Newmarket Hurricanes

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Newmarket Hurricanes
City: Newmarket, Ontario
League: Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
Division: North
Founded: 1972
Home Arena: Ray Twinney Complex
Colours: Black, Red, and White
Head Coach: Jim Wells
General Manager: Paul Dossey
Farm club(s): Georgina Ice
Franchise history
1920s-1972: Newmarket Redmen
1972-1975: Seneca Flyers
1975-1986: Newmarket Flyers
1987-1997: Newmarket 87's
1997-present: Newmarket Hurricanes

The Newmarket Hurricanes are a Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey team from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League.

Contents

[edit] History

Although the official story is that the Hurricanes got their start in the late 1980s as the Newmarket 87's, the franchise that spawned this team existed long before it. In 1986, the Newmarket Flyers, who had moved to Newmarket from Seneca in 1975, folded. The OHA Junior "A" league was on rocky footing in the late 80s and was no longer cost efficient for most member teams. Sensing the demise of the league, the Flyers went on hiatus. The league folded in 1987, their last champions happened to be the longtime Junior "B" team: Owen Sound Greys. As more Junior A teams had folded from the OHA-A, the more Junior "B" teams came in to fill the void. As the league ran almost completely out of original Junior "A" teams, the league decided it would be best to fold. The result was a mass expansion of local Junior "B" leagues -- filling with both still-active teams and teams that had folded due to problems in the OHA-A. Newmarket pulled its franchise back together and joined the Central Junior "B" Hockey League as the 87's. After 1997, the 87's became the Hurricanes.

The 87's never did very well as a member of the Central "B", but no team exactly stacked up well to the powerhouse Barrie Colts who most notably pulled off an undefeated season in 1992-93. After the formation of the Ontario Provincial Junior "A" league in 1993, things started clicking for the franchise. They have never ranked less than 10th in a 37 team league, with 3 first place finishes in the regular season. They have also pulled off three seasons with less than 10 losses in the OPJHL.

Their best season was the 1995-96 season, after the Colts expanded into the Ontario Hockey League. The 87's finished in third place, won the Buckland Cup as league champions, and then took the Dudley Hewitt Cup as Central Canadian Junior "A" Champions. At the inaugural Royal Bank Cup in 1996 at Melfort, Saskatchewan, the 87's finished off in the round robin in second place with a 2-2 record. They defeated the BCHL's Vernon Vipers 7-5 in their first game. They then took out the SJHL's Yorkton Terriers 5-2. Everything was looking great, but the 87's soon fell apart. In the third game, the 87's were up against the only other undefeated team -- the host, the SJHL's Melfort Mustangs. The Mustangs deflated the high-flying 87's with an 11-3 blow-out. Melfort finished perfect in the round robin, but the 87's were embarressed again by the MJAHL's Moncton Beavers, 4-3. The embarrassment was not due to the score, but due to the Beavers standing as the only winless team left in the round robin until this point. The Moncton victory still left them eliminated from the tournament. Also, due to a tie breaker the 87's were still in second place. They ended up playing the Vipers again in the semi-final and lost by an uninspired score of 7-4. The Vipers knocked off the undefeated Mustangs 2-0 in the final.

In the 2005-06 season, the Hurricanes were excellent. They finished 7th overall in the league and 2nd place in the North Division with 32 wins. The Canes opened the playoffs with a 4 games to 1 series victory of the inconsistent Huntsville-Muskoka Otters. The Canes ran into tho a brickwall the next round, the division semi-final, when they ran into a Stouffville Spirit squad that was firing on all cylinders. The Spirit won the series in 6 games, beat the Aurora Tigers for the division title in 6 games, beat the Oakville Blades in 7 games in the Buckland Cup semi-final, but were out-lasted by the defending champion St. Michael's Buzzers 4 games to 2 in the league final.

The Hurricanes are preparing for a 2006-07 season that will see them in an expanded North Division, in hope of pushing deep into the 2007 playoffs.

Newmarket will host the 2008 Dudley Hewitt Cup [1].

