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80-707: The Wheat Kings are a spiritual successor to the Brandon Wheat City senior team that participated in the 1904 Stanley Cup Challenge, losing to the Ottawa Senators . The Wheat Kings team was founded in 1936 as a member of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), although the team was known as the Elks for a short time in the late 1930s. Playing out of Wheat City Arena , the team won eight Turnbull Cup Championships as Manitoba Junior Champions and appeared in

160-614: A 3–2 win over the Maroons to take a one-game lead in the series. Goaltender Bryan Rose made 35 saves in the winning effort, while the Spits' first playoff goal and later winning goals were scored by Wolf Hiesl , both in the second period. The Spitfires lost the next four games to the Maroons to end their season. The 1972–73 season, the Spitfires second season, finished with their first winning record – 30 wins, 21 losses, and 9 ties. Finishing third in

240-640: A 50-win season, reached the Eastern Conference final and the Memorial Cup final. There, the Wheat Kings lost to the Windsor Spitfires , who claimed their second straight national title. Brandon would return to the Memorial Cup for a sixth time in 2016 after winning its third Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. However, the 2016 tournament would mark the first time the team failed to advance to at least

320-578: A 5–1 win over the Plymouth Whalers . In the first round of the playoffs, the Spitfires walked all over the Owen Sound Attack , taking the series in four games. In the next round, the Spits found the Plymouth Whalers to be a more formidable opponent. After trading off-road wins, then trading off home wins, the Spits took Games 5 and 6 to clinch the series. In the Western Conference final,

400-770: A 6–4 win. The next night, March 21, the Spitfires defeated the Maroons in Windsor 4–3 to clinch the SOJHL playoff championship. Gary Armstrong would score yet another winning goal in the series. Before a crowd of 5,117 fans, team captain Hugh Mitchell hoisted the Jack Oakes Memorial Trophy to celebrate their playoff victory. The Spitfires were now in the hunt for the 1974 Centennial Cup , the National Championship of Tier II Junior A hockey. The first team in their way, in

480-467: A berth into the league playoff semi-finals. Scott Miller would win the SOJHL scoring title with 73 goals and 125 points over the course of the season. The Spitfires semi-final opponent was their cross-river rival Detroit Jr. Red Wings . The Red Wings had finished the season in fifth out of eight teams (31–25–6). The semi-final opened up at the Windsor Arena with a 7–1 win for the Spitfires. They were at

560-605: A farm team in the MJHL, called the Brandon Travellers , an arrangement that would last until 1980. The Wheat Kings began a short period of success in 1976. Led by the likes of Brian Propp , Brad McCrimmon , and Ray Allison , the team won three straight regular season titles from 1976–77 to 1978–79, advancing to two league finals and capturing their first championship in 1979, defeating the Portland Winter Hawks in 6 games in

640-505: A franchise was in Guelph, Ontario , against the Guelph CMC's on October 1, 1971. The Spitfires lost the game 11–3, with Laurie Gregan scoring the first two goals in team history in the first period. Fifteen-year-old goaltender Larry Verlinde played the entire first game in team history, making 37 saves in the loss. The home game and first victory in team history occurred on October 7, 1971, at

720-564: A league of seven teams, the Spitfires drew the fourth place Niagara Falls Flyers (28–25–7) in the league quarter-final. The Spits dropped game one 6–4 in Niagara Falls , while in game two the Spits tied the series with a 6–4 win of their own at home. Back in Niagara, the Flyers shellacked the Spitfires 7–2 to take the series lead again. The fourth game was a disaster for the Spitfires, at home they blew

800-417: A minor penalty. The Wheat Kings 1978–79 campaign set a WHL record for points with 125. At the 1979 National Hockey League draft , ten members of the 1978–79 Wheat Kings were selected, including four in the first round. This proved to be a peak for the club, as over the following fourteen seasons the Wheat Kings would miss the playoffs altogether eight times, and win only two playoff series. One highlight came in

