Mount Forest Patriots
Encyclopedia
The Mount Forest Patriots are a Canadian
Junior ice hockey
team based in Mount Forest
, Ontario
, Canada
. They play in the Western Junior C Hockey League
(WJCHL).
in 1987, the Patriots served as a catalyst for the genesis of the Grey-Bruce Junior "C" Hockey League (GBJHL) into the WJCHL. Until 1987, all teams in the GBJHL were from Grey County
and Bruce County
. Mount Forest, at the Southern border of Grey County, is actually a part of Wellington County
and therefore rendered the GBJHL inadequate. The expansion of the Pats came soon after the folding of the Markdale Mohawks and the Arthur Eagles, two local Junior "D" teams.
Following nine years of WJCHL domination by the Hanover Barons
, the Patriots came into their own. The team won three consecutive league titles from 1994 until 1996, but could not surpass the Belle River Canadiens
(1994), Bowmanville Eagles
(1995), or the Paris Mounties
(1996) in the early rounds of the All-Ontario Championship to win the Clarence Schmalz Cup
. In 1998, the Patriots were designated the farm team of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
's Durham Huskies
. This relationship resulted in the Patriots fielding the first Russia
n to play in the WJCHL, Valentine Lidvanov, however the teams' affiliation was severed in 2001 when the Huskies left the OPJHL to join the WJCHL. The Huskies were granted leave from the OPJHL, but were voted out of the WJCHL before they could play a game.
The Pats have struggled to obtain their first winning season since 1998. None-the-less, the community of Mount Forest stands firmly behind them, often filling the arena at home games.
The 2004-05 season ended with the Mount Forest Patriots on the outside looking in. At the very end of the season, the upstart Goderich Sailors
jumped ahead of the Patriots to take control of the fourth playoff seed and leaving the Patriots eliminated from the playoffs.
In 2005-06, the Patriots finished in last place overall but took advantage of an expanded playoff format introduced that season. The playoffs did not last long though as the Hanover Barons
swept the Patriots in the league quarter-final 2-games-to-none.
The 2006-07 season ended with the Patriots back up in the fifth seed. They challenged the Hanover Barons
in the league quarter-final and were defeated 3-games-to-1.
(*) The 1999-00 Season was altered drastically due to the folding of the Lakeshore Pirates
. As a disproportionate amount of games had been played by each team against Lakeshore, all history of these games were erased. If they had been included, the Patriots' record against the Pirates was 4-0-0.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Junior ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team based in Mount Forest
Mount Forest, Ontario
Mount Forest is an unincorporated community located on the junction of the 6 and the 89 in the township of Wellington North, Ontario. The town's motto is "High, Happy, Healthy", which can be seen on the water tower when approaching the town from the south....
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. They play in the Western Junior C Hockey League
Western Junior C Hockey League
The Western Ontario Junior C Hockey League is a Junior "C" ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association. The Champion of the Western will compete for the All-Ontario Championship and the Clarence Schmalz Cup....
(WJCHL).
History
With their expansion into the Ontario Hockey AssociationOntario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
in 1987, the Patriots served as a catalyst for the genesis of the Grey-Bruce Junior "C" Hockey League (GBJHL) into the WJCHL. Until 1987, all teams in the GBJHL were from Grey County
Grey County, Ontario
Grey County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is in Owen Sound. The population was 92,411 in 2006. It is located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Southwestern Ontario...
and Bruce County
Bruce County, Ontario
Bruce County is a county in western Ontario, Canada, and includes the Bruce Peninsula. As of 2006, the population was 65,349. The area was . The county seat is Walkerton, Ontario. It is located at ....
. Mount Forest, at the Southern border of Grey County, is actually a part of Wellington County
Wellington County, Ontario
Wellington County is a county located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Guelph, a city which is politically independent, but Guelph's status as the seat means it houses the county's administrative offices...
and therefore rendered the GBJHL inadequate. The expansion of the Pats came soon after the folding of the Markdale Mohawks and the Arthur Eagles, two local Junior "D" teams.
Following nine years of WJCHL domination by the Hanover Barons
Hanover Barons
The Hanover Barons are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Hanover, Ontario, Canada. They play out in the Western Junior C Hockey League. The Barons spent the 2009-10 season in the neighbouring town of Durham, Ontario while their new arena was being built in Hanover.-History:The Hanover...
, the Patriots came into their own. The team won three consecutive league titles from 1994 until 1996, but could not surpass the Belle River Canadiens
Belle River Canadiens
The Belle River Canadiens are a Junior "C" team based out of Belle River, Ontario. They play out of the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League.-History:From 1985 until 2001, the Canadiens were one of the most feared teams in all of Ontario Junior "C" hockey...
(1994), Bowmanville Eagles
Bowmanville Eagles
The Bowmanville Eagles were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. They were a part of the Central Canadian Hockey League. The Eagles left the OHA in 2010 when they merged with the Cobourg Cougars and left Bowmanville.-History:...
(1995), or the Paris Mounties
Paris Mounties
The Paris Mounties are a Canadian junior hockey team based in Paris, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Western Division of the Niagara & District Junior C Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association.-Season-by-Season record:...
(1996) in the early rounds of the All-Ontario Championship to win the Clarence Schmalz Cup
Clarence Schmalz Cup
The Clarence Schmalz Cup is the Ontario Hockey Association's Junior "C" ice hockey championship and championship trophy. The tournament to determine the winner of the Cup is commonly called the All-Ontario Championships...
. In 1998, the Patriots were designated the farm team of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is a Junior A ice hockey league under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The league dates back to 1954 as the Central Junior B Hockey League. In 1993, the Central Junior B Hockey League was promoted to the...
