Woodstock Navy-Vets

Woodstock Navy-Vets
City Woodstock, Ontario
League Midwestern Junior C Hockey League
Founded 1966
Home arena Woodstock District Community Complex
Colours Navy Blue and White
Owner(s) Community Board of Directors - Devon Young (President)
General manager Trevor Rose
Head coach Adam Wallace

Website
www.woodstocknavyvets.ca

Franchise history
1966–2007 Woodstock Navy-Vets
2007–2010 Woodstock Renegades
2010-Present Woodstock Navy-Vets

The Woodstock Navy-Vets are a Canadian junior hockey team based in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwestern Junior C Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association.

The team was known as the Woodstock Renegades for three seasons from 2007–08 to 2009–10.

The team was preceded by the Woodstock Warriors who were an OHA Junior B team in the Central and Western leagues from 1951-52 to 1961-62, winning the Sutherland Cup emblematic of Provincial Junior B Champions in the 1954-55 season with a team that included future NHL legend and Hall of Famer Bobby Hull.

History

The Woodstock Navy-Vets were founded in 1966 and played in the OHA-C Group III (Intercounty Junior C Hockey League - IJCHL). In 1971–72 the Navy-Vets became a member of the Western Junior B Hockey League when the IJCHL disbanded before moving the following season to the Central Junior C Hockey League. In 1976–77 the Navy Vets became a charter member of the new Southwestern Junior B Hockey League along with the London Diamonds, St.Thomas Colonels, Tillsonburg Mavericks, Simcoe Jets, and Brantford Penguins. The SWJBHL folded after 2 seasons and the Navy Vets joined the Niagara & District Junior C Hockey League for the 1978–79 season where they played until 2012–13. The OHA realigned the NDJHL and SOJHL Junior C leagues in the summer of 2013 and forming a new MWJCHL. The Navy Vets were a member of the new league along with Norwich, New Hamburg, and Paris from the NDJHL West along with Ayr, Burford, Delhi, Tavistock and Wellesley from the SOJHL.

1969: The Championship Season

The Navy-Vets won their only OHA Junior C Championship in the 1968–69 season, eliminating Dresden 4 games-to-0 in the quarter-final and New Hamburg 4 games-to-1 in the semi-final before beating Oakville Blades in seven games in the final.

1984: The Cardiac Kids

After finishing in fourth place in the 1983–84 NDJCHL West regular season with a record of 13 wins, 9 losses, and 8 ties, not many locals figured the Woodstock Navy-Vets would have a very long playoff run. In the end, the Navy-Vets would play a total of sixty-five games that season and six rounds of playoffs. In the division quarter-finals, the Navy-Vets drew the New Hamburg Spirit 83's. The Spirit were a tough team and the best-of-5 series went the distance, Woodstock taking it in the end 3-games-to-2. In the division semi-final, the Navy-Vets then took on the Dundas Blues. The Blues were tough early, but the Navy-Vets had all the momentum and took the series 4-games-to-2. They next played the well rested and top ranked Norwich Merchants in the division final. The Merchants, like the Blues, were tough early in the series but the Navy-Vets were tougher winning 4-games-to-2. They next had to play the Stoney Creek Warriors in the Niagara District championship. The Warriors were tough and dominated much of the play. The series went back and forth, and ended up going to a final and deciding seventh game. Woodstock fought hard and took Stoney Creek into overtime. Early in the second overtime, Woodstock would break the hearts of the Stoney Creek faithful in their own arena and win 6–5. From this point on, the Woodstock Sentinel-Review referred to the 1983–84 edition of this team as "The Cardiac Kids". With the win, the Navy-Vets were catapulted into the OHA Junior C semi-finals. Their opponents would be the Dresden Jr. Kings of the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League. Dresden took game one big, 10–4. Game two went to Woodstock in double overtime (4–3) and game three in single overtime (8–6). Dresden came back and put Woodstock's backs against the wall with 4–2 and 7–2 victories, leaving the Cardiac Kids in a do-or-die situation. Woodstock responded and won 6–5 and 6–2 to win the series. They then moved on to face the Penetang Kings of the Georgian Bay Junior C Hockey League in the provincial final. Penetang had just knocked off the Bowmanville Eagles 4-games-to-3. Unfortunately for the Cardiac Kids, the Kings had no intention of losing, taking the series in four games: 8–7 in overtime, 6–5, 9–6, and 9–1. The fairy tale run was over for the Navy-Vets, as they walked away Niagara West champions, Niagara & District champions, and OHA Junior C finalists.

