The Arthur Tigers were a Canadian senior hockey team based in Arthur , Ontario , Canada . They played in the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League .
27-795: Arthur has had numerous hockey teams nicknamed the Tigers since 1904 (perhaps as early as 1899), with the most recent team playing in the WOAA from 1985 to 1999. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1998–99 season. Some Championship seasons included: 1929 NHL, 1939 OHA, 1954 Pritchard Trophy, 1972-1975 WOAA, 1989-1991 WOAA Sr B, 1991 WOAA Grand Championship. Some stars over the years included: Angus O'Neill, Norbert Heffernan, Ken Riley, Al Bell, Ken Elliott, Gord Schmidt, Garnett Rooney, Bob McCulloch, Bryan Richardson, Jim Richardson, Paul Epoch, Scott McCulloch, Tom O'Donnell, Marty Groulx, Bruce Richardson, Ray Hutchison, Mike Brooks, Glenn Watt, Darryl Rooney. Some of
54-505: A 1-0 series lead with very solid goaltending in the series opener, as Drayton won the game 2-1. The Icemen would drop the next game by a very close score of 3-2 as the series was evened up. The series moved to Drayton for the next two games, but it was Lucknow who won those games, taking a 3-1 series lead and putting the Icemen on the brink of elimination. Lucknow would finish the series in the fifth game, shutting out Drayton 10-0, eliminating
81-475: A 4-2 win in the second game, setting up a third and deciding game. In another close game, the Icemen and Crushers were tied at the end of regulation time, sending the game into a sudden death overtime. Drayton's Courtney Wilson would score the series winning goal, lifting the Icemen to the "A" playoffs. Drayton would face the Lucknow Lancers in a best of seven quarter final series, and the Icemen took
108-692: A bit more success in their second season, finishing with a 4-19-1 record, good for eighth place in the North Division, and sixteenth overall in the WOAA. The Icemen would then face the Georgian Bay River Rats in a best of three qualifying round, and the team won their first ever playoff series by sweeping the River Rats. Drayton then faced the Milverton Four Wheel Drives in the "A" quarter finals, and in
135-459: A men's lacrosse team in the early 1900s. Prior to that, a few teams used the nickname "Arthur's". Lacrosse teams first appeared in Arthur about 1870. The first hockey teams played on an outdoor rink. Location of the rink(s) has not been confirmed. The Tigers first recorded home was on Frederick St. This arena sat close to Georgina St. Maurice Douglass' home sits on the property. In 1920 the new arena
162-646: A senior hockey team based out of Drayton , Ontario , Canada . They played six seasons in the WOAA Senior Hockey League . Drayton previously had a WOAA Sr. Hockey Team, the Drayton Comets, who folded after the 1997-98 season. The Comets were Intermediate "C" Champions on two occasions, in 1989-90 and 1990–91, however they were unable to capture the WOAA Grand Championship. WOAA Sr. Hockey came back to Drayton for
189-649: A tenth-place finish in the North Division. The Icemen participated in a round-robin series against the Goderich Pirates and Walkerton Capitals , with the top two teams facing off for the "B" championship. Drayton went 2-2 in their four games, losing twice to the Pirates, while defeating the Capitals twice, to earn a spot in the "B" finals. In the best of seven series, Goderich got off to a 2-0 series lead, winning both games at home by 4-3 scores. Drayton cut
216-630: A two game total goals series. Owen Sound defeated the "Beehives" in overtime to take the series and eliminate Arthur. Some of the team members were: Angus O'Neill, Norbert Heffernan, Jimmy Doyle, Nate Farrell, Frank Farrell, Sam Green, Bunter Marshall. Marvin Howe, P.E. Brown, and Dr. Russell were some of the other well known members of the club. The Tigers were NHL champions. Stars included: Angus O'Neill, Norbert Heffernan, Ken Riley, and Tom Costigan. Hockey game results have been found in old newspapers. The first observed team called "Tigers" first appeared with
