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)

___________________________________

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)

___________________________________________

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.

1979-80 OMJHA Season

 

Standings

Hero Division

1. Barrie Admirals

2. Burlington Metros

3. Oshawa Diamonds

4. Kitchener Generals

5. Milton Micmacs

6. Oakville Oaks

Steel Division

1. Waterloo Maroons

2. Owen Sound Arrowbirds

3. Orangeville O’s

4. Kitchener Legionnaires

5. Peterborough Braves

6. Buffalo Bees

Story:

The Barrie Admirals took this season in a big way, with Herb Max-Louis, Seth Samuel, and rookie defence Adam Hunter as part of well build team finally shine with the team’s best 34 wins, 10 losses, 6 ties with a grand total of 74 points lead them to not only top the Hero division but also the whole league and the Admirals owner Luke Ashton said: “We got the right staffs, we got the right players, and we got the right result this season we are rightfully ready to go deep into the playoffs.” After making the playoffs last season, the Burlington Metros improved the roster's depth with a critical trade with the Peterborough Braves as Metros received Mike Mellon and Nick Ryan. At the same time, the Braves got Eddie Baxter, 1st and 2nd round picks, which should help the Metros come playoff time. The additions of defence Brandon Irwin who can score goals, help the Oshawa Diamonds finish 3rd place just like last season. Despite Patrick Herbco made a scoring record of 52 goals season, but only 2 points shy away from making a season record high that was set by his brother John last season, the Generals struggled thru this season; lucky for them, they won 6 of the previous 10 games to finished 4th place and will have work cut out for them as they enter in the playoffs. The first 20 games were not so pretty for the Micmacs; to make things more problematic for them is their rookie defence Jesper Nelson suffered dislocated shoulder and was out for the rest of the season; Micmacs finished 5th place. The Oakville Oaks round off the Hero division last place but with some young players hungry for success down the road, and the Oaks head coach Leon Cowern believes that this team will have dynasty written all over.

The Waterloo Maroons took the Steel division and did not look back at all as they finished with 73 points, the best in franchise history. Owen Sound Arrowbirds may have difficulty catching up with the Maroons, but they kept their game and took 2nd place. Led by new captain of team Ron Green who kept the O’s together and finish 3rd in the Steel division. The Legionnaires had a back-and-forth season with John Herbco, Jake McJack, and four other players left; their 21-22-7 record is just enough to finish 4th to get in the playoffs. Both Peterborough Braves and the Buffalo Bees round the bottom two in the Steel Division, but both could have a good run soon with some youth on the roster.

1979-80 WCLH Playoffs

 

1st round (best 4 of 7 games)

1st west Abbotsford Forest Kings vs. 4th east Portage la Prairie Magic

The Abbotsford Forest Kings welcomes the Magic to the playoffs with a game one blowout score of 7-1 thanks to forward Ed Bram who made 2 goals, 6 points. Game two was the same as Forest Kings defence Luke White score 3 goals as they win it 6-1. The Forest Kings went to the Jaune Durocher Memorial Arena to finish off the Magic, as indeed they did to win game three (5-0) and game four (6-2) to sweep the series 4 games to none.

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

The defending Jade trophy champion Kenora Pioneers got a wake-up call in game one as the Wings forced it to overtime and Wings forward Joe Robin score the winner with the score of 4-3. The Pioneers turn it around in game two with a score of 3-1. In-game three and four, Kenora Pioneers did not look back as they won two more games (3-2, 5-2) as they are one win away from advancing to the second round. In-game five it was all Kenora as the Pioneers shut out the Moose Jaw Wings 4-0 to win the series 4 games to 1.

