WCLH 1977-78 season



Standings
1. Fargo Owls
2. Kenora Pioneers
3. Abbotsford Forest Kings
4. Nanaimo Sharks
5. Brandon Buffalos
6. Moose Jaw Wings
7. Saskatoon Cats
8. Medicine Hat Hawks
9. Lethbridge Cougars
10. Swift Current Battalion

Season Story
October 7, 1977, marks the Swift Current Battalion inaugural season opener that fans been waiting for as the team played against the Moose Jaw Wings. Battalion rookie forward Ron Gratton scored his first goal in his WCLH career, and he would add three assists to give the team their first win in the team’s history. Swift Current would add 12 more wins and ended last place, but the mayor of Swift Current said, “This team is here to stay long term!”

One of many big stories that were all talks about was a trade between Kenora and Saskatoon that suppose to be a win for the Cats as they received forward Jake Folk and defence Reggie Gordy. The Pioneers end up getting goalie Zack Mick and a 2nd round pick. Unhappy that he got traded lit a fire inside Zack as he got the chance to start for the Pioneers and went on a roll with a 24-5-1 in 30 games and gave the team a 2nd place finish. While the Cats fell apart in the second half, top key players got injured to even Kevin Vale, Sam Fritz, and Matthew Edwards got the call up from their pro hockey clubs as Saskatoon finished 7th to make things not sit well for the Cats they have a playoff match up with the Pioneers.

The other team that had their ups and downs was the Brandon Buffalos. In the first half of the season, the team played very well, the team even placed in 1st over the Fargo Owls. The second half was where the team went downhill. Tim Woods, the team head coach, had problems trying to keep the team together. The Buffalos 14 game losing streak led to a locker room fight between forward Luke James and defence Paul Cole. The team’s chemistry was not there as the Buffalos ended the season in 5th.

For the second year in a row, the Fargo Owls took 1st place in the WCLH with what would be a new record of 43-5-2, to add more records by the Owls, goalie Nate Benn made a record of 15 shutouts out of 30 games.

​Next Post: 1978 WCLH Playoffs

Last edited by AJHFTW (7/11/2020 11:56 pm)

OMJHA 1977-78 season



Standings
1. Kitchener Generals
2. Kitchener Legionnaires
3. Barrie Admirals
4. Oshawa Diamonds
5.  Waterloo Maroons
6. Guelph Crusaders
7. Oakville Oaks
8. Owen Sound Arrowbirds
9. Milton Micmacs
10. Burlington Metros
11. Orangeville O’s
12. Peterborough Braves

Season story

It was a big two days for both Peterborough Braves and Orangeville O’s as both played home and home games against each other. The first game between the two was at Orangeville Arena as the O’s wins the home opener 3-2 and O’s forward Jack Blackbell was the 1st star with two goals and one assist. The second game was a big for the folks in Peterborough as they felt like its homecoming, and it shows it as the Braves beat the O’s 4-2 thanks to the 1st star of that game Shawn Steel with a hat-trick. Both teams finished in the bottom 2 with almost the same record, but the O’s got the season series match-up better than the Braves with 3-1-0.

One of the biggest news that did not sit well for the OMJHA, mainly the Milton Micmacs as forward Sam Warner, signed a deal with SWOHL’s Flint Fury. Questions about how it went wrong between the player and the Micmacs, sources say that the Micmacs had the money ready for Sam until suddenly the money was gone to makes it worse for the team. They lost good players to injuries and call ups from the Pro hockey clubs. The Micmacs once had a 12-game winning streak and hit 4th place in the first half of the season but hit a 15-game losing streak in the second half and finished 9th.

1977-78 season was the best season that the Barrie Admirals have ever performed. With the help of captain Ross Silverman leading the team along with Leo Jackson’s 30 goals, 75 points season and rookie goalie Stan Cole played like he isn’t a rookie with 25 wins and ten shutouts in 35 games he played skyrocketed the Admirals to finished third place.

Things came from bad to worse for both the Guelph Crusaders and team owner Jack Doan as for some odd reason, the league fee didn’t when through, and the city of Guelph isn’t happy about it. Jack took both the league and the bank that does the league’s banking to court. However, Jack has the advantage, but the lack of proof both the league and the bank won the court battle with that the OMJHA made an 11 team owner vote by the score of 8-3 Jack Doan ownership of the Guelph Crusaders is no longer his anymore. Unhappy with the decision, Jack Doan quote, “Mark my words, this league will regret taking this team away from me.” As for the team’s fate being in Guelph, that depends on if anyone willing to buy the team and keep them in the city, if there is no offer on the table, then the team will be up for sale for relocation.

