1982 WCLH Playoffs

Round 1
1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 4th east Moose Jaw Wings
In game one, the Wings had the Cougars on the ropes with a 4-0 lead going into the third, but Jack Burk made 2 goals and 4 points to tie the game 4-4. 12:17 into overtime, Wes Roy scored the O/T winner in front of a sold-out crowd in Lethbridge as the Cougars win game one 5-4. After game one, it all went downhill for the Wings as they barely scored at least 3 goals within the last three games. As the Lethbridge Cougars swept the Wings and moved on to 2nd round. The Cougars win the series 4-0.

1st east Kenora Pioneers vs. 4th west Abbotsford Forest Kings
The Kenora Pioneers got their revenge on the Abbotsford Forest Kings from last season 2nd round playoffs, it may take them six games to do it but to the Pioneers' head coach Chuck Patton it was well worth it as the two losses they took were overtime. The Pioneers win the series 4-2.

2nd west Billings Trains vs. 3rd east Portage la Prairie Magic
Both teams will do anything to win their first playoff series, but it was all Trains in the first three games. With the series 3-0 in their hands, the Billings Trains believes they are going to win game four, but the Magic have other ideas as they forced overtime and won game four; in games five and six, the Magic are on a roll with wins to force game number seven. Both went back and forth all the way to the 3rd overtime with 2:23 minutes left with a 5-5 tie game when Frank Colton scored the winner as the Trains punched their ticket to the 2nd round. The Trains win the series 4-3.

2nd east Swift Current Battalion vs. 3rd west Medicine Hat Hawks
This series was a back-and-forth in a weird way as each win was shutout; in game seven, the Battalion got the last shutout over the Hawks with a 2-0 win to win the series and move on to the 2nd round for the second year in a row. The Battalion wins the series 4-3.

Round 2
1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 2nd east Swift Current Battalion
A rematch from last year’s playoffs became the same this year, only this time the Battalion won both games one and two, but after that, it was all Cougars as they blew them away four straights to win the series and move on to the Jade Trophy finals. The Cougars win the series 4-2.

1st east Kenora Pioneers vs. 2nd west Billings Trains
Game one was a not-so-pretty one for the Pioneers as referees made many bad calls throughout the game as the Trains took it 5-2; 4 out of 5 goals the Trains made were powerplays. The Pioneers turned it around as they dominated the Trains in four straights to win the series and head off to the Jade Trophy finals again. The Pioneers win the series 4-1.

Jade Trophy Finals
1st west Lethbridge Cougars vs. 1st east Kenora Pioneers
The Kenora Pioneers, in their third Jade Trophy final in four years, are hoping for a second title in team history, while the Cougars, making their second straight finals, are gunning for a back-to-back. In game one, the Pioneers had the Cougars right where they wanted with a 4-2 score until late in the third, Jack Burk scored two goals for the Cougars to tie it up 4 a piece, and five minutes into overtime, Cougars Karl Fuhr scored the O/T winner to take game one 5-4. It was the same in game two, The Pioneers had the lead, the Cougars tied it up, forced overtime, and the Cougars won it in overtime, but the difference is it took 12 minutes into the O/T and scored by Wes Roy. The Cougars stomped the living daylights out of the Pioneers with a 9-1 game-three win; Karl Fuhr and Jack Burk scored a hat-trick in that game. In game number four, the Cougars scored five goals in the first period and held on to that lead until the Pioneers rookie Jason Classen scored a hat-trick. Still, it wasn’t enough as the clock hit zero, and the Lethbridge Cougars won game four 5-3, the series and the 1982 Jade Trophy championship for the second year in a row. At the press conference, Cougars' head coach Edward Smith said, “Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we rest up, and the next day we are heading to Sherbrooke for the 1982 Valor Cup tournament. The Cougars win the series 4-0.


