The articles mostly have a ‘Team Leaders’ theme. The ‘Pro Hockey in Georgia’ article is the second in a look at what pro hockey is available in a given region in the absense of the NHL. The first was about pro hockey in Florida and actually appeared on a travel website. The article on the 1975-76 Sudbury Wolves should not be limited to OHL fans. That team was an amazing and often overlooked part of hockey history.
Okay – the articles might be slightly above mediocre crap. Find out for yourself…
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The Amazing 1975-76 Sudbury Wolves
1975-76 was the fourth year in the Ontario Hockey League (at the time OMJHL) for the Sudbury Wolves and it remains the greatest year in franchise history. The Wolves finished first overall with 102 points, eight points ahead of the second place Hamilton Fincups, earning the team the Hamilton Spectator Trophy. Sudbury finished atop the Leyden Division, 25 points ahead of the second place Ottawa 67’s. The team finished the 66 game schedule with 74 more points than the last place overall Windsor Spitfires. Sudbury had the most goals for and least goals against.
1975-76 OHL Leyden Division Team Leaders
Despite the fact that it was an Emms Division team that won the Robertson Cup championship in the end, it was the Leyden Division that held the better teams during the 1975-76 OMJHL season. Five of the six teams finished the regular season with a winning record. All but two of the top ten players in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy were on Leyden Division teams. Yet, when all was said and done, the Hamilton Fincups downed the Sudbury Wolves to advance to the Memorial Cup.
1967-68 NHL East Division Team Leaders
The 1967-68 National Hockey League season marked the addition of six new teams. Normally, expansion increases offense due to the watered down product on the ice. In 1967-68, that wasn’t really so. Stan Mikita won the Art Ross Trophy for the second year in a row but with ten less points than in 1966-67. Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks led the league with 44 goals. It was one of only five times from 1965-66 to the present when the goal scoring leader had less than 50 goals.
1975-76 OMJHL Emms Division Team Leaders
For the 1975-76 OMJHL season, the league expanded from eleven to twelve teams, with the addition of the Windsor Spitfires. With the expansion, the league moved to a two division format for the first time with six teams in the Emms Division and six in the Leyden. The Emms was made up of teams from Toronto to Windsor in Southern Ontario. The Leyden consisted of teams in Eastern and Northern Ontario, from Ottawa to Sault Ste. Marie.
The State of Georgia has now had two cracks at supporting a National Hockey League team, with no real success. The Atlanta Flames entered the NHL, along with the New York Islanders, for the 1972-73 season and lasted just eight years before moving to Calgary, Alberta. The Atlanta Thrashers joined the league for the 1999-00 season and became the Winnipeg Jets for the 2011-12 NHL season.
The Montreal Canadiens dominated the 1965-66 National Hockey League season. The Habs finished first overall in the six team league, eight points ahead of second place Chicago. Montreal then swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs before capturing the championship in six games against the fourth seed Detroit Red Wings.
1966-67 marked a major end of an era for the National Hockey League. The league played its last season with just six teams. The following year, the NHL doubled in size to 12 teams and within seven years that number would increase to 18. 1966-67 also marked the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs would win the Stanley Cup.