Team's jersey set updates for 1976-77 season.

Here's are some teams with their jersey updates. Some are big, and some are small. Let check them out, shall we.

Cape Breton Warriors
The Warriors made just small tweaks to the set. First are the collars now got two colours instead of one. Second, both numbers and nameplates gain a trim around them.

Laval Tigers
Besides the addition of nameplates, the team change the number font from block to rounded with trim.

Trois-Rivieres Titans
With them on the rise to the top of the league and could potentially start a dynasty of their own, the team wants to look good to go along with it. The stripes on both the arms and hem were tweaked a little bit. The collar is updated. Lastly, the dark jersey is no longer gold. It is now black.

Burlington Metros
Not only did the Metros overhaul the roster, but the team overhaul their look as well—simple stripes on both the arms and hem. The Numbers is now standard block with trims.

Milton Micmacs
They redid the stripes on both the arms and the hem. On the dark jersey, the logo once had white “M” with red and gold “Micmacs” letters are now gold “M” and red and white “Micmacs” letters.

Oakville Oaks

The changes they made are the colours. They darken both red and blue. The nameplate no longer has the drop shadow trim, just a solid standard block.

Owen Sound Arrowbirds
For the first time in team history, they add black to the jerseys, the wordmark logo, and the numbers.

Waterloo Maroons
Waterloo made a change to their look, going back to their old roots with two thin stripes on both arms and the hem. The logo got an upgrade, simple “W” with trims. It is the team’s first logo update in history.

Fargo Owls
The light jersey got an upgrade. Gone are the coloured yokes; update the stripes to match the dark jersey.

Lethbridge Cougars
Cougars made changes to their look by removing the yoke stripes and replaced the “Cougars” wordmark logo with a brand-new logo that featured the “L” and a paw inside a square box.

Medicine Hat Hawks
The yoke of the dark jersey is now gold.

Nanaimo Shark
They did tweaks to their numbers, last season, it was too big to fit the nameplate, so this year they downsize the numbers and add trim around the numbers for good measure and add a nameplate to finish the set.

Saskatoon Cats
The only update the Cats did is change the stripes on arms and hem from 3 to 2 stripes, the yokes are removed, and nameplates are added.

Last edited by AJHFTW (2/20/2021 11:14 pm)

Congrats to Kitchener on the Valor.

All the updates look good. I like the new look for Burlington. Also really like the new rounded numbers for Laval.

1976-77 AQHL Season
1976-77 Standings
1. Trois-Rivieres Titans
2. Cape Breton Warriors
3. Drummondville Les Rouges
4. Moncton Bears
5. Verdun Knights
6. Fredericton Vikings
7. Laval Tigers
8. Portland Clippers
9. New Glasgow Highlanders
10. Sherbrooke Loups

Story:

AQHL President Paul Name announced that Shawinigan is the new team to be part of the 1977-78 season. After the number of nicknames for the team, the Voltages were voted the best name for the team. They will show off the logo and the jerseys during the off-season.

The Clippers rookie forward Frank Logan had a hay day this season, putting in 30 goals, 75 points. Despite that, the Clippers lost some key players to injuries, even losing 20-year-old defence Rick Cooper to the Pittsburgh Pro Hockey club as he got called up mid-season for a playoff push. With that, Portland finished 8th place and got swept by the Titans in 3 games.

New Glasgow Highlanders got so many bad lucks this season. Assistant coach Frank Jensen suffers a heart attack and is forced to retire from coaching. Then goalie coach Vince Davidson got busted for speeding downtown and putting some players that were riding with him in danger. A week after that, he was fired. Lastly, the head coach of the team, Bill Cooper, did not do a good job at coaching and got let go in mid-season; the Highlanders hired Doug Reid to take over. The result they finished 9th place, but it did show some better results down the road. GM Ray Carter worked on redeeming himself (and save his job) by trading away defence Tim Jones, forward Will Bradley, and both 2nd and 3rd round pick to Sherbrooke for 16-year-old goalie Pierre Meloche and 1st round pick, which gives the Highlanders the first two picks for the 1977 draft.

Trois-Rivieres Titans show everyone why they guarantee a 1st place finish. All the rebuild they did has paid off with 5 players of theirs sitting in the top 10 in points leaders; forward Jim Goff was named MVP of AQHL, goalie Max Hebert played excellently and made a record of 15 shutouts. The Titans finished with 38-1-1, one of the best records in team history.

The Titans continue their historic season by beating Drummondville Les Rouges in 4 games to win the 1977 Bronz Cup. With that win, the Valor Cup is the team’s final piece to the puzzle to complete history in the making.

Last edited by AJHFTW (2/23/2021 12:24 am)

1977 Valor Cup tournament
Story:
The Fargo Owls may become the first American team to be part of the Valor Cup tournament, but they became the first team to be eliminated after going winless. For the third time in four years that a 3rd seed team finish the round-robin round winless.

Kitchener Generals had a half and half tournament with 2 wins and 2 losses. Patrick Herbco helped the team stay in the competition with crucial game playing with scoring goals and assisting teammates in advancing to the finals.

The Trois-Rivieres Titans dominated the whole tournament finished 4-0 and made a Valor Cup record of 20 goals while just letting in just 3 goals.