Next Post: 1982 CIHA Valor Cup Tournament
 

1982 CIHA off-season

Expansion Draft

Four teams joined the CIHA (2 in the OMJHA and 2 in the AQHL) as they put their team together, hoping to get great results two to three years later. In the OMJHA, the Brantford Skyflyers didn’t take any top players in their picks, only some 2nd liners that want a crack at the 1st line. The only best pick they got is goalie Dale Hulse, the backup for the Waterloo Maroons in his third season in the league. Dale is hoping to get noticed by the scouts. Orillia Lakers picked up some good forwards, but they hit an excellent defenceman from the Kitchener Generals, Greg Ford, who could put the Lakers on target for a deep run for the playoffs. For Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds, they got their hands on forward Rich Johansson from Manchester. Val-d’Or Monarchs' top pick was Mark Tremblay from New Glasgow, who could help lead the team to a decent first season.


Brantford Skyflyers
1. Dale Hulse, G (Waterloo)
2. Alex Darby, F (Legionnaires) 
3. Edward Murry, D (Oakville)
4. Shawn Imlach, D (Buffalo)
5. Anton Riley, D (Tor Hornets)


Orillia Lakers
1. Peter Washburn, F (Tor Neon)
2. Nick Osgood, F (Oshawa)
3. Greg Ford, D (Generals)
4. Jamie Mills, F (Barrie)
5. Frank Cole, F (Oakville)


Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds
1. Rich Johansson, F (Manchester)
2. Leo Klee, D (Drummondville)
3. Keith Lapointe, F (Cape Breton)
4. Chris Rochefort, G (Verdun)
5. Norman York, F (Sherbrooke)


Val-d’Or Monarchs
1. Trent Yake, D (Sherbrooke)
2. Mark Tremblay, F (New Glasgow)
3. John Riendeau, F (Shawinigan)
4. Steph Raymond, G (Portland)
5. Robert Flower, D (Manchester)


1982 AQHL Draft
For the first time in 15 years (before the establishment of the CIHA), a defenceman got picked 1st overall and that D-man is Aaron Mellanby from Montreal, QC, drafted by Trois-Rivieres last season Aaron made history by scoring 40 goals in a season; by a defenceman while playing for the Montreal AAA club. Drummondville scored a forward from Chatham, NB Shawn Merkosky; he improved scoring between last season and two seasons ago while playing for the Moncton Jr C club. One of the big head turners made in the draft, New Glasgow drafted Aleksey Filimonov, a forward who lived in Halifax, NS, for most of his life after his family left their home in Moscow. But their hockey blood lives within, and he played very well; that caught many scouts' eyes. He could be the next big star in the pros, and the Highlanders is the team built for him to be part of it. The dark horse of the draft is the Sherbrooke Loups, who drafted a goalie named Timothy Moreau from Rimouski, QC, after talks that after next season, Lenny Tardif could go pro into the pro draft when he was named number 3 of the top 10 goalie prospect for the pro league with Lenny gone that could hurt themselves in the goalie department more than two seasons down the road.

1. Trois-Rivieres Titans – Aaron Mellanby, D (Montreal, QC)
2. Drummondville Les Rouges – Shawn Merkosky, F (Chatham, NB)
3. New Glasgow Highlanders (from Manchester) – Aleksey Filimonov, F (Moscow, USSR)
4. Portland Clippers – Tom Hislop, G (Shawville, QC)
5. Laval Tigers – Matt Nasreddine, F (Shawinigan, QC)
6. Shawinigan Voltages – John Orlando, D (Terrebonne, QC)
7. Cape Breton Warriors – Franklin Olson, D (Moncton, NB)
8. Fredericton Vikings – Wayne Daoust, F (Rouyn-Noranda, QC)
9. Laval Tigers (from Verdun) – Alan Mallaby, D (Hull, QC)
10. Moncton Bears – Shawn Metcalfe, G (Moncton, NB)
11. Sherbrooke Loups – Timothy Moreau, G (Rimouski, QC)
12. Portland Clippers (from New Glasgow) – Frank Orr, F (Saint John, NB)


1982 OMJHA Draft
With the Metros gone, the first round is only 13 teams drafting players; many teams felt different without the Metros, but they had no choice but to move on. The Generals started by presenting their new GM, William Darby, who had grand experience as a GM for the Minnesota Pro Hockey Club for 10 years. The reason for his departure from them was that he wanted to be close to his hometown of Woodstock, Ontario, and the Kitchener Generals is where he can bring them back to the glory days of winning championships. The plan begins with drafting Matthew Bellows from Hamilton, a real solid defenceman who can help the Generals with their defence issues. The Toronto Hornets took forward Tim Bear, who made a name for himself as one of the top scorers in the Metro Toronto area hockey league and could be the one the Hornets need to move them up to playoff contenders next season. Buffalo strikes a trade deal with the Toronto Neon to receive the third overall pick, and they choose Todd Zemlak as part of the improvement to the defence core in the hope of a back-to-back title for the Bees.

1. K. General – Matthew Bellows, D (Hamilton, ON)
2. T. Hornets – Tim Bear, F (Penetanguishene, ON)
3. Buffalo (from T. Neon) – Todd Zemlak, D (St. Catharines, ON)
4. Oshawa – Jason Yoke, F (Sudbury, ON)
5. K. Legionnaires – Terrence Wright, G (Orangeville, ON)
6. Peterborough – Herb Wyrozub, D (Omemee, ON)
7. Owen Sound – John Wylie, F (Mount Forest, ON)
8. Barrie – Joe Wilson, F (Markham, ON)
9. Milton – Travis Warrener, G (Brampton, ON)
10. Orangeville – Alex Richmond, F (Woodstock, ON)
11. Oakville – Vince Olson, F (Oakville, ON)
12. Buffalo – Mark O’Reilly, F (Niagara Falls, NY)
13. Waterloo – Vernon Fetisov, D (Barrie, ON)


1982 WCLH Draft
The WCLH draft this year was almost all forwards, with 10 in the first round; also, there are two players from the Euros. Saskatoon takes Matthew Goodfellow from Winnipeg to give more scoring depth within the roster. Clint Abgrall won many faceoffs during his time with the Prince George Jr.B club; that ability is what Chilliwack needs to improve compared to last season. The Surry River Dogs picked Pat Lemelin after turning heads at the WCLH training camp in Vancouver with his stick handling that could help the team move up and get into the playoffs. The Dark Horse of this year's draft was Mike Lessard from Portland, Oregon, who was named top goalie in all Oregon states for the second year in a row; it was good enough for the Forest Kings to pick him and could lead them back to the top of the mountain.

1. Saskatoon - Matthew Goodfellow, F (Winnipeg, MB)
2. Chilliwack – Clint Abgrall, F (Prince George, BC)
3. Surrey – Pat Lemelin, F (Red Deer, AB)
4. Medicine Hat (from Fargo) – Henry Richardson, F (Edmonton, AB)
5. Nanaimo – Isaac Schmidt, F (Regina, SK)
6. Brandon – Clarence Langkow, D (Moose Jaw, SK)
7. Abbotsford – Mike Lessard, G (Portland, OR)
8. Moose Jaw – Kurt Lscroix, D (Seattle, WA)
9. Portage la Prairie – Mark Daneyko, F (St. Paul’s MN)
10. Swift Current – Jake Benoit, G (Calgary, AB)
11. Medicine Hat – Max Gustafsson, F (Umea, Sweden)
12. Kenora – James Matthews, F (Kindersley, SK)
13. Billings – David Lemay, F (Fargo, ND)
14. Lethbridge - Anders Krzysztof, F (Berlin, Germany)

News

The Canadian International Hockey Association Announced that the Medicine Hat Hawks will be the host for the 1983 CIHA Valor Cup tournament. Medicine Hat tops the votes to be the host over Lethbridge, Swift Current, Billings and Fargo. With such great news, Hawks owner Jack Grin could offer deals with the city about putting good money into a new arena soon to replace the old Medicine Hat Auditorium.