2nd west Nanaimo Sharks vs. 3rd east Brandon Buffalos

It was a back-and-forth series between the Sharks and the Buffalos. In-game one, the Sharks win it 3-1, but the Buffalos take game two with a 2-1 win. In-game three the Sharks destroyed the Buffalos with an 8-2 blowout win. In-game four the Buffalos bounced back from a blowout loss with a 4-2 win. The Sharks forward Juuso Heinola scored three goals to give them a 5-3 win and have one win away to move on to the second round. Game six was not what the Sharks had in mind as the Buffalos gave the Sharks a taste of their own medicine with a 7-1 blowout win to even the series. Game seven in Nanaimo, the Buffalos took a 2-0 lead after the first period, the Sharks got themselves back in the game by scoring four goals to take a 4-2 after the second period, in the third period, the Buffalos tooth and claw their way back as both Luke James and Paul Cole work together as they scored a goal each to tie the game as the horn sound off to end the third period and headed into overtime. 15 minutes into overtime the Sharks got themselves a powerplay, but it did not help when Jeremy Mitchell got a breakaway and scored the overtime winner and the series 4 games to 3. As the Buffalos move on to the second round, the Sharks will be practicing for the 1980 Valor Cup tournament as they are this year's host.

2nd east Fargo Owls vs. 3rd west Lethbridge Cougars

After two seasons of rebuilding, the Lethbridge Cougars have returned to the playoffs but after a 6-1 game one loss to the Owls everyone felt like the Cougars should not be in this year's playoffs. In-game two however everyone had changed their minds as the Cougars beat the Owls 4-1. The Owls take game three in Lethbridge with a 3-2 overtime win to take the series lead. Game four, five and six was all Cougars as they went on to take those three games in a row (3-1, 4-3ot, 4-2) and move on to the 2nd round with the 4 games to 2 series win.

2nd round (best 4 of 7 games)

1st east Kenora Pioneers vs. 3rd west Lethbridge Cougars

Game one was a big game between both teams as they played all the way to overtime until Pioneers forward Peter Barron scored the overtime winner to take game one with a score of 5-4. In-game two the Pioneers got a good momentum from game one and use it to their advantage as they win it 4-1 blowout win. The Cougars got themselves back on track in game three with a 4-2 win thanks to forward Jack Burk’s 3 goals, 4 points performance. The Pioneers had a big 4-0 lead going into the third period, despite the Cougars was scoring in the third but only just one goal short as the clock hit zero as the Pioneers win game four 4-3. Game five was all Pioneers as they beat the Cougars 6-2 to win the series 4 games to 1 and headed back to the Jade Trophy championship.

1st west Abbotsford Forest Kings vs. 3rd east Brandon Buffalos

Last year the Forest Kings swept the Buffalos because of how dysfunctional the Buffalos were at that time, now the Forest Kings must keep their “A” game up because Brandon won the season series over Abbotsford 3-1. In-game one Abbotsford wins it in a not-so-easy way 5-4 in overtime.  The Buffalos Jeremy Mitchell 2 goals 4 points gave the team a big game two wins over Abbotsford 5-3.  Game number three the Forest Kings Ed Bram scored a hat-trick for a 4-2 win to take this series lead. Ed Bram scored a hat-trick again with a 5-3 Forest Kings win to take three games to one lead. The Buffalos bounce back with the help from both Luke James and Paul Cole who scored a goal and 2 assists each to give Brandon a fighting chance to get back into the series with a 4-2 win. In-game six the Buffalos really show what they got in a big way as Jeremy Mitchell, Luke James and Paul Cole combined 9 points as they even the series with an 8-4 win. Game Seven Both went back and forth until 5:39 left in the third period where the Forest Kings Luke White scored the tiebreaker. After that, the Forest Kings held on as the clock turned to zero and the game is over as the Forest Kings win game seven 6-5 and headed to the Jade Trophy finals winning the series 4 games to 3.