The Valor Cup Finals was what everyone thought was supposed to be a one-sided final, but the Titans will have a hard time with the Generals. In the first period, the Titans take the lead by scoring 3 goals within 10 minutes, then only 2 minutes left. In the first period, the Generals Cal Winston scores a goal with help from Patrick Herbco.

The second period was all Generals game playing as Patrick Herbco scored 2 goals within 4 minutes to tie the game until 4 minutes left; in the second, Allen Guay broke the tie game with a long shot and hit the top corner.

The third period is where things get rougher for both goalies as they took shots like crazy from everywhere. 10 minutes left, Patrick hit a hat trick to tie the game at four apiece. With 1 minute left, controversy struck the Generals with what many fans call it “the high stick goal” as Andre Doucet lift his stick high enough to tip the puck in the net. The Generals claim it was a high stick, but Titans defence Andre is 6”11, while Generals goalie Sam Rogers is 5”10, so it is hard to call a high stick penalty. The Titans win it 5-4 final and complete their historic season as they are the 1977 Valor Cup Champions, and Mark Lewis is named MVP of the 1977 Valor Cup.

Last edited by AJHFTW (2/23/2021 12:30 am)

1977 Offseason part 1: League Draft and Expansion Draft

​OMJHA Expansion Draft
As the expansion draft happening, many teams had trade offers to both Peterborough and Orangeville draft picks to keep their players from being drafted by one of two teams. Kitchener Generals had four players on target including Patrick Herbco, so the team traded 1st round, 4th round and 5th round to Orangeville, as for Peterborough they received 2nd and 3rd round from the Generals and it worked as the Generals kept their players from being drafted while other teams just traded only the 4th and 5th round draft picks. One team that took the expansion draft hard was the Burlington Metros that lost eight players.


Orangeville O’s
1: F – Shawn Andersons, Burlington
2: G – Jack Glenn, Waterloo
3: F – Shane Lane, Guelph
4: D – Jim Hall, Kitchener Legionnaires
5: F – Will Steel, Milton


Peterborough Braves
1: D – Lenny Haynes, Waterloo
2: F – Herb Edwards, Milton
3: F – Jack Blackbell, Barrie
4: D – Chris Watson, Oshawa
5: G – Thomas Marsden, Owen Sound

AQHL Expansion Draft
With only one team added to the league, the teams can breathe a little, mainly with Drummondville that successfully traded their 2nd and 3rd round pick to the Voltages in hopes of keeping their roster together and stay with the Titans in the standings next season. Both Moncton and Fredericton lost their key players to the expansion draft even though they offer draft picks the Voltages to turn them down.
​

Shawinigan Voltages
1: F – Rick Dennis, Moncton
2: G – Kevin Garfield, Fredericton
3: D – Jean Lacombe, Laval
4: D – Vincent Leroux, Sherbrooke
5: F – Guy Beirnes, Verdun

1977 AQHL Draft
New Glasgow Highlanders hit the jackpot with the first two picks in hand. They waste no time and make their picks. The Highlanders first pick from Halifax, Nova Scotia forward Kyle Patrick, who has been on every team’s radar for some time as he shows some potential, he is the son of Halifax hockey legend Ronald Patrick. The team’s second pick from Quebec City, Quebec Guy Dubois a defenceman who can not only hit hard but also, he can score goals too, which will give the team the chance to go to the playoffs finally. The Clippers pick from Montreal, Quebec forward Paul Benoit is just what the team needs in hope for a deep playoff run.

1977 OMJHA Draft
There was an almost trade between the Metros and the Arrowbirds. The asking price from the Arrowbirds was too much for the Metros, so the deal fell apart. Milton Micmac's first pick is forward Kevin Bedford from Guelph, which should be a plus for Milton, mainly after helping the Guelph Jr. B hockey club wins the all Ontario hockey championship with 30G, 55A, 85 points in 40 game season along with 20G, 35A, 55 points in the playoffs. The 2nd pick made by the Metros is Eddie Baxter, a defenceman from Port Colborne who became an excellent enforcer for the Aurora Jr. B hockey club and could give more strength to the Metro’s defence come the 1977-78 season. The Oakville Oaks takes forward Derek Dunn from Collingwood, who is the Owen Sound AAA Major hockey club top scorer with 30 goals in 40 games is just what the Oaks need to improve scoring that they lack most of the 1976-77 season.

1977 WCLH Draft
At the draft, the new owner of the Swift Current hockey team Patrick Cox announced the team’s name would be called the Battalion. After that, they made their first pick, and they take forward from Regina, SK Ron Gratton, who may not be a scorer but is the best playmaker making 65 assists during the 1976-77 season with the Yorkton Jr. B hockey club. Medicine Hat Hawks select goalie Mark Eire from Cranbrook, B.C. Mark played very well with 15 wins in 20 games, and his save % is way above the .500 mark. 3rd pick made by the Moose Jaw Wings is Joe Robin, a forward from Vancouver, B.C. Joe’s playmaking style will help the Wings play better offence come 1977-78 season.

Last edited by AJHFTW (2/23/2021 12:34 am)