's Durham Huskies
Durham Huskies
----The Durham Huskies are 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...
. This relationship resulted in the Patriots fielding the first Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n to play in the WJCHL, Valentine Lidvanov, however the teams' affiliation was severed in 2001 when the Huskies left the OPJHL to join the WJCHL. The Huskies were granted leave from the OPJHL, but were voted out of the WJCHL before they could play a game.
The Pats have struggled to obtain their first winning season since 1998. None-the-less, the community of Mount Forest stands firmly behind them, often filling the arena at home games.
The 2004-05 season ended with the Mount Forest Patriots on the outside looking in. At the very end of the season, the upstart Goderich Sailors
Goderich Sailors
The Goderich Sailors are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Goderich, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western Junior C Hockey League.-History:...
jumped ahead of the Patriots to take control of the fourth playoff seed and leaving the Patriots eliminated from the playoffs.
In 2005-06, the Patriots finished in last place overall but took advantage of an expanded playoff format introduced that season. The playoffs did not last long though as the Hanover Barons
Hanover Barons
The Hanover Barons are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Hanover, Ontario, Canada. They play out in the Western Junior C Hockey League. The Barons spent the 2009-10 season in the neighbouring town of Durham, Ontario while their new arena was being built in Hanover.-History:The Hanover...
swept the Patriots in the league quarter-final 2-games-to-none.
The 2006-07 season ended with the Patriots back up in the fifth seed. They challenged the Hanover Barons
Hanover Barons
The Hanover Barons are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Hanover, Ontario, Canada. They play out in the Western Junior C Hockey League. The Barons spent the 2009-10 season in the neighbouring town of Durham, Ontario while their new arena was being built in Hanover.-History:The Hanover...
in the league quarter-final and were defeated 3-games-to-1.
Season-by-Season Standings
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | P | Results | Playoffs |
| 1987-88 | 30 | 11 | 14 | 5 | ||||||
| 129 | 132 | 27 | 4th GBJCHL | |||||||
| 1988-89 | 30 | 12 | 13 | 5 | ||||||
| 149 | 148 | 29 | 4th WJCHL | |||||||
| 1989-90 | 30 | 13 | 15 | 2 | ||||||
| 156 | 180 | 28 | 4th WJCHL | |||||||
| 1990-91 | 30 | 8 | 18 | 4 | ||||||
| 110 | 126 | 20 | 6th WJCHL | |||||||
| 1991-92 | 29 | 9 | 16 | 4 | ||||||
| 121 | 142 | 22 | 5th WJCHL | |||||||
| 1992-93 | 29 | 9 | 17 | 3 | ||||||
| 138 | 170 | 21 | 5th WJCHL | |||||||
| 1993-94 | 32 | 22 | 6 | 4 | ||||||
| 48 | 1st WJCHL | Won League | ||||||||
| 1994-95 | 29 | 21 | 3 | 5 | ||||||
| 102 | 74 | 47 | 1st WJCHL | Won League | ||||||
| 1995-96 | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | ||||||
| 179 | 95 | 46 | 2nd WJCHL | Won League | ||||||
| 1996-97 | 30 | 15 | 10 | 5 | ||||||
| 158 | 141 | 35 | 3rd WJCHL | |||||||
| 1997-98 | 36 | 11 | 21 | 4 | ||||||
| 145 | 164 | 26 | 5th WJCHL | |||||||
| 1998-99 | 36 | 11 | 18 | 7 | ||||||
| 103 | 134 | 29 | 5th WJCHL | |||||||
| 1999-00* | 34 | 8 | 22 | 4 | ||||||
| 91 | 157 | 20 | 5th WJCHL | |||||||
| 2000-01 | 39 | 19 | 17 | 3 | ||||||
| 152 | 149 | 41 | 3rd WJCHL | |||||||
| 2001-02 | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | ||||||
| 126 | 107 | 39 | 4th WJCHL | |||||||
| 2002-03 | 35 | 10 | 24 | |||||||
| 1 | 92 | 168 | 21 | 5th WJCHL | ||||||
| 2003-04 | 33 | 10 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 154 | 21 | 5th WJCHL | Lost Semi-final |
| 2004-05 | 40 | 8 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 140 | 225 | 20 | 5th WJCHL | DNQ |
| 2005-06 | 38 | 4 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 83 | 232 | 10 | 6th WJCHL | Lost Quarter-final |
| 2006-07 | 40 | 6 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 126 | 244 | 14 | 5th WJCHL | Lost Quarter-final |
| 2007-08 | 40 | 4 | 35 | |||||||
| 1 | 102 | 267 | 9 | 5th WJCHL | ||||||
| 2008-09 | 36 | 1 | 34 | |||||||
| 1 | 70 | 265 | 3 | 7th WJCHL | ||||||
| 2009-10 | 36 | 7 | 27 | |||||||
| 2 | 98 | 173 | 16 | 6th WJCHL | Lost Quarter-final | |||||
| 2010-11 | 36 | 10 | 22 | |||||||
| 4 | 111 | 166 | 24 | 6th WJCHL | Lost Quarter-final |
(*) The 1999-00 Season was altered drastically due to the folding of the Lakeshore Pirates
Brussels Bulls
The Brussels Bulls are a professional American football team based in Brussels, Belgium. The Bulls compete in the Flemish American Football League conference in the Belgian Football League .-EFAF 2010 Atlantic Cup:...
. As a disproportionate amount of games had been played by each team against Lakeshore, all history of these games were erased. If they had been included, the Patriots' record against the Pirates was 4-0-0.
- 1987-1996
- 1996-2004
- 2004-Present