The Barrie Flyers were a

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

team in the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

from 1945 to 1960, from

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

, 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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. 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 (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

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 and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...

. 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 The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; ) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction included senior ice hockey leagues and the Allan Cup, ...

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 Winnipeg Monarchs is a name used by several Canadian ice hockey teams in Winnipeg, Manitoba and may refer to: * Winnipeg Monarchs (senior), a defunct ice hockey team, 1935 World Ice Hockey Champions * Winnipeg Monarchs (MJHL), a defunct junior ice ...

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 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 On ...

Most Outstanding Player *''1950-51'' - Lorne Howes, Dave Pinkney Trophy Lowest Team Goals Against

NHL alumni

List of Flyers' alumni who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL): * Barry Ashbee * Bob Barlow * Bob Beckett * Bob Blackburn * Ross Brooks * Kelly Burnett * Dick Cherry * Don Cherry * Real Chevrefils * Murray Davison * Marv Edwards * Pierre Gagne * Ray Gariepy * Jeannot Gilbert * Howie Glover *

Bill Knibbs William Arthur Knibbs (born January 24, 1942 – September 16, 2006) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 53 games in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins during the 1964–65 season. The rest of his career, which ...

Leo Labine Leonard Gerald "Leo The Lion" Labine (July 22, 1931 – February 25, 2005) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. A native of Temiskaming Shores, Haileybury, Ontario, Labine played for teams in the National Hockey League, NHL, Western Ho ...

* Stan Long * Wayne Maxner * Gilles Mayer * Don McKenney * Sid McNabney * Paul Meger * Hillary Menard * Doug Mohns *

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

* Tony Poeta * Dan Poliziani * George Ranieri * Gerry Reid * 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 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1960 Boston Bruins minor league affiliates Defunct ice hockey teams in Ontario