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The Casselman Vikings are a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team in Casselman,
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 ...
. The Vikings play in the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League (EOJHL). Between 2014-15 and the end of the 2019-2020 seasons, the EOJHL and the CCHL set a new agreement in an attempt to create a better player development model. This resulted in the league re-branding itself as the Central Canada Hockey League Tier 2 (CCHL2), and shrinking to 16 teams and two divisions. The league reverted to the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League for 2021. Prior to 2015, their league was known as the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League of the Ottawa District Hockey Association. The Vikings have won the Carson Trophy three times and were the 2014 Don Johnson Memorial Cup Eastern Canadian Jr. B Champions.


History

Founded in 1986, the Stars won the Cameron Trophy six times as the Ottawa District Hockey Association's top Junior C club. The first time was in 1989, and then again in 1993. In 1997, the Stars set up a dynasty: winning in 1998, 1999, and 2000. The 2004-05 season was great for the Stars. After finishing first in the league with 28 wins in 36 games, the Stars defeated the
Rockland Nationals The Rockland Nationals (French: ''National de Rockland''), colloquially known as the Nats, are a Junior A ice hockey team based in Rockland, Ontario. The Nationals compete in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) as a member of the East Divisio ...
4-games-to-none in the league semi-final and then their rivals, the
Embrun Panthers The Embrun Panthers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Embrun, Ontario. They play in the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League. Prior to 2017, the Panthers were members of the National Capital Junior Hockey League. History Founde ...
, 4-games-to-1 to win their sixth crown. In the 2005-06 season, the Stars again finished in first place with 27 wins in 36 games. In the semi-final they defeated the Saint-Isidore Eagles 4-games-to-1 and then were upset by the
Embrun Panthers The Embrun Panthers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Embrun, Ontario. They play in the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League. Prior to 2017, the Panthers were members of the National Capital Junior Hockey League. History Founde ...
in the final 4-games-to-3. After a disappointing 2006-07 season, in which the Stars finished seventh place overall, they were swept 4-games-to-none in the league quarter-final by the East Ottawa Thunder. In 2007, the Stars ownership attempted to fill the void left in the
Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League The Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League is a Junior ice hockey league operating in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by Hockey Eastern Ontario and Hockey Canada and acts as a junior B league to the Central Canada Hockey League. ...
by the Junior "A" expansion of the Kemptville 73's. When the Casselman franchise could not be put together fast enough, the Stars program was suspended for the 2007-08 Eastern Junior C season. The Casselman Stars were founded in 1986 as members of the Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League. In 2007, the ownership of the team pulled their membership out of the EOJCHL with the intention of joining the Junior B Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League. After sitting out a year, the group was awarded a Junior B franchise and changed the team's name to the Vikings. The league's Junior C spot was given to a new team called the Cumberland Bandits. The Viking have won three Carson Trophies as EOJHL champions (2012, 2014 and 2015). On April 22, 2014, the Vikings became the first Ontario team to ever play at the Don Johnson Memorial Cup tournament, originally competed for by only
Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...
teams.


2013-14 Championship season

The Vikings finished the 2013-14 regular season with the top record in the St. Lawrence Division, their conference, and the entire EOJHL with 35 wins, 2 losses, and 4 overtime losses. In their division semi-final, the Vikings swept the Akwesasne Wolves in four games and then beat the
Winchester Hawks The Winchester Hawks are a Canadian junior ice hockey team from Winchester, Ontario. The Hawks play in the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League (EOJHL). Between 2014-15 and the end of the 2019-2020 seasons, the EOJHL and the CCHL set a new agr ...
4-games-to-1 to win the Division title. The Vikings then defeated the Gananoque Islanders 4-games-to-1 to win the Rideau-St. Lawrence Conference championship. The Vikings moved on to the Carson Trophy finals against the Metro-Valley Conference champion
Ottawa West Golden Knights The Ottawa West Golden Knights are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario. Between 2014-15 and the end of the 2019-2020 seasons, the EOJHL and the CCHL set a new agreement in an attempt to create a better player development m ...
. Casselman quickly found themselves in trouble as the Golden Knights mounted a 3-games-to-1 lead, but the Vikings came back with 3-2 and 4-1 victories to force game seven. In Game 7, Taylor Widenmaier scored in the first to take an early lead, with Ottawa West tying the game in the second. With 37 seconds left in regulation, the Golden Knights scored a possible game-winning goal, but with only 14 seconds left Thierry Henry tied up the game forcing overtime. 1:18 into the second extra frame, Captain Joel Adam scored the game-winning goal to give the Vikings their second Carson Trophy as EOJHL champions. As of 2014, the hockey organizations of
Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...
decided to allow a representative of
Eastern Ontario Eastern Ontario (census population 1,892,332 in 2021) () is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies a wedge-shaped area bounded by the Ottawa River and Quebec to the northeast and east, the St. Lawr ...
into their Junior B championship tournament, the Don Johnson Memorial Cup. Since 1982, the "DoJo" has been exclusive to Atlantic Canadian provinces, but beginning in 2014 has rebranded itself the "Eastern Canadian Junior B Championship". By winning the Carson Trophy, the Vikings became the first team to gain entry to the championship from west of the Atlantic Region. On April 22, the Vikings made this a reality by facing the Fredericton Jr. Caps of the
New Brunswick Junior B Hockey League The New Brunswick Junior Hockey League (NBJBHL) is a Canadian Junior ice hockey league in the Province of New Brunswick. The NBJHL is a member of Hockey New Brunswick and Hockey Canada. History The original New Brunswick Junior Hockey League fo ...
in
Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia Port Hawkesbury (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Chlamhain'') is a municipality in southern Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. While within the historical county of Inverness, it is not part of the Municipality of Inverness County. Their s ...
. The Viking took their first ever DoJo game by a score of 6-1. The next day, the Vikings took on the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League's champion Sackville Blazers and defeated them 7-5. On the 24th, Casselman faced the Avalon Jr. Capitals of the St. John's Junior Hockey League and beat them 6-2. In their final round robin game, the Vikings faced the host Strait Pirates but dispatched them with an 8-1 score. With the round robin over, Taylor Widenmaier was named to the tournament's all-star team, Nicolas Brazeau was given the most sportsmanlike player award, and Maxime Choquette was named the tournament's most valuable player. Widenmaier and Brazeau would lead the round robin in scoring (13 points each) and Gianmarco De Meis would lead all goalies with a 0.925 save percentage. With a perfect 4-0-0 record, the Vikings earned the first seed in the semi-final and faced fourth seed Fredericton again. The Jr. Caps were ready for the Vikings this time and clogged up the middle, stymieing their high speed offence. The Jr. Caps had it tied up 1-1 going into the third, before the Viking popped three quick goals. The final score was 4-2 and Casselman was into the Final against Sackville (who just dispatched the defending champion
Kensington Vipers The Kensington Vipers are a Canadian Junior ice hockey club from Kensington, Prince Edward Island. They are members of the Island Junior Hockey League and are 2011 and 2013 Don Johnson Memorial Cup Atlantic Junior B champions. Team history The Ke ...
in overtime). In the final, Sackville opened up the score early in the first and held a 1-0 lead until the third period. Casselman stepped up the pressure in third period and responded with goals from Widenmaier and Luc Forget. With 1:22 to go in the third, Sackville tied the game to force overtime. At 6:18 into the overtime frame, Simon Cousineau popped in the game-winning goal from a cross ice pass by his linemate Kevin Giroux to secure the Eastern Canadian Championship. Goalie Gianmarco De Meis was named the championship's most valuable player with 36 saves on 38 shots. The Casselman Vikings finished the season with 57 wins and 11 losses, won their second Carson Trophy, and their first Don Johnson Memorial Cup. With this, they became the first team outside of the Atlantic Provinces to compete for a DoJo Championship, the first to win a game at the event, and the first to win the championship itself, all while keeping an undefeated 6-0-0 record.


Season-by-season results


Don Johnson Memorial Cup

Eastern Canada Jr B Championships This was the only year the EOJHL was part of the Don Johnson Championships


References


External links


Vikings Webpage
*
CCHL2 Webpage
{{EOJBHL Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1986 1986 establishments in Ontario Ice hockey teams in Ontario