from the west Lethbridge Cougars takes on 4th seed east Brandon Buffalos, 2nd seed west Abbotsford Forest Kings is ready to defend their Jade Trophy title as their opponent for round one is 3rd seed east is the Portage la Prairie Magic, 1st seed east Kenora Pioneers are hoping to get themselves to the next round, but they have to go through 4th seed west Moose Jaw Wings. Lastly, it's the battle of 1st timers as 2nd seed east Swift Current Battalion takes on 3rd seed west Billings Trains, which many would see who will get their first playoff series win.

1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 4th east Brandon Buffalos

In the first two games of the series, the Cougars won both in a blowout way until the Buffalos took game three, followed by game four overtime win, but in game five, the Cougars blew the Buffalos away with a 5-1 victory, then the Cougars shut the Buffalos out from scoring any goals to win both game six and the series 3-0, meaning that the Lethbridge Cougars are moving on to the 2nd round.

 

2nd west Abbotsford Forest Kings vs. 3rd east Portage la Prairie Magic

In game one, the Magic had a 1-0 lead throughout the game until the Forest Kings Ryan Wedgewood scored to tie the game with 1:09 left in the game; then, headed into overtime, and Jack Lazar scored the overtime winner for the Forest Kings, after that the Forest Kings kept on the gas petal as they went on winning the last three games to sweep the Magic in four games and advance to the 2nd round.

1st east Kenora Pioneers vs. 4th west Moose Jaw Wings

The Pioneers may have won the series in five games, but they had to win it the hard way. In 4 of the 5 games, the Wings had the lead for most of the games. "We can't play like this; if we don't play the right game, we are done for," Kenora Pioneers coach Chuck Patton said during a post-practice press conference. 

2nd east Swift Current Battalion vs. 3rd west Billings Trains

Both teams were willing to do anything to win their first series, and both went back and forth all the way to game seven at Swift Current. With 0:30 left in the third period, Denny Holbrook scored the tie-breaker as the Swift Current Battalion won and headed to the 2nd round for the first time since 1960 when they won the Jade Trophy championship as North Battleford Crusaders.

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

The Cougars took the first two games, but the Battalion took the next two games to even the series. In the last two games of the series were all Cougars as Jack Burk scored five goals within those previous two games to lead the Cougars to a series win in six games and advance to the Jade Trophy championship for the first time since 1976.

1st east Kenora Pioneers vs. 2nd west Abbotsford Forest Kings

Last year was for the Jade Trophy championship; now, this year, the winner of this series will go to this year's Jade Trophy championship. This series was a back-and-forth; four of those games were blowouts. In game seven were goals galore until the end of the third period tie at 5-5. After two overtimes, there still nothing was what everyone thought that the Pioneers forward Keith Zachary scored the overtime winner, but the referees called it off as the replay shows that he scored 0.2 seconds too late, 12:07 into the third overtime Forest Kings Ryan Wedgewood got a chance to ended with a breakaway and scored the winner as the Abbotsford Forest Kings win the series and headed to the Jade Trophy championship for the 2nd year in a row with a 6-5 3OT win.

WCLH Jade Trophy Finals

1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 2nd west Abbotsford Forest Kings

One team is the defending Jade Trophy champion, and the other hoping to make its anniversary season more special. In game one, the Cougars took a big 3-1 win thanks to rookie Karl Fuhr and his 2 goals and 3 points. In game two, Jack Lazar made 3 points, one containing a goal that was a winner as the Forest Kings even the series with a 3-2 overtime win. The Forest Kings had a big 3-1 lead in game three, but in the third period Karl Fuhr scored 2 key goals to tie the game, and Wes Roy scored the game-winner 4-3 to take the series lead. Game four was tight as ever as the score after the first period was 1-1, and it was like that until the second overtime as Karl Fuhr scored the O/T winner. It was back and forth between the two in game five as 1:24 left in the third period in a 3-3 tie game. Ed Bram had an open net to score for the Forest Kings to keep their season alive, but the Cougars goalie Shawn Hoff who had been ups and downs with the team, made one of greatest save of all time; thanks to that, Jack Burk took the advantage and took the pack, made some moves and pass it to Karl Fuhr and he scored the tie-breaker as the clock hit zero the game is over, and the Lethbridge Cougars win game five 4-3 winning the series 4 games to 1 and took home their 8th Jade Trophy title in team's WCLH history and headed to Waterloo, Ontario for the 1981 Valor Cup tournament.