880-625: A national registrar and a committee to investigate registrations. Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario , Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975–76 season . An unrelated Windsor Spitfires team, founded in 1946, moved to become

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960-680: A record of 54-0 when leading after two periods. Having earned the right to represent the OHL in the 1988 Memorial Cup hosted in Chicoutimi , Quebec , the Compuware Spitfires advanced to the Championship game, where their string of success ended, losing to the Medicine Hat Tigers . Karmanos sold the team to local construction magnate Steve Riolo after the 1988–89 season, and the team reverted

1040-437: A second consecutive Memorial Cup tournament; they again bowed out in the semi-final, losing 4–3 to Peterborough. Throughout this period the Wheat Kings became a perennial playoff contender, missing the postseason only twice between 1993 and 2018. The Wheat Kings were selected to host the 2010 Memorial Cup tournament, ensuring their fifth appearance. Led by Matt Calvert , Brayden Schenn , and Toni Rajala , Brandon put together

1120-711: A single period (38 game seconds), matching the record set by the WHL's New Westminster Bruins in the 1978 tournament. The tournament ended with the Windsor Spitfires winning their third Memorial Cup , defeating the Erie Otters 4–3 in the championship final. On December 4, 2016, the Saginaw Spirit hosted the Spitfires in front of a crowd of over 3,100 people in the closing of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The Spitfires got

1200-591: A six-goal deficit to defeat the Wolves 11–10. After trailing 7–1 only 2:49 into the second period, the Spitfires were able to chip the lead down to 9–7 by the second intermission. Charlie Skjodt scored to make it 9–9 to complete the comeback, just to have the Wolves score with 6:33 to go in the game to make it 10–9. Charles Bosnyak , a member of the 1974–75 Tier II Spitfires, scored 32 seconds later to make it 10–10 and captain Mark Perras scored with 43 seconds remaining to win

1280-453: A third period deadlock to lose 7–5 and fall behind in the series 3-games-to-1. In game five, the Spitfires needed to make a change. Future IHLer Tony Piroski and partner Jean Pominville had uninspired starts in games three and four and were replaced by third-string goalie, and future NHLer , Rick Heinz . Heinz had spent the season in Junior B with the Spitfires' farm team Windsor Royals and

1360-646: A three-game deficit to win a playoff series, beating Rangers in each of the next four games to win the conference championship and the Wayne Gretzky Trophy . Notably, the Spitfires had recovered from a 3–0 deficit to win a playoff series once before, in a 2004–05 Conference Quarterfinal series against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds . In the league final, the Spitfires made quick work of a highly touted Barrie Colts squad, sweeping them in four games to win their second straight J. Ross Robertson Cup . Adam Henrique won

1440-694: The 2009 Memorial Cup , the Spitfires dropped their first two games in Rimouski 3–2 in overtime to the Drummondville Voltigeurs and 5–4 to the Rimouski Océanic . In a do-or-die game, the Spitfires won the final game of the round robin 2–1 over the Kelowna Rockets to gain entry to the tie-breaker game. In the tie-breaker, Windsor defeated the hometown Océanic 6-4 powered by a third period natural hat-trick by Dale Mitchell. The tournament semi-final

1520-640: The Detroit Olympia for game two, another romp for Windsor as they won 8–0. Back in Windsor, the Spitfires won game three 9–2. At the Olympia for game four, the Red Wings attempted to stage some resistance, but the Spitfires were too much, winning 7–5. The four-game sweep of the Red Wings allowed Windsor to rest up for the winner of the Chatham Maroons and Welland Sabres , a series just starting. On March 16, 1974,

1600-889: The Dudley Hewitt Cup Eastern Canada playdowns was the Wexford Raiders of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League . Also on the line was the Ontario Hockey Association Junior A championship, the Buckland Cup. The Spitfires took game one in Rexdale with a 4–2 victory. Back in Windsor the next night, the Spitfires seemed to have the series in control with a 5–2 win. The Raiders had other things in mind, winning at home in game three 6–2 and then taking it to Windsor in their own arena 4–1 to tie

