WOAA Senior AA Hockey League

WOAA Senior AA Hockey League
Membership Western Ontario Athletic Association
Chairman Dave Black
Founded 1943
Recent Champions Tillsonburg Thunder (2015)
Website www.woaasrhockey.com

The WOAA Senior AA Hockey League is a Canadian senior ice hockey league governed by the Western Ontario Athletic Association. The league operates in Southwestern Ontario.

History

Format

The league uses Hockey Canada playing rules but is not operated under the jurisdictions of the Ontario Hockey Association or Hockey Canada. The league is based in the Georgian Triangle and Southwestern Ontario. The league has been in existence since 1943, one year after the WOAA itself was established, and has entertained large crowds with local former Junior Hockey players and the odd former professional player. The league is rather large and features teams of both Senior "AA" and Senior "A" calibre. It is generally accepted that none of these teams could financially compete with the Senior "AAA" teams that compete for the Allan Cup.

The league is divided into two division that do not interlock until the playoffs. The WOAA consists of 17 teams, compared to the next biggest Ontario league, Major League Hockey, which has 5.

Intermediate B Era

From 1969 until 1977, the WOAA's premier division was an Intermediate B hockey league. Teams that were involved were the Mount Forest Rams, Arthur Tigers, Thornbury, Harriston Blues, Milverton Four Wheel Drives, Plattsville Combines, Seaforth, Durham 72's, Listowel, Lucknow, Crediton, Atwood, Ripley, Belgrave, and Kurtzville. The league was divided into as many as five divisions, Int. B, Major and Minor Int. C, and Major and Minor Int. D. The teams from the Major Int. C loop dominated the WOAA in terms of Grand Championships, winning 5 of 8. The most dominant teams were Mount Forest and Milverton.

Intermediate A Era

From 1977 until 1991, the WOAA promoted itself to the Intermediate A level. With four major loops: A, B, C, and D; the WOAA had a wide variety of teams, including the Durham 72's, Arthur Tigers, Brussels Crusaders, Lion's Head Northstars, Woodford Royals, Ripley Roosters, Drayton Comets, St. Clements Saints, Teeswater Falcons, Lucknow Lancers, Kincardine Kings, Dundalk Flyers, Monkton Wildcats, Mitchell Red Devils, and Tara Cyclones. As the league grew, they bought many smaller local senior leagues like the Central Ontario Hockey League, Central Grey-Bruce Hockey League and the Bruce Rural Hockey League, integrating many of their teams. In 1991, they came to grip with the times and dropped the Intermediate moniker, relabeling itself the WOAA Senior A Hockey League. In the 1980s, many teams jumped between the WOAA and the Ontario Hockey Association Senior leagues that attempted to operate in the area. This era ended in 1994 with the death of the WOAA Grand Championship. The final champions were the Durham Thundercats, who took it for the third straight year in 1994. From 1977 until 1994, the WOAA was dominated early on by Lion's Head and Woodford and later on by Brussels and Durham.

Senior AA Era

With the collapse of Ontario Hockey Association Senior hockey, the WOAA made the move to declare itself one level below Allan Cup competition with the Senior AA moniker in 1994. The league consolidated itself into one large league with different tiers of playoff championships: AA, A, and Sr. B until 1997. The Durham Thundercats proved to be the team to beat early on. Going back to the 1991–92 season, the Thundercats won 9 league championships in 15 years, including 6 out of 7 from the 1991–92 season until 1998. In 1995, the Tavistock Royals won the first ever WOAA Senior AA championship by taking the Durham Thundercats to seven games. The Thundercats avenged the loss by winning the next three Senior "AA" crowns. As time went on, the Milverton Four Wheel Drives reemerged as a powerhouse in the WOAA, dominating the league in 1999, 2000, and 2002. The Palmerston 81's and Elora Rocks also emerged as dominant forces later in the decade along with Tavistock as the Thundercats stranglehold on the league has loosened. The Saugeen Shores Winterhawks, based out of Port Elgin, have become the perennial team to beat since entering the league in 2007/08, winning the "AA" championship in 2009, 2011 and 2012.

Southern Expansion

As the league grows in popularity and proves itself with stability like no other Senior league in Ontario's history, the further South the league has been receiving applications for expansion. Despite Ilderton having a WOAA franchise in the 1950s, the league had not been that far south in a long time. In 2004, the WOAA allowed for the recreation of the famed Lucan-Ilderton Jets franchise, a team that dominated the Intermediate ranks in the 1960s and 1970s. The Jets, near London set a precedent for years to come. In 2006, the WOAA shocked many of its teams by confirming the expansion of the even more Southerly Thedford Dirty Dogs. In 2007, the WOAA turned down Eastern expansion to the Cooks Bay Canucks as that was not where the league was interested in going. In 2008, the Ontario Hockey Association was rocked by the defection of three of its five Major League Hockey Senior AAA teams. Two of them applied successfully for expansion into the WOAA, the Tillsonburg Vipers and the two-time Allan Cup champion Petrolia Squires. Also, the WOAA has made wind about further expansion to the South in former Senior AAA towns like Aylmer and Dorchester in the near future.

