The Vaughan Vipers were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Vaughan , Ontario , Canada. They were a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League .
36-645: In 1991, the expansion Royal York Rangers joined the Central Jr. B league, which became the Ontario Provincial league. In 1996, the team moved to become the Vaughan Vipers. In the first season in 1996–97, the Vipers failed to make the playoffs and were the fourth-worst team. After managing only 7 wins out of a 51-game schedule, the Vipers finished with only 18 points, and the Vipers finished out of playoff contention for
72-668: A 41–4–4 record, despite finishing 2nd place in the OPJHL's South Conference behind the dominant St. Michael's Buzzers . The Vipers received a bye to the next round of the playoffs, but lost the second round series to the Markham Waxers in four games. In their final 2011–12 season, the Vipers finished 2nd behind the St. Michael's Buzzers, but would lose a heart-breaking series to the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots in 7 games. Marcus Hinds scored
108-708: A champion from Western Canada, both of which were determined through a series of playdowns under the auspices of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association . In 1929, the Memorial Cup Final became a best-of-three series. In 1934, when the junior hockey teams were further divided between Junior 'A' and Junior 'B', the Memorial Cup served as the Junior 'A' championship trophy, and the Sutherland Cup became
144-515: A host team, which alternates on an annual basis between the three member leagues. The Memorial Cup trophy was established by Captain James T. Sutherland to honour those who died in service during World War I . It was rededicated during the 2010 tournament to honour all soldiers who died fighting for Canada in any conflict. The trophy was originally known as the OHA Memorial Cup and was donated by
180-481: A semi-final game between the second and third-place teams and a final between the first-place team and the semi-final winner. This format continues to be used to this day, with the honour of hosting the tournament rotated amongst the CHL's three member leagues. If the host team also wins its respective league championship, the Memorial Cup berth reserved for the league champion is instead awarded to that league's runner-up. This
216-442: A single-game final. A semi-final game was added in 1974 . In 1977 the tournament was expanded to a double round-robin (four games each), with no semi-final. The tournament was held at a pre-determined site which was rotated among the three leagues. The 1983 Memorial Cup tournament saw the inclusion of a fourth team, the team hosting the event, which was done to boost tournament attendance. The first tournament under this format
252-511: The Junior A rank into two tiers, naming the Memorial Cup as the championship of the Major Junior level. The Memorial Cup is sometimes referred to as one of the hardest championships to win in hockey, factoring in the number of teams across the CHL's member leagues nationwide, the Memorial Cup tournament being played between their top teams, and the limited eligibility period for players to compete at
288-531: The Memorial Cup , which is awarded to the junior hockey champions of Canada. The host team of the tournament is alternated between the three leagues every season. The most recent OHL team to win the Memorial Cup was the Saginaw Spirit in 2024. The Memorial Cup has been captured 18 times by OHL/OHA teams since the tournament went to a three-league format in 1972: The Cup was also won 16 times by OHA teams in
324-507: The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) in 1919 to be awarded to the junior ice hockey champion of Canada. From its inception until 1971, the Memorial Cup was open to all Junior A teams in the country and was awarded following a series of league, provincial and regional playoffs culminating in an east–west championship. The three-league tournament format began in 1972 , a season after the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association divided
360-665: The Chiefs took apart the trophy and shared it around with teammates. In 2012 , defenceman Dillon Donnelly of the Shawinigan Cataractes accidentally dropped the trophy, significantly damaging it. The official cup is typically kept at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto , Ontario, Canada. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , both the 2020 (scheduled for Kelowna) and the 2021 (to be hosted by
396-681: The Hockey Hall of Fame.) --William J. Walshe, Comments on Sport, The Kingston Whig-Standard , January 6, 1939. It started as an East-versus-West format, where the George Richardson Memorial Trophy champions from the East would play the Abbott Cup champions from the West. From 1919 to 1928, the Memorial Cup Final was a two-game total goals affair between a champion from Eastern Canada and
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#1733085418856432-553: The Junior 'B' trophy. From 1937 the Memorial Cup was a best-of-five series, and in 1943 reverted to a best-of-seven series. For the 1970–1971 season , the Junior 'A' rank was further split into the Major Junior rank and a second-tier rank (referred nowadays as Junior 'A'), with the Memorial Cup serving as the Major Junior championship trophy, and the Manitoba Centennial Trophy , and later the Royal Bank Cup , serving as
