Newmarket Hurricanes

The Newmarket Hurricanes are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of Central Division Hockey and are currently the 2009-10 CCHL champions.

History

In 1972, the Seneca Flyers became a part of the OPJHL. In 1975, they bought out the Newmarket Redmen of the Mid-Ontario Junior B Hockey League and moved to become the Newmarket Flyers. The Redmen dated back to the 1950s and were at one point a top level Junior "C" team.

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 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 embarrassed 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 brick wall 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.

On June 28, 2008 the Newmarket Hurricanes lost a key part of their team. Player KJ Ramolla died as a passenger in a single car rollover. KJ was 5th for scoring during the 2007-2008 season and was set to return for the 2008-2009 season. The driver of the car, Ryan Burkholder, former captain of the Hurricanes survived the crash with minor injuries.

Newmarket hosted the 2008 Dudley Hewitt Cup, losing to the OJHL Champion Oakville Blades in the Final. [1].

Season-by-Season results

Playoffs

Original OPJHL

• 1973 Lost Quarter-final

Dixie Beehives defeated Seneca Flyers 4-games-to-3

• 1974 Lost Quarter-final

Aurora Tigers defeated Seneca Flyers 4-games-to-2

• 1975 Lost Semi-final

Seneca Flyers defeated North Bay Trappers 4-games-to-2

Toronto Nationals defeated Seneca Flyers 4-games-to-none

• 1976 Lost Preliminary

Weston Dodgers defeated Newmarket Flyers 3-games-to-2

• 1977 DNQ
• 1978 Lost Quarter-final

Royal York Royals defeated Newmarket Flyers 4-games-to-2

• 1979 Lost Quarter-final

North Bay Trappers defeated Newmarket Flyers 4-games-to-2

• 1980 DNQ
• 1981 DNQ
• 1982 Lost Quarter-final

Richmond Hill Rams defeated Newmarket Flyers 4-games-to-3

• 1983 Lost Semi-final

Newmarket Flyers defeated Richmond Hill Rams 4-games-to-3

Orillia Travelways defeated Newmarket Flyers 4-games-to-3

• 1984 Lost Semi-final

Newmarket Flyers defeated Hamilton Mountain A's 4-games-to-none

Dixie Beehives defeated Newmarket Flyers 4-games-to-3

• 1985 Lost Semi-final

Newmarket Flyers defeated Richmond Hill Dynes 4-games-to-2

Aurora Tigers defeated Newmarket Flyers 4-games-to-3

• 1986 Lost Semi-final

Orillia Travelways defeated Newmarket Flyers 4-games-to-1

OJHL Years

• 1994 Lost Semi-final

Newmarket 87's defeated Peterborough Jr. Petes 4-games-to-none

Newmarket 87's defeated Barrie Colts 4-games-to-1

Orillia Terriers defeated Newmarket 87's 4-games-to-1

• 1995 Lost Semi-final

Newmarket 87's defeated Peterborough Jr. Petes 4-games-to-none

Newmarket 87's defeated Cobourg Cougars 4-games-to-none

Barrie Colts defeated Newmarket 87's 4-games-to-3

• 1996 Won League, Won OHA Buckland Cup, Won OHF Ruddock Trophy, Won Dudley Hewitt Cup, Lost 1996 Royal Bank Cup semi-final

Newmarket 87's defeated Cobourg Cougars 4-games-to-3

Newmarket 87's defeated Orillia Terriers 4-games-to-1

Newmarket 87's defeated Lindsay Muskies 4-games-to-3

Newmarket 87's defeated Brampton Capitals 4-games-to-2 OPJHL CHAMPIONS

Second in Dudley Hewitt Cup round robin (2-2) RUDDUCK TROPHY CHAMPIONS

Newmarket 87's defeated Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL) 6-3 in semi-final

Newmarket 87's defeated Brampton Capitals 8-2 in final BUCKLAND CUP, DUDLEY HEWITT CUP CHAMPIONS

Second in 1996 Royal Bank Cup round robin (2-2)

Vernon Vipers (BCHL) defeated Newmarket 87's 7-4 in semi-final

• 1997 Lost Final

Newmarket 87's defeated Bowmanville Eagles 4-games-to-2

Newmarket 87's defeated Collingwood Blues 4-games-to-none

Newmarket 87's defeated Kingston Voyageurs 4-games-to-1

Milton Merchants defeated Newmarket 87's 4-games-to-3

• 1998 Lost Quarter-final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Aurora Tigers 4-games-to-1

Couchiching Terriers defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-1

• 1999 Lost Division Semi-final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Wexford Raiders 3-games-to-1

Couchiching Terriers defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-1

• 2000 Lost Division Semi-final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Wexford Raiders 3-games-to-1

Couchiching Terriers defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-1

• 2001 Lost Division Final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Durham Huskies 4-games-to-none

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Collingwood Blues 4-games-to-1

Couchiching Terriers defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-3

• 2002 Lost Division Final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Huntsville Wildcats 4-games-to-none

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Collingwood Blues 4-games-to-1

Aurora Tigers defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-none

• 2003 Lost Division Semi-final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Ajax Axemen 4-games-to-1

Stouffville Spirit defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-3

• 2004 Lost Division Final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Pickering Panthers 4-games-to-none

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Stouffville Spirit 4-games-to-1

Aurora Tigers defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-none

• 2005 Lost Division Final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Streetsville Derbys 4-games-to-none

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Stouffville Spirit 4-games-to-2

Aurora Tigers defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-2

• 2006 Lost Division Semi-final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Huntsville-Muskoka Otters 4-games-to-1

Stouffville Spirit defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-2

• 2007 Lost Division Semi-final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Huntsville-Muskoka Otters 4-games-to-1

Aurora Tigers defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-2

• 2008 Lost Division Semi-final, Hosted and Lost Dudley Hewitt Cup Final

Aurora Tigers defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-1

Second in Dudley Hewitt Cup round robin (2-1)

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL) 2-1 OT in semi-final

Oakville Blades defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 6-3 in final

• 2009 Lost Division Semi-final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Hamilton Red Wings 4-games-to-1

Wellington Dukes defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-none

• 2010 Won CCHL, Lost OHA Buckland Cup

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated St. Michael's Buzzers 4-games-to-1

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Hamilton Red Wings 4-games-to-none

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Burlington Cougars 4-games-to-none

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Bowmanville Eagles 4-games-to-2 CCHL CHAMPIONS

Oakville Blades (OJAHL) defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-2

• 2011 Lost Quarter-final

Newmarket Hurricanes defeated Orangeville Flyers 4-games-to-1

Stouffville Spirit defeated Newmarket Hurricanes 4-games-to-3

Newmarket Redmen

Clarence Schmalz Cup Appearances

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

Notable alumni

• Jeff Beukeboom
• B.J. Crombeen
• Rob Dopson
• Dan Ellis
• Dave Gagner
• Lee Giffin
• Mike Glumac
• Ernie Godden
• Steven Halko
• Jeff Jackson
• Curtis Joseph
• Claude Julien
• Mike Keating
• Corey Locke
• Jamie Macoun
• Darrin Madeley
• David McIntyre
• Chris McRae
• Wayne Rutledge
• Geoff Sarjeant
• Tyler Sikura
• John Stevens
• Paul Ysebaert
• Zack Stortini

External links

• Hurricanes Webpage