Petrolia Squires
Encyclopedia
The Petrolia Squires are a Canadian
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...

 Senior
Senior ice hockey
Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition for players too old to play junior ice hockey. The top senior amateur teams in Canadian leagues compete annually for the Allan Cup....

 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 Petrolia
Petrolia, Ontario
Petrolia is a town in Ontario, Canada, near Sarnia. The town, an enclave within Enniskillen Township, is billed as "Canada's Victorian Oil Town" and is often credited with starting the Oil industry in North America....

, 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 Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League
Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League
The WOAA Senior AA Hockey League is an amateur senior ice hockey league governed by the Western Ontario Athletic Association.-Format:The league uses Hockey Canada playing rules but is not operated under the jurisdictions of the Ontario Hockey Association or Hockey Canada. The league is based in...

 and are two-time Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

 National Champions.

History

The Petrolia Chiefs were founded in the 1960s as members of the Tri-County Intermediate League. In 1973, the Chiefs won their league, but lost the Intermediate C provincial final to a team from Bracebridge, Ontario
Bracebridge, Ontario
Bracebridge is a town and the seat of the Muskoka District Municipality of Ontario, Canada.The town was built around a waterfall on the Muskoka River in the centre of town, and is known for its other nearby waterfalls . It was first incorporated in 1875...

 4-games-to-none. Also in 1973, they changed their name to the Petrolia Squires as their league became the Western Intermediate C Hockey League.

In 1976, the Western Intermediate C Hockey League merged with the Seaway Intermediate C Hockey League to create the Seaway-Western Intermediate C Hockey League. The Squires played one season with the league and then moved up to the Continental Senior A Hockey League
OHA Senior A Hockey League
The OHA Senior A Hockey League was a top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in Ontario from 1975 until 1987. The league was sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and competed for the Allan Cup.-History:...

. In that one season, the Squires won the 1977 league championship as well as the provincial championship by defeating the Bradford Comets 4-games-to-1.

In the Continental League, the Squires found strong competition, with early feuds with the 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...

 and the Lucan-Ilderton Jets
Lucan-Ilderton Jets
The Komoka Classics are a senior ice hockey team based out of Komoka, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League.-History:...

. As well, the Continental League was in competition for the Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

, the National championship. In their second season in the league, the Squires won the league championship. They went on to meet the OHA Senior A champion Thunder Bay Twins
Thunder Bay Twins
The Thunder Bay Twins were a Canadian Amateur Senior and Professional ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Twins won five Allan Cups as National Senior Champions from 1970 until 1991.-Merger:...

 in the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario 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...

 final. The Squires won the series 4-games-to-2 and also won the Eastern Canadian senior championship as well, earning them a berth into the 1979 Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

 final. In the National final, the Squires met the Steinbach Huskies
Steinbach Huskies
The Steinbach Huskies are both the Junior C hockey and Senior hockey teams based in Steinbach, Manitoba. The Junior C team plays up to and including age 21. Thus the junior team acts as a feeder team to the senior team which competes in the Carillon Senior Hockey League...

. The Squires won game one 6-5 in overtime, then game two 7-3. The Huskies took game three 5-4, before the Squires came alive won the next two 6-1 and 7-1 to win their first national title. To top off this feat, the Squires were invited to play in the World Senior Hockey Championships. During the event, the Squires lost to HC Kladno
HC Kladno
Rytíři Kladno is a Czech professional ice hockey team based in the city of Kladno. They are currently a member of the Czech Extraliga, the top flight level of ice hockey in the Czech Republic....

 of the CSSR
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 until end of 1989 , a Soviet satellite state of the Eastern Bloc....

 5-3 and then tied the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 powerhouse Khimik Voskresensk 3-3.

In 1980, the Squires were defeated in the league final by a new foe, the Cambridge Hornets
Cambridge Hornets
The Cambridge Hornets were a Senior "AAA" ice hockey team based out of Cambridge, Ontario. They played in the Ontario Hockey Association's Major League Hockey. The new Cambridge Hornets were brought into Southwestern Senior A Hockey League in 1999...

. The Squires and Hornets would meet in five straight league championships. Three would be won by Cambridge, two would be won by Petrolia, but each would walk away with another Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

. In 1980, the Continental Senior A Hockