Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League

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Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League
Head Office Cambridge, Ontario
Official Web site GOJHL
Chairman Dave Lindey
Vice Chairman TBA
Founded 2007
2007-08 Champion Tecumseh Chiefs

The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. The league was created in 2007 through the merging of the Western Ontario Hockey League, Mid-Western Junior Hockey League, and Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League to dissuade "player raiding" from teams in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. The skill level of the league is regarded as comparable to Tier II Junior "A", but the league will not consider joining the Canadian Junior A Hockey League for at least a couple seasons.

The twenty-six teams of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League come from Southwestern Ontario, the Golden Horseshoe, and include one team from upstate New York.

Contents

[edit] History

In the late 1990s, the Western Ontario Junior B Hockey League began complaining about their top level players being pulled from their teams at trade deadline time by Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League clubs without permission or compensation. The view in Southern Ontario is that Tier II Junior "A" and Junior "B" are the same skill level. In fact the OPJHL was known as the Central Ontario Junior B Hockey League until 1993, as well the Metro Junior A Hockey League which folded in 1998 was a Junior "B" league until 1991. The difference between the OPJHL and the MetJHL when compared to the Western, Mid-Western, and Golden Horseshoe leagues is that the OPJHL and MetJHL are Greater Toronto Area-based teams for the most part, while the other three leagues are more rural in nature.

During the 2006-07 season, the general managers of all Ontario Hockey Association Junior "B" teams came together and voted unanimously to merge and create the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League effective for the 2007-08 season. The GOJHL will become the sole competing body of the Sutherland Cup, which once had as many as seven leagues competing for it.

The 2007-08 season has started off not as planned for the GOJHL. The management of the Mid-Western league resigned and needed to be replaced, and with a lack of organization due to the short time the new management had to get organized the MWJHL had to opt out of an interlocking schedule. As a result, the entire GOJHL will go without an interlocking schedule for 2007-08. The 2008-09 season will see the complete liquidation of all three divisional managements and a single body will be put in place for all three divisions as well as an interlocking schedule between all three divisions.

In the future, the league has stated that it will pursue club expansion, a reconfiguration that will move the league from three to four divisions, and possibly a move to join the Canadian Junior A Hockey League in future years.

On September 8, 2007, the Cambridge Winterhawks and the Guelph Dominators played the first ever game since the inception of the GOJHL. Despite leading 2-0 and outshooting Guelph, the defending Sutherland Cup Champions allowed five unanswered goals to drop the game 5-2. On May 3, 2008, the Tecumseh Chiefs finished a four game sweep of the Elmira Sugar Kings to win the first ever GOJHL championship.

[edit] Teams

2007-08 GOJHL Team Locations
2007-08 GOJHL Team Locations
Golden Horseshoe Division
Team Centre 2007-08 Record Points
Thorold Blackhawks Thorold 30-12-6-1 67
Niagara Falls Canucks Niagara Falls 29-15-5-0 63
St. Catharines Falcons St. Catharines 28-14-5-2 63
Fort Erie Meteors Fort Erie 27-17-3-2 59
Welland Jr. Canadians Welland 28-19-1-1 58
Stoney Creek Warriors Stoney Creek 23-22-1-3 50
Port Colborne Pirates Port Colborne 14-32-1-2 31
Wheatfield Jr. Blades Wheatfield 5-42-2-0 12
Midwestern Division
Team Centre 2007-08 Record Points
Elmira Sugar Kings Elmira 30-7-8-3 71
Listowel Cyclones Listowel 29-14-4-1 63
Cambridge Winterhawks Cambridge 25-14-7-2 59
Stratford Cullitons Stratford 22-16-7-3 54
Brantford Golden Eagles Brantford 22-22-3-1 48
Kitchener Dutchmen Kitchener 21-21-1-5 48
Guelph Dominators Guelph 20-23-4-1 45
Waterloo Siskins Waterloo 17-21-8-2 44
y-Owen Sound Greys Owen Sound 8-37-2-1 19
Western Division
Team Centre 2007-08 Record Points
Tecumseh Chiefs Tecumseh 34-12-0-2 70
St. Marys Lincolns St. Marys 31-12-0-5 67
London Nationals London 30-14-0-4 64
Strathroy Rockets Strathroy 27-17-0-4 58
Sarnia Blast Sarnia 26-19-0-3 55
Leamington Flyers Leamington 25-21-0-2 52
St. Thomas Stars St. Thomas 19-20-0-9 47
Chatham Maroons Chatham 17-26-0-5 39
y-Petrolia Jets Petrolia 7-37-0-4 18

(-y) denotes that team is one of two teams in entire league eliminated from playdowns.

