Powassan Voodoos
| Powassan Voodoos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Powassan, Ontario |
| League | Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Home arena | Powassan Sportsplex |
| Colours | Dark green, yellow, black, and red |
| Owner(s) | Jim & Graeme Bruce, Ray Seguin |
| General manager | Chris Dawson |
| Head coach | Peter Goulet |
| Championships | |
| Playoff championships | 1: 2017 |
The Powassan Voodoos are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey team based out of Powassan, Ontario. They are members of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and play their home games at the Powassan Sportsplex.
History
[edit]The Voodoos were founded in 2014. The arrival of the team marked the return of junior hockey to Powassan for the first time since 1994, when the Powassan Hawks departed for Sturgeon Falls. The team signed an agreement with the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League to serve as an official feeder to this squad.[1] The team adopted a logo featuring a CF-101 Voodoo jet fighter and a roundel similar to the Royal Canadian Air Force's. Scott Wray, a fifteen-year veteran who skated mainly in the ECHL was chosen as head coach. During the 2014–15 season, the Voodoos' first in the league, the club finished with a 15–29–0–8 record.
In only their second year of operation the Voodoos claimed their first regular season Division Championship. In their third year the team repeated as regular season division champions and added the overall regular season league champions and they swept the Blind River Beavers in four games in the finals to advance to the Dudley Hewitt Cup. They finished the round-robin with a record of 1–2–0 and advanced to the semifinals, which they lost to the Georgetown Raiders with a score of 2–1.
Prior to the 2017–18 season, Scott Wray was promoted to an assistant coach position with the North Bay Battalion[2] and Beau Moyer was hired as the team's second head coach.[3] However, he would be fired from the team during the season on 29 January following a league imposed suspension after he had violated a league rule involving drinking with a few players.[4] Both Moyer and his father, who was present in the hotel bar, cited that they had not invited the players to the bar, who were of legal drinking age, but that the players came to the bar on their own and then joined the coaches. After Moyer was fired, assistant coach Bruce Cazabon became the interim coach.[5] Max Gavin was hired as the head coach for the 2018–19 season. Gavin left the team in August 2020 and was not immediately replaced during the COVID-19 pandemic that had curtailed the previous season.[6] Former Hearst Lumberjacks' head coach Mark Lafleur was hired as coach for the 2021–22 season.[7]
Season-by-season records
[edit]| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | Result | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | 52 | 15 | 29 | 0 | 8 | 217 | 262 | 38 | 4th of 5, East 7th of 9, NOJHL |
Won Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Mattawa Blackhawks Won Div. Semifinals, 4–2 vs. Kirkland Lake Gold Miners Lost Div. Finals 0–4 Cochrane Crunch |
| 2015–16 | 54 | 40 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 278 | 137 | 84 | 2nd of 6, East 3rd of 12, NOJHL |
Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–4 vs. Kirkland Lake Gold Miners |
| 2016–17 | 56 | 46 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 271 | 121 | 95 | 1st of 6, East 1st of 12, NOJHL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 4–0 vs. Kirkland Lake Gold Miners Won Div. Finals, 4–0 vs. Timmins Rock Won League Finals, 4–0 vs. Blind River Beavers NOJHL League Champions |
| 2017–18 | 56 | 45 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 299 | 171 | 94 | 1st of 6, East 1st of 12, NOJHL |
Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–4 vs. Timmins Rock |
| 2018–19 | 56 | 33 | 19 | — | 4 | 206 | 172 | 70 | 3rd of 6, East 4th of 12, NOJHL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 4–2 vs. Kirkland Lake Gold Miners Lost Div. Finals, 0–4 vs. Hearst Lumberjacks |
| 2019–20 | 56 | 45 | 9 | — | 2 | 264 | 141 | 92 | 1st of 6, East 1st of 12, NOJHL |
Postseason cancelled |
| 2020–21 | Did not participate due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions[8] | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | 48 | 30 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 184 | 145 | 67 | 3rd of 6, East 5th of 12, NOJHL |
Lost Div. Semifinals, 2-4 Hearst Lumberjacks |
| 2022–23 | 58 | 37 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 225 | 171 | 75 | 3rd of 6, East 6th of 12, NOJHL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 4-2 Hearst Lumberjacks Lost Div Semifinal 0-4 Timmins Rock |
| 2023–24 | 58 | 36 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 253 | 183 | 75 | 3rd of 6, East 6th of 12, NOJHL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 4-1 Hearst Lumberjacks Won Div Semifinal 4-3 Timmins Rock Lost Finals 1-4 (Greater Sudbury Cubs) |
Dudley Hewitt Cup
[edit]Central Canada Championships
NOJHL – OJHL – SIJHL – Host
Round robin play with second vs. third in semifinal to advance against first in the finals.
| Year | Round Robin | Record | Standing | Semifinal | Championship |
| 2017 | L, (Trenton Golden Hawks) 1–5 W, (Dryden Ice Dogs) 4–3 L, (Georgetown Raiders) 2–5 |
1–2–0 | 3rd of 4 | L, (Georgetown Raiders) 1–2 | — |
References
[edit]- ^ "Powassan Voodoos Introduced". Bay Today. 23 June 2014.
- ^ "Wray joins Battalion coaching staff". North Bay Battalion. 12 June 2017.
- ^ "Voodoos bring new head coach back home". Bay Today. 15 June 2017.
- ^ "Moyer fired from Powassan Voodoos". North Bay Nugget. 30 January 2018.
- ^ "UPDATE: Moyer fired Voodoos head coach suspended over 'innocent mistake'". Bay Today. 29 January 2018.
- ^ "Voodoos head coach moving on". Bay Today. 12 August 2020.
- ^ "Powassan names Marc Lafleur head coach". NOJHL. 20 April 2021.
- ^ "NOJHL January update". NOJHL. January 2, 2021.