1680-646: The Edmonton Oilers and Coach Bob Boughner accepted an assistant coaching job with the National Hockey League 's Columbus Blue Jackets . The Spitfires have engaged in a massive overhaul involving many trades. During the exhibition season, the Spitfires hosted the Czech Under-20 National Team . The Spitfires came back to win the game 5–4. Spitfires finished the exhibition schedule with 4 wins 1 loss and 1 tie. After another successful season

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1760-643: The Hamilton Spectator Trophy . The Spitfires also played their final games in the Windsor Arena . The Spits were undefeated at home in the Old Barn during the 2008–09 season. Mid-season they moved to the WFCU Centre . The Spitfires and their new arena played host to the 2009 All-Star Game. On May 12, Goalie Andrew Engelage broke the OHL record for most wins by a goaltender in a single season with 46 with

1840-694: The Hamilton Tiger Cubs in 1953, and later became the Erie Otters in 1996. The original Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey Association played from 1945 to 1953. The name Spitfires was chosen to honour the 417 Combat Support Squadron , a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron nicknamed "City of Windsor" established during World War II in England (today based at CFB Cold Lake in Alberta ), and used

1920-620: The Kenora Thistles . The professional league folded after a few seasons, but the Wheat City club continued fielding senior-level amateur teams until 1935. Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) president H. J. Sterling chose Winnipeg as the host location for the 1921 finals at an arena with an artificial ice surface. The Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) and the Brandon Wheat City Hockey Club wanted to have

2000-831: The Memorial Cup finals in 1949 after winning the Abbott Cup as the Western Canadian junior champion. The 1949 Brandon Wheat Kings were inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame . During the 1950s, the Wheat Kings left the MJHL for a time to play in the Big Six Intermediate Hockey League. Later, in 1964, Brandon left the MJHL again and spent two seasons playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League instead. The team then returned to

2080-518: The Plymouth Whalers in four games to win their Conference Semi-Final. In the other semi-final, the Kitchener Rangers upset the favoured London Knights in seven games. In the Conference Finals against Kitchener, Windsor initially struggled, losing the first three games of the series. However, the Spitfires went on to become the third team in Ontario Hockey League history to come back from

2160-525: The Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft. During this period the Spitfires reached the league finals twice, and featured four future Hockey Hall of Fame players. Prior to 1945, local junior hockey was divided up into the six-team Windsor Junior Hockey League. The Spitfires folded in 1953 as hockey interests in Windsor chose to focus their attention on the OHA Senior A Hockey League , which resulted in

2240-567: The Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the playoffs' most valuable player. In May, the Spitfires traveled to Brandon, Manitoba , for the 2010 Memorial Cup . The Spitfires trampled the host Brandon Wheat Kings 9–3 in their first game of the tournament and, in their second game, scored a convincing 6–2 win over the Western Hockey League champion Calgary Hitmen . With their victory over the Hitmen,

2320-633: The Windsor Arena against the Chatham Maroons , winning 4–2 on the back of future NHL goaltender Eddie Mio who made 49 saves. Dean Sheremeta scored the winning goal. The Spitfires finished their first season with a record of 21 wins, 32 losses, and 3 ties. Finishing sixth place out of eight teams, the Spitfires drew local rival Chatham Maroons in a best-of-seven league quarter-final. The Maroons, who finished third with 33 wins, 17 losses, and 6 ties, were favoured to win. The Spitfires' first playoff game took place on February 23, 1972, in Chatham, Ontario , for

2400-418: The "team captain that best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice as well as hard work, passion and dedication to the game of hockey and their community" in honour of Renaud. The Windsor Spitfires finished the 2008–09 season with 57 wins, 10 losses, and 1 shootout loss. This marked their best season in franchise history. With the first overall record in the Ontario Hockey League the Spitfires were awarded