Many from other leagues were shocked over the Burlington Metros departure, which means there is a whole new voting to determine which OMJHA team to host the 1984 Valor Cup Tournament; the candidates are Oshawa, Orangeville, Oakville, Barrie, and Buffalo.


The CIHA is in talks of putting patches on teams to represent their leagues; normally, patches are on the upper left chest; however, others wish to have them on the shoulders, which most teams don’t have secondary logos on them, for now, the tenth-anniversary Valor Cup patch will be on the Medicine Hat Hawks jersey and three other teams that make it to the tournament.


There were other talks that all three leagues could make their season from 50 to 60 games, but the increase won’t happen until the 1985-86 season if the votes are unanimous. As of the 1982-83 season, all players must have visors on their helmets to protect their eyes from injuries. Lastly, the league decided to go with a trial run with long pants from a company called “Lite-sonic” that was made only for roller hockey, but they sold it to six CIHA teams, the Manchester Americans,  Val-d’Or Monarchs, Peterborough Bolts, Toronto Neon, Kenora Pioneers and Moose Jaw Wings will wear them 1982-83 season.


Rumours about the Manchester Americans cleaning house became true as John Rome let go of everyone in the office and started building it from scratch by hiring Nick Yankton as the team’s GM, who had good GM experience in the lower tier junior A team in Concord, New Hampshire. Nick wasted no time as he had a good knowledge of the Manchester hockey program and hired Randy Reinhart, who was a big star in both Manchester Minor Pro and Boston Pro club’s heyday in the ’60s; Randy started coaching many teams and stacking up wins along the way with his coaching skills and bringing his assistant coach Trever Wales and goalie coach Mitch Zachary into the mix the Americans will have a good run down the road.

With both Val-d’Or Monarchs and Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds ready for their first season to start in the 1982-83 season, a new team is ready to set up shop, and that is the town of Charlottetown P.E.I. They will be ready for the 1983-84 season as they announced they are called the “Charlottetown Greens,” named after the Island’s story, Anne of Green Gables. The team’s colours are green, blue, and red; they will show off the logo and the jerseys next year off-season.

The Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds showed off their logo and the jerseys at the re-opening of the upgraded Centre Firebird as it once had a seating cap of 1000, now 3000, as team owner Vincent Maurice presented to the crowd team’s GM Willie Bouhard, Head Coach Frank Allen and some players that got picked up from the expansion draft. The logo is the bird's head with wings and a fire sitting on top of the bird’s head in red, light red, yellow and black. The jerseys have thick stripes on the arms and hem with thin black trims in red, gold, and black.
Bill Lamoureux, the owner of the Val-d’Or Monarchs, is ready for their inaugural season by showing off their gear. The Monarch's logo is the giant “V” with an “M” on top of it in navy as the team’s colour. The jerseys have simple trims, nothing too over the top.

With the Metros no longer part of the league, it is now a 15-team league, including Brantford Skyflyers and Orillia Lakers. As for the division, the Skyflyers are part of the Hero division, while the Lakers are in the Steel division.

From ending one drama to the next one, it’s the Kitchener Legionnaires, as they haven’t received any total payout from the league’s bank, just part of it. Once again, questions were all over Tom Van Ryan as he has been dodging reporters and owners about these problems which if he doesn’t find a way to fix it, chances are the Legionnaires will fold after the 1982-83 season.

The Micmacs could leave Milton soon as Harold MacFarland is planning on retiring, but his plans on handing over the team to his son Mitch MacFarland turned upside down as Mitch offered a GM deal from the Calgary Pro Hockey Club after spending eight seasons with the club as assistant GM if he signs this deal than Harold will put the team up for sale to any local business will have 1 or 2 years to buy and keep the team in Milton if not he will sale to anyone that will buy and move the team to their location.

