The 1981–82 OHL season was the second season of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

. The league grows by two teams when, the Cornwall Royals are transferred from the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The ...

, and the Belleville Bulls are awarded a franchise. Fourteen teams each played 68 games. The Kitchener Rangers won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Ottawa 67's.

Expansion and Realignment

The league expanded by two teams, as the Belleville Bulls and the Cornwall Royals joined the

. Both teams joined the Leyden Division, as the

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (often shortened to Soo Greyhounds) are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was founded in 1962 as a team in th ...

moved to the Emms Division.

Belleville Bulls

On February 2, 1981, the OHL granted a franchise to the city of Belleville and the ownership group of Dr. Robert L. Vaughan and Bob Dolan. The Bulls would play their home games at the

Yardmen Arena CAA Arena is a 4,365-seat multi-purpose arena in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL). Built in 1978, it was then known as the Quinte Sports Centre and eventually Yardmen Are ...

. The Bulls would join the Leyden Division. Prior to joining the OHL, the Bulls played in the

Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best ...

, beginning in the 1979–80 season. In their final season in the league, Belleville defeated the

Guelph Platers The Guelph Platers were a junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Ontario Hockey League, Ontario Junior Hockey League, and Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League. They were originally known as the CMC's un ...

to win the OPJHL championship. The club would reach the

1981 Centennial Cup The 1981 Centennial Cup is the 11th Junior "A" 1981 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League. The Centennial Cup was competed for by the winners of the Abbott Cup, Dudley Hewitt Cup, and the Callaghan Cup. The tou ...

finals, where they lost to the Prince Albert Raiders of the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years o ...

6–2 in the championship game.

Cornwall Royals

The Cornwall Royals were transferred to the

from the

for the 1981–82 season. Originally an expansion team in 1969, the Royals were a very successful club in the QMJHL, winning the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

three times, in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

, and 1981. Cornwall would play their home games at the

Cornwall Civic Complex The Cornwall Civic Complex is a business/sports facility located in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The arena inside is called the Ed Lumley Arena, named for Ed Lumley. It was built in 1976 and originally held 4,000 people, but in 2008, the arena had ...

. The Royals would join the Leyden Division. The Royals were able to keep their players from the previous season, including players such as Scott Arniel and

Doug Gilmour Douglas Robert Gilmour (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for seven different teams. Gilmour was a seventh round selection, 134th overall, of the St. ...

, who helped lead the team to the 1981 Memorial Cup championship.

Regular season

Final standings

''Note: 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''

Expansion and Realignment

Belleville Bulls

Cornwall Royals

Regular season

Final standings

Leyden Division

Emms Division

Scoring leaders

Playoffs

Division quarter-finals

Leyden Division

=(3) Peterborough Petes vs. (5) Kingston Canadians

=(4) Toronto Marlboros vs. (6) Cornwall Royals

Emms Division

=(3) London Knights vs. (5) Brantford Alexanders

=(4) Niagara Falls Flyers vs. (6) Windsor Spitfires

Division semi-finals

Leyden Division

=(1) Ottawa 67's vs. (4) Toronto Marlboros

=(2) Oshawa Generals vs. (3) Peterborough Petes

Emms Division

=(1) Kitchener Rangers vs. (6) Windsor Spitfires

=(2) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (5) Brantford Alexanders

Division finals

Leyden Division

=(1) Ottawa 67's vs. (2) Oshawa Generals

Emms Division

=(1) Kitchener Rangers vs. (2) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

J. Ross Robertson Cup

(L1) Ottawa 67's vs. (E1) Kitchener Rangers

Awards

See also

References