1980 Jade Trophy Finals

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

Battle of top dogs as the best team from the west the Abbotsford Forest Kings takes on the top team in the league and the 1979 Jade Trophy Champion the Kenora Pioneers. Game one was all defence as both teams barely made the total of 10 shots (6 by Pioneers, 4 by Forest Kings) in the first period, in the second period both teams made more shots than the first but at the end of the period the score is the same 0-0, the third period came and went as both teams headed to overtime. 10:38 in the first overtime Luke White had the puck but three Pioneers players were all over him until Luke pass the puck to an open Ed Bram and scored the overtime winner as the Forest Kings takes game one 1-0. The Pioneers did not show any weakness after the overtime loss with a 4-2 game two victory to even the series one game apiece. In-game three the Pioneers kept the momentum going on their end with a 5-1 win thanks to Peter Barron's 2 goals, 4 points showing. Behind two games to one the Forest Kings got themselves back in the series thanks to Luke White’s 3 goals 6 points to help the Forest Kings win game four 7-4. When it comes to game five with the series tied up whoever wins it can have the best chance of winning the series, on this game five the Forest Kings took themselves to the next level with a big 4-3 overtime win to give themselves one win away to win the Jade Trophy championship. Knowing very well that the Pioneers are in the same position as the Fargo Owls was last year but unlike the Owls, the Pioneers show that they have not run out of gas yet as they take game six with a 4-2 win and headed to game number seven. Game seven in Kenora, the Pioneers had a 3-1 lead going into the third period when Luke White scored two unanswered goals and Ed Bram scored the game-winner with just 0:47 left, even with an extra attacker was not enough for the Pioneers as the game is over and the Abbotsford Forest Kings celebrate as they are the 1980 Jade Trophy Champions winning game seven 4-3 and the series 4 games to 3.

1979-80 WCLH Season

Standings

West

1. Abbotsford Forest Kings

2. Nanaimo Sharks

3. Lethbridge Cougars

4. Moose Jaw Wings

5. Medicine Hat Hawks

6. Billings Trains

East

1. Kenora Pioneers

2. Fargo Owls

3. Brandon Buffalos

4. Portage la Prairie Magic

5. Swift Current Battalion

6. Saskatoon Cats

Story:

The west division belongs to the Abbotsford Forest Kings for the second year in a row with a 42-2-2, 88 points finished 1st place but 2nd overall. Behind them is the Nanaimo Sharks, who may be 24 points less than the Forest Kings, but their last 5 games of this season were just they need to be ready for the playoffs. After two years of missing the playoffs, the Lethbridge Cougars are back in containership for the Jade Trophy with 59 points mainly their 10-game winning streak was the reason. It was a three-way battle for the 4th place spot, but in the end, Moose Jaw Wings took the spot with 13 wins, while Medicine Hat Hawks finished 5th, and Billings Trains round up the division by finishing last with just 1 point behind the Hawks.

In the east division, it was all Kenora Pioneers. Despite losing two key players, they have a good crop of players hungry for wins as they finished 1st overall with 92 points thanks to a league record of 44 wins, three wins more than the 1976-77 Fargo Owls. Speaking of the Owls, they finished 2nd place with 60 points, but it did not come easy for them as they had a painful 8 game losing streak that included a 6-2 blowout loss to the Billings Trains. Led by the new captain Jeremy Mitchell the Brandon Buffalos went through a rollercoaster of a season as they had a 10-game losing streak, but they had a 12-game winning streak that helped them clinch 3rd place. Portage la Prairie Magic was the biggest surprise this year, as they won the last 4 games to take 4th place and headed to the playoffs for the first time in team history. Both Swift Current Battalion and the Saskatoon Cats round off the bottom two. Believe it or not, for the Cats, they miss the playoffs for the first time since 1960.

After naming Jeremy Mitchell, the captain of the Brandon Buffalos was just they needed to put both Luke James and Paul Cole in their place as they finally started to work together. Little by little, the team began to really show a better result than the previous seasons. In fact, the fans are now starting to believe that this team will go deep in the playoffs. Both the Abbotsford Forest Kings and the 1979 Jade Trophy champions Kenora Pioneers went neck and neck for the top overall spot in the league; in the end, the Pioneers were 2 wins more than the Forest Kings. The Pioneers beat Abbotsford in the head-to-head series 3-1. Fans of the Nanaimo Sharks got themselves a special treat as the team welcomes them to the Nanaimo Arena after upgrading from 2000 seats to 3500 capacity. Many fans are pleased with the result and excited that the city is hosting the 1980 Valor Cup tournament. “This year will be our finest season that everyone will talk about it for years.”  Nanaimo Sharks owner Jake Peterson said at the team’s home opener.