The only good news for President Tom Van Ryan was he contacted two businessmen named Isaac and Abram, the Wall brothers, putting a team in Niagara Falls; they are working on getting land to build an arena for a team to play in.
The Brandford Skyflyers showed off their set. Angle stripes on the arms while the hem are standard, all in green and white.

The Orilla Lakers have four shades of blue to represent water. All four blues are on the home jersey. On the road jersey, however only show three, the only forth blue you can see on the road is the trim around the numbers.


After letting go of Edward Gore, the Saskatoon Cats looked for a new head coach. They got themselves a former Saskatoon Cats top player, Shawn Billiton, who was part of the Cats dynasty that won three titles in a row from 1966, 1967 and 1968 (years before the Est of the CIHA); after the juniors, he had success in the pros winning three pro hockey championships with the Montreal Pro hockey club in the 70s, then he went on doing coaching jobs around the Quebec City area in hopes of getting a job with an AQHL team, but it didn’t happen until a job open from the Cats came in, and he took it. “I am happy to return to a team where I got my career started in the biggest way possible; once I get my staff put together, the build for a dynasty begins.”

With being named the host of the 1983 Valor Cup Tournament, the Medicine Hat Hawks are putting together their roster better than before. “All I can say is the pressure is on for us to enter the tournament with momentum on our side; if our season doesn’t go well, we will be in trouble.” Hawks GM Leon Franklin said in an interview with a local radio station.

Last edited by AJHFTW (3/02/2024 2:31 pm)

1983 OMJHA Playoffs

 Round 1

Hero Division

Oakville Oaks vs. Toronto Hornets
The Oaks had a tough time winning the first two games and losing game three 3-2 in overtime to the Hornets. However, they got in a groove in game four, 4-1 and finished the Hornets off in game five, 4-2, to win the series in five games. The Oaks wins the series 4-1.

Barrie Admirals vs. Milton Micmacs
The first two games were close, but after the game two overtime loss, the Admirals fell apart as the Micmacs won both games three and four to complete a game sweep and, for the second time, beat the Admirals in the first round. The Micmacs wins the series 4-0.

Steel Division

Buffalo Bees vs. Owen Sound Arrowbirds
The Arrowbirds couldn’t find any answers to win against the Bees until game four, where they had the lead 4-2 going into the third period when William VanDean finally started scoring goals for the first time since December 6th, and he did it with three goals to give the Bees game four wins and the sweep to move on to the next round. The Bees wins the series 4-0.

Waterloo Maroons vs. Toronto Neon
The Maroons had some hiccups in the first two games at the hands of the Toronto Neon, but they would turn it around, win four straight, and head to the Steel Division finals. The Maroons wins the series 4-2.

Hero Division Final

Oakville Oaks vs. Milton Micmacs
Both teams had been back and forth most of the series; in game five, trailing 3-1 going into the third period, the Oaks went tooth and nail to come back with Jake Dahl’s two goals within 30 seconds out of 1:20 left in the third to tie the game at three apiece. In overtime, Oaks rookie Vince Olson made an opportunity moment as one of the Macs players made a weak pass; Vince took the puck, got a breakaway to the net, and scored the overtime winner to take game five 4-3. The Macs ran out of gas in game six as the Oaks shut them out 4-0 to win both game six and the series to punch their ticket to the Smyth Cup Championship. The Oaks wins the series 4-2.

Steel Division Final

Buffalo Bees vs. Waterloo Maroons
The Maroons got themselves in a challenging situation as Adam Newhook and Larry Arsenal got called up to their pro teams for a playoff push. At the same time, Tom Zehr and Vernon Fetisov suffered an injury bug, and even Nick Ross was on a cold streak since losing games one and two in the first round with the Toronto Neon. The Buffalo Bees took advantage and shocked the whole league with a sweep of four straight games, only allowing just four goals. The Bees wins the series 4-0.