Next Post: 1978 OMJHA Playoffs

1977-78 AQHL Season



Standings
1. Trois-Rivieres Titans
2. Drummondville Les Rouges
3. Verdun Knights
4. Cape Breton Warriors
5. Laval Tigers
6. Portland Clippers
7. Moncton Bears
8. Fredericton Vikings
9. New Glasgow Highlanders
10. Shawinigan Voltages
11. Sherbrooke Loups

Season Story

The Shawinigan Voltages opened the first game of their inaugural season with a 3-1 loss to the Verdun Knights in front of a sold-out Voltage Arena. The first game shows some good sign for the city as believe it or not; the city is getting a brand new arena in the next two years. “Things are indeed looking up here in Shawinigan.” Volts Owner Pierre Leflar said.

With being the bottom of the league the Sherbrooke Loups made some moves that can help them down the road. The Loups traded some players but the most significant trade they did is traded the last member of the 1974 Valor Cup champions forward Paul Dupree to the Trois-Rivieres Titans for both 1st Round, and 2nd Round picks for the 1978 draft.

 The Fredericton Vikings made some good moves, but two of their top 3 players end up getting the call up from the pros which hurt the team, luckily the team barely finished 8th with help from forward Sam Brady who made 20 goals, 45 points this season kept the team from looking at the playoffs from the outside.

Both the Titans and the Les Rouges battled for 1st place of the league as they fought back and forth. Still, on one game, the Les Rouges suffered a 4-2 loss to the Portland Clippers that cost their chance to keep up with the Titans as Drummondville finished 2nd place just 10 points behind the Titans as they finish 1st for the second straight season.

Next Post: 1978 AQHL Playoffs

1978 AQHL Playoffs

Round 1 (best 3 of 5 games)

1st Trois-Rivieres Titans vs. 8th Fredericton Vikings: The Vikings made the most of this series as they gave the Titans a hard time. Game one the Titans had a 2-0 lead, but the Vikings made two surprising goals to tie the game and sent it to overtime, which Titans Jim Goff scored the overtime winner in front of a full house at the Aréna de Trois-Rivières. Game 2, the John Haskell Arena, is packed with hockey fans as the Vikings surprised the Titans with 4 unanswered goals early in the third period. Midway in the third, the Titans regain the lead as left-winger Guy Mulgrew scored a goal with 5:20 left in the game until around 0:36 left Vikings defenceman Pete Lass tie the game and just like game one both teams are going in overtime. 9:20 left in the first overtime Titans right-winger Jon Rehnquist scored his first playoff career goal to give the team the win 6-5 and the commanding lead 2 games to none in this series. Game three back at Trois-Rivieres this time around the Vikings took the lead going into the third period 3-1. Guy Mulgrew scored two goals to tie the game and made this game in overtime. It took with 5:56 left in the second overtime for Jon Rehnquist to score the O/T winner 4-3 and finish the series 3 to none as the Titans move on to 2nd Round.

2nd Drummondville Les Rouges vs. 7th Moncton Bears: In game one was a blowout win for the Les Rouges as they beat the Bears 8-0. Game two was a different tone as the Bears put the Les Rouges in tight spots as the Bears took game two 4-2 to even the series 1 apiece. The Les Rouges couldn’t recover from game 2 as they lost badly to Moncton 3-1 in game three. Game four was no different Drummondville struggled throughout the game as Moncton was too much as the Bears takes a shutout win 3-0 and win the series 3-1 as everyone witness for the first time in league history that a 7th seeded team beat a 2nd seeded team.

3rd Verdun Knights vs. 6th Portland Clippers: In game one, Portland shocked the Knights with the win of 4-2 score, but things got ugly as Knights forward Cody Nadeau got checked hard by Clippers defenceman Joe Hunt as the game clock hit zero. “That was a dirty hit, and they know it, come game 2 we will hurt them with our game-playing.” Knights head coach Nathen Giguere said at the press conference after the game. Head coach Nathen and the Knights kept their word and beat the Clippers 5-3. The Knights continued their momentum going with a solid 3-1 win. Verdun Knights finish off the series with a 4-1 win over the Portland Clippers and the series 3-1.

4th Cape Breton Warriors vs. 5th Laval Tigers: Game number one the Tigers took the lead, but the Warriors came back as Alex Jacks played a key role as he made 3 assists to helped Cape Breton takes game one 5-3. Laval fought back in game two as they beat the Warriors 3-1. Cape Breton turns it around for themselves as they beat Laval 3-2 in game three. In game four, the Tigers threw everything at the Warriors and succeed with a shutout win 3-0 to even the series 2 apiece. Game five it’s a winner takes all as the Warriors made it to the Tigers and win game five 4-2 and move on to the 2nd Round with the series win 3 to 2.