[edit] 2007-08 Playoffs

[edit] Sutherland Cup

The Round Robin

Team W-L GF GA
Tecumseh Chiefs (WO) 3-1 22 13
Elmira Sugar Kings (MW) 2-2 15 19
Thorold Blackhawks (GH) 1-3 13 18

Sutherland Cup Finals

  Sutherland Cup Finals
       
1  Tecumseh Chiefs (WO) 4
2  Elmira Sugar Kings (MW) 0

[edit] Golden Horseshoe Division

  Quarter-finals Semi-finals Golden Horseshoe Finals
                           
  1  Thorold 4  
8  Wheatfield 0  
  1  Thorold 4  
  4  Fort Erie 0  
4  Fort Erie 4
  5  Welland 3  
    1  Thorold 4
  3  St. Catharines 3
  2  Niagara Falls 4  
7  Port Colborne 2  
  2  Niagara Falls 1
  3  St. Catharines 4  
3  St. Catharines 4
  6  Stoney Creek 0  

[edit] Mid-Western Division

  Quarter-finals Semi-finals Mid-Western Finals
                           
  1  Elmira 4  
8  Waterloo 1  
  1  Elmira 4  
  4  Stratford 1  
4  Stratford 4
  5  Brantford 0  
    1  Elmira 4
  3  Cambridge 2
  2  Listowel 4  
7  Guelph 1  
  2  Listowel 3
  3  Cambridge 4  
3  Cambridge 4
  6  Kitchener 0  

[edit] Western Division

  Quarter-finals Semi-finals Western Finals
                           
  1  Tecumseh 4  
8  Chatham 0  
  1  Tecumseh 4  
  4  Strathroy 1  
4  Strathroy 4
  5  Sarnia 2  
    1  Tecumseh 4
  3  London 1
  2  St. Marys 4  
7  St. Thomas 2  
  2  St. Marys 0
  3  London 4  
3  London 4
  6  Leamington 2  

[edit] Sutherland Cup playoff champions

Tecumseh Chiefs' Matt Rehman being presented the Sutherland Cup (2008)
Tecumseh Chiefs' Matt Rehman being presented the Sutherland Cup (2008)
Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League
Year Champion Finalist RR Finalist
2008 Tecumseh Chiefs (WOC) Elmira Sugar Kings (MWC) Thorold Blackhawks (GHC)
OHA Junior "B"
Year Champion Finalist RR Finalist
2007 Cambridge Winterhawks (MW) Strathroy Rockets (WO) St. Catharines Falcons (GH)
2006 Cambridge Winterhawks (MW) Niagara Falls Canucks (GH) Chatham Maroons (WO)
2005 Thorold Blackhawks (GH) Chatham Maroons (WO) Listowel Cyclones (MW)
2004 Stratford Cullitons (MW) Thorold Blackhawks (GH) Chatham Maroons (WO)
2003 Stratford Cullitons (MW) Thorold Blackhawks (GH) Petrolia Jets (WO)
2002 Sarnia Blast (WO) Elmira Sugar Kings (MW) Niagara Falls Canucks (GH)
2001 Elmira Sugar Kings (MW) Thorold Blackhawks (GH) Chatham Maroons (WO)
2000 Cambridge Winterhawks (MW) St. Catharines Falcons (GH) Chatham Maroons (WO)
1999 Chatham Maroons (WO) Stratford Cullitons (MW) St. Catharines Falcons (GH)
1998 Niagara Falls Canucks (GH) Elmira Sugar Kings (MW) Chatham Maroons (WO)
1997 Elmira Sugar Kings (MW) St. Catharines Falcons (GH) Strathroy Rockets (WO)
1996 Niagara Falls Canucks (GH) St. Thomas Stars (WO) Stratford Cullitons (MW)
1995 Stratford Cullitons (MW) St. Thomas Stars (WO) Niagara Falls Canucks (GH)
1994 Waterloo Siskins (MW) St. Catharines Falcons (GH) St. Marys Lincolns (WO)

Listed are the Sutherland Cup champions from the 1993-94 season until the 2006-07 season.
From 1993 until 2007 the Sutherland Cup was exclusive to the three leagues that now comprise the GOJHL.
For Junior "B" champions prior to th 1993-94 season, please visit: Sutherland Cup.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links