2002: OHA Semi-finalists

The 2001–02 Navy Vets had a terrific season. The team combined size and talent to excel in scoring, defence, and toughness. They won 25 games and had 52 points to finish in 1st place in the West Division during the regular season by 10 points over rival Norwich Merchants. They beat New Hamburg Firebirds in 6 games in the West Division Semi-Finals and then knocked off Norwich in 5 games to win the West Division title. They then upset the East Division champ Chippawa Riverhawks, who had an identical season record as the Vets, in 6 games to win the Niagara District Junior C Hockey League championships and move on to the OHA Semi-Finals against the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League champion Essex. The series was hard fought with the Navy Vets finally succumbing in 4 games. The team captured the enthusiasm of the city during their late season heroics with fan support building in numbers and noise with each playoff victory to a peak in the 2 games at Southwood Arena for the OHA SF that saw over 2000 fans at each game. The Navy Vets were led up front by the trio of Jeremy Demarest, Chad Paton, and Matt Carey. Demarest won the West Division scoring title with 62 points and a division-high 40 assists. Demarest also was named Most Sportsmanlike in the West Division. Forward Taylor Winkler was among the league leaders in hits. The blueline was anchored by Chris Corriveau, Scott Roode, and Sean McLaren. The goaltending tandem of Mike Matika & Matt Richardson provided stellar goaltending all season finishing 2nd in the West Division in Goals Against. The team was led by West Division Coach of the Year Scott Brooks.

Renegades logo

2007: Renegades

On April 27, 2007, new team owner Bill McLeod announced that the team would be changing its name to the 'Woodstock Renegades', effective the start of the 2007–2008 season, ending a 41-year relationship with the Oxford County Naval Veterans Association.[1] The team played its first game as the Woodstock Renegades in September 2007.

2010: Navy Vets return

On March 31, 2010, team owner Bill McLeod announced that the team would be adopting the Navy Vets moniker once again effective the start of the 2010–2011 season.[2]Along with the name change would be a new look, including a new logo (pictured on the right). However on August 16, 2010, it was announced that the new logo would not be adopted and that the team would be using the original Navy Vets logo.[3]

On August 17, 2010, it was announced that Bill McLeod had stepped down as team owner & GM/Head Coach and Jeff Morrison would take over as Director of Hockey Operations/GM/Head Coach. In addition, it was announced that a process had begun to turn the team into a non-profit organization, returning the hockey team to its roots as a community-owned team.[4]

2012: Navy Vets coaching changes

On December 10, 2012, Jeff Morrison resigned as GM/Head Coach of the Navy Vets for personal reasons. Assistant Coach Mark Jones assumed the Head Coach position, but then resigned at the end of the month. Frank Mueller took over as GM/Head Coach in January 2013.[5]

2013: Navy Vets organizational changes

On April 15, 2013, A local group of Woodstock community members will represent the Navy Vets as it's Board of Directors committed to taking the team back to a pillar of excellence in the community both on and off the ice.[6] On Dec.19, 2013 there was a coaching staff change with former Navy Vet Adam Wallace being named head coach replacing Frank Mueller and Bill Wallace & Geoff Killing being named Assistant Coaches replacing Rob Hutchison.