Once again, the playoffs are set as 1st place west Abbotsford Forest Kings will face against 4th place east Portage la Prairie Magic, while 1st place east the defending champions the Kenora Pioneers takes on 4th place west Moose Jaw Wings, 2nd place west Nanaimo Sharks opponent is 3rd place east Brandon Buffalos. Finally, 2nd place east Fargo Owls goes head-to-head with 3rd place west the Lethbridge Cougars.

1979 Offseason

1979 WCLH Draft

Portage la Prairie Magic goes local as their 1st pick is Matthew Atlas, a scoring forward who has been under the radar by many teams, but the Magic got to him before anyone else. Swift Current made goalie Reggie Mason from Calgary AB, a Battalion after their top goalie Ivan Easton chose to go pro and accept an entry contract with the Pittsburgh Pro Hockey Club. The 3rd pick made by Billings Trains is Frank Colton from Vancouver, B.C., a forward who is a scoring machine that made 37 goals, 61 points for the Vancouver Minor Junior Club would give Trains some scoring improvement.

1979 OMJHA Draft

1st pick the Oakville Oaks select from Brampton Keith Dunn, an all-around forward who can play both offence and defence, with his 70 points (25 G 45 A) performance could be what the Oaks needs after a poor 1978-79 season. Milton Micmacs picked Jesper Nelson. He plays defence very well and could show how rugged an Aurora defenceman is. Forward Nick Ryan from Peterborough got selected by the Braves, who believes that a homegrown talent could be the key to the team’s success in the future.

1979 AQHL Draft

Christian Gaudreau had been under every team’s radar, but the Shawinigan Voltage made the Hull Quebec forward their 1st pick, with his 80 points (29 G, 51 A) he made with his hometown Jr.B team went on named MVP in both season and championship. Manchester Americans decide to add some Quebec flavour to the roster, and goalie Alex Beauvillier is just what they need. Portland Clippers selected Jack Alexander, a forward from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who gave the team an excellent impression to the Clippers liking. His leadership for the Halifax Jr.C hockey club could help the Clippers get the best chance of having some good winning seasons down the road.

News

CIHA

CIHA President Joseph McGeorge announced that next season will be his last year as his contract will end that year. Joseph chooses not to renew his contract as he would let someone else take over his job since 1972. Questions were up in the air of who would take the job as the CIHA President. Some names had been floating around, but Franklin Name is not on the list as his OMJHA contract will expire after the 1981-82 season, and he plans to retire. James Name has no interest in that job as he is okay with his position as the WCLH President, and Paul Name just signed an extension to be the President of the AQHL until 1985. There were talks that Randy Howard, who was head marketing for the Toronto Pro Hockey club, had excellent knowledge of the CIHA and followed it very well and hoped that being the President of the CIHA could be his future job.

During the off-season, the CIHA made one of the best deals ever with “KI-LO,” an equipment manufacture company established in 1940 ran by founder Kirk Lowden. The company thrives with pro hockey league teams wearing equipment with the company’s name on it. The company has expanded in manufacturing hockey jerseys after Kirk sold the company to his two sons Keith Lowden and Trever “Trev” Lowden. With such news, all the teams will have new jerseys to be made and ready to show them off to their fans for as early as the 1980-81 season.

With the 1980 Valor Cup host already named, the question now is who will host the 1981 tournament? So far, the three best candidates to host are Barrie, Burlington, and Waterloo. They will announce it during the 1980 Valor Cup Tournament.