468-459: The Markham Waxers in 5 games. The Thornhill Rattlers were no match for the Vipers and lost the series in 4 games. The following seasons, the Vipers began to sink to the bottom of the standings and were fortunate to qualify for the playoffs, only to exit the first round. The Vipers would not advance to another playoff round until 2007. Vaughan's best season came in 2007–08, when the team boosted
504-502: The OHA Junior A League was one of five Junior A leagues operating in Ontario. The OHA was promoted to Tier I Junior A for the 1970–71 season and took up the name Ontario Major Junior Hockey League . Since 1980 the league has grown rapidly into a high-profile marketable product, with many games broadcast on television and radio. Leagues for ice hockey in Ontario were first organized in 1890 by
540-686: The OHA in July 1982. The OHA and OHL disagreed on financial terms of affiliation, then the OHL decided to handle its own administration. The OHA and the OHL later reached an interim affiliation agreement, which allowed the OHL to compete at the Memorial Cup . In March 2005, the league announced the launch of OHL Live Stream, resulting in OHL games being broadcast live on a pay-per-view (PPV) broadband basis. OMJHL and OHL Commissioners (years in office) Note: The 12 original OHL franchises were all previously members of
576-455: The OHA who had fallen on the field of war. "Past President Capt. J. T. Sutherland, now in France, spoke of the splendid work done by Canadian boys in France and suggested the erection of a suitable memorial to hockey players who have fallen."— The Globe, Toronto, Ontario, Dec. 9, 1918 . "The (Memorial) cup, coveted prize of Canadian junior hockey, was the brainchild of Capt. Jim (Sutherland) when he
612-472: The OHL decided to hold the "draft" via the internet, greatly reducing the costs the league and its member teams incurred in hosting a public draft. This move reduced the stress and pressure that prospective players faced with a large crowd present. The Jack Ferguson Award is presented annually to the first overall selection. The award was named in honour of long time OHL scout and former Director of Central Scouting Jack Ferguson. List of trophies and awards in
648-739: The OHL: seventeen in Ontario, two in Michigan , and one in Pennsylvania . The league was founded in 1980 when its predecessor, the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, formally split away from the Ontario Hockey Association , joining the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League and its direct affiliation with Hockey Canada . The OHL traces its history of Junior A hockey back to 1933 with the partition of Junior A and B. In 1970,
684-479: The OMJHL. Some other franchises played in different junior leagues prior to joining the OHL. Current teams are listed in blue. Gold stars denote J. Ross Robertson Cup (League championship) winners The 20 OHL clubs play a 68-game unbalanced schedule, which starts in the third full week of September, running until the third week of March. Ninety percent (90%) of OHL games are scheduled between Thursday and Sunday to minimize
720-771: The Ontario Hockey League. Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup ( French : Coupe Memorial ) is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played among the champions of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL), and
756-540: The final goal in Vaughan Vipers history just over 11 minutes into the third period in a 4–2 loss to Toronto at the Al Palladini Community Centre in front of 323 fans. In March 2012, the Vipers withdrew their membership from the OJHL. The news came as a shock, as the Vipers were potential top team in the OJHL and surprise to head coach/general manager Jason Fortier, who had just came up with some marketing ideas for
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#1733085418856792-465: The first three rounds. In 1972 disagreements about the Toronto team's rights to its "Marlie" players (and Greg Neeld ) and claims to American player Mark Howe led to a revised system. In 1973 each team was permitted to protect eight midget area players (Toronto was allowed to protect 10 players from its midget sponsored teams). In 1975 the league phased out the area protections, and the 1976 OHA midget draft
828-464: The history of the cup, there have been two major mishaps with the cup itself. At the 2008 tournament , a replica trophy, which is the one teams are presented with on the ice after the game, broke apart as captain Chris Bruton of the victorious Spokane Chiefs tried to hand it off to a teammate after being presented the cup on the ice. The crowd started heckling after the replica cup broke apart, while
864-469: The junior division was divided into two levels, Junior A and Junior B. In 1970 the Junior A level was divided into two levels, Tier I (or Major Junior A) and Tier II (or Minor Junior A). In 1974 the Tier I/Major Junior A group separated from the OHA and became the independent Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL). In 1980, the OMJHL became the Ontario Hockey League. The OHL split from