2nd Round (best 3 of 5 games)

1st Trois-Rivieres Titans vs. 7th Moncton Bears: Game one is where everyone will see who will more likely will win this series, and the Titans show it as Paul Dupree made two critical goals as they beat the Bears 4-2. The Bears fought back in game two, but it was not enough as the Titans shut them down with a 5-3 victory. Trois-Rivieres Titans finish the Bears off in game three thanks to left-wing Jaune Fredette’s 2 goals, 4 assists as the Titans wins it 6-1 and sweep the series.

3rd Verdun Knights vs. 4th Cape Breton Warriors: In game one, the Warriors surprised both the Knights and the fans at the Dome de Verdun with a 4-2 win. Game two at the Warrior Arena, the Knights, took down the Warriors with a 3-2 win thanks to forward Rene Hebert, who made 3 key assists in that game. Game three the Knights thought they got the game in the bag, but the Warriors had other ideas as Alex Jacks made his first hat-trick of his playoff career along with 3 assists as Cape Breton takes it 6-4 for 2 games to 1 and hopes to finish the series at the Warrior Arena. Game four the Knights struggled through the 1st period, but came back and with help from defenceman Leon Corbet scoring a key goal to keep their season alive, the Warriors was all over Knights goalie Keith Corbet in the 3rd period, but Keith was a brick wall as he stops 21 shots as the last buzzer hit and the Knights even the series with a 5-3 win and heads back to Verdun for game number five. The Knights are determined to win on home ice, and with Rene Hebert scoring 2 goals, 2 assists, and Leon Corbet with his 2 goals, 3 assists helped Verdun Knights win the game five 6-2 and win the series 3 to 2 heading to the Bronz Cup finals against the Titans.

1978 Bronz Cup Championship (best 4 of 7 games)

1st Trois-Rivieres Titans vs. 3rd Verdun Knights: Game one at the Aréna de Trois-Rivières where the Titans took care of business as they took the win 4-1 over the Knights thanks to Jaune Fredette with 2 goals and 1 assist. Game two was the same score 4-1, but this time it’s Paul Dupree made 3 goals, and 1 assist. Game three the Titans thought they got lead 4-1 after the 1st period when the 2nd period started that where Knights played a good game as Leon Corbet made 2 goals and 3 assists as Verdun Knight wins it 6-4 final in hopes to keep it up and tie the series. In game four, the Knights gave it all, but the Titans kept the game their way as they won the game in overtime 4-3. Trois-Rivieres Titans took it to the Knights with help from both Jaune Fredette and Paul Dupree as they win game five 6-1 and become back to back Bronz Cup Champions and will take a trip to Toronto for the 1978 Valor Cup tournament.





Next Post: 1978 Valor Cup Tournament

1978 CIHA Off-season

1978 AQHL Draft
Many top teams tried to offer the bottom 3 teams picks for players, but those offers were not good enough to anybody’s taste, so the bottom team’s picks are still in their hands. With their 1st pick still intact, the Sherbrooke Loups waste no time and made their pick, and they took forward Josh Winter from Saint John, New Brunswick. The Volts select goalie Trevor Corbet from Boisbriand, QC. Forward Jaune Poulette of Quebec City, QC, was the 3rd pick by the New Glasgow Highlanders.

1978 OMJHA Draft
Peterborough Braves hit the jackpot with forward Mike Mellon from Pickering, Ontario, who is a scoring machine after making 42 goals for the Pickering Jr. B club and lead them to an all-Ontario Jr. B title.  The Orangeville O’s select from Collingwood defence Ron Green; not only can he play defence, but he can also score too, which could be what the O’s need to boost their offence. Pick number 3; the Burlington Metros took defence Matthew Walton from Guelph that the Metros title him “the man with the cleanest hits,” which they need in hopes of heading back to the top of the league.

1978 WCLH Draft
The Battalion may have traded some picks, but they kept their 1st pick and used it to select defence Peter Warwick from Flin Flon, MB. Lethbridge Cougars pick, from Calgary, AB forward Jack Burk. Medicine Hat Hawks got themselves a forward from Red Deer, AB Seth Lewis, who’s been under the Hawks' radar for a good year and believed that he could give the team what they need in a chance of getting in the playoffs long term.

News

CIHA: The Valor Cup is going to the national capital as the brand new Ottawa Civic Forum will be the place for the tournament; it’s also the home of soon to be the Ottawa Pro Hockey Club as the city got themselves an expansion team which they’ll debut in the 1980-81 season.