2015: Navy Vets re-surgence

The Navy Vets made a huge re-surgence in the 2014-15 season over their franchise worst last place finish in 2013-14. The Vets had a 16-win improvement. Mike Gillespie led the team in scoring for the 2nd straight season and finished in 6th place in league scoring with 45 points on 26 goals. He was named the MWJCHL Most Valuable Player. Head Coach Adam Wallace was named the MWJCHL Coach of the Year for leading the team to it's terrific season. Goalie Michael Roefs tied a team record with 3 shutouts and combined with rookie Jackson Swindells and AP North Davies for a team record total of 6 shutouts. Captain Jake Schneider, Dylan Wettlaufer, and Justin Elms also finished in the league's top 25 scorers. The team had an 8-game winning streak in November. They finished in 5th place and took 4th place defending champion Paris Mounties to 7 games in the quarterfinals before their turn-around season came to an end. Over 10000 fans came through the gate to watch the team for 23 games (20 reg.season & 3 playoff) this season - an average of 448 well over that of any season in the last decade.

Jr. Vets

The logo for the "Jr. Vets" used by the Woodstock Minor Hockey Association teams was designed by Woodstock-based Graphic Designer, Bill Bowman.

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
1966–67 30 20 7 3 - 146 89 41 2nd ICJCHLWon League
1967–68 31 25 5 1 - 145 68 51 1st ICJCHLLost Final
1968–69 22 16 3 3 - -- -- 35 1st ICJCHL Won League, Won CSC
1969–70 30 18 8 4 - 191 144 40 2nd ICJCHL Lost Super C Final
1970–71 23 17 2 4 - 142 82 38 1st ICJCHL Won League, Won Super C Final
1971–72 39 11 23 5 - 156 209 27 7th WJBHL DNQ
1972–73 32 16 11 5 - -- -- 37 4th CJCHL Won Super C Final
1973–74 31 26 3 2 - 246 87 54 1st CJCHL Won League, Won Super C Final
1974–75 36 32 2 2 - 315 99 66 1st CJCHL III Won Super C Final
1975–76 31 20 7 4 - 235 117 44 2nd CJCHL III Lost Final, Won Super C Final
1976–77 38 17 18 3 - 215 200 37 3rd SWJBHL
1977–78 40 15 23 2 - 192 215 32 5th SWJBHL DNQ
1978–79 38 13 19 6 - -- -- 32 4th NJC-W
1979–80 41 9 31 1 - -- -- 19 6th NJC-W DNQ
1980–81 32 23 6 3 - -- -- 49 1st NJC-W Won League, Lost OHA SF
1981–82 31 19 10 2 - -- -- 40 2nd NJC-W
1982–83 36 26 7 3 - -- -- 55 1st NJC-W Won Division. Lost Final
1983–84 30 13 9 8 - -- -- 33 4th NJC-W Won League, Lost OHA F
1984–85 30 17 10 3 - 170 126 37 2nd SWJCHL Won Division, Lost Final
1985–86 36 10 17 9 - -- -- 29 4th NJC-W
1986–87 33 15 14 4 - -- -- 34 3rd NJC-W
1987–88 36 25 6 4 - -- -- 55 2nd NJC-W Won Division, Lost Final
1988–89 36 19 10 7 - -- -- 45 3rd NJC-W
1989–90 36 14 14 8 - -- -- 36 4th NJC-W
1990–91 34 7 22 5 - -- -- 19 6th NJC-W DNQ
1991–92 35 13 18 4 - 162 158 30 5th NJC-W
1992–93 36 29 2 5 - 247 121 63 1st NJC-W Won Division, Lost Final
1993–94 36 18 12 6 - 177 146 42 3rd NJC-W Won Division, Lost OHA QF
1994–95 36 28 5 3 - 243 112 59 1st NJC-W Won League, Lost OHA SF
1995–96 40 33 4 3 - 258 102 69 1st NJC-W
1996–97 40 32 4 3 1 214 93 68 1st NJC-W
1997–98 39 22 13 4 0 187 157 48 3rd NJC-W
1998–99 35 28 6 - 1 -- -- 57 1st NJC-W Won Division, Lost Final
1999–00 36 18 17 - 1 -- -- 37 3rd NJC-WLost Division SF
2000–01 36 18 16 1 1 -- -- 38 2nd NJC-WLost Division F
2001–02 36 25 9 1 1 -- -- 52 1st NJC-W Won League, Lost OHA SF
2002–03 36 15 15 4 2 116 125 36 3rd NJC-W Lost Division SF
2003–04 36 9 24 1 2 93 145 21 6th NJC-W DNQ
2004–05 36 15 19 0 2 98 148 32 4th NJC-W Lost Division SF
2005–06 36 11 20 2 3 104 148 27 4th NJC-W Lost Division SF
2006–07 36 21 13 1 1 185 141 44 4th NJC-W Lost Division F
2007–08 36 15 18 2 1 155 125 33 5th NJC-W Lost Division QF
2008–09 36 20 13 - 3 119 103 43 4th NJC-WLoat Division SF
2009–10 36 19 13 - 4 138 123 42 3rd NJC-WLost Division SF
2010–11 36 7 25 - 4 102 199 18 6th NJC-W Lost Division QF
2011–12 36 8 27 - 1 107 192 17 6th NJC-W Lost Division QF
2012–13 38 6 32 - 0 89 218 12 6th NJC-W Lost Division QF
2013–14 40 5 33 - 2 94 207 12 9th MWJCHL DNQ
2014–15 40 21 19 0 - 137 105 42 5th MWJCHL Lost QF

