The Cambridge Hornets were a Senior "AAA"

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team based out of

Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 census. Along with Kitchener and Waterloo, Cambridg ...

. They played in the Ontario Hockey Association's Major League Hockey. The new Cambridge Hornets were brought into Southwestern Senior A Hockey League in 1999. They were members of the league in 2003 when it changed its name to Major League Hockey.

Original Hornets

The original Hornets team was founded in 1960 as the Galt Terriers, playing in the

OHA Senior A hockey league The OHA Senior A Hockey League was a top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in Ontario from 1975 until 1987. The league was sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and competed for the Allan ...

. The Terriers won the

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 ...

as league champions in the 1960–61 season. The Terriers won the 1961 Allan Cup championship, concluding their first season. As the reigning Allan Cup champions, the Terriers represented Canada at the 1962

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

finishing 2nd place, winning the silver medal. Notable players from that era include,

Dave Dryden David Murray Dryden (September 5, 1941 – October 4, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, who created and first used the modern goaltending mask, consisting of fibreglass and a cage. From 1962 to 1980, he played nine season ...

, Tod Sloan, Darryl Sly and

Bill Wylie William Vance Wylie (July 15, 1928 — November 24, 1983) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played in one National Hockey League game for the New York Rangers during the 1950–51 season, on January 20, 1951 against the Montreal ...

. The "Terriers" named itself had been used by teams in Galt dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Notable players included

Larry Aurie Lawrence Henry "Little Dempsey" Aurie (February 8, 1905 – December 11, 1952) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Cougars, Detroit Falcons and Detroit Red Win ...

, Clarence Boucher, John Brackenborough, Art Gauthier, Norman Himes, Carl Liscombe, Cliff McBride,

Mickey Murray Edward Kevin "Mickey" Murray (October 14, 1898 – March 21, 1978) was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. He played one game in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1929–30 season. The rest of his career, which laste ...

and Jean Pusie. Following the 1961–62 season, the Galt Terriers were renamed the Galt Hornets. Gord Renwick served as president of the Hornets from 1966 to 1973. He was encouraged to revive the team's ownership group by close friend, and the team's previous coach

. In 1966, Renwick named Earl Balfour as the team's new playing coach, and signed Gary Collins. Two seasons later, the 1968–69 Hornets team won 52 of 67 games played. They won a second J. Ross Robertson Cup in a four-game sweep of the

Barrie Flyers 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 the national playoffs, Galt defeated the

Gander Flyers The Gander Flyers (also commonly known as the Kelly Ford Gander Flyers due to a sponsorship deal that began October 3, 2014) were a senior ice hockey team based in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador and a member of in the Central West Senior Hoc ...

in five games, then the Victoriaville Tigers in six games to reach the final. Galt captured the 1969 Allan Cup winning in four consecutive games over the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

. Renwick and the team executive used a share-the-wealth philosophy, where the players saw proportion of the team's profits. Galt won another Ontario championship in the 1970–71 season, with the goaltending tandem of Harold Hurley and

Ken Broderick Kenneth Lorne Broderick (February 16, 1942 – March 13, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 27 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars and Boston Bruins, and 73 games in the World Ho ...

. In the playoffs, Galt defeated the Barrie Flyers, Orillia Terriers, Sault Ste. Marie,

Thunder Bay Twins The Thunder Bay Twins were an Amateur Senior and Professional ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Twins won five Allan Cups as National Senior Champions from 1970 until 1991. Origin On 1 January 1970, the City of Thunder Bay w ...

, and the

Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts The Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts are a senior ice hockey team based in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador and a member of the Central Division of the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League. Since it was founded in 1966, the Cataracts hock ...

to reach the finals. Galt captured the 1971 Allan Cup winning in four consecutive games over the same Calgary team from 1969, and played to sellout crowds at the Galt Arena Gardens. The Hornets represented Canada at the 1971 Ahearne Cup in Stockholm, finishing in third place behind teams from Russia and Sweden. The team later changed its name to the Cambridge Hornets, when

Galt Galt or GALT may refer to: Biology and biochemistry * Galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase, an enzyme * Gut-associated lymphoid tissue, a subset of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue People and fictional characters * Galt (surname), a list o ...

was amalgamated into Cambridge.

NHL alumni

List of Galt Hornets alumni who also played in the NHL. * Earl Balfour,

, Gary Collins, Mike Corbett, Dave Cressman, Norm Defelice,

, Cec Hoekstra,

Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to: Academia *Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy *Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts *J. Thomas Mc ...

, Vic Teal List of original era Cambridge Hornets alumni who also played in the NHL. * John Brenneman, Dave Cressman, Bob Dupuis, Gerry Gray, Gary Kurt,

Dave Tataryn David Nathan Tataryn (born July 17, 1950) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 25 games in the World Hockey Association with the Toronto Toros during the 1975–76 season and 2 games in the National Hockey League wi ...

, Vic Teal

Season-by-season record

Modern Hornets

The Hornets finished the 2005-06 season in third place, or so they thought. In January 2006, they signed Chris MacKenzie a former semi-pro hockey player. Despite the fact that the player's driver's licence and health card listed him as a resident of Toronto, he lived most of the time in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. Two other teams in the league appealed the usage of this player as a violation of the league's residency rule, which resulted in a series of late season victories being overturned to these teams' favour. The overturned victories resulted in a drop to fifth and last place for the Hornets. Irate, the ownership of the Hornets pulled their team from the league and filed a lawsuit for damages. The Cambridge Hornets have not stepped on the ice since.Major League Hockey news release – February 27, 2006
;NHL alumni List of modern era Cambridge Hornets alumni who also played in the NHL.Legends of hockey alumni search – Cambridge Hornets
/ref> *

Jamie Allison James E. Allison (born May 13, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Calgary Flames. Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers of the National ...

Gilbert Dionne Gilbert Marc Dionne (born September 19, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played six seasons in the National Hockey League from 1990–91 until 1995–96. He is the younger brother of Hockey Hall of Famer Marce ...

Todd Harvey Todd Douglas Ross Harvey (born February 17, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward and current director of amateur scouting for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). During his playing career, he played for ...

Steven Rice Steven Rice (born May 26, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League in the 1990s. Rice was born in Kitchener, Ontario. Rice was drafted 20th overall by the New York ...

, Mike Torchia, Scott Walker,

Peter Zezel Peter Zezel (April 22, 1965 – May 26, 2009) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who spent 15 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1984 to 1999. Early life Zezel was born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario. Zezel was an alumnus o ...

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout Loses*, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

References

Ottawa Citizen - 2 Jan 1962
{{OHA Senior Ice hockey teams in Ontario Senior ice hockey teams Sport in Cambridge, Ontario Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada 1960 establishments in Ontario 2006 disestablishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs established in 1960 Sports clubs disestablished in 2006 Ice hockey teams representing Canada internationally