The Brantford Alexanders were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League and

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 ...

from 1978 to 1984. The team was based in

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada.

History

The

Hamilton Fincups The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...

were relocated in 1978 becoming the Brantford Alexanders. The OMJHL junior team took the name of the OHA senior team which had played for two years prior, which in themselves were named for Brantford's most famous former resident, telephone pioneer

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and T ...

. After two years in the OMJHL, the league changed names to the OHL and the Alexanders played four more seasons in Brantford, before moving back to Hamilton as the Steelhawks. The Alexanders made the playoffs for five straight years after missing out its first year in Brantford. The team narrowly missed out on winning its division in 1980–81 by a single point. Brantford developed close rivalries with the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...

and the Niagara Falls Flyers. Their playoff nemeses were the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975 ...

and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Two years in a row they were eliminated by the Spitfires, followed by three years in a row at the hands of the Greyhounds. The Brantford Alexanders also had an official theme song recorded by County Line, called "Cowboys of the Ice". There have been 29 alumni of the Alexanders to play in the

NHL 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 ...

. In 1982–83, Dave Gagner was awarded the Bobby Smith Trophy for the OHA's Scholastic Player of the Year.

Coaches

NHL alumni

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Playoffs

*1978–1979 Out of

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

. *1979–1980 Defeated Toronto Marlboros 4 games to 0 in quarter-finals.
Lost to Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 3 in semi-finals. *1980–1981 Lost to Windsor Spitfires 8 points to 4 in division semi-finals *1981–1982 Defeated London Knights 6 points to 2 in first round.
Lost to S.S. Marie Greyhounds 8 points to 6 in quarter-finals. *1982–1983 Defeated London Knights 6 points to 0 in first round.
Lost to S.S. Marie Greyhounds 8 points to 2 in quarter-finals. *1983–1984 Earned first round bye.
Lost to S.S. Marie Greyhounds 8 points to 4 in quarter-finals.

Arena

The Brantford Alexanders played home games at the Brantford Civic Centre from 1978 to 1984. The OHL All-Star game was hosted here in 1982. *'
Brantford Civic Centre
'' - The OHL Arena & Travel Guide {{Defunct OHL Sport in Brantford Defunct Ontario Hockey League teams 1978 establishments in Ontario 1984 disestablishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs established in 1978 Sports clubs disestablished in 1984