WCLH

With losing some players to the Pros, colleges, and even European leagues, the Nanaimo Sharks made some moves by trading their 1st, and 4th round picks for the 1981 draft to the Fargo Owls for forward Gene Petersons and backup goalie Oscar Williams. The Sharks signed another international player, this time from Finland, forward Juuso Heinola, who caught many eyes from many teams, but Juuso chose Nanaimo because it reminds him of his hometown in Helsinki.

Brandon Buffalos fans were hoping for good news, including finally getting rid of Luke James and Paul Cole. However, it did not happen as they are still on the team, and with forward Pat Clark, the team’s captain, choosing to go to college, everyone believes it will be a nightmare. Still, the Buffalos coaching staff already got a new captain name, and that player is forward Jeremy Mitchell, who became the first black player in WCLH history to be a captain for any team. Many fans fear that it will be worse than good, but Tim Woods believes it will be alright in the 1979-80 season.

Even after the James Name interview explaining the division alignment issue, many cannot accept it, but it could end soon as the WCLH is shopping locations for expansion teams. There are talks that there are two locations in B.C. what cities are going to be is unknown at this time, but it is safe to say that there are good numbers of cities hungry for a WCLH team. With that news, chances are that the Moose Jaw Wings will move to the East division.

The 1979 Jade trophy champion Kenora Pioneers lost Zack Mick to the Minnesota Pro Hockey Club and Pat Colts as he commented to the University of North Dakota. “We lost two players, but we still got many on our roster that are hungry for a second title.” Said Pioneers head coach Leo Newton.

OMJHA

The Herbco family is happy to hear that John Herbco has finally got drafted into the Pro Hockey League. 3rd overall by the Detroit Pro Hockey team, the club believes that John Herbco will lead Detroit to big things. While it is good news for John but bad news for the Legionnaires as they try to find a way to rebuild after losing so many good players, including John Herbco.

The Oakville Oaks hired Leon Cowern as their new head coach. Leon was an OMJHA alumnus who also was part of the 1964 Waterloo Maroons Smyth Cup run. He played only 5 seasons in the pros with no success. But when Leon took the job as an assistant coach for the Long Island minor pro club, his success skyrocketed to the top. But due to ownerships changing hands, the new guard chose not to promote him as head coach, so he went to look for a new job and right off the bat, the Oaks took him in and hoped to turn the team around.

The Oshawa Diamonds owner Patrick Tobin announced that he is in talks about selling the team to a company called “Prime Motors” that manufactures Pickup Trucks and SUVs. They have high interest in the squad after losing the bid in buying the Toronto Pro Hockey Club last year. They hope to make the purchase within two years.

The OMJHA has plans to expand again, this time going downtown Toronto as two well-established businessmen want to put together their own teams. First is Herb Pickard, the CEO of “Hornet,” a sports car manufactory company that used to co-own the Toronto International Pro Hockey Club with “Ham-Tech Radio” from Hamilton. When the merge happened, Ham-Tech bought the rest of the stock from Pickard and moved the team to Hamilton in a brand new Hamilton Ice Centre ready for a long run, meanwhile Herb and his company decided to start over with a downtown Toronto junior hockey team to bring back it’s glory days as they will house the team at the Toronto McKeough Arena that was home of the Toronto International Pro Hockey Club. Second is Chris Warner, a prominent businessman who runs “Glow City,” a neon light company that manufactures neon light signs that sells like hotcakes. Chris bought himself the old King George arena that used to be a practice facility for the Toronto Pro Hockey Club. Chris said the arena will get a well-earned makeover. Both teams will be ready for the 1980-81 season.

AQHL

Paul Name and the owners had meetings in addressing some issues that needed to resolve during the off-season, one of them was making the expansion draft more strict after the Manchester Americans chose to trade away their expansion picks for late draft picks, no one didn’t expect them to go down that path at all. But it happened, and many thought that they should be punished for the moves, but according to the rules “an expansion team can trade their expansion picks for draft picks, but it can’t receive higher than the third round,” meaning if they received the first or second-round picks, they would be charged $10,000 and a loss the future first and second-round draft picks for two years.

