1980 Memorial Cup
The 1980 Memorial Cup occurred May 4–11 at the Keystone Centre in Brandon, Manitoba and at the Regina Agridome in Regina, Saskatchewan. It was the 62nd annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Participating teams were the winners of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League which were the Peterborough Petes, Cornwall Royals and Regina Pats. Cornwall won their second Memorial Cup, defeating Peterborough in the final game.
Controversy
The 1980 Memorial Cup is remembered as one of the most controversial in the tournament's history. Going into the final game of the round-robin, Peterborough (the defending champs, having won their first Cup in 1979) had clinched first place overall, and, with a win over Cornwall, would have faced Regina in the Cup final.
Many in Saskatchewan believed that the Petes deliberately threw the final game of the round-robin in order to face the Royals (a team that was perceived as weaker, despite having future superstar Dale Hawerchuk) again in the final. In the contest, Peterborough took a 4-1 lead in the second period; Cornwall scored late in the second to cut the lead to 4-2. Confident of victory, the Petes pulled starting goaltender Rick LaFerriere (who made the tournament all-star team and later played in the NHL) and put in his back-up; Cornwall proceeded to storm back with three tallies to take a 5-4 lead. With 1:26 to play, partisan Saskatchewan fans began chanting "throw the game" and "Petes, go home." Soon, the fans began throwing toilet paper, programs, soft drinks and other things at the Petes, causing a fifteen-minute delay and the arrival of some Regina city policemen.[1] The game ended 5-4, thus clinching Cornwall's berth in the Cup final.
The allegations were never proven; Peterborough coach (and future NHL skipper) Mike Keenan hotly denied the rumours, calling them "garbage" whipped up by the media. Even if the Petes did lose on purpose, it quickly backfired on them, as the Royals upended Peterborough on Robert Savard's goal in overtime, 3-2, to take the trophy. The game had been interrupted on sixteen occasions as fans threw eggs -- and even a live chicken -- on the ice. After Savard's game-winning goal, things got even uglier as the Peterborough bench was pelted with eggs, tomatoes, garbage and debris. (Interestingly, as of 2017, the Petes have never won another Memorial Cup.)
Round-robin standings
| GP | W | L | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 18 |
| Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 26 |
 Regina Pats (WHL) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 16 |
Scores
Round-robin
- May 4 Peterborough 5-4 Regina (OT)
- May 5 Cornwall 5-3 Regina
- May 6 Peterborough 8-6 Cornwall
- May 7 Peterborough 4-3 Regina
- May 8 Regina 11-2 Cornwall
- May 9 Cornwall 5-4 Peterborough
Final
- May 11 Cornwall 3-2 Peterborough (OT)
Source: [2]
Winning roster
Scott Arniel, Fred Arthur, Fred Boimistruck, Dan Brown, Newell Brown, Mike Corrigan, Marc Crawford, Gilles Crepeau, Dan Daoust, Dave Ezard, Tom Graovec, Craig Halliday, Pat Haramis, Dale Hawerchuk, Bobby Hull, Jr., Pat O'Kane, Robert Savard, Ron Scott, Ron Willard, Dan Zavarise. Coach: Doug Carpenter[3]
Award winners
- Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (MVP): Dave Ezard, Cornwall
- George Parsons Trophy (Sportsmanship): Dale Hawerchuk, Cornwall
- Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Goaltender): Rick LaFerriere, Peterborough
All-star team
- Goal: Rick LaFerriere, Peterborough
- Defence: Darren Veitch, Regina; Larry Murphy, Peterborough
- Centre: Bill Gardner, Peterborough
- Left wing: Dale Hawerchuk, Cornwall
- Right wing: Mark Reeds, Peterborough