2480-410: The 1983–84 season, when Ray Ferraro set a league record with a 108-goal season. In the late 1980s, Brad McCrimmon's brother, Kelly McCrimmon , took over as team manager. Under his guidance, the Wheat Kings again rose to prominence, making three finals appearances in a four-season span between 1994–95 and 1997–98. Despite losing the 1995 final, the team advanced to the Memorial Cup because they lost to

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2560-525: The Generals made it 7–0 at 11:29 of the second period. The two goaltenders combined for 30 saves, as the Spits were outshot 40–23. Rolly Hedges scored the first Major Junior goal in team history at 18:48 of the second period. On October 2, 1975, the Spitfires would tally their first ever Major Junior win. At home, the Spits were hosting the Sudbury Wolves . Despite being outshot 60–34, the Spitfires overcame

2640-410: The MJHL for one season before joining the major junior Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1967. The Wheat Kings had a challenging start in the new league—over their first nine seasons, the team posted only two winning records and won only a single playoff series. In 1970, the team moved briefly to Manex Arena , before moving to the new Keystone Centre in 1973. The same year, the team began operating

2720-513: The Memorial Cup tournament, the Spitfires hung Mickey Renaud 's jersey on their bench and the championship was won in Renaud's memory. In the aftermath of the championship, the team was met at the Windsor Airport by a large contingent of local fans and was addressed by Mayor Eddie Francis . It was announced that the road to the new WFCU Centre would be renamed Memorial Cup Drive in honour of

2800-517: The OHL's Western Conference Final, and they finished the playoffs with 20 wins against just 3 losses. Taylor Hall won his second straight Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as Memorial Cup most valuable player, making him the first repeat winner in the trophy's history. After two straight Memorial Cups , the Summer of 2010 saw leading scorer Taylor Hall go first overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft to

2880-569: The OMJHL (later known as the OHL) as an expansion franchise for the 1975–76 OMJHL season in February 1975. The league's board of governors unanimously accepted the Spitfires despite their arena's surface being smaller than Major Junior A standards. The Spitfires' had pumped $ 200,000 into the arena over the past two years, so the league overlooked the surface size despite taking issue with it in their 1974 rejection of

2960-434: The Spitfires as head coach, with Bob Jones remaining on the staff as his assistant. On August 10, 2012, the Spitfires were fined an unprecedented $ 400,000 CAD by the Ontario Hockey League and forfeited five first round OHL Priority Draft picks in 2013, 2014, and 2016 and second round picks in 2015 and 2017 for unspecified recruitment violations. The Spitfires claimed innocence to the recruitment violations and plan to appeal

3040-603: The Spitfires clinched a berth in the Memorial Cup final. They did not need to defeat the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 's Moncton Wildcats in their third and final round-robin game, but did so anyway, winning 4–3 in overtime. The tournament final saw the Spitfires play the host Wheat Kings for a second time. The Spitfires posted a convincing win once again, defeating the Wheat Kings 9–1 to clinch their second straight Memorial Cup. Their victory marked their twelfth straight win since going down 0–3 to Kitchener in

3120-549: The Spitfires engaged long time foe Chatham Maroons at the Windsor Arena in the first game of the SOJHL Final. The Maroons fell in that first game 6–1, but rebounded the next night in Chatham with a 5–2 victory of their own. On March 18, goalie Dennis Thorpe 's 40 save performance and third period game winner by Gary Armstrong gave the Spitfires a 2–1 home victory and a lead in the series. The Spitfires took game four in Chatham with

3200-432: The Spitfires fought to win a 6–4 decision in Windsor to tie the series at 7 points each and force a final eighth game - winner take all. The eighth game proved to be the Spitfires' last game of Tier II Junior A, as they traveled to Guelph and blew a 3–0 lead to lose the game (6–5) and the series (9-points-to-7) to end their four-year trek in the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League . The Spitfires were granted entry into