1980-81 WCLH Season

 

The Lethbridge Cougars are celebrating a milestone 75th anniversary. To celebrate this season, the team lifted banners of retired numbers worn by some Cougars greats, including Cliff Burns and his number 25, up to the rafters. On their home opener, they took the win in a big way over the Saskatoon Cats 8-2. After their home opener, they kept on the gas as they won 36 of 50 games to finished 1st in the west and the league.

The Abbotsford Forest Kings opened their home game with the rising of the 1980 Jade Trophy banner and the CIHA Valor Cup banner. As fans have a good reason to be excited for this year as both Ed Bram and Luke White will play their final season before they will be eligible for the 1981 Pro Hockey Draft. Both combine 78 points to help the Forest Kings stay in the top 2 in the west division.

The Billings Trains took a mid-season gamble by trading their last 4 round picks (2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th) to the Fargo Owls for forward Jack Clarke, and it worked for them as Jack made 23 goals and 56 points, leading the Trains to finished 3rd in the west and making to their 1st playoff in team history.

Moose Jaws took a lot of criticism for wearing white pants to their classic set, so much so that there are talks that both League President James Name and other owners are considering putting a ban on any teams that thinks about wearing white pants down the road. Despite all the white pants fiasco, the Wings took it as fuel as they won 12 of the last 20 games to finished 4th and headed to the playoffs for the 5th year in a row.

Even though Juuso Heinola's scoring improved more than his previous season to even win the league scoring title, it didn't help the Nanaimo Sharks this season as they once were playoffs contenders, now being the tanker, they lost a good number of players during the off-season. In the end, they finished 5th.

The Medicine Hat Hawks had some promising young talent, but they finished the season with only 9 wins landing them in last place in the west.

Kenora Pioneers had a rough start by losing 9 of their first 15 games; after that, they turned it around by winning 16 of the last 20 games to finished 1st in the big east thanks to rookie goalie Luke Hay as he won 10 out of 15 games and letting in just 16 goals and got just 1 shutout.

With the record of 27-20-3, 57 points gave the Swift Current Battalion a 2nd place finish and will go to the playoffs for the first time since 1976 when they were the North Battleford Crusaders.

Last season the Portage la Prairie Magic had a magical 4th place finish, led by Matthew Atlas and rookie Zachary Natyshak with a combined total of 46 goals and 97 points, giving them a 3rd place finish with 24 wins, 19 losses, 7 ties, and 55 points. Zachary Natyshak was a big surprise in the WCLH as the top rookie, many critics believed that he would not even be in the top 10, but as the season ended, Zachary won the rookie of the year award and caught many eyes of many pro hockey scouts.

The 1980-81 season would be what many fans believe to be the last shot for the Brandon Buffalos, with 8 players on their roster overaged. If they failed to do so, they would have to rebuild the team painfully; possibly, the only team that is keeping them from clinching 4th place is the Fargo Owls. Both were neck and neck until the final 5 games. The Buffalos won 3 while the Owls won only 1 game; as the season ended, the Buffalos took 4th place and headed to the playoffs, for the Owls finished 5th, meaning the first time in team history that they missed the playoffs.

The 1980-81 season was not so friendly for the Saskatoon Cats as they finished last overall with winning just 7 games, 3 wins less than their 1960-61 season (pre-CIHA era) 5 years before Stan Jones handed the ownership to his son Rick which he went on and turn the team around. Things are about to get more difficult for the Cats as Edward Gore resigns as head coach after 16 years with the club; the team will name a new head coach after the off-season.