243-400: The "Honorary Tigers" include: Bert Coffey, John Walsh, Clive Williams, Bill Smellie, Norbert Heffernan, Angus O'Neill. The club held Reunions in 1993 and again in 1998. These events attracted some 250–300 former players, coaches and friends of the Tigers. The club folded in 1999, after it was unable to form an executive. The club had their most successful season in 1990-91 season, defeating
270-518: The 2005-06 season, as they were awarded an expansion team, which was named the Icemen. In 25 games, the Icemen finished in last place in the 18 team league, with a 1-24-0 record. They scored 60 goals, and allowed 223. Drayton then played the Mildmay Monarchs in a best of three qualifying round, with the winner going to participate in the WOAA playoffs, however the Icemen were eliminated in two games, thus ending their season. The Icemen had
297-467: The Icemen easily in the second game, winning 6-2, followed by a blowout victory in the third game, defeating Drayton 8-2. The Icemen would go quietly in the fourth game, as the Thundercats crushed Drayton by a score of 9-3, completing the series sweep. Drayton would have a disappointing regular season, as they finished with the worst record in the league with a 3-15-2 record, earning eight points and
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#1732798241157324-490: The Icemen from the playoffs. The Icemen would see some improvement in their fourth season in the WOAA, as they would finish the regular season with a 7-13-0 record, earning 14 points, and once again finish in eighth in the North Division. Drayton opened the playoffs with a best of seven series against the Saugeen Shores Winterhawks , with the winner advancing to the "AA" playoffs. The Winterhawks took
351-621: The Icemen were 5-20-1, earning eleven points, and a tenth-place finish in the WOAA North standings. In the post-season, the Icemen would face off against the Clinton Radars and Walkerton Capitals in a round-robin series. Drayton earned a record of 2-2, winning both games against the Capitals, while losing both to the Radars. In a tie-breaking game against Clinton, the Radars defeated the Icemen 6-5 in overtime, eliminating Drayton from
378-426: The Pirates series lead in half in the third game, as the Icemen held on for a 5-4 win, however, the Pirates defeated Drayton 9-7 in the fourth game to take a 3-1 series lead. The Pirates would finish off Drayton in the fifth game back on home ice, by a score of 4-3, to clinch the "B" championship. Drayton had another tough season, as the team finished with the worst record in the league for a second straight season, as
405-535: The Tigers re-birthed, after a period of seven years of idleness. They spent one season in the OHA before returning to the WOAA. It would take five years, before the team would have some exciting moments. The 1988-89 season saw 10 Juniors in their lineup. In 1977 the Arthur Tigers were a men's hockey club without an arena. Winning was not the highlight of the season, rather the fact that they played all their games on
432-500: The Tigers to advance to the WOAA Grand Championship Final. In 1991, Arthur defeated Drayton en route to the WOAA Grand Championship. Through the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s strong rivalries were formed with Harriston, Palmerston, Mt. Forest and Milverton. One of the most famous games was played in the mid-1950s in Arthur. A packed house became embroiled in brawl which spilled out onto the ice. Fans leaned against
459-470: The boards when defenceman Ken Elliott became involved in a fight. The boards slipped off their hooks, and the fans spilled onto the ice, resulting in the melee. Mt. Forest eventually managed to retreat to their dressing room. Police assisted in helping the visitors leave the arena. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Drayton Icemen The Drayton Icemen were
486-474: The club's big star and scored more than 57 goals that season. Ken Elliott, Gord Schmidt, Al Bell, Don Black, Bill Pryde, Leo Givens, Ken O'Neill were some of the players. John Walsh was the coach. The "Beehives", under the direction of player coach Art Whittacker were undefeated during the regular season. In OHA playoffs they extended the streak to 18 games. The 19th game was in Owen Sound, the second game of
