Allan Cup Hockey
Allan Cup Hockey (ACH), formerly Major League Hockey until 2011, is the top tier Canadian senior ice hockey league in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1990, as the Southwestern Senior "A" Hockey League, the ACH is a member of the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. The ACH's champion contends for the Allan Cup each year. The league came to its latest incarnation when it lost several teams leaving it with two and as a result it merged with the Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League in 2008.
 | |
| Countries | Canada |
|---|---|
| Region(s) | Ontario |
| Membership | Ontario Hockey Association |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Championship | J. Ross Robertson Cup |
| Associated Title(s) | Renwick Cup Allan Cup |
| Recent Champions | Dundas Real McCoys (2023) |
| Website | allancup |
History
Major League Hockey gained its name in 2003. Since 1990, Major League Hockey was known as the Southwestern Senior "A" Hockey League. This league was created through a merger between the Central Senior "B" Hockey League, the Seaway-Cyclone Senior "B" Hockey League, and the Southern Ontario Senior "A" Hockey League. The formation of the Major League Hockey marked the first time since 1987 and the folding of the OHA Senior A Hockey League that the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) has crowned a top level senior league. In 2005, the OHA also granted the Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League the same status. Major League Hockey, despite its formation in 1990, has its roots scattered across a variety of leagues dating back as far as 1959.
The first season of Ontario Hockey Association senior hockey was the 1890-91 season, for the Cosby Cup. Ottawa Hockey Club won the first ever Senior title defeating Toronto St. Georges 5–0. The first "Major" league came in 1929, known as the OHA Senior A Hockey League. The league lasted for fifty season, its teams winning 16 Allan Cups. The league was replaced by the Continental Senior A Hockey League in 1979. The Continental league was renamed the OHA Senior A Hockey League in 1980 and lasted until 1987. Teams of the Continental league won 4 Allan Cups.
In 2008, the Brantford Blast became the first OHA team since the Brantford Motts Clamatos in 1987 to win the Allan Cup. As hosts of the 2008 Allan Cup, the Blast failed to win their league and were allowed to bypass the OHA Final against the Whitby Dunlops and the Renwick Cup against the Thunder Bay Hawks. After almost a months rest, the Blast competed at home for the Allan Cup and won the entire thing. After suffering their only loss of the tournament to the Shawinigan Xtreme in the first game, the Blast defeated the Bentley Generals to clinch second in their division. They defeated the Robertson Cup and EOSHL champion Whitby Dunlops in the quarter-final. They then knocked off the Major League Hockey and Renwick Cup champion Dundas Real McCoys in the semi-final. They met Bentley again in the final, and defeated them 3-1 to win the Canadian National Senior "AAA" crown.
In the 2008 off-season, Major League Hockey ran into some issues. The Windsor St. Clair Saints, the league's only college team, walked away from the league. The Tillsonburg Vipers have officially left the league, as they have applied for expansion into the independent Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League.[1] The Petrolia Squires are stranded far away from Brantford and Dundas and have also been accepted into the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League. In the EOSHL, the Frankford Huskies and Marmora Lakers have walked away as well.
Major League Hockey merged with the Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League in 2008, when AAA-level senior hockey in the OHA shrunk to only five teams.[2]
In 2011, the league changed its name to "Allan Cup Hockey". In 2015, two new teams were added: the Hamilton Steelhawks and the Thorold Athletics.
Former OHA president Brent Ladds served as the commissioner of Allan Cup Hockey from 2013 to 2016.[3]
In 2017, the league announced that the Thorold Athletics were taking leave for the 2018-19 season.[4] The team has yet to return as of the 2019-20 season.
For the 2019-20 season, the Stoney Creek Generals franchise relocated and merged with the Brantford Blast.[5] The Blast was sold to the owners of the Generals in 2018 and was on leave for the 2018-19 season.[6]
For the 2020-21 season, the Whitby Dunlops announced a leave of absence, and the Caledon Crusaders were added as an expansion team. It was later announced that the season would be cancelled entirely.[7] The league returned to action in 2022 with an 8-game schedule.[8]
Teams
| Team | Centre | Founded |
| Brampton Buccaneers | Brampton | 2022 |
| Dundas Real McCoys | Dundas | 2000 |
| Hamilton Steelers[9] | Hamilton | 2015 |
| Wentworth Gryphins | Flamborough | 2022 |
League champions
Southwestern Senior "A"
- 1991 Exeter Mohawks
- 1992 Exeter Mohawks
- 1993 Dunnville Mudcats
- 1994 Dorchester Dolphins
- 1995 Ohsweken Riverhawks
- 1996 Bothwell Bullets
- 1997 Bothwell Bullets
- 1998 Aylmer Blues
- 1999 London MacMaster Chevys
- 2000 Cambridge Hornets
- 2001 Simcoe Gunners
- 2002 Dundas Real McCoys
- 2003 Dundas Real McCoys
Major League Hockey
|
EOSHL
|
Allan Cup Hockey
- 2012 Dundas Real McCoys
- 2013 Brantford Blast
- 2014 Brantford Blast
- 2015 Dundas Real McCoys
- 2016 Stoney Creek Generals
- 2017 Stoney Creek Generals
- 2018 Stoney Creek Generals
- 2019 Stoney Creek Generals
- 2020 playoffs cancelled
- 2021 season cancelled
- 2022 Dundas Real McCoys
- 2023 Hamilton Steelers
Bolded teams won the Robertson Cup as Ontario Hockey Association champions.
Allan Cup winners
Former member teams
Please note: All teams in this list are listed ONLY with the last league they were involved with.
ACH/MLH/Southwestern Sr. A
|
Eastern Sr. A
|
Southern Ontario Sr. A
Southern Int. B
Southern Counties Int. B
Central Int. C
|
Central Sr. A
Northern Sr. A
OHA Int. C
|
Seaway-Cyclone Sr. B
Seaway-Cyclone Int. B
Seaway Int. C
Seaway-Western Int. C
Western/Tri-County Int. C
Cyclone Int. D
|
References
- "Tillsonburg News, Tillsonburg, ON". Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
- "Senior hockey leagues merge". Brantford Expositor. Brantford, Ontario. May 16, 2008. p. 13.
- La Rose, Jason (December 15, 2016). "A New Voice for Junior A Hockey". Hockey Canada. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- Smart, Darryl (2017-09-15). "Thorold Athletics take one-year leave from ACH". Toronto.com. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- September 24, Brian Smiley More from Brian Smiley Published on; September 24, 2018 | Last Updated; Edt, 2018 2:57 Pm (2018-09-24). "New owner found for Brantford Blast". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- August 23, Brian Smiley More from Brian Smiley Published on; August 23, 2019 | Last Updated; Edt, 2019 10:09 Pm (2019-08-24). "Blast are back in Brantford". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- "Ontario Senior AAA 19-20". Archived from the original on 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
- "Opinion | Senior hockey will return this year. But it'll be different". The Hamilton Spectator. 11 February 2022.
- Radley, Scott (2 June 2015). "RADLEY: The Hamilton Steelhawks are back in senior role". The Hamilton Spectator.