The Barrie Flyers were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1945 to 1960, from Barrie, Ontario. The Flyers played home games at the Barrie Arena from 1945 to 1960.

History

The Barrie Flyers junior team was founded in 1945 by Leighton "Hap" Emms. The franchise was soon affiliated with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

of the NHL. Barrie quickly became a powerhouse in the OHA. They appeared in 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, losing the first time in 1948, then winning twice, in 1951 and 1953. The Emms family relocated the team to Niagara Falls in 1960 where the team continued to win and played for 12 seasons, then relocated to Sudbury to become the Sudbury Wolves.

1948 Memorial Cup

Barrie won the right to play for the cup by defeating the Windsor Spitfires for the OHA championship, and the Montreal Nationales to win the Richardson Trophy as eastern Canadian representatives. The Flyers were runners up for the

in 1948 played at

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

. They were swept by the Port Arthur West End Bruins (now Thunder Bay) in a best-of-seven series. The series was very physical and bitter between the teams. After the third game, Emms threatened that the Flyers would not continue to play without a change in referees. The series ultimately continued with the same referees. Game 1 Port Arthur 10 vs. Barrie 8 Game 2 Port Arthur 8 vs. Barrie 1 Game 3 Port Arthur 5 vs. Barrie 4 Game 4 Port Arthur 9 vs. Barrie 8 (OT)

1951 Memorial Cup

Barrie won the OHA championship defeating the Toronto Marlboros. Canadian Amateur Hockey Association vice-president W. B. George oversaw the Flyers versus Quebec Citadels series for the George Richardson Memorial Trophy, to represent Eastern Canada in the 1951 Memorial Cup playoffs. When the Citadels refused to play game five in Barrie, George gave them an ultimatum to play or forfeit the series. Quebec decided to play too late to arrive by train, but arrived half an hour late after flying. George scheduled game seven on neutral ice at

, despite protests from Flyers' coach Hap Emms who claimed that his team only agreed to resume the series if game seven was played in Barrie. The Flyers won the

in 1951 played at Winnipeg and Brandon, Manitoba. They swept the Winnipeg Monarchs in a best-of-seven series. Game 1 Barrie 5 vs. Winnipeg 1 Game 2 Barrie 5 vs. Winnipeg 1 Game 3 Barrie 4 vs. Winnipeg 3 Game 4 Barrie 9 vs. Winnipeg 5

1953 Memorial Cup

Barrie won the right to play for the cup by defeating the St. Michael's Majors for the OHA championship. The Flyers won the

in 1953 played at Winnipeg and Brandon, Manitoba. They defeated the St. Boniface Canadiens in a best-of-seven series. Game 1 Barrie 6 vs. St. Boniface 4 Game 2 Barrie 6 vs. St. Boniface 3 Game 3 Barrie 7 vs. St. Boniface 5 Game 4 Barrie 4 vs. St. Boniface 7 Game 5 Barrie 6 vs. St. Boniface 1

Championships

The Barrie Flyers were a dominant team during the late 1940s and early 1950s, and one of a few clubs to win multiple

championships. The Flyers won the Ontario championship 4 times, the Eastern Canadian championship 3 times, and the national championship twice.

appearances * 1948, Lost to Port Arthur West End Bruins * 1951, CAHA Champions vs. Winnipeg Monarchs * 1953, CAHA Champions vs. St. Boniface Canadiens George Richardson Memorial Trophy appearances * 1948, Champions vs. Montreal Nationales * 1949, Lost to Montreal Royals * 1951, Champions vs. Quebec Citadels * 1953, Champions vs. Quebec Citadels

J. Ross Robertson Cup The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, and ...

appearances * 1947–48, OHA Champions vs. Windsor Spitfires * 1948–49, OHA Champions vs. Toronto Marlboros * 1950–51, OHA Champions vs. Toronto Marlboros * 1952–53, OHA Champions vs. St. Michael's Majors * 1955–56, Lost to Toronto Marlboros

Players

Award winners

*''1948-49'' - Gil Mayer,

Red Tilson Trophy The Red Tilson Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League to the most outstanding player (MVP) as voted by OHL writers and broadcasters. It was donated by ''The Globe and Mail,'' and first awarded in the 1944–45 OHA season by the O ...

Most Outstanding Player *''1950-51'' - Lorne Howes,

Dave Pinkney Trophy The Dave Pinkney Trophy is awarded to the goaltenders of the Ontario Hockey League team that has the lowest goals against average. It has been awarded annually since 1949. Winners List of winners of the Dave Pinkney Trophy. See also * List of C ...

Lowest Team Goals Against

NHL alumni

List of Flyers' alumni who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL): * Barry Ashbee * Bob Barlow * Bob Beckett * Bob Blackburn * Ross Brooks * Kelly Burnett *

Dick Cherry Richard John Cherry (born February 28, 1937) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers between 1956 and 1970. He is the brother of media pe ...

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

* Real Chevrefils * Murray Davison * Marv Edwards * Pierre Gagne * Ray Gariepy * Jeannot Gilbert * Howie Glover * Bill Knibbs * Leo Labine * Stan Long * Wayne Maxner * Gilles Mayer * Don McKenney * Sid McNabney * Paul Meger * Hillary Menard *

Doug Mohns Douglas Allen "Diesel" Mohns (December 13, 1933 – February 7, 2014) was a professional ice hockey player who played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1953–54 until 1974–75. Mohns twice won the most coveted prize in junior hocke ...

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

* Tony Poeta * Dan Poliziani * George Ranieri *

Gerry Reid Gerry Reid (born June 18, 1954) was a Canadian politician and the leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. He served as interim leader from 2005 to 2006, until Jim Bennett replaced him in February 2006. Reid was reelected as ...

* Dale Rolfe * Wayne Rutledge * Myron Stankiewicz * Ron Stewart * Alan "Skip" Teal * Orval Tessier * Jerry Toppazzini * Ed Westfall * Larry Zeidel

Regular season results

References

{{Defunct OHL 1945 establishments in Ontario 1960 disestablishments in Ontario Defunct Ontario Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1945 Sport in Barrie Sports clubs disestablished in 1960 Boston Bruins minor league affiliates