Smyth Cup Finals

Buffalo Bees vs. Oakville Oaks
“The Rematch,” which everyone has been waiting for since last season between the Bees and the Oaks. In game one, the Bees William VanDean scored two goals and 5 points to give them a win 5-2 over the Oaks. Game number two William scored only one but made four assists for 5-3 win once again. In game three, the Oaks had a good lead, but Greg Dahlstrom and Floyd Currie each scored two goals to give the Bees a 4-3 win over the Oaks. Things turned around for the Oaks as Jake Dahl scored two goals within 3 minutes left in the third period, forcing the game into overtime. Then Jake scored the OT winner to take game four 4-3. The Oaks didn’t have enough gas as the Bees took game five thanks to Mark O’Reilly’s five assists with the score of 5-1 final, and once again, the Buffalo Bees are the 1983 Smyth Cup Champions and taking a trip to Medicine Hat for the Valor Cup Tournament. The Bees wins the series 4-1.


Next Post: 1982-83 WCLH Season

1983 WCLH Playoffs

Round 1
1 west: Lethbridge Cougars vs. 4 east: Moose Jaw Wings

The Cougars showed no mercy on the Wings, as they would win the series in four games to add more salt to the wound. The Wings couldn’t score as they became the first team in the WCLH best-of-seven-game series era to get swept without scoring a goal. The Cougars wins the series 4-0.

2 west: Billings Trains vs. 3 east: Fargo Owls

The Billings Trains had high hopes to move on to the second round, but the Fargo Owls had other ideas as both went back and forth all the way to game seven, where the Trains led 3-1 going into the second period as they did everything they can to hold on to that lead and the defence duo of Drew Eastwood and Glen Sasakamoose really gave the Owls offence a hard time all game, in the third period the Trains added two more goals to win game seven 5-1. The Trains wins the series 4-3.

1 east: Swift Current Battalion vs. 4 west: Abbotsford Forest Kings

The Battalion did not waste any time and took the Forest Kings down within 5 games, as the only loss for the Battalion was in game four in overtime; Eric Wilcox made 9 goals and 12 points in that series, which was the best he showed after going through last playoffs on a cold streak. The Battalion wins the series 4-1.

2 east: Portage la Prairie Magic vs. 3 west: Medicine Hat Hawks

The Magic had everything going their way, winning the first two games over the Hawks. However, in game three, the Magic lost Zachary Natyshak (knee) and Mark Daneyko (upper body) to injury. The Hawks took an advantage and won four straight to move on to the second round. The Hawks won the series 4-2.

Round 2

1 west: Lethbridge Cougars vs. 3 west: Medicine Hat Hawks

The battle between the undefended Cougars and the Valor Cup Host the Hawks. The Cougars got the sweep, but all those four games were overtime, including a 5-4 overtime win where the Cougars came back from a 4-2 behind late in the third period; Jack Burk got the hat-trick on that game including the overtime win. The Cougars wins the series 4-0.

1 east: Swift Current Battalion vs. 2 west: Billings Trains

With being the only east division team still in the playoffs, things were not looking suitable for the Battalion as the Trains took the first three games of the series until the Battalion won game four in overtime and would win two more games to force a game seven, ultimately Frank Colton scored the overtime winner as the Billings Trains is going to the Jade Trophy finals for the first time in the club history. The Trains wins the series 4-3.

Jade Trophy Finals

1 West: Lethbridge Cougars vs. 2 West: Billings Trains

The Lethbridge Cougars kept their foot on the gas pedal as they dominated all four games, even being behind by two goals and coming back and winning game two. The Trains got no answers at all; as the clock hit zero in game four, the Lethbridge Cougars won the Jade Trophy for the third time in a row, becoming the second team to pull it off; the last team to do so was the Saskatoon Cats (1966,1967,1968) including their 1966-67 season were perfect. As the Cougars players hoist the trophy, the coaches are putting together strategies for the grand prize, the Valor Cup.


Next Post: 1982-83 AQHL Season