New Westminster Bruins

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New Westminster Bruins

City:	New Westminster, British Columbia
League:	Western Hockey League
Operated:	1971-81 and 1983-88
Home Arena:	Queen's Park Arena
Colours:	Black, White & Gold
Franchise history
1966-67:	Calgary Buffaloes
1967-77:	Calgary Centennials
1977-82:	Billings Bighorns
1982-83:	Nanaimo Islanders
1983-88:	New Westminster Bruins
1988-Present:	Tri-City Americans
Previous franchise history
1966-71:	Estevan Bruins
1971-81:	New Westminster Bruins
1981-84:	Kamloops Junior Oilers
1984-Present:	Kamloops Blazers

The New Westminster Bruins are a former junior ice hockey team from the Western Hockey League. There have been two franchises that carried this name:

1971-1981 (Formerly the Estevan Bruins, now the Kamloops Blazers)
1983-1988 (Formerly the Nanaimo Islanders, now the Tri-City Americans)

Both incarnations of the franchise played at Queen's Park Arena in the Vancouver suburb of New Westminster, British Columbia.

1 History
- 1.1 First Bruins
- 1.2 Second Bruins
2 Season-by-season Record
- 2.1 First Bruins (1971-81)
- 2.2 Second Bruins (1983-88)
3 NHL Alumni
4 See also
5 References

[edit] History

[edit] First Bruins

The franchise began in 1946 as the Humboldt Indians of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and moved to Estevan to become the Bruins in 1957. They were a founding member of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966. The Estevan Bruins moved on again to New Westminster in 1971. They had been a successful franchise in Estevan, winning the President's Cup in 1968.

New Westminster Bruins logo used by the second incarnation of the franchise.

Once the team arrived in New Westminster, the success continued throughout much of the decade. The Bruins won the President's Cup four times in a row between 1975 and 1978. They made it to the Memorial Cup finals four years in a row as well, losing in 1975 and 1976 to the Toronto Marlboros and Hamilton Fincups, respectively, and winning it in 1977 and 1978. In 1981 the Bruins moved to Kamloops, British Columbia where they would become first the Kamloops Junior Oilers, and in 1984, the Kamloops Blazers. The franchise's success has continued on the ice in Kamloops, and as of 2006 the team has won a total of eleven WHL titles and five Memorial Cups between its years in Estevan, New Westminster and Kamloops.

[edit] Second Bruins

The second incarnation of the Bruins arrived in New Westminster in 1983 from Nanaimo, British Columbia, where they had previously been known as the Nanaimo Islanders. The team originated in Calgary in 1966-67 with a stop as the Billings Bighorns. The team only played one season in Nanaimo before moving. The new Bruins did not enjoy the same level of success, and lasted only five seasons in New Westminster before moving to Kennewick, Washington, to become the Tri-City Americans. This franchise has never won the WHL championship in any of its incarnations.

[edit] Season-by-season Record

[edit] First Bruins (1971-81)

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
1971-72	68	40	27	1	285	240	81	3rd West	Lost quarter-final
1972-73	68	31	22	15	283	264	77	4th West	Lost quarter-final
1973-74	68	36	21	11	284	250	83	2nd West	Lost semi-final
1974-75	70	37	22	11	319	260	85	3rd West	Won championship
1975-76	72	54	14	4	463	247	112	1st West	Won championship
1976-77	72	47	14	11	363	216	105	1st West	Won championship and Memorial Cup
1977-78	72	33	28	11	345	310	77	3rd West	Won championship and Memorial Cup
1978-79	72	34	32	6	310	301	74	3rd West	Eliminated in round robin
1979-80	72	10	61	1	244	443	21	4th West	Out of playoffs
1980-81	72	17	54	1	306	512	35	5th West	Out of playoffs

[edit] Second Bruins (1983-88)

Season	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
1983-84	72	34	36	2	304	348	70	2nd West	Lost West Division semi-final
1984-85	72	41	29	2	379	302	84	2nd West	Lost West Division final
1985-86	72	25	45	2	276	373	52	5th West	Out of playoffs
1986-87	72	18	50	4	300	432	40	6th West	Out of playoffs
1987-88	72	33	34	5	339	358	71	4th West	Lost West Division semi-final