The Brantford Alexanders 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 Major Junior Hockey League In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate ind ...

and

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

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 indep ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.

History

The Hamilton Fincups 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 Canadian Americans, Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He als ...

. 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 Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

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 The Niagara Falls Flyers were two junior ice hockey franchises that played in the top tier in the Ontario Hockey Association. The first, a Junior "A" team existed from 1960 until 1972, and the second in Tier I Junior "A" from 1976 until 1982. B ...

. Their playoff nemeses were the Windsor Spitfires 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; , ''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 ...

. 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 eithe ...

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

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
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References

{{Defunct OHL 1978 establishments in Ontario 1984 disestablishments in Ontario Defunct ice hockey teams in Ontario Defunct Ontario Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1978 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1984 Sport in Brantford