Another issue that needed to be addressed was the 1979 Bronz Cup Champions, the Cape Breton Warriors. The team’s owner, Will Rollins, wants to give the Warrior Arena a makeover. The problem is that the team must play their home games across the river to Westmount, their arena has a capacity of 1200, but a tight schedule limited the numbers of home games there. But luckily, the Warriors can play their home games in Membertou. Will Rollins hopes the arena upgrade gets done within a year and soon pushes a bid to host the Valor Cup.

1979 Valor Cup Tournament

 

Story

At Ottawa’s Royal Banquet Hall, CIHA President Joseph McGeorge made two announcements. The first one is naming the host for the 1980 Valor Cup Tournament, after meetings within the league presidents, the owners, and GMs made their vote, the result is the tournament will be held at Nanaimo BC, home of the Nanaimo Sharks where their arena got approved by the city to give it an upgrade from 2000 seats to 3500 seat capacity arena which it’s a significant benefit for both the Sharks and the city of Nanaimo. The second announcement is that there will be a showcase tournament that will feature junior stars of the WCLH, OMJHA, AQHL, and a mix of rookies and 2nd-year junior players from all 3 leagues. The tournament will be called the “Valor Star.” The event will be at the Ottawa Civic Forum in the Summer of 1980.

The Kitchener Legionnaires dominated this year's tournament and finished the round-robin with four wins and zero losses. John Herbco scored 10 goals, 15 assists, and 25 points within 4 games.

The Kenora Pioneers and Cape Breton Warriors lost twice to the Legionnaires in a blowout result. Both shared victories, but the Pioneers finished 2nd over the Warriors by goals.

Valor Cup Semi-Finals Kenora Pioneers vs. Cape Breton Warriors

The Pioneers may have 2nd place over the Warriors, but in the first period, they did not look good as the Warriors scored two big impact goals followed by two more in the second period. The Pioneers scored two goals in the third period, but it was not enough as the clock turned to zero, and the Cape Breton Warriors are going to the Valor Cup finals with a 4-2 win.

 1979 Valor Cup Championship Kitchener Legionnaires vs. Cape Breton Warriors

As the puck was dropped to start the first period, shots were made from end to end, the goalies were brick walls, and the defences held the offences until the first-period end. The second period was the same until 3:25 left the Warriors' Luke Davis scored a goal to give them the lead over the Legionnaires 1-0 as the second period ended. John Herbco scored two straight goals for the Legionnaires in the third period. 1:10 left, and the Warriors pulled their goalie, hoping that an extra player would turn the tide in their favour. It didn’t work as John Herbco took control of the puck and lobbed it down all the way to the empty net to seal the deal, as the clock hit zero with the final score of 3-1 and the Legionnaires celebrate winning the Valor Cup. At the same time, John Herbco is named the Valor Cup MVP for the second time in his career.

1979 AQHL Playoffs

1st Round

1st Verdun Knights vs. 8th Moncton Bears

Game one at the Verdun Arena is jam-packed as the Knights forward Josh Lucas scored three goals for a 5-2 win over the Bears. The Bears played poorly as they lost game two 7-1 to Verdun as three Knights players scored 2 goals. In-game three at Moncton, the Bears played better, but it wasn’t enough as the third period started it all Knights; for forward Max Victor, it was a career day for him after a slow season this year, with 3 goals and 4 assists as he led the Knights to an 8-2 win. The Bears had a hard time scoring as Knights goalie Nick Leflamme was a brick wall, taking 62 shots all game, not one puck passed by him. The Knights completed the sweep with a 4-0 shut win and 4 games to 0 series win to end the Moncton Bears season.

