Sarnia Legionnaires
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| Sarnia Legionnaires | |
|---|---|
| City: | Sarnia, Ontario |
| League: | Western Ontario Junior A Hockey League |
| Operated: | 1954-1970 |
| Home Arena: | Sarnia Community Centre |
| Colours: | Unknown |
| Franchise history | |
| 19xx-1954: | Sarnia Jr. Sailors |
| 1954-1970: | Sarnia Legionnaires |
The Sarnia Legionnaires are a defunct Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey team that was based out of Sarnia, Ontario. They played out of the Western Ontario Junior A and B Hockey Leagues and were founded as members of the Big 10 Junior B Hockey League.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Legionnaires started out as a Big 10 Junior B Hockey League in 1954. In 1956, the league divided and the Legionnaires moved on with the Western League. In 1968, the league went renegade and declared itself Junior "A". As of February 1, 1970, the Legionnaires officially folded and disbanded. They were in direct financial competition with the Junior "B" Sarnia Bees, but lost popularity within the city forcing them to go out of business. Fan attendance had dropped from 1200 to 200 people per game, with the team over $10,000 CAD in debt. The team was owned by Branch 62 of the Royal Canadian Legion. The folding happened after the cancelling of a home game in late January against the Guelph Beef Kings. The announcement of the disbandment of the team was followed by an emergency meeting by the league to discuss the folding and how to handle the unbalanced schedule left through unplayed Legionnaires games.
The Legionnaires won at least 5 Western league titles after the splitting of the Big 10. The Legionnaires also won four Sutherland Cups as All-Ontario Junior "B" Champions.
[edit] Season-by-Season Results
| Season | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | P | Results | Playoffs | ||
| 1964-65 | 40 | 24 | 15 | 1 | 197 | 144 | 49 | 2nd WOJBHL | |||
| 1965-67 | Western Jr. B Standings Not Available | ||||||||||
| 1967-68 | 52 | 38 | 11 | 3 | 333 | 178 | 79 | 1st WOJBHL | Won League, Won SC | ||
| 1968-69 | 56 | 20 | 36 | 0 | 214 | 282 | 40 | 5th WOJAHL | |||
| 1969-70 | 46 | 7 | 36 | 3 | 122 | 226 | 17 | 5th WOJAHL | Folded February 1, 1970 | ||
[edit] Sutherland Cup Appearances
- 1957: Dixie Rockets defeated Sarnia Legionnaires 4-games-to-2 with 1 tie
- 1958: Sarnia Legionnaires defeated Lakeshore Bruins 4-games-to-1
- 1959: Sarnia Legionnaires defeated Aurora Bruins 4-games-to-2 with 1 tie
- 1966: Sarnia Legionnaries defeated Toronto Westclairs 4-games-to-2
- 1968: Sarnia Legionnaries defeated Markham Waxers 4-games-to-none
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Norm "Red" Armstrong
- Phil Esposito
- Len Fontaine
- Henry Lehvonen
- Ian McKegney
- Pat Stapleton
- Don Ward
