Collingwood Blues

Collingwood Blues
Collingwood Blues
City	Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
League	Ontario Junior Hockey League
Operated	1988-2011
Home arena	Eddie Bush Memorial Arena
Colours	Red, Black, and White ;
General manager	Darrell Mussell
Head coach	Myles McCauley
Affiliates	Owen Sound Attack (OHL); Stayner Siskins (GMOHL)
Franchise history
1948-1955	Collingwood Greenshirts
1955-19xx	Collingwood Cobras
19xx-1969	Collingwood Legionnaires
1969-1977	Collingwood Blues
1977-1979	Collingwood Glassmen
1979-1987	Collingwood Shipbuilders
1988-2010	Collingwood Blues
2010-2011	Collingwood Blackhawks

Last updated March 21, 2019

The Collingwood Blues were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. They were a part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League and earlier the Central Junior B Hockey League.

Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points. The sport is known to be fast-paced and physical, with teams usually consisting of six players each: one goaltender, and five players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team.

Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay.

Ontario is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and is located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province accounting for 38.3 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province in total area. Ontario is fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto, which is also Ontario's provincial capital.

History

Founded as a Jr ‘B’ team in 1948-49, the Greenshirts dropped down to Jr ‘C’ in 1949-50, although they played in a mixed league of B and C teams during the regular season. Collingwood junior hockey excellence can be traced back as far as 1950 where the town's Junior "C" team won four straight Clarence Schmalz Cups as All-Ontario Junior "C" Champions. Subsequently, they were named the OHA’s Jr ‘C’ Team of the Century.^[1]^[2]

The Clarence Schmalz Cup is the Ontario Hockey Association's Junior "C" ice hockey championship and championship trophy. The champions of the Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) are awarded the Cup. The PJHL was formed in 2016 from the former 8 provincial leagues that previously competed in a tournament, commonly called the All-Ontario Championships, to determine the winner of the Cup.

The Blues played in the Georgia Bay Jr.C league until 1969, when they joined the Central Ontario Jr.B league. They won the Central Junior B Hockey League playoff championship in 1970 and 1971. In 1972, after transferring to the Mid-Ontario Junior B League, they won their league title. They won that title again in 1975-76 and advanced through the Ontario playdowns all the way to the Sutherland Cup provincial final against the St. Marys Lincolns of the Western Junior B Hockey League. St. Marys won the series 4-3, handing Collingwood their only home defeat of the season, in game 7 of the finals.

The Mid-Ontario Junior B Hockey League was a Junior "B" ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario. They were sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, and competed for the All-Ontario Junior "B" title, the Sutherland Cup.

The Sutherland Cup is the ice hockey Ontario Junior "B" Provincial Championship trophy. The trophy was first awarded in 1934, and named in honour of former OHA and CAHA president, James T. Sutherland.

The St. Marys Lincolns are a junior ice hockey team based in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.

The Blues played in the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League in 1976-77 and finished third out of four teams. In 1977, the Collingwood Blues informed the SOJHL that they were no longer interested in Junior A hockey and left the league to join the local Junior C loop. The folding of the Blues allowed for the folding of the SOJHL. The next season the team was called the Glassmen and compete at the Junior C level. In 1979, the team changed their name to the Shipbuilders and jumped to the Major Intermediate A Hockey League. The Shipbuilder were 1982-83 Major Int. "A" Champions and second place in the province to a team from Timmins, Ontario. In 1983, the league was promoted to Senior "A". The team left the league in 1987 and went on hiatus. In their final Senior season they dropped down to the Georgian Bay Senior A Hockey League. They finished second in the regular season behind the Durham Huskies, but they won the league playoffs and the OHA Senior "A" title 4-games-to-2 against the Dunnville Mudcats of the Southern Ontario league.

The Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League was a Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey that lasted from the late 1960s until 1977 in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league was swallowed by what is now called the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League in 1977.

The Major Intermediate A Hockey League was an ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association. It existed from 1978 to 1983. Its champion was eligible to compete for the W.G. Hardy Trophy, emblematic of Canadian Intermediate A hockey supremacy.

The Durham Huskies were an ice hockey franchise based in the town of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The team is actually a series of teams that have spanned nine decades and through an uncountable series of leagues. The Huskies have existed under of couple short lived monikers before finding their name by accident in the 1950s. This team has spanned the Junior, Intermediate, and Senior levels of Ontario hockey.

In 1988, the Blues were voted back into the Central Junior B Hockey League. In 1993, the league was promoted to Junior A status and the Blues remained a member of that league until 2011.

In 2010, the Blues changed their name to the Blackhawks. On April 3, 2011, the League announced that the franchise had ceased operations.