2nd Cape Breton Warriors vs. 7th Fredericton Vikings

The Fredericton Vikings shocked the crowd at the sold-out Warriors Arena with a 3-1 win in game one and a 3-2 win in game two. At the John Haskell Arena in Fredericton, the Vikings had a 3-0 lead going into the third period when Warriors rookie forward Luke Davis made 1 goal and 2 assists to tie the game and head into overtime. Over 9 minutes in the overtime, Luke Davis passed the puck to defence Shane Abrams, made the shot and scored as the Warriors got themselves back in the series with a 4-3 game three-overtime win. Thanks to the big overtime win in game three, the Warriors would continue their way and beat the Vikings three straight games, 4-2 in game four, 3-1 game five wins, and 2-0 in-game six series 4 games to 2.

3rd Sherbrooke Loups vs. 6th Laval Tigers

The Patinoire de Sherbrooke was full as fans witnessed one of the best games the Loups fans have ever seen as both Christian Dupont and rookie Josh Winters both scored three goals to give the Loups a big blowout win over the Tigers 8-2. Since the blowout loss, the Tigers had a hard time turning it around as they could not even score more than one goal as they lost both game two and game three with scores of 5-1 and 6-1. At Laval, the Tigers did more than score more than one goal, they also won game four with a score of 3-1, and lastly, they avoided being swept as they kept their season alive. Tigers head coach Chris Oliver was please with his team’s performance, “We may win game four, for us we have a long way to go, but to them (Loups) we are on borrow time.” The Tigers hope to play well like they did in game four, but the Loups had other ideas as they take game five 4-2 over the Laval Tigers and take the series 4 games 1.

4th New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 5th Trois-Rivieres Titans

The Highlanders shocked the Titans by winning game one 3-1 and 4-2 in game two. The Titans bounce back from a back-to-back loss at New Glasgow by winning games three and four but not the way they had in mind as both ended in overtimes with 3-2 and 4-3. Led by Jaune Fredette, who scored 2 goals and 4 assists as the Titans win game five 7-5 and could have a chance in ending the series in game six. The Titans' hopes of going to the next round got delayed as the Highlanders blank them in a big way with 7-0. Throughout both the first period and the second period, it was back and forth with a 4-4 tie score going into the third period. 5:07 left the Highlanders had the lead by one goal, but the Titans found a way to score two unanswered goals and hold on until the clock hit zero as they beat the New Glasgow Highlanders 7-5 and won the series 4 games to 3.

2nd Round

 1st Verdun Knights vs. 5th Trois-Rivieres Titans

The Verdun Knights show their fans why they are at the top of the league by routing the Titans in the first two games of the series with 6-1 and 5-2. The Titans turn it around at Trois-Rivieres as they tie the game 3-3 going into overtime. Ten minutes left overtime Titans Jaune Fredette scored the O/T winner 4-3 as they got themselves back in the series. The Knights took game four on cruise control with a 5-1 victory and one win away from advancing to the Bronz Cup championship. The Titans fought tooth and claw in games five and six. Both ended in overtime 3-2 and 2-1. The first two periods show that the Knights had the Titans on the ropes. Still, in the third period, the Titans played rough to even dirty as Titans' defence held both Josh Lucas and Max Victor to the point where they argued with the referees for not calling penalties and got ejected; after that, the Titans went on to win the game seven with the score of 3-2 and moving on to the Bronz Cup finals with a series victory four games to three.

2nd Cape Breton Warriors vs. 3rd Sherbrooke Loups

Fans at the Warrior Arena were on their feet as Cape Breton beat the Loups 4-2 thanks to Luke Davis, who made 2 goals, and 2 assists in game one. The Sherbrooke Loups bounce back in game two with a 5-3 win followed by game three at the Patinoire de Sherbrooke 4-2 over the Warriors. After losing two straight games, the Warriors fought back as Luke Davis 5 goals and 7 assists within two games as Cape Breton takes the series lead with a 6-2 and 7-4. Back at Sherbrooke, the Loups had the lead 3-1 halfway into the second period until Shane Abrams surprised everyone, including his teammates, as he scored three unanswered goals. Late in the third, Shane and the rest of the defence lines held the Loups offence as the clock hit zero, and the game six is over with the score of 4-3. With that win, the Cape Breton Warriors are going to the Bronz Cup finals with a 4-to-2 series win over the Sherbrooke Loups.