In the Summer of 2010, the WOAA decided to change the name of the league to the WOAA Senior AA Hockey League. Adding the "AA" designation was to help differentiate the league from Major League Hockey which carries a "AAA" designation. Also the league is to be divided into a Northern and Southern Conference with Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest Divisions. The league as well wishes to promote expansion in the league, especially to the Southeast Division. Another change for 2010–11 is that there will only be one league championship for the first time in the league's modern history, as the league will drop both its second and third tier championships (Sr. A and Sr. B respectively).[1] This was changed during the 2010–11 season, the Sr. A championship and qualifier round will still be gone but the Sr. B championship and its round robin will now be known as the Sr. A championship.

Teams and standings

WOAASHL team locations
North Conference
Team Centre 2013-14 Record GF GA Points
Durham Thundercats Durham 0-0-0 0 0 0
Elora Rocks Elora 0-0-0 0 0 0
Mapleton-Minto 81's Palmerston, Harriston, Drayton 0-0-0 0 0 0
Shelburne Muskies Shelburne 0-0-0 0 0 0
Lucknow Lancers Lucknow 0-0-0 0 0 0
Ripley Wolves Ripley 0-0-0 0 0 0
Saugeen Shores Winterhawks Port Elgin 0-0-0 0 0 0
Shallow Lake Crushers Shallow Lake 0-0-0 0 0 0
South Conference
Team Centre 2013-14 Record GF GA Points
Milverton Four Wheel Drives Milverton 0-0-0 0 0 0
Monkton Wildcats Monkton 0-0-0 0 0 0
Tavistock Royals Tavistock 0-0-0 0 0 0
Tillsonburg Thunder Tillsonburg 0-0-0 0 0 0
Clinton Radars Clinton 0-0-0 0 0 0
Petrolia Squires Petrolia 0-0-0 0 0 0

x-denotes playoff berth

On Leave

Past teams

2013–14 playoffs

Senior "AA" playdowns

  Conference Quarter-finals Conference Semi-finals Conference Finals Finals
                                     
N1  Mapleton-Minto 4  
N8  Lucknow 0  
  N1  Mapleton-Minto 0  
    N5  Durham 0  
N4  Shallow Lake 0
N5  Durham 4  
  N?  ? 0  
North
  N?  ? 0  
N2  Elora 4  
N7  Shelburne 0  
  N2  Elora 0
    N3  Saugeen Shores 0  
N3  Saugeen Shores 4
N6  Ripley 1  
  N?  ? 0
  S?  ? 0
S1  Tilsonburg 4  
S8  Goderich 0  
  S1  Tilsonburg 0
    S4  Clinton 0  
S4  Clinton 4
S5  Petrolia 1  
  S?  ? 0
South
  S?  ? 0  
S2  Tavistok 4  
S7  Milverton 1  
  S2  Tavistock 0
    S3  Komoka 0  
S3  Komoka 1
S6  Monkton 4  

Senior "A" playdowns

  Quarter-final Semi-final Final
                           
   
  N?  ? 0  
    N?  ? 0  
N?  ? 0
  S?  ? 0  
    N?  ? 0
  N?  ? 0
     
   
N?  ? 0
       
 

Championships

WOAA Senior AA Champions

WOAA Senior AA Champions & Finalists
Year North Champion South Champion
2015 Mapleton-Minto 81's Tillsonburg Thunder
2014 Mapleton-Minto 81's Komoka Classics
2013 Saugeen Shores Winterhawks Tavistock Royals
2012 Saugeen Shores Winterhawks Tavistock Royals
2011 Saugeen Shores Winterhawks Monkton Wildcats
2010 Elora Rocks Petrolia Squires
2009 Saugeen Shores Winterhawks Tavistock Royals
2008 Elora Rocks Tavistock Royals
2007 Elora Rocks Tavistock Royals
Year Champion Finalist
2006 Durham Thundercats Elora Rocks
2005 Elora Rocks Clinton Radars
2004 Durham Thundercats Clinton Radars
2003 Palmerston 81's Hensall Sherwoods
Year North Champion South Champion
2002 Durham Thundercats Milverton Four Wheel Drives
2001 Durham Thundercats Hensall Sherwoods
2000 Palmerston 81's Milverton Four Wheel Drives
Year Champion Finalist
1999 Milverton Four Wheel Drives Durham Thundercats
1998 Durham Thundercats Milverton Four Wheel Drives
1997 Durham Thundercats Wellesley Merchants
1996 Durham Thundercats Lakeshore Winterhawks
1995 Tavistock Royals Durham Thundercats

League Champion is Bolded.

