Villanova Knights
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Villanova Knights | |
 |
|
| Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League | |
| City | North York, Ontario |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Division | North |
| Franchise history | 1980-1991: Henry Carr Crusaders 1991-1993: Weston Dukes 1993-1997: Thornhill Islanders 1997-2004: Thornhill Rattlers 2004-2005: Thornhill Thunderbirds 2005-2006: Toronto Thunderbirds 2007-Pres: Villanova Knights |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Justin Peca |
| General Manager | Justin Peca |
| Arena | Canlan Ice Sports York |
| Team Colors | Blue, silver, and white |
| Affiliate Team(s) | Don Mills Flyers |
| Royal Bank Cups | none |
| Dudley Hewitt Cups | 2001 |
| Buckland Trophies | 2001 |
| Sutherland Cups | 1983 |
The Villanova Knights are a Tier II junior 'A' ice hockey team based in North York, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. The team is an affiliate of St. Thomas of Villanova College in King City, Ontario.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Henry Carr
The Villanova Knights lineage traces back to the Henry Carr Crusaders. Like the Toronto St. Michael's Majors and St. Michael's Buzzers, the Crusaders were a secondary school based Junior hockey team. The team's affiliation was with the Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School of the Toronto Catholic District School Board. In 1980 they took their high school team and joined the Metro Junior "B" Hockey League, where they played until 1991, even after the league left the Ontario Hockey Association in 1989. The team was famous for its first undefeated Metro season in 1983 (34-0-2), when they won the All-Ontario Jr. B Championship, the Sutherland Cup. In 1991, when the Metro league declared itself Tier II Junior "A", they transferred the franchise to the Weston Dukes. Henry Carr still fields a team to this day, but again at the High School Hockey level.
[edit] Thornhill
In 1993 the Weston Dukes folded and their franchise was moved to Thornhill and became the Thornhill Islanders. In 1997 they were renamed the Thornhill Rattlers until 2004, when they again assumed the Thunderbirds name.
After playing in multiple league, for many years, even competing for the 2001 Royal Bank Cup. In Summer 2006, the players of the team started to get let go or traded for cash to any interested team. The team has been for sale for the better part of six months, but with no serious offers.
[edit] Villanova College Knights
In 2007 local businessman David Arsenault (Governor/Owner) along with St. Thomas of Villanova College revived the team bringing it back into the OPJHL under the Villanova College name.
The Villanova Knights were announced officially on May 15, 2007 [1]. The team will be in the same vein as the St. Michael's Buzzers or Henry Carr Crusaders, a Junior hockey team sponsored by a Catholic high school. The school is based in King City, Ontario, but the team will be playing their home games at York University's Canlan Ice Gardens.
[edit] Season-by-season standings
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | P | Results | Playoffs | |
| Henry Carr Crusaders | |||||||||||
| 1980-81 | 42 | 18 | 19 | 5 | - | 211 | 208 | 41 | 8th Metro B | ||
| 1981-82 | 36 | 24 | 8 | 4 | - | 209 | 136 | 52 | 1st Metro B | ||
| 1982-83 | 36 | 34 | 0 | 2 | - | 264 | 113 | 70 | 1st Metro B | Won League, Won SC | |
| 1983-84 | 42 | 26 | 10 | 6 | - | 280 | 207 | 58 | 1st Metro B | Won League | |
| 1984-85 | 36 | 25 | 7 | 4 | - | 184 | 126 | 54 | 1st Metro B | ||
| 1985-86 | 37 | 22 | 10 | 5 | - | 229 | 164 | 49 | 4th Metro B | Lost Semi-final | |
| 1986-87 | 37 | 28 | 4 | 5 | - | 256 | 162 | 61 | 1st Metro B | Won League | |
| 1987-88 | 37 | 23 | 9 | 5 | - | 214 | 161 | 51 | 3rd Metro B | Lost Semi-final | |
| 1988-89 | 39 | 16 | 18 | 5 | - | 184 | 180 | 37 | 7th Metro B | ||
| 1989-90 | 44 | 27 | 9 | 8 | - | 237 | 137 | 62 | 2nd Metro B | ||
| 1990-91 | 44 | 20 | 16 | 8 | - | 232 | 193 | 48 | 6th Metro B | ||
| Weston Dukes | |||||||||||
| 1991-92 | 44 | 15 | 26 | 3 | - | 207 | 230 | 33 | 9th Metro A | ||
| 1992-93 | 48 | 15 | 27 | 6 | - | 203 | 253 | 36 | 11th Metro A | ||
| Thornhill Islanders | |||||||||||
| 1993-94 | 50 | 30 | 18 | 2 | - | 253 | 206 | 62 | 4th Metro A | Lost Semi-final | |
| 1994-95 | 50 | 35 | 14 | 1 | - | 244 | 151 | 71 | 2nd Metro A | ||
| Thornhill Rattlers | |||||||||||
| 1995-96 | 52 | 34 | 15 | 3 | - | 251 | 172 | 71 | 3rd Metro A | Lost Final | |
| 1996-97 | 50 | 29 | 17 | 4 | - | 279 | 195 | 62 | 6th Metro A | ||
| 1997-98 | 50 | 29 | 18 | 3 | - | 216 | 172 | 61 | 5th Metro A | ||
| 1998-99 | 51 | 23 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 230 | 213 | 50 | 22nd OPJHL | ||
| 1999-00 | 49 | 33 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 264 | 170 | 73 | 4th OPJHL | ||
| 2000-01 | 49 | 36 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 231 | 148 | 77 | 3rd OPJHL | Won League, Won DHC | |
| 2001-02 | 49 | 20 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 165 | 183 | 48 | 19th OPJHL | ||
| 2002-03 | 49 | 11 | 34 | 3 | 1 | 129 | 240 | 26 | 30th OPJHL | ||
| 2003-04 | 49 | 18 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 184 | 219 | 41 | 27th OPJHL | ||
| Thornhill Thunderbirds | |||||||||||
| 2004-05 | 49 | 16 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 143 | 207 | 35 | 26th OPJHL | ||
| 2005-06 | 49 | 23 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 203 | 203 | 49 | 23rd OPJHL | Lost Conf. QF | |
| 2006-07 | Did Not Participate | ||||||||||
| Villanova Knights | |||||||||||
| 2007-08 | 49 | 6 | 42 | - | 1 | 124 | 311 | 13 | 35th OPJHL | ||
[edit] Sutherland Cup appearances
- 1983: Henry Carr Crusaders defeated Stratford Cullitons 4-games-to-none
[edit] Notable alumni
- Bob Essensa
- Patrick Flatley
- Manny Legace
- Steve Moore
- Dominic Moore
- Jeff O'Neill
- Raffi Torres
- Mike York
[edit] External links
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