Season-by-season results

Original junior team

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	P	Results	Playoffs
1969-70	40	18	18	4	-	183	189	40	3rd CJBHL	Won League
1970-71	40	24	15	1	-	195	138	51	2nd CJBHL	Won League
1971-72	40	22	13	5	-	226	155	49	3rd MOJBHL
1972-73	40	28	9	3	-	217	139	59	1st MOJBHL	Lost Final
1973-74	40	26	12	2	-	217	143	54	2nd MOJBHL	Lost Semi-final
1974-75	39	27	8	4	-	223	180	58	1st MOJBHL	Lost Final
1975-76	36	25	7	4	-	260	128	54	1st MOJBHL	Won League, Lost SC Final
1976-77	34	10	18	6	-	156	176	26	3rd SOJAHL	Lost Final
1977-78	32	14	14	4	-	190	172	32	5th MOJCHL	Lost Semi-final
1978-79	34	21	8	5	-	--	--	47	2nd MOJCHL	Lost Semi-final

The Shipbuilders

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	P	Results	Playoffs
1978-79	37	30	7	0	-	256	112	60	1st GBIAHL
1979-80	36	23	12	1	-	194	140	47	2nd GBIAHL
1980-81	36	25	10	1	-	223	158	51	2nd OHA Int. A
1981-82	36	24	11	1	-	236	182	49	2nd OHA Int. A
1982-83	29	24	5	0	-	228	129	48	1st OHA Int. A	Won League
1983-84	38	20	17	1	-	238	221	41	7th OHA Sr. A
1984-85	40	23	16	1	-	206	194	47	4th OHA Sr. A
1985-86	36	15	21	0	-	144	205	30	6th OHA Sr. A
1986-87	24	18	6	0	-	193	120	36	2nd GBSAHL	Won League, Won OHA title

The second junior team

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	P	Results	Playoffs
1988-89	42	5	34	3	-	166	353	13	15th CJBHL
1989-90	42	13	24	5	-	201	257	31	10th CJBHL
1990-91	42	15	22	5	-	170	209	35	11th CJBHL
1991-92	42	7	28	7	-	147	247	21	14th CJBHL
1992-93	48	10	36	2	-	162	355	23	15th CJBHL
1993-94	40	10	29	1	-	127	223	22	8th OPJHL-E
1994-95	48	21	24	3	-	210	223	46	5th OPJHL-E
1995-96	49	28	16	5	-	237	193	61	2nd OPJHL-P
1996-97	51	28	18	5	-	249	206	62	2nd OPJHL-P
1997-98	51	35	12	3	1	263	156	74	1st OPJHL-P
1998-99	51	41	8	1	1	309	126	84	1st OPJHL-C
1999-00	47	26	13	5	3	243	148	60	3rd OPJHL-N
2000-01	49	27	19	2	1	224	142	57	4th OPJHL-N
2001-02	49	23	21	4	1	191	181	51	6th OPJHL-N
2002-03	49	23	25	0	1	204	176	47	4th OPJHL-N
2003-04	49	22	20	3	4	174	216	51	4th OPJHL-N
2004-05	49	13	32	4	0	158	217	30	5th OPJHL-N	Lost Div. SF
2005-06	48	22	19	6	1	171	172	51	4th OPJHL-N	Lost Div. SF
2006-07	48	22	19	4	3	157	169	51	3rd OPJHL-N	Lost Div. SF
2007-08	49	10	36	-	3	107	220	23	8th OPJHL-N
2008-09	49	22	23	-	4	169	183	48	6th OJHL-P
2009-10	56	14	40	-	2	152	287	30	14th OJAHL	DNQ
2010-11	50	5	43	-	2	104	333	12	7th OJHL-N	DNQ

Playoffs

SOJHL Years

1977 Lost Final

Collingwood Blues defeated Hamilton Mountain A's 4-games-to-2

Guelph Platers defeated Collingwood Blues 4-games-to-none

OPJHL Years

Sutherland Cup appearances

1976: St. Marys Lincolns defeated Collingwood Blues 4-games-to-3

Notable alumni

Aaron Downey ice hockey player from Canada

Aaron Douglas Downey is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. Downey played 13 seasons of professional ice hockey and played 243 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings. He was not drafted by either an NHL team or a major junior team. Downey was mostly known for his role as an enforcer. Downey also played in the minor leagues for the Manitoba Moose, Portland Pirates, Providence Bruins, Norfolk Admirals, Hampton Roads Admirals and the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Kevin Colley is a retired American-born Canadian ice hockey right winger who played for the New York Islanders of the NHL, and is the head coach of the Arizona Sundogs of the CHL. He was raised in Collingwood, Ontario. Colley was signed as a free agent by the Islanders on June 11, 2004. Colley fractured his fifth cervical vertebra in a game against the Washington Capitals on January 31, 2006. As a result of the injuries sustained to his neck and at the behest of his doctors, Colley officially retired from professional ice hockey on February 24, 2006. Colley's father, Tom, was a former NHL player.

Curtis Sanford is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, and Columbus Blue Jackets.

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References

External links

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[1] ttp://collingwoodsportshalloffame.ca/?cat=28

[2] ttps://www.simcoe.com/community-story/7981051-historical-society-looks-at-collingwood-s-storied-hockey-history/