1996–97 OPJHL season

1996–97 OPJHL season
League	Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
Sport	Hockey
Duration	Regular season 1996-09 – 1997-02 Playoffs 1997-02 – 1997-04
Number of teams	22
Finals champions	Milton Merchants

The 1996–97 OPJHL season is the fourth season of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League (OPJHL). The twenty-two teams of the MacKenzie, MacKinnon, Phillips, and Ruddock Divisions competed in a 51-game schedule. The top 4 teams of each division make the playoffs.

The winner of the OPJHL playoffs, the Milton Merchants, lost the 1997 Buckland Cup and Dudley Hewitt Cup to the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Changes

• Royal York Royals become the Vaughan Vipers.
• Stouffville Clippers become the Stouffville Spirit.

Final standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title

MacKenzie Division Team GP W L T GF GA P Bramalea Blues 51 36 12 3 263 154 76 Brampton Capitals 51 35 14 2 280 183 73 Mississauga Chargers 51 29 19 3 234 220 62 St. Michael's Buzzers 51 26 22 3 210 173 59 Streetsville Derbys 51 19 26 6 212 222 45 Vaughan Vipers 51 16 33 2 179 272 35 MacKinnon Division Team GP W L T GF GA P Milton Merchants 51 37 9 5 319 169 81 Hamilton Kilty 51 32 14 5 286 218 70 Oakville Blades 51 22 28 1 218 233 50 Burlington Cougars 51 14 34 3 188 273 32 Georgetown Raiders 51 3 47 1 140 375 10 Phillips Division Team GP W L T GF GA P Newmarket 87's 51 43 5 3 313 135 89 Collingwood Blues 51 28 18 5 249 206 62 Orillia Terriers 50 25 21 4 201 194 56 Lindsay Muskies 51 17 29 5 188 247 42 Stouffville Spirit 50 8 41 1 167 295 19 Ruddock Division Team GP W L T GF GA P Kingston Voyageurs 51 42 7 2 313 138 87 Peterborough Jr. Petes 51 29 19 3 219 182 64 Ajax Axemen 51 21 28 2 212 258 45 Bowmanville Eagles 51 15 31 5 215 285 37 Trenton Sting 51 16 32 3 192 278 36 Cobourg Cougars 51 11 35 5 190 278 29

1996-97 OPJHL Playoffs

This article is about the Central Canada Championship. For Dudley Hewitt Cup, see the national championship. For 1997 Royal Bank Cup, see 1996–97 OPJHL season (disambiguation).

Division Semi-final

Newmarket 87's defeated Bowmanville Eagles 4-games-to-2

Kingston Voyageurs defeated Ajax Axemen 4-games-to-none

Peterborough Jr. Petes defeated Lindsay Muskies 4-games-to-2

Collingwood Blues defeated Orillia Terriers 4-games-to-2

Milton Merchants defeated Streetsville Derbys 4-games-to-none

Brampton Capitals defeated St. Michael's Buzzers 4-games-to-2

Mississauga Chargers defeated Hamilton Kiltys 4-games-to-2

Division Final

Newmarket 87's defeated Collingwood Blues 4-games-to-none

Kingston Voyageurs defeated Peterborough Jr. Petes 4-games-to-1

Milton Merchants defeated Mississauga Chargers 4-games-to-none

Bramalea Blues defeated Brampton Capitals 4-games-to-2

Semi-final

Newmarket 87's defeated Kingston Voyageurs 4-games-to-1

Milton Merchants defeated Bramalea Blues 4-games-to-3

Final

Milton Merchants defeated Newmarket 87's 4-games-to-3

OHA Buckland Cup and Dudley Hewitt Cup Championship

Best-of-7

Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL) defeated Milton Merchants 4-games-to-1

Milton 4 - Rayside-Balfour 0

Rayside-Balfour 4 - Milton 3 OT

Rayside-Balfour 5 - Milton 3

Rayside-Balfour 9 - Milton 2

Rayside-Balfour 4 - Milton 1

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts Ryan Vince Kingston Voyageurs 51 54 81 135 Scott Cameron Kingston Voyageurs 48 51 61 112 Eric Ellis Hamilton Red Wings 50 50 62 112 Dan Kerluke Brampton Capitals 51 62 48 110 Ron Baker Milton/Bowmanville 49 43 62 105 Scott Stephens Newmarket 87's 44 43 60 103 Chris Stevenson Hamilton Red Wings 51 51 49 100 Darren Haydar Milton Merchants 51 32 68 100

See also

• 1997 Royal Bank Cup
• Dudley Hewitt Cup
• List of OJHL seasons
• Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League
• Superior International Junior Hockey League
• Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League
• 1996 in ice hockey
• 1997 in ice hockey

External links

• Official website of the Ontario Junior Hockey League
• Official website of the Canadian Junior Hockey League