1979 Bronz Cup Finals

2nd Cape Breton Warriors vs. 5th Trois-Rivieres Titans

For the third straight year, the Titans are in the finals hoping for a third title in a row; however, the Warriors had other ideas as they made their Bronz Cup appearance for the second time since 1975 as Luke Davis 4 points (1G, 3A) performance leads to a 5-2 Warriors win over the Titans. The Titans played a rough game all over the Warriors' offence as Jaune Fredette scored two goals to win 2-0. The Titans' rough, challenging style game plan works, but both ended by one goal as the Warriors win game three 3-2 and game four 2-1. The Warriors were too much for the Titans as they scored six goals in the first two periods, as the third started the crowd was singing “we are the champions” as the Warriors added three more goals as the third period comes to an end with the score of 9-2 and the series 4 games to 1. The Warriors celebrate with the fans inside the Warrior Arena with the Bronz Cup. Their next quest is the Valor Cup tournament in Ottawa, Ontario.

1978-79 AQHL Season

 

Standings

1. Verdun Knights (QUE)

2. Cape Breton Warriors (ATL)

--------------------------------------------

3. Sherbrooke Loups (QUE)

4. New Glasgow Highlanders (ATL)

5. Trois-Rivieres Titans (QUE)

6. Laval Tigers (QUE)

7. Fredericton Vikings (ATL)

8. Moncton Bears (ATL)

-----------------------------------------------------------

9. Drummondville Les Rouges (QUE)

10. Portland Clippers (ATL)

11. Manchester Americans (ATL)

12. Shawinigan Voltages (QUE)

Story

The only team that made a jersey change is the New Glasgow Highlanders the change they did is dropping two thin stripes on the arms, hem and socks.

The AQHL has split the league into two divisions known as the Atlantic and Quebec divisions. The playoffs format is that the top two spots will be for the division winners while the rest are up for grabs.

The defending Bronz Cup champions Trois-Rivieres Titans had a rough first half of the season, mainly during road games over the Atlantic area. The Titans would get their game back on track by winning 15 of the last 25 games, but the team finished third place in the Quebec division. The team that took the top spot of the division and never looked back was the Verdun Knights, which they up their game with some good trades and their draft picks really helped very well. After all the rebuild put in, the Sherbrooke Loups is back from being on the bottom of the league for three years as they finished 2nd. The Laval Tigers' record of 23-23-4 may look off to some, but 50 points were enough to finish 4th. Both Drummondville and Shawinigan round out the Quebec Division 5th and 6th.

Cape Breton Warriors took the top of the Atlantic Division with their 35-13-2 72 points to show it. The New Glasgow Highlanders finally showed significant results as their top players played very well, mainly Shawn Oakley. He will be eligible for the Pro Hockey Draft after this season as he made 38 goals, and 76 points to lead the Highlanders to 2nd place in the Atlantic. Both the Vikings and the Bears battle to see who finished better. In the end, the Vikings take 3rd while the Bears finish 4th. The Portland Clippers had a lousy season where they suffered a 20-game losing streak and could not bounce back as they finished 5th. Manchester Americans had it even worse with 33 losses and finished last place. What more egg on the face for the team, owner John Rome did not renew his liquor licence to sell beers in the Manchester Forum; without it, the attendance has been under an average of 400.

As the season came to an end, the playoff matchups caught many eyes first seed Verdun Knights face eighth seed Moncton Bears, second seed Cape Breton Warriors take on the seventh seed Fredericton Vikings, third seed Sherbrooke Loups is back in the playoffs as they play the sixth seed Laval Tigers. Lastly, the fourth seed New Glasgow Highlanders battles fifth seed the defending Bronz Cup champions, the Trois-Rivieres Titans.