WOAA Senior A & B Champions (1995–2015)

Senior A & B 1995–2015
Year A B
2015 Ripley Wolves --
2014 Not played
2013 Shallow Lake Crushers --
2012 Not played
2011 -- Walkerton Capitals
2010 Milverton Four Wheel Drives Goderich Pirates
2009 Lucan-Ilderton Jets Milverton Four Wheel Drives
2008 Palmerston 81's --
2007 Durham Thundercats
2006 Palmerston 81's
2005 Lucan-Ilderton Jets
2004 Georgian Bay River Rats
2003 Wingham Bulls
2002 Wingham Bulls
2001 Wingham Bulls
2000 Monkton Wildcats
1999 Palmerston 81's
1998 Shelburne Muskies
1997 Goderich Pirates Lucknow Lancers
1996 Brussels Crusaders Dundalk Flyers
1995 Wiarton Redmen Ripley Wolves

Late Intermediate Era (1978–1994)

WOAA Intermediate 1978-1995
Year Grand Champion A B C D
1994 Durham Thundercats Durham Thundercats Ripley Wolves -- --
1993 Durham Thundercats Durham Thundercats Grand Valley Tornados
1992 Durham Thundercats Durham Thundercats Lion's Head Northstars
1991 Arthur Tigers Durham Thundercats Arthur Tigers Drayton Comets
1990 Brussels Crusaders Brussels Crusaders Arthur Tigers Drayton Comets
1989 Durham Thundercats Durham Thundercats Brussels Crusaders Lion's Head Northstars Lucknow Lancers
1988 Brussels Crusaders Brussels Crusaders Monkton Wildcats Lion's Head Northstars Ripley Roosters
1987 Lion's Head Northstars Durham 72's Wellesley Merchants Lion's Head Northstars Ripley Roosters
1986 Woodford Royals Woodford Royals Kincardine Kings Lion's Head Northstars Ripley Roosters
1985 Woodford Royals Woodford Royals -- -- Ripley Roosters
1984 Ripley Roosters Woodford Royals -- -- Ripley Roosters
1983 Lion's Head Northstars Woodford Royals -- -- Lion's Head Northstars
1982 Ripley Roosters Durham 72's -- -- Ripley Roosters
1981 Mitchell Red Devils Southampton Mitchell Red Devils Lion's Head Northstars Ripley Roosters
1980 Lion's Head Northstars -- Wiarton Redmen Mitchell/Lion's Head Drayton Comets
1979 Lion's Head Northstars -- Durham 72's Lion's Head Northstars Ripley Roosters
1978 Mount Forest Rams -- Thornbury Mount Forest Rams Drayton Comets

Middle Intermediate Era (1970–1977)

WOAA Intermediate 1970-1977
Year Grand Champion B Major C Minor C Major D Minor D
1977 Mount Forest Rams Thornbury Mount Forest Rams Plattsville Combines Ripley Roosters --
1976 Mount Forest Rams -- Mount Forest Rams -- Plattsville Combines Belgrave
1975 Plattsville Combines Arthur Tigers Durham 72's -- Plattsville Combines Floradale
1974 Harriston Blues Harriston Blues Milverton Four Wheel Drives Lucknow Lancers Belgrave --
1973 Milverton Four Wheel Drives Harriston Blues Milverton Four Wheel Drives Atwood Belgrave --
1972 Milverton Four Wheel Drives Milverton Four Wheel Drives Arthur Tigers Lucknow Lancers Kurtsville --
1971 Milverton Four Wheel Drives Listowel Milverton Four Wheel Drives Atwood Kurtsville --
1970 Seaforth -- Seaforth Atwood Belgrave --

Early Intermediate Era (1949–1969)

1969 Crediton Tigers
1968 Crediton Tigers
1967
1966
1965
1964
1963
1962 Fergus Flyers
1961 Philipsburg Chews
1960 Philipsburg Chews
1959
1958 Palmerston Lions
1957
1956 Exeter Mohawks
1955 Lucan Irish Six
1954 Goderich Pontiacs
1953 Durham Huskies
1952 Durham Huskies
1951 Wingham Spitfires
1950 Wingham Spitfires
1949 Kincardine

Other WOAA-sanctioned Championships

Central Grey-Bruce

1982 Tara
1981 Williamsford
1980 Desboro
1978 Chesley

Bruce County

1978 Chepstow

Central Ontario Hockey League

1982 Markdale Majors
1981 Honeywood
1980 Dundalk Flyers

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.woaasrhockey.com/

External links