The 1980–81 OHL season was the first season of the newly established Ontario Hockey League, renaming itself from the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League. The OMJHL formally severed ties with the Ontario Hockey Association over the summer, and affiliated with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. The OHL inaugurated the Jack Ferguson Award for the first overall draft pick in the OHL entry draft. Twelve teams each played 68 games. The Kitchener Rangers won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Regular season
editFinal standings
editNote: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched first round bye; z = clinched division title & first round bye
Leyden Division
edit| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | z-Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 68 | 47 | 19 | 2 | 96 | 412 | 290 |
| 2 | y-Ottawa 67's | 68 | 45 | 20 | 3 | 93 | 360 | 254 |
| 3 | y-Kingston Canadians | 68 | 39 | 26 | 3 | 81 | 334 | 273 |
| 4 | x-Oshawa Generals | 68 | 35 | 30 | 3 | 73 | 321 | 352 |
| 5 | x-Peterborough Petes | 68 | 29 | 36 | 3 | 61 | 287 | 290 |
| 6 | Sudbury Wolves | 68 | 20 | 45 | 3 | 43 | 284 | 380 |
Emms Division
edit| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | z-Kitchener Rangers | 68 | 34 | 33 | 1 | 69 | 321 | 320 |
| 2 | y-Brantford Alexanders | 68 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 68 | 350 | 354 |
| 3 | y-Windsor Spitfires | 68 | 33 | 33 | 2 | 68 | 322 | 337 |
| 4 | x-Niagara Falls Flyers | 68 | 30 | 36 | 2 | 62 | 354 | 359 |
| 5 | x-Toronto Marlboros | 68 | 31 | 37 | 0 | 62 | 298 | 336 |
| 6 | London Knights | 68 | 20 | 48 | 0 | 40 | 300 | 388 |
Scoring leaders
edit| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Goodwin | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 68 | 56 | 110 | 166 | 42 |
| Ernie Godden | Windsor Spitfires | 68 | 87 | 66 | 153 | 185 |
| Bernie Nicholls | Kingston Canadians | 65 | 63 | 89 | 152 | 109 |
| Tony Tanti | Oshawa Generals | 67 | 81 | 69 | 150 | 197 |
| Steve Ludzik | Niagara Falls Flyers | 58 | 50 | 92 | 142 | 108 |
| Scott Howson | Kingston Canadians | 66 | 57 | 83 | 140 | 53 |
| Steve Larmer | Niagara Falls Flyers | 61 | 55 | 78 | 133 | 73 |
| Steve Gatzos | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 68 | 78 | 50 | 128 | 114 |
| Randy Cunneyworth | Ottawa 67's | 67 | 54 | 74 | 128 | 240 |
| Doug Shedden | Windsor Spitfires | 66 | 51 | 72 | 123 | 78 |
Playoffs
edit| Division quarter-finals | Division semi-finals | Division finals | J. Ross Robertson Cup | ||||||||||||||||
| L4 | Oshawa | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| L5 | Peterborough | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| L1 | Sault Ste. Marie | 8 | |||||||||||||||||
| L4 | Oshawa | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| L1 | Sault Ste. Marie | 9 | |||||||||||||||||
| L3 | Kingston | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| L2 | Ottawa | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| L3 | Kingston | 9 | |||||||||||||||||
| L1 | Sault Ste. Marie | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Kitchener | 9 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Niagara Falls | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Toronto | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Kitchener | 9 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Niagara Falls | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Kitchener | 9 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Windsor | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Brantford | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Windsor | 8 | |||||||||||||||||
Division quarter-finals
editLeyden Division
edit(4) Oshawa Generals vs. (5) Peterborough Petes
edit| March 17 | Peterborough Petes | 2 – 5 | Oshawa Generals | Oshawa Civic Auditorium | ||||
| March 19 | Oshawa Generals | 3 – 4 | OT | Peterborough Petes | Peterborough Memorial Centre | |||
| March 22 | Peterborough Petes | 2 – 5 | Oshawa Generals | Oshawa Civic Auditorium | ||||
| March 23 | Oshawa Generals | 3 – 4 | Peterborough Petes | Peterborough Memorial Centre | ||||
| March 24 | Peterborough Petes | 2 – 6 | Oshawa Generals | Oshawa Civic Auditorium | ||||
| Oshawa wins series 3 – 2 | |
Emms Division
edit(4) Niagara Falls Flyers vs. (5) Toronto Marlboros
edit| March 17 | Toronto Marlboros | 4 – 3 | Niagara Falls Flyers | Niagara Falls Memorial Arena | ||||
| March 19 | Niagara Falls Flyers | 4 – 7 | Toronto Marlboros | Maple Leaf Gardens | ||||
| March 20 | Toronto Marlboros | 2 – 7 | Niagara Falls Flyers | Niagara Falls Memorial Arena | ||||
| March 22 | Niagara Falls Flyers | 9 – 5 | Toronto Marlboros | Maple Leaf Gardens | ||||
| March 24 | Toronto Marlboros | 4 – 5 | OT | Niagara Falls Flyers | Niagara Falls Memorial Arena | |||
| Niagara Falls wins series 3 – 2 | |
Division semi-finals
editLeyden Division
edit(1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (4) Oshawa Generals
edit| March 26 | Oshawa Generals | 2 – 10 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sault Memorial Gardens | ||||
| March 27 | Oshawa Generals | 6 – 8 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sault Memorial Gardens | ||||
| March 29 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 6 – 4 | Oshawa Generals | Oshawa Civic Auditorium | ||||
| March 30 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 5 – 9 | Oshawa Generals | Oshawa Civic Auditorium | ||||
| April 1 | Oshawa Generals | 5 – 3 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sault Memorial Gardens | ||||
| April 3 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 5 – 4 | Oshawa Generals | Oshawa Civic Auditorium | ||||
| Sault Ste. Marie wins series 8 – 4 | |
(2) Ottawa 67's vs. (3) Kingston Canadians
edit| March 20 | Kingston Canadians | 5 – 4 | Ottawa 67's | Ottawa Civic Centre | ||||
| March 22 | Ottawa 67's | 4 – 5 | Kingston Canadians | Kingston Memorial Centre | ||||
| March 24 | Kingston Canadians | 6 – 6 | Ottawa 67's | Ottawa Civic Centre | ||||
| March 27 | Ottawa 67's | 9 – 1 | Kingston Canadians | Kingston Memorial Centre | ||||
| March 29 | Kingston Canadians | 2 – 5 | Ottawa 67's | Ottawa Civic Centre | ||||
| March 31 | Ottawa 67's | 2 – 6 | Kingston Canadians | Kingston Memorial Centre | ||||
| April 3 | Kingston Canadians | 3 – 2 | Ottawa 67's | Ottawa Civic Centre | ||||
| Kingston wins series 9 – 5 | |
Emms Division
edit(1) Kitchener Rangers vs. (4) Niagara Falls Flyers
edit| March 27 | Niagara Falls Flyers | 2 – 5 | Kitchener Rangers | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | ||||
| March 29 | Kitchener Rangers | 5 – 2 | Niagara Falls Flyers | Niagara Falls Memorial Arena | ||||
| March 30 | Niagara Falls Flyers | 5 – 0 | Kitchener Rangers | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | ||||
| March 31 | Kitchener Rangers | 3 – 3 | Niagara Falls Flyers | Niagara Falls Memorial Arena | ||||
| April 2 | Niagara Falls Flyers | 7 – 8 | Kitchener Rangers | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | ||||
| April 3 | Kitchener Rangers | 1 – 5 | Niagara Falls Flyers | Niagara Falls Memorial Arena | ||||
| April 5 | Niagara Falls Flyers | 4 – 5 | Kitchener Rangers | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | ||||
| Kitchener wins series 9 – 5 | |
(2) Brantford Alexanders vs. (3) Windsor Spitfires
edit| March 20 | Windsor Spitfires | 2 – 4 | Brantford Alexanders | Brantford Civic Centre | ||||
| March 22 | Brantford Alexanders | 7 – 7 | Windsor Spitfires | Windsor Arena | ||||
| March 24 | Windsor Spitfires | 8 – 8 | Brantford Alexanders | Brantford Civic Centre | ||||
| March 26 | Brantford Alexanders | 3 – 5 | Windsor Spitfires | Windsor Arena | ||||
| March 29 | Windsor Spitfires | 3 – 2 | Brantford Alexanders | Brantford Civic Centre | ||||
| March 31 | Brantford Alexanders | 2 – 6 | Windsor Spitfires | Windsor Arena | ||||
| Windsor wins series 8 – 4 | |
Division finals
editLeyden Division
edit(1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (3) Kingston Canadians
edit| April 7 | Kingston Canadians | 0 – 6 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sault Memorial Gardens | ||||
| April 8 | Kingston Canadians | 2 – 5 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sault Memorial Gardens | ||||
| April 11 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 2 – 2 | Kingston Canadians | Kingston Memorial Centre | ||||
| April 12 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 1 – 2 | Kingston Canadians | Kingston Memorial Centre | ||||
| April 14 | Kingston Canadians | 5 – 3 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sault Memorial Gardens | ||||
| April 16 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 5 – 3 | Kingston Canadians | Kingston Memorial Centre | ||||
| April 18 | Kingston Canadians | 1 – 8 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sault Memorial Gardens | ||||
| Sault Ste. Marie wins series 9 – 5 | |
Emms Division
edit(1) Kitchener Rangers vs. (3) Windsor Spitfires
edit| April 7 | Windsor Spitfires | 4 – 5 | Kitchener Rangers | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | ||||
| April 9 | Kitchener Rangers | 7 – 2 | Windsor Spitfires | Windsor Arena | ||||
| April 10 | Windsor Spitfires | 4 – 4 | Kitchener Rangers | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | ||||
| April 12 | Kitchener Rangers | 7 – 5 | Windsor Spitfires | Windsor Arena | ||||
| April 14 | Windsor Spitfires | 0 – 4 | Kitchener Rangers | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | ||||
| Kitchener wins series 9 – 1 | |
J. Ross Robertson Cup
edit(L1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (E1) Kitchener Rangers
edit| April 21 | Kitchener Rangers | 3 – 3 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sault Memorial Gardens | ||||
| April 23 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 2 – 5 | Kitchener Rangers | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | ||||
| April 25 | Kitchener Rangers | 2 – 2 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sault Memorial Gardens | ||||
| April 26 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 4 – 6 | Kitchener Rangers | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | ||||
| April 28 | Kitchener Rangers | 4 – 4 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sault Memorial Gardens | ||||
| April 29 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 1 – 2 | Kitchener Rangers | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | ||||
| Kitchener wins series 9 – 3 | |
Awards
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ "1980-81 OHL Playoff Results at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com.