Playoffs

New Hamburg Firebirds defeated Woodstock Navy Vets 4-games-to-2 in West Division semifinals.
Woodstock Navy Vets defeated New Hamburg Firebirds 4-games-to-1 in West Division semifinals.
Norwich Merchants defeated Woodstock Navy Vets 4-games-to-2 in West Division finals.
Woodstock Navy Vets received first-round bye.
Norwich Merchants defeated Woodstock Navy Vets 4-games-to-0 in West Division semifinals.
Norwich Merchants defeated Woodstock Navy Vets 4-games-to-0 in West Division quarter-finals.
New Hamburg Firebirds defeated Woodstock Navy Vets 4-games-to-0 in West Division quarter-finals.
Paris Mounties defeated Woodstock Navy Vets 4-games-to-0 in West Division quarter-finals.
Paris Mounties defeated Woodstock Navy Vets 4-games-to-3 in quarter-finals.

Clarence Schmalz Cup Appearances

1969: Woodstock Navy-Vets defeated Oakville Blades 4-games-to-3
1984: Penetang Kings defeated Woodstock Navy-Vets 4-games-to-none

George S. Dudley Trophy Super "C" Appearances

1970: Barrie Colts defeated Woodstock Navy-Vets 4-games-to-3
1971: Woodstock Navy-Vets defeated Kitchener Ranger B's 4-games-to-2
1973: Woodstock Navy-Vets defeated Kitchener Ranger B's 4-games-to-3 with 1 tie
1974: Woodstock Navy-Vets defeated Owen Sound Salvagemen 4-games-to-none
1975: Woodstock Navy-Vets defeated Owen Sound Salvagemen 3-games-to-none
1976: Woodstock Navy-Vets defeated Brantford Penguins 4-games-to-none

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ http://www.angelfire.com/empire/jktaylor/navyvets/news-042707.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.angelfire.com/empire/jktaylor/navyvets/index.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.angelfire.com/empire/jktaylor/navyvets/news-081610-logo.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.angelfire.com/empire/jktaylor/navyvets/news-081710.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.woodstocknavyvets.ca/
  6. ↑ http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2013/04/15/a-new-local-ownership-group-has-taken-over-the-woodstock-navy-vets

External links