Nepean Raiders

Nepean Raiders
City Nepean, Ontario, Canada
League Central Canada Hockey League
Division Yzerman
Founded 1966
Home arena Nepean Sportsplex, Steve Yzerman Arena
Colours Red, Black, Grey, and White
                   
General manager Peter Goulet
Head coach Peter Goulet
Affiliate(s) Ottawa 67s (OHL)

The Nepean Raiders are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team from Nepean, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League. The town of Nepean was granted expansion after the Cornwall Royals and the Hull Hawks left the CJHL for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Raiders started their operations in the Valley division of the Junior "B" League in 1966, switching over to the Central Junior Hockey League in 1972.

Early History

Nepean made the finals multiple times between 1972 to 1981. In the 1980s. Steve Yzerman and Darren Pang are still known for being the most-outstanding Raiders in the early era. The Raiders struggled in the 1980s and 1990s missing the playoffs multiple times, and set a season-record for the most-penalized CJHL team in 1995-96.

Modern history

The Raiders did not have many winning seasons since the mid 1980s and were on the verge of folding along with the four existing teams in 1984. The Raiders were the most-penalized team in the league in 1994-95. In 1998, the Black family owned the Raiders up until 2008. During that period, the Raiders appeared in 5 consecutive league finals, winning the Art Bogart Cup in 2003 and 2004, along with the Fred Page Cup.

Chris Byrne become the most successful coach in Raiders history from 1999 to 2007, until moving up to the Ottawa 67's to become an assistant coach. Archie Mulligan became Byrne's successor. Mulligan was the winningest coach with the Kanata Valley Lasers during his time from 1987 to 2002. They never missed the playoffs and won league championships in 1992 and 1997.

When Chris Byrne departed, the Raiders began to fall on hard times. At the start of the 2007-08 season, Archie Mulligan left the team. A few other players also left, and the Raiders exitex the first round of the playoffs.

The Black family sold the Raiders to local buyers, who refurbished the team's image. NHL alumni Garry Galley was hired as the head coach. The Raiders improved, but fell on hard.times again before Christmas 2009 when the coaches parted ways after disagreement with management. Players demanded trades or were released.

In 2011-12 the Nepean Raiders captured their 3rd Art Bogart Cup with Peter Goulet as head coach and GM in his 2nd a half season in Nepean. The Raiders would go on to lose the Fred Page Cup final to Woodstock.

Season-by-Season record

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
1972-73 55 22 32 1 - 214 268 45 5th CJHL
1973-74 50 26 18 6 - 287 236 58 2nd CJHL
1974-75 50 23 17 10 - 254 216 54 4th CJHL
1975-76 50 16 27 7 - 186 240 39 5th CJHL
1976-77 50 28 13 9 - 263 193 65 1st CJHL
1977-78 48 24 20 4 - 258 205 52 3rd CJHL
1978-79 48 36 10 2 - 305 187 74 1st CJHL Lost final 4-3 to Hawkesbury
1979-80 50 25 22 3 - 312 260 53 3rd CJHL
1980-81 50 29 13 8 - 281 206 66 1st CJHL
1981-82 50 21 22 7 - 253 260 51 4th CJHL
1982-83 50 12 31 7 - 194 258 31 7th CJHL
1983-84 54 28 17 9 - 278 251 65 1st CJHL
1984-85 54 20 30 2 2 226 286 44 5th CJHL
1985-86 60 36 21 2 1 302 251 75 3rd CJHL
1986-87 52 30 21 1 0 266 207 61 2nd CJHL
1987-88 56 29 17 5 5 249 246 68 4th CJHL
1988-89 55 25 30 0 0 216 262 50 7th CJHL
1989-90 55 19 33 2 1 228 274 41 7th CJHL
1990-91 55 25 23 3 4 242 236 57 5th CJHL
1991-92 57 26 23 1 6 274 261 59 6th CJHL
1992-93 57 32 19 3 3 285 258 70 4th CJHL
1993-94 57 31 21 2 3 306 290 67 4th CJHL
1994-95 54 10 38 4 2 214 326 26 10th CJHL Out of Playoffs
1995-96 54 14 35 5 0 220 315 33 5th in Yzerman Out of Playoffs
1996-97 53 27 23 3 0 232 223 57 4th in Yzerman Lost quarter-finals 4-1 to Smiths Falls
1997-98 56 20 23 13 10 180 180 63 4th in Yzerman Lost quarter-finals 4-1 to Brockville
1998-99 54 31 21 2 0 202 194 64 3rd in Yzerman Lost semi-final 4-1 to Hawkesbury
1999-00 56 33 20 3 0 245 239 69 2nd in Yzerman Lost quarter-final 4-1 to Kanata
2000-01 55 26 19 10 0 222 186 63 3rd in Yzerman Lost semi-final 4-0 to Cornwall
2001-02 55 34 11 10 0 263 174 78 2nd Lost semi-final 4-2 to Ottawa
2002-03 55 32 17 6 2 227 185 72 1st in Yzerman Won league 4-1 over Ottawa
2003-04 55 37 14 3 1 229 144 78 1st Won league 4-3 over Gloucester
2004-05 57 42 9 3 3 225 131 90 1st Lost final 4-3 to Hawkesbury
2005-06 59 37 16 3 3 231 174 80 2nd in Yzerman Lost final 4-2 to Hawkesbury
2006-07 55 26 21 6 2 178 165 60 3rd in Yzerman Lost final 4-1 to Pembroke
2007-08 60 32 23 3 2 233 203 69 5th CJHL Lost quarter-final 4-2 to Brockville
2008-09 60 42 12 - 6 261 145 90 1st CJHL Lost final 4-2 to Pembroke
2009-10 62 33 26 - 3 250 217 69 6th CJHL Lost Quarter-final 4-2 to Cornwall
2010-11 62 27 25 - 10 207 227 64 6th CCHL Lost Quarter-final 4-3 to Brockville
2011-12 62 46 11 - 5 269 159 97 1st CCHL Won League 4-3 over Cornwall
2012-13 62 38 20 - 4 235 182 80 4th CCHL Lost Final 4-2 to Cornwall
2013-14 62 27 24 - 11 189 225 65 7th CCHL Lost Quarter-final

Championships

CJHL Bogart Cup Championships: 2003, 2004
Eastern Canadian Fred Page Cup Championships: 2004
CJAHL Royal Bank Cup Championships: None

Notable alumni

External links