513-636: The final two minutes to bring the home side within a goal. Arthur held on for the 6-5 victory. Tigers winger John McCabe led all WOAA playoff scorers with 28 points. Netminder Marty Groulx sparkled for Arthur. Other players included: Scott McCulloch, Tom O'Donnell, Ray Hutchison, Eck Palmer Jr., Brian Ward, Jim "The Champ" Holmes, Paul Epoch, Fred Locking, Matt Coffey, John Bell, Don Jackson, Doug Bell, Rob McCulloch, Mike Raftis, Grant Rundle, Brad Smith, Frank Goetz, Jeff Bauman, Mark Goetz III, Walt Lesenke Jr. Coach Don Tremble, Assistant Coach Cal MacDonald, Manager/President Jeff McKee, Trainer Walt Lesenke Sr. In 1985,
540-577: The first game were led by goaltender Ryan Cherrey as he made 66 saves in Drayton's 3-2 OT victory. Milverton stormed back and easily won the next two games, but Drayton evened the series up at two games with another surprising victory. The Icemen dropped game five by a 6-2 score, but put up a good fight in the sixth game before losing 3-2 in OT to be eliminated from the playoffs. Drayton would have another long season with wins few and far between, as they finished
567-594: The heavily favoured Durham Thundercats to become the WOAA Grand Champions. The Tigers captured the WOAA Senior B Championship eliminating Wiarton and Drayton. Posting a 9-1 post-season record. The Grand Championship final went the full five games. Durham won game one 8-1. Game two in Arthur, on Sunday, April 1 was canceled at game time, with the fans already in the Arena, due to a compressor break down. It
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#1732798241157594-531: The other team members were: Jim Richardson, Merv Rooney, Carl Colwill, Bryan Richardson, Lorne Green, Carl Nelson, Cal MacDonald, Brent Barnes, Scott Jackson. Coaching staff included Clive B. Williams and Al Bell. In 1954 the Pritchard Trophy was first presented. Arthur, Harriston and Mount Forest competed in the local WOHA series, with the Arthur Redmen prevailing that first year. Ken Riley was
621-476: The road was. The club was extremely strong through the early 1970s. Garnett Rooney won three WOAA scoring titles (1971, 1973, 1975) and Bob McCulloch one (1972). In 1972 the club advanced to the WOAA Grand Championship final, but were eliminated by Milverton in six games. Again in 1975 they advanced to the Grand Championship, but were again defeated. They were also group champions in the 1974. Some of
648-500: The season with a 3-22-1 record, finishing in eighth place in the nine team WOAA North Division. The Icemen would face the Shallow Lake Crushers in a best of three qualifying series, with the winner advancing to the WOAA "A" playoffs. Drayton would fall behind in the first game, trailing 4-3 in the third period, before making a comeback, and win the game 5-4 to take a 1-0 series lead. The Crushers would even it up with
675-564: The series lead by defeating the Icemen 9-3 in the series opener, followed by a 7-3 win in the second game. Drayton was never able to get themselves in the series, as Saugeen Shores won the third game 10-3, followed by another 7-3 win in the fourth game to send the Icemen to the "A" playoffs. The Icemen would face the Durham Thundercats in the "A" quarter-finals, and would lose the series opener in heartbreaking fashion, as Durham defeated Drayton 7-6 in double overtime. Durham handled
702-484: Was built on Domville St. This building was torn down in 1977. The curling club sits on the property today. The current Arthur arena was built in 1978. The Tigers had a big rivalry with the Drayton Comets , through the late 1980s and early 1990s. The two towns are located 30 kilometers apart, and the clubs met four times in the playoffs - 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. Each club won two series. In 1990 Drayton defeated
729-448: Was rescheduled to the following Tuesday evening, Arthur won 8-2. Durham bounced back to win game three 4-3. Again the Tigers won at home 8-1 to force the fifth and deciding contest of the series. In Durham on Friday, April 12, 1991, a full house turned out. Tied heading into the 3rd period 3-3, the Tigers pulled ahead 6-3. Things appeared well in hand for Arthur. Tenacious Durham winger Scott Betts had other things in mind scoring two goals in
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