1974 Valor Cup Tournament



For the 2nd year in a row, the Valor Cup tournament is playing in the Toronto Forum in Toronto, Ontario. Before the tournament started, the League had a banquet at the Toronto Sparkle Hall with the Name brothers announcing the names of the six new teams coming in for the 1974-75 season.

Paul Name, the AQHL president, was the first one to announce the names for the two teams, from Verdun QC, they are called the “Verdun Knights.” From New Glasgow Nova Scotia, the team’s name is the “New Glasgow Highlanders.”

The OMJHA president Franklin Name welcome to the League from Barrie after many fan votes; the team’s name will be the “Barrie Admirals.” Oshawa named their team the “Oshawa Diamonds,” the same name as they were once called since the 1930s until the team folded in 1969 due to the passing of Jack O’Brian.

WCLH president James Name did not waste time and announce the two teams they are the “Moose Jaw Wings” and the “Kenora Pioneers.” Moose Jaw Wings, named in honour of the Royal Canadian Air Force. For the town of Kenora, the Pioneers is the team’s new name from a “name a team contest” and voted the best name.

At the tournament, Sherbrooke went perfect for the 2nd time, while the Metros went split 2 apiece and the Buffalos did not do so well ending in winless. The tournament rule goes if the 3rd seeded team goes winless; they are eliminated from the tournament.

With the Buffalos out of the picture, it is just the Metros vs the Loupes. It was a back and forth in both the first and the second period, but in the 3rd period, the Loupes top star forward Jaune Dupont score three straight goals as the Loupes takes it 6-3 over the Metros to win the 1974 Valor cup championship, Jaune Dupont is named the 1974 Valor Cup MVP.

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Next Post: 1974 CIHA off-season

Thehealthiestscratch wrote:

Shoot wish Brandon took the finals. I must ask why the names under the jerseys are completely different colors from the team. Is there a reason?

Also looking for some noise from the owls next year!

The colour names under the jerseys show what leagues they came from, blue for AQHL, orange for OMJHA, and  Jade (darker shade green) for WCLH.

For Fargo, let just say the higher-ups are hoping that the expansion draft doesn't effect the roster if things go without losing good players they could be the top team in the WCLH next year and can give the Lethbridge Cougars a run for their money.

1974 CIHA off-season

It's time for the jerseys, 6 teams have updated their sets, 1 from AQHL, 4 in the OMJHA, and only 1 from WCLH.
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Moncton Bears

As promised by the Reese brothers, the green and orange are gone and welcome back brown for the first time since the 50s. The jersey design is very classic from their hay days; the logo is the same, but it wider than the previous look.

Guelph Crusaders

The Crusaders showed off their new look. They drop the purple follow by changing the design on the jerseys in hoping that could bring success for the team after numbers of losing seasons and hopefully stay put in Guelph.

Kitchener Generals

The team made just a small change by dropping a stripe from both the arms and hem, just keep it simple.

Kitchener Legionnaires

The Legions change the stripes to three thin stripes on both the arms and the hem. The team drop the stripes on the yokes. To add the final cherry on the top of the team’s logo, they add a metallic gold around the poppy.

Owen Sound Arrowbirds

The only change the birds did is that they drop the stripes off the yokes and add nameplates to the back of the jerseys.

Lethbridge Cougars

The Cougars went with a simple thick stripe on both arms and hem along a thin stripe on the yokes. The green got darker than the previous set they wore. 

Now the expansion teams have revealed their sets.

Barrie Admirals

The logo is an anchor with the letter “B,” and the word “Admirals” set across it in black and light blue. On the white jersey, pure black and light blue stripes on the arms and the hem. On the black jersey is the same.

Kenora Pioneers

Funny story, they were supposed to be called the Fighting Muskie based on the town’s 40 ft statue Huskie the Muskie, but a minor baseball team from Duluth Minnesota said no to the name. They did allow them to use the muskellunge fish as the team mascot. So, the owner Keith Parker decide to put together the “name a team” contest in hoping to keep a muskellunge theme to it, a week later the Pioneers became the official name for the team. Hence, Keith had a logo designer to mix the name Pioneers with the muskellunge fish together, and the result is the Pioneers wordmark with the muskellunge fish screaking across. The white jersey has a big blue stripe with green trim from shoulder down, followed by a big blue stripe with two little green stripes as trims only on the front chest. The blue is the same minus the chest stripes.

Moose Jaw Wings

The logo is a fighter jet with the word “Wings” inside the plane. Simple stripes from the arms to the cuffs, along with stripes on the hem in red, blue, and white.

New Glasgow Highlanders

White jersey got thick blue stripes with yellow and red trims, while on the blue jersey, the stripes got thick white with red and yellow trims. The logo is white and blue “H” with red trim on top of blue and yellow trim on the white jersey while on the blue jersey, it’s the same, but the outer trim is yellow.

Oshawa Diamonds

Jerseys design and the logo is the same as what they were from the previous Diamonds before the club folded. Their colours are royal blue, light blue, and grey. The nameplate is a standard block with two trims, while the numbers are the same font but no trims around it.

Verdun Knights

Maroon and gold are the team’s colours. The light jersey gold dominates the stripes, hem and the yoke with maroon as trims. On the dark jersey is the same, but maroon and white switched roles.

​Next Post: 1974-75 WCLH season

 

All just great looks for the newcomers!

1974-75 WCLH season
1974-75 standings
1. Lethbridge Cougars
2. Saskatoon Cats
3. Fargo Owls
4. Medicine Hat Hawks
5. Nanaimo Greyhounds
6. Abbotsford Forest Kings
7. North Battleford Crusaders
8. Kenora Pioneers
9. Moose Jaw Wings
10. Brandon Buffalos

Story:

The new team, the Kenora Pioneers, surprised many critics with some good critical wins, including winning the season series against the defending Jade Trophy champions Brandon Buffalos (2-1-1.) The team played well enough to finish 8th place and becoming the first team in WCLH history to make it to the playoffs on their first season.

Thanks to that history by the Pioneers, the Brandon Buffalos made history of their own, but not in a good way. They lost their players from expansion drafts to Pro hockey drafts during the off-season. The team went through a rough season, including a 15-game losing streak that landed them in the last place, making them the first team in WCLH history to ever miss the playoffs after winning the Jade Trophy title a season ago.


On January 5, 1975, Greg Peterson passed away, his brother Jake takes over the club. One of Greg’s requests is to have his brother change the team’s name. Jake will announce the team’s new name during the 1975 off-season. The team put a patch with “GP” on both jerseys to honour Greg.

Fargo made a big jump this season thanks to their goalie Shawn McNaughton of Grand Forks ND, with 20 wins and eight shutouts, the highest produced by a goalie to this date. Owls rookie Tom Gregson made an impression with 25 goals, 32 assists. It would not be enough for the Owls to get swept by the Cats in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

3rd time is the charm for the Cougars as they seeded 1st for the third season in a row and went all the way to the finals beating the Saskatoon Cats 3 to 1 to win their first Jade Trophy title since winning the title in 1965.

Last edited by AJHFTW (2/20/2021 12:59 pm)