CIHA: With Ottawa hosting the 1979 Valor Cup tournament, the trio leagues and the CIHA president Joseph McGeorge saw some teams giving their arenas upgrades to even building brand new arenas, so they decided they will have a team hosting the Valor Cup tournament, which means that the host can be part of the tournament along with the champions to make it a four-team tournament. Some owners don’t like the idea, but most believe that it can benefit both the teams and the cities. They will announce who will host the tournament during the 1979 Valor Cup tournament.

AQHL: With the addition of the Manchester Americans for the 1978-79 season, the AQHL decide to make two divisions. One will be called the “Quebec division,” that have all six teams from Quebec, while the other one is now known as the “Atlantic division” as for the playoffs, it’s now extended; both the 1st and 2nd Round will be just like the finals it’ll be the best 4 of 7 games.



AQHL: After much hype, the Manchester Americans officially showed off their jersey set in red, white and blue. The light jersey got red and blue stripes all over the arms and hem; the arms were so full of stripes that the TV numbers are placed on the shoulders. On the dark is the same, but the cuffs are thick white stripe while on the hem, the white is thin.

OMJHA: After a meeting with the owners, president Franklin Name announced that next season all three rounds of the playoffs are going to be the best 4 of 7 games in hopes of making it more interesting to all of the teams.



OMJHA: With the Guelph Crusaders now moved to Buffalo, New York, Ryan Byron Sr. officially name the team “Buffalo Bees.” The Bees showed off their jersey sets presented by Senior’s son and the team’s GM Ryan Byron Jr. The logo is a Homeplate shape shield with fade black and gold stripes, a big white “B” sits on top of the shield and to add an icing of the cake two little bees sit on the spots where the “B” is. True black was added for trims around the logo. On the light jersey, two gold and two fade black stripes on both arms, hem and the socks; the dark is the same, but both fade black and white switch roles.

OMJHA: Little by little, Generals GM Todd Holmes is almost done purchasing the team from current owner Gerald Herbco as he is getting ready to retire from the sport altogether to look after his dairy farm more in his hometown of Thamesville, Ontario.



WCLH: The Western Canadian League of Hockey welcomes from Billings, Montana, the owner of the club Bill Knox held a press conference in front of a brand new “Star Sky Sports Complex,” a multi-sport facility that house a hockey rink, baseball field, basketball court, and a football practice facility. The rink house 3000 seats and could see expanse more if the hockey market catches on. Bill Knox named the team the “Billings Trains,” named after the history of the rapid growth of the economy thanks to being part of the railroad town, and both his father and his grandfather were in the railway business that helped the city grow. An old steam train with steam surrounds the team’s logo with green, black, light blue as trim around the logo and gold letters that said “Trains” sitting on top of the train. On the light jersey, both the arms and hem got thick green stripe and light blue and gold thin stripes. On the dark jersey, the green and white switch roles, and both light blue and gold tin stripes switch roles.



WCLH: The WCLH also welcomes Portage la Prairie, MA as part of the league as well as owner Matthew Durocher, who have deep hockey roots were; his grandfather Jaune Durocher was a great hockey player and coach in the province of Manitoba, his father William “the Magic” Durocher was the first Manitoba native to win a pro hockey MVP and won three pro hockey titles under his belt, and lastly his brother Greg Durocher is currently playing for the Manitoba Pro Hockey Club after playing 5 seasons for the Chicago Pro Hockey Club. Matt did have a good 5-year pro hockey career but suffered a career-ending injury, so he runs a hockey equipment business that helps many hockey clubs that needed equipment fast. Standing in front of a 2500 seat arena named the “Jaune Durocher Memorial Arena,” he names the team the “Portage la Prairie Magic” after his father’s nickname “the magic” where he can make the puck disappear from his stick to the net that drives goalies crazy. The logo is a black top hat with a red stripe and purple letters of two big caps, “Ps” and small-cap “L” and “A,” sitting on top of it. The light jersey got a thick black stripe, thin purple stripe, and thick red stripe on the cuffs and hem, while the dark jersey is the same but both black and white switch roles.

WCLH: With two more teams being added for the 1978-79 season, two divisions need to be made, and so the “West division” and the “East division” are born. Both the league president James Name and the owners agreed to expand the 1st and 2nd round playoff games from the best of 3 of 5 to the best of 4 of 7 games. “Now, we got ourselves a real playoff series bottom line!” Nanaimo Sharks owner Jake Peterson said after the announcement.

Last edited by AJHFTW (4/15/2021 7:25 pm)