3280-417: The Spitfires organization. Downie was traded to the Peterborough Petes , and Aliu was traded to the Sudbury Wolves . On April 6, 2006, the Ontario Hockey League Board of Governors announced the approval of a new ownership group for the Windsor Spitfires, composed of Bob Boughner , Warren Rychel and Peter Dobrich. All three men had history in Windsor with OHL hockey, and the group had expressed hope to move

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3360-436: The Spitfires sweeping them in four games. The 1973–74 season would prove to be the defining moment of the Spitfires stint in Tier II Junior A. Headed by new head coach and general manager Wayne Maxner , the Spitfires won the Southern Ontario Junior A regular season title with a record of 39 wins, 15 losses, and 8 ties. Their record would put them four points ahead of the second place Welland Sabres and automatically give them

3440-628: The Spitfires were awarded their second straight Bumbacco Trophy . Taylor Hall tied Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers for the league's scoring lead, and both were awarded the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as scoring co-champions. The Spitfires also played host to the CHL Top Prospects Game . The Spitfires sent six players to the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships . Defenceman Ryan Ellis and forwards Taylor Hall , Adam Henrique , and Greg Nemisz played for silver medalist Canada, defenceman Cam Fowler played for gold medalist United States, and forward Richard Panik played for Slovakia. At

3520-419: The Spitfires' expansion bid. On September 25, 1975, Major Junior hockey returned to the Windsor Arena for the first time in twenty-two years. In front of 4,335 fans, the Windsor Spitfires hosted the Oshawa Generals . The game would be an eye-opener for the Spitfires, as they were defeated 10–1 by the Generals. Wayne Mills started in net for the Spits, but would be later relieved by back-up Bob Parent when

3600-434: The Spits finished 4th in the Western Conference to advance to the playoffs. The Spitfires reached the Conference Final for the third consecutive year. Following two hard fought battles the Spits were eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in three years by the Owen Sound Attack. The Attack went on to win the OHL Championship. After one season with the Columbus Blue Jackets as assistant coach, Bob Boughner returned to

3680-516: The Spits played their nemesis the London Knights . Led by John Tavares , the Knights were a tough opponent. Every game in the series went to overtime, but the Spitfires were victorious and won the series 4-games-to-1 to earn a berth to the OHL Final and take the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as Conference champions. The OHL Final began with a 10–1 victory for the Spitfires over the Eastern Conference's Brampton Battalion led by stars Cody Hodgson and Matt Duchene . The series became much tighter from there as

3760-435: The Spits to a second straight regular season title with a record of 40 wins, 15 losses, and 5 ties, 11 points ahead of the second place Welland Sabres (30–16–14). John Tavella won the league scoring title with 54 goals and 117 points and goaltender Floyd St. Cyr led the league with the fewest goals against. The Spitfires' first opponent in the playoff semi-final was the last place Detroit Jr. Red Wings (15–38–9). At home,

3840-399: The Spits took Game 2 5–3. The Battalion fought back in Game 3, winning 4–2. Game 4 belonged to the Spitfires as they took a 4–1 win and a 3–1 series lead. Game 5 was a tight affair, as the Spitfires took a 1–0 lead midway through the second period on the power play. Brampton tied the game up late in the third period to force overtime. At 2:09 of the first overtime period, Taylor Hall scored on

3920-402: The Spits took game one 11–2. Back at the Detroit Olympia , the Spits won 8–2. Again in Windsor, the Spits took game three 10–1. The Spits had the chance to clinch in game four, but the Red Wings refused to let their season end in front of their Detroit faithful winning 5–3. Game five, in Windsor, Ian Campbell would score a late third period tally to break a 2–2 deadlock and send the Spitfires to

4000-401: The Spits' first ever Major Junior game. Bob Parent would make 50 saves to cap off the historic victory. The "Spits" as they are commonly known, won their first Emms division title in 1980 and reached the OHL finals, but lost to the Peterborough Petes . Ernie Godden set an all-time OHL record in 1980–81 scoring 87 goals. In 1984 Peter Karmanos , the founder and CEO of Compuware , bought