[edit] Season-by-Season Results

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results Playoffs
Seneca Flyers
1972-73 44 16 19 9 - 214 241 41 8th OPJHL
1973-74 44 24 11 9 - 249 187 57 4th OPJHL
1974-75 44 27 12 5 - 251 184 59 1st OPJHL
Newmarket Flyers
1975-76 44 18 22 4 - 211 211 40 8th OPJHL
1976-77 44 13 23 8 - 207 249 34 11th OPJHL
1977-78 50 16 26 8 - 239 252 40 9th OPJHL
1978-79 50 19 25 6 - 223 249 44 6th OPJHL
1979-80 44 7 33 4 - 156 324 18 11th OPJHL
1980-81 44 16 28 0 - 210 290 32 10th OPJHL
1981-82 50 20 24 6 - 287 298 46 5th OJHL
1982-83 48 19 27 2 - 228 256 40 8th OJHL
1983-84 42 20 16 6 - 247 239 46 4th OJHL
1984-85 48 26 17 5 - 304 255 57 3rd OJHL
1985-86 50 21 19 10 - 237 226 52 4th OJHL
1986-87 Did Not Participate
Newmarket 87s
1987-88 44 9 27 8 - 187 249 26 11th CJBHL
1988-89 42 32 8 2 - 254 148 66 1st CJBHL
1989-90 42 26 11 5 - 173 124 57 3rd CJBHL
1990-91 42 10 28 4 - 144 226 24 13th CJBHL
1991-92 42 9 31 2 - 137 240 20 15th CJBHL
1992-93 48 23 21 4 - 257 236 51 8th CJBHL
1993-94 40 24 14 2 - 240 172 53 5th OPJHL
1994-95 48 35 11 2 - 314 183 75 1st OPJHL
1995-96 50 40 9 1 - 298 163 83 1st OPJHL Won League, Won DHC
1996-97 51 43 5 3 - 313 135 89 1st OPJHL
Newmarket Hurricanes
1997-98 51 28 17 5 1 249 185 62 6th OPJHL
1998-99 51 36 11 4 0 256 144 76 6th OPJHL
1999-00 49 37 10 1 1 296 167 76 3rd OPJHL
2000-01 49 37 7 2 3 284 145 79 2nd OPJHL
2001-02 49 35 12 2 0 232 112 72 4th OPJHL
2002-03 49 31 14 1 3 221 163 66 10th OPJHL
2003-04 49 34 13 2 0 202 122 70 5th OPJHL
2004-05 49 33 15 0 1 207 163 67 10th OPJHL
2005-06 48 32 12 3 1 217 129 68 7th OPJHL Lost Conf. SF
2006-07 49 17 29 2 1 157 203 37 23rd OPJHL Lost Conf. SF

[edit] Clarence Schmalz Cup Appearances

1970: Newmarket Redmen defeated Hespeler Shamrocks 4-games-to-none

[edit] External links


Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
Current Teams: Ajax Attack | Aurora Tigers | Bancroft Hawks | Bowmanville Eagles | Bramalea Blues | Brampton Capitals | Buffalo Jr. Sabres | Burlington Cougars | Cobourg Cougars | Collingwood Blues | Couchiching Terriers | Durham Fury | Georgetown Raiders | Hamilton Red Wings | Huntsville-Muskoka Otters | Kingston Voyageurs | Lindsay Muskies | Markham Waxers | Milton Icehawks | Mississauga Chargers | Newmarket Hurricanes | North York Rangers | Oakville Blades | Orangeville Crushers | Peterborough Stars | Pickering Panthers | Port Hope Predators | Quinte West Pack | St. Michael's Buzzers | Seguin Bruins | Stouffville Spirit | Streetsville Derbys | Toronto Dixie Beehives | Toronto Jr. Canadiens | Vaughan Vipers | Wellington Dukes

Former Member Teams: Ajax Merchants | Barrie Colts | Belleville Bulls | Brampton Warriors Jr. A | Caledon Canadians | Cambridge Winterhawks | Dixie Beehives Jr. A | Durham Huskies | Guelph Platers | Hamilton Mountain A's | Kingston Frontenacs | North Bay Trappers | Owen Sound Greys | Parry Sound Shamrocks | Royal York Royals | Shelburne Wolves | Syracuse Jr. Crunch | Toronto Nationals | Toronto Thunderbirds | Weston Dodgers | Whitby Lawmen

CJBHL Former Teams: Acton Sabres | Brampton Warriors Jr. B | Dixie Beehives | Kitchener Greenshirts | Mimico Monarchs | Nobleton Devils | Oak Ridges Dynes | Preston Raiders | Stratford Braves | Strathroy Rockets | Thornhill Thunderbirds | Waterloo Siskins

OPJHL Standings | OJHL Standings | Original OPJHL Standings | CJBHL Standings | Metro Junior A Hockey League - Standings | Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League - Standings

Canadian Junior A Hockey League | Dudley Hewitt Cup | Royal Bank Cup