900-490: The major junior level. Capt. Sutherland, who was serving overseas, was President of the Ontario Hockey Association and he brought forward the idea to present a trophy to honour all the young Canadian hockey players who died in battle and have it awarded to the best junior hockey team in Canada. The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA)'s annual meeting was unanimous that a fitting memorial be established to members of
936-409: The newly created Ontario Hockey Association (OHA). In 1892 the OHA recognized junior hockey - referring to skill rather than age. In 1896 the OHA moved to the modern age-limited junior hockey concept, distinct from senior and intermediate divisions. Since then the evolution to the Ontario Hockey League has developed through four distinct eras of junior-aged non-professional hockey in Ontario. In 1933,
972-596: The number of school days missed for its players. Approximately 20% of players on active rosters in the National Hockey League (NHL) have come from the OHL, and about 54% of NHL players are alumni of the Canadian Hockey League . The J. Ross Robertson Cup is awarded annually to the winner of the Championship Series. The Cup is named for John Ross Robertson , who was president of the Ontario Hockey Association from 1901 to 1905. The OHL playoffs consist of
1008-448: The period between 1945 and 1971: The OHL's predecessor, the OHA, had a midget and juvenile draft dating back to the 50s, until voted out in 1962. In 1966 it was resumed, though not publicized. Starting in the 1970s the draft went through several changes. Originally the draft was for 17-year-old midgets not already associated with teams through their sponsored youth programs. In 1971 the league first allowed "underage" midgets to be picked in
1044-524: The second tier championship trophy. In 1972 , the Memorial Cup was contested between three teams: the champions of the three leagues of the Canadian Hockey League : the Ed Chynoweth Cup Champs (WHL) , J. Ross Robertson Cup Champs (OHL) , and the President's Cup Champs (QMJHL) . From 1972 to 1973 these three teams played a single round-robin (two games each), with the top two teams advancing to
1080-409: The team, but owner Al Doria claimed it was too late and went ahead with the buyout option offered by the league. Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ; French : Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario ( LHO ) ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League . The league is for players aged 16–20. There are currently 20 teams in
1116-485: The third-consecutive year. The 1999–00 season would bring changes, and the Vipers produced talent with some local players, who were discarded from major junior hockey, especially the Ontario Hockey League . The records from the previous years were identical, but in different categories. Vaughan made the post-season for the first time in their short history, especially defeating the Pickering Panthers in four games and
Vaughan Vipers - Misplaced Pages Continue
1152-542: The top 16 teams in the league, 8 from each conference. The teams play a best-of-seven game series, and the winner of each series advances to the next round. The final two teams eventually compete for the J. Ross Robertson Cup . The OHL champion then competes with the winners of the Western Hockey League , the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League , and the host of the tournament to play for
1188-524: Was held in Portland, Oregon , and marked the first time that an American city hosted the Memorial Cup. The host Winter Hawks also won the Cup that year, becoming the first American team to win the Memorial Cup, as well as becoming the first host team to win it. The four teams played a single round-robin (three games each). If two teams are tied for third place, then a tie-breaker game is played on Thursday, followed by
1224-523: Was overseas in the Great War (1914–18) and at the time, President of the Ontario Hockey Association (1915–17). He wrote suggesting the trophy in memory of the boys who were killed in the war and no doubt a big part of the idea was instigated by his devotion to his beloved (Alan) Scotty Davidson*, who fell (June 6, 1915) with many other hockey players in the world conflict (including Capt. George T. Richardson*, who died in France, Feb. 9, 1916. (*Both are members of
1260-653: Was the case in 2006 , when the Quebec Remparts lost to the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL Finals. However, since Moncton was hosting the Memorial Cup that year, Quebec was awarded the QMJHL berth to the Memorial Cup tournament. The Remparts went on to win the Memorial Cup that season, the first time that a team has won the tournament without qualifying as the tournament host or as the champions of their respective league. In
1296-612: Was the first in which all midget players were eligible. In 1999 the league changed the draft to a bantam age (15 and 16 year old). It is a selection of players who are residents of the province of Ontario, the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York, and other designated U.S. states east of the Mississippi River plus Missouri. Prior to 2001, the OHL held the Priority Selection in a public forum, such as an arena. Drafts were attended by many players and family members. In 2001,
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