4080-427: The Windsor Spitfires name and adopted their modern logo. On October 18, 2005, Head Coach Moe Mantha was handed a 40-game suspension and later terminated without pay, for a hazing incident that occurred aboard a bus after a pre-season game versus the London Knights . An altercation involving players Steve Downie and Akim Aliu , in which Aliu lost four teeth, led to public exposure of the compulsive hazing within

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4160-663: The best of the Spirit in a 3–2 overtime win, with a hat trick performance by defenceman Sean Day . The Windsor Compuware Spitfires won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy, the J. Ross Robertson Cup, and were the top-ranked junior team in Canada during the 1987–88 season. Memorial Cup J. Ross Robertson Cup Emms Division Playoff Champions Wayne Gretzky Trophy West Conference Champions Hamilton Spectator Trophy Emms Trophy Emms Division Champions Bumbacco Trophy West Division Champions SOJAHL Regular Season Champions SOJAHL Jack Oakes Trophy OHA Jr. A Frank L. Buckland Trophy Over 100 alumni of

4240-399: The decision. On December 29, 2013, the Spitfires and the Saginaw Spirit played the first ever outdoor game in Ontario Hockey League history. The game was played at Comerica Park in Detroit , Michigan . The Spitfires won the game 6–5 in front of a short-lived Canadian Hockey League record of 25,749 spectators, surpassed later that night by the London Knights and Plymouth Whalers at

4320-445: The end of the tournament, the Spitfires acquired defenceman Marc Cantin , forward Stephen Johnston and German goaltender Philipp Grubauer from the Belleville Bulls in exchange for forwards Panik and Austen Brassard , defenceman Paul Bezzo , goaltender Steve Gleeson and a seventh-round pick in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection. In the first round of the OHL playoffs, the Spitfires swept the Erie Otters in four games. They then swept

4400-471: The eventual game winner for the Spitfires. Game seven saw the two teams return for a final showdown at the Windsor Arena . The Spitfires would take the game 6–3 in front of a capacity crowd of 5,189 fans. The victory, winning in seven games, was the Spitfires' first ever playoff series victory. Waiting for them, rested for the semi-final, was the first place Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters (39–13–8). The Biltmores, defending National Champions , made short work of

4480-402: The final. The Wheat Kings advanced to the Memorial Cup for the first time since 1949, again to lose in the final, this time in a 2–1 overtime defeat against the Peterborough Petes in what has been cited as one of the best finals in the tournament's history. Infamously, with the team down three defencemen, McCrimmon played all but two minutes of the Memorial Cup final—he left the ice only to serve

4560-526: The finals for the 1921 Allan Cup . When five players from the team suddenly departed after the 1920–21 season ended, MAHA secretary Fred Marples stated that it put the players under suspicion of professionalism, but the MAHA could not do anything unless there was proof of players being paid to play or a residency rule violation. In June 1921, Marples and other MAHA officials met with CAHA president W. R. Granger to investigate into charges of professionalism in amateur hockey. The CAHA subsequently established

4640-438: The first time a team started with two losses in the Memorial Cup round robin and came back to win the championship. The feat also marks the first time that a team has survived the Memorial Cup tie-breaker game to win the championship. The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy was awarded to Taylor Hall as Memorial Cup playoffs most valuable player. Both Ryan Ellis and Hall were elected to the tournament's All-Star Team. Throughout

4720-419: The founding of the Windsor Bulldogs . Eventually five former Spitfires laced up with the Bulldogs and one, Bobby Brown, won an Allan Cup with the team (1963). The Bulldogs folded in 1964 after one season in the International Hockey League . The modern Windsor Spitfires started as a Tier II Junior A team that played in the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League from 1971 to 1975. The Spitfires first game as

4800-411: The games played at the rink in Brandon, and contested that Sterling was incorrect to make the decision himself without consulting the CAHA executive. They sought an injunction against Sterling to prevent the games from being played in Winnipeg, but were denied when the justice declined to interfere in CAHA business. The Toronto Varsity Blues men's ice hockey defeated the Brandon Wheat City Hockey Club in

4880-465: The host Kamloops Blazers ; at the tournament, Brandon lost the semi-final 2–1 to the Detroit Junior Red Wings . Their best result came in 1995–96, when the team, coached by Bob Lowes and led on the ice by the likes of Wade Redden and Peter Schaefer , posted its first 50-win season since 1979, winning the regular season title. The team then lost only three games in the playoffs en route to its second playoff championship. The Wheat Kings thus advanced to

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4960-418: The intermediate division of the Manitoba & Northwestern Hockey Association . In 1902, the club started fielding teams in the senior division. In 1904, the senior team made its first challenge for the Stanley Cup , in 1904 against the Ottawa Hockey Club (the Silver Seven ). In 1906, the club fielded its first professional senior team, which challenged for the Stanley Cup in 1907 in the MPHL playoff against

5040-413: The league finals. The fourth place Guelph Bilmores (23–31–6) stood in the way of the Spitfires. The Biltmores had upset the second place Welland Sabres in the league quarter-final in five games and the third place Chatham Maroons 8-points-to-6 (3 wins, 2 losses, 2 ties) and were looking to shock the Spitfires too. The Biltmores had caused trouble for the Spitfires all season as their head-to-head record

5120-405: The power play to win the Spitfires their second J. Ross Robertson Cup as league champions and a berth into the 2009 Memorial Cup . The victory was the Spitfires' first league title since the 1987–88 OHL season and marked their second time playing for the Memorial Cup . On May 9, Mayor of Windsor Eddie Francis awarded the team with the Key to the City in honour of their achievement. At

5200-514: The same venue. On June 28, 2015, Spitfires owner and head coach Bob Boughner accepted another assistant coaching job with the NHL's San Jose Sharks . A couple of days later, former Oilers assistant coach Rocky Thompson was hired as the Spitfires new head coach, with Trevor Letowski accepting the assistant coaching job after former assistant coach Bob Jones was hired by the Oshawa Generals as head coach. Boughner's new job seemed to be very successful, as he and former Spitfire Peter DeBoer lead

5280-416: The second to blow the lead in the third and finish with a 9–9 overtime tie. The Spitfires tied up the series in game three with a 4–2 win in Windsor. In Guelph for game four, the Spitfires blew a first period 3–0 lead to lose 6–4. Game five saw the Spitfires tie the series at five points a piece with an 8–4 win at home. Guelph again gained the advantage in game six with a 6–4 win at home. In a last gasp for air,

5360-425: The semi-final as they dropped three straight games. After the season, Kelly McCrimmon was hired by the National Hockey League 's Vegas Golden Knights —his departure from Brandon marked the end of an era. In a shortened 2020–21 WHL campaign played exclusively in-division and without playoffs—the season was modified due to the COVID-19 pandemic —Brandon finished atop the East Division with an 18–4–2 record. In 2022,

5440-427: The series. Back in Rexdale, the Raiders crushed the Spitfires with an 8–2 victory. With their back against the wall, the Spits had to win at home to force game seven. A 7–5 victory for the Spitfires turned this into a series for the ages. On April 6, 1974, the Spitfires season came to an end, as the Wexford Raiders took a 6–3 victory at home to advance to the next round of national playdowns. Scott Miller would be named

5520-417: The team and renamed them the Windsor Compuware Spitfires. In the 1987–88 season, the culmination of a well-executed four-year plan saw the Compuware Spitfires win 35 of their last 36 games, become the first team to go undefeated in the OHL playoffs, and sweep the Peterborough Petes in the OHL Championship finals to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup . During the season, the Compuware Spitfires were dominant, with

5600-436: The team hired former player Marty Murray to be its new coach and manager. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against The Wheat Kings raised Brad McCrimmon's number to the rafters after he was killed in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in 2011. Bob Clarke Trophy (WHL top scorer) Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (WHL player of

5680-465: The team into a new arena. Boughner assumed the roles of President, CEO and head coach of the Spitfires, Rychel was named director of player development, and Dobrich the new business manager. On February 18, 2008, team captain and Calgary Flames prospect Mickey Renaud died of an undetected heart condition in his Tecumseh, Ontario , home. General Manager Warren Rychel referred to Renaud's death as "the biggest tragedy in Spitfire history". His number

5760-532: The team to the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins . Windsor was selected as the host city for the 99th Memorial Cup championship, who won the right to host the tournament over undisclosed competition. In defeating the Seattle Thunderbirds by 7–1 in a round-robin game on May 21, 2017, the Windsor Spitfires tied a Memorial Cup record for the fastest 3 goals scored by a team in

5840-581: The team's most valuable player. The Windsor Spitfires applied for expansion to the OMJHL (later known as the OHL) during their 1974 playoff run, but were rejected due to the "unacceptability of Windsor Arena as a major A facility." Their farm team, the Windsor Royals Junior B team of the Great Lakes Junior Hockey League put in a rival bid but were also rejected due to lack of an acceptable arena. In 1974–75, Jim Butcher coached

5920-472: The victory. The Spitfires came back in 2009–10 with a second straight 50-plus win season, finishing with a record of 50 wins, 12 losses, 1 overtime loss, and 5 shootout losses. Their record was good enough to earn the top seed in the Western Conference, but not good enough to clinch their second straight Hamilton Spectator Trophy , won by the Barrie Colts (57-9-0-2). For being the top team in their division,

6000-617: The year) Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (WHL rookie of the year) Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (WHL top defenceman) Del Wilson Trophy (WHL top goaltender) Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy (WHL coach of the year) Doc Seaman Trophy (WHL scholastic player of the year) WHL Playoff MVP (Awarded since 1992) Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Memorial Cup MVP) Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Memorial Cup top goaltender) George Parsons Trophy (Memorial Cup sportsmanship) Brandon Wheat City Hockey Club The Wheat City Hockey Club (also known as Brandon Wheat Cities )

6080-456: Was 5 wins each and 2 ties in 12 matches. After a week layoff, the Spitfires were up against a hot opponent and were missing scoring champion John Tavella to a three-games suspension for butt-ending against Detroit. The Spits dropped the first game, at home, 6–5 after giving up a late 2-on-1 odd-man rush late in the third period. The next night, in Guelph, the Spitfires led 6–1 in the first and 8–4 in

6160-748: Was an early amateur ice hockey club in Brandon, Manitoba . The club fielded senior-level, junior and intermediate teams from 1898. The club fielded teams in the Manitoba & Northwestern Hockey Association , followed by the Manitoba Hockey Association , the Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL) and the early Manitoba Hockey League . The club was founded as the Brandon Hockey Club in 1898. The club first fielded teams in

6240-549: Was between the Spitfires and the Voltigeurs. The Spitfires blew an early 2–0 lead, but won 3–2 in overtime from a goal by Adam Henrique to become the second team ever to play in the Memorial Cup final after playing in the tie-breaker game. In the final, the Spitfires again played the Rockets. The Spitfires scored on their first three shots and cruised to a 4–1 win to take their first ever Memorial Cup championship. Their victory marked

6320-401: Was new to the pressure of Junior A playoff hockey. The gamble paid off, as an inspired Spitfire squad won the game 9-4 while Heinz capped of a 24-save night for the victory. In game six, coach Jerry Serviss returned to his starting goalie, Tony Piroski , in net on the road. Piroski rewarded his coach's confidence with a 5–4, 33-save victory - evening the series at 3 games each. Mark Smith scored

6400-533: Was retired by both the Spitfires and the Tecumseh Chiefs Junior B franchise that he played on before graduating to Major Junior. Mayor Eddie Francis named a road leading to the WFCU Centre in Renaud's honour, Mickey Renaud Way . At the 2009 OHL All-Star Game at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, OHL Commissioner David Branch announced that the Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy would be awarded to

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