LaSalle Vipers

The LaSalle Vipers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.

History

The Tecumseh Chiefs originated as the newly-formed Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League's Windsor Royals. The Royals in 1986 were renamed the Bulldogs and moved up to Junior "B". The team was sold in 1995 and moved out of Windsor, Ontario into the Tecumseh area, and became known as the Chiefs.

In one the franchise's last games in the city of Windsor, the Bulldogs set a league record for futility by suffering the worst loss in Western Ontario Hockey League history. On January 20, 1995, the Leamington Flyers defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 30-3.^[1]

On February 20, 2008, the Chiefs remembered their former "rookie of the year" Mickey Renaud. Renaud, alumnus and captain of the Windsor Spitfires, died two days earlier after collapsing in his parents home in Tecumseh. After a memorial, the Chiefs announced that Renaud's number, 44, would be retired at the end of the season.

2007-08 Championship Season

The 2007-08 season marked the Chiefs' best season since moving to Tecumseh. The Chiefs, members of the newly formed Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League became their first league regular season champions finishing first overall in their conference with 34 wins, 12 losses, and 2 losses in overtime.

After defeating the London Nationals to win their first Western Ontario crown since 1980, the Chiefs made it known to the press that they are considering a move to LaSalle, Ontario due to a lack of fan support.^[2]

The Chiefs entered the 2008 Sutherland Cup against the Thorold Blackhawks and the Elmira Sugar Kings. They finished the round robin in first place with 3 wins and 1 loss. They then faced the Sugar Kings in a best-of-seven series to determine the champion, defeating them in 4 straight games to win their first ever provincial title.

After 13 seasons in the town of Tecumseh and winning the 2008 Sutherland Cup Provincial Championship, the town of Tecumseh has announced that the franchise has elected not to return to their arena.^[3] The team is planning to relocate to LaSalle. This marks the third Greater Windsor Area location that the team has called home in 38 seasons.

On July 9, the ownership of the team held a press conference to enveil the LaSalle Vipers and their new logo.^[4] On September 10, the Vipers played their first game in LaSalle, losing 4-2 to the Leamington Flyers.

2009-10 Championship Season

After a bit of a rebuilding year in 2008-09 to readjust after moving, the LaSalle Vipers should themselves to be one of the top teams in the GOJHL during the first half of 2009-10. A mid-season slump put the Vipers near the basement of the Western Conference, but by the end of the season the Vipers had come together and reached the 5th seed of the conference with 30 wins and just a few wins from the lead of the conference. In the Western quarter-final, the Vipers defeated the fourth seeded St. Marys Lincolns 4-games-to-1. In the semi-final, the Vipers drew third seed and rival Chatham Maroons. A hard fought battle occurred, with the Vipers winning 4-games-to-2. In an upset, the seventh seeded St. Thomas Stars defeated the first place London Nationals, setting up an unlikely final between the fifth and seventh seeds of the conference. The Vipers would defeat the Stars 4-games-to-2 to take their second Western Championship in three years. The Vipers then moved on to the Sutherland Cup round robin semi-final with the first seed of the Mid-Western Conference Brantford Eagles and the second seed of the Golden Horseshoe Conference Stoney Creek Warriors. All three teams had appeared in the Sutherland Cup finals in the previous two seasons. LaSalle took the round robin with a 3-1 record, second was Brantford with a 2-2 record, and third was Stoney Creek, 1-3 and eliminated. The final was the battle of the 2008 and 2009 Sutherland Cup champions. The Vipers took an early 3-games-to-none lead in the series. Brantford took Game 4. LaSalle played Game 5 at home and took it in double overtime on a goal by DJ Turner.

2010

The LaSalle Vipers were invited by Hockey Canada and the Ontario Hockey Association to represent Canada in a pair of exhibition games in Mexico City, Mexico against the Mexican Under-20 World Junior Team. The first game, on December 16, 2010, saw the Vipers win 9-2. Billed as "Canada Night" by Mexico's Ice Hockey Federation, the Vipers' win was nationally televised across Mexico. A second game was to be played, but was cancelled due to poor ice conditions.^[5]

2011-2012 season

On December 12th 2011 the Lasalle Vipers fired Head Coach John Nelson after a 13-15-2 8th place start to the season. Nelson had a 92-70-21 record in 3 and a half seasons behind the Lasalle bench.

Season-by-season results

Sutherland Cup appearances

1980: Belleville Bobcats defeated Windsor Bulldogs 4-games-to-none

2008: Tecumseh Chiefs defeated Elmira Sugar Kings 4-games-to-none

2010: LaSalle Vipers defeated Brantford Eagles 4-games-to-1

Notable alumni

• Russ Adam
• Tie Domi
• Murray Eaves
• David Gagnon
• Rick Heinz
• Dan Jancevski
• Ed Jovanovski
• Tim Kerr
• Richard Kromm
• Mike Natyshak
• Joel Quenneville
• D. J. Smith
• Ryan Gelinas
• Kyle Wellwood
• Derek Wilkinson
• Mickey Renaud
• Stubby Clapp

References

External links

• Vipers Webpage