WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Ontario Elite Hockey League (OEHL), which includes two Wellington County-based teams, has begun first-round playoff series and announced the historic trophies that will be handed out to its first champions this spring.
The top eight teams in the regular season standings are competing for the OHA Sr. AA Championship and the newly-renamed OEHL Cup.
Locally, the eighth-place Erin Outlaws are taking on the first-place Ripley Wolves in a first round series, while the third-seeded Minto 81’s face off against the Seaforth Centanaires
Both series and all OEHL Cup playoff series are best-of-seven format.
The Outlaws lost the first two games of their series last weekend, dropping a 7-3 decision in Ripley on Feb. 9 and losing 5-3 in Erin on Feb. 10.
The Erin/Ripley series continues with games:
– Feb. 17 at 7:30pm in Ripley;
– Feb. 18 at 3pm in Erin; and, if needed
– Feb. 24 at 7:30pm in Ripley;
– Feb. 25 at 3pm in Erin; and
– Feb. 27 at 8:30pm in Ripley.
Minto opened its series with two wins last weekend, downing Seaforth 5-3 on Feb. 9 in Palmerston and 5-4 in overtime in Seaforth on Feb. 10.
The Minto/Seaforth series continues with games:
– Feb. 17 at 4pm in Palmerston;
– Feb. 18 at 8:30pm in Seaforth; and, if needed
– Feb. 19 at 2pm in Palmerston;
– Feb. 24 at 7:30pm in Seaforth; and
– Feb. 25 at 2pm in Palmerston.
The OEHL Cup was first introduced in 1935 as the trophy for the Ontario Hockey Association’s Intermediate-B playoff champions.
Other than a hiatus during World War II, the trophy was awarded annually until 1971, when a reorganization of Intermediate hockey ended Intermediate B play.
A full history of the OEHL Cup, including past winners, is available on OEHLHockey.ca.
“We are proud to restore this beautiful trophy and continue its history alongside our own history as the highest calibre of hockey in small-town Ontario,” said OEHL Commissioner Rick Richardson.
At the conclusion of the quarterfinals, the advancing teams will be re-seeded, with the top advancing seed playing the lowest advancing seed in the semi-finals, and the other two remaining teams playing each other.
Senior “A” playoffs
The OHA Sr. “A” Playoffs will feature the 9th through 11th placed teams, which will be competing for the Hugh McLean Trophy.
The trophy is named in honour of McLean, a former OHA and NHL referee who officiated for nearly three decades, including 10 seasons in the NHL, and was president of the OHA from 1976-78.
The trophy was created for the champions of the Continental Sr. A Hockey League in the early 1970s, and then transferred to the OHA Sr. A Hockey League, the predecessor of present-day Allan Cup Hockey.
The McLean Trophy was presented to its regular season champion annually from 1980-87.
Competing for the Hugh McLean Trophy are the Georgian Bay Applekings, Milverton 4 Wheel Drives and Lucknow Lancers.
The three teams will play a four-game round-robin semi-final, with the top two teams advancing to play a best-of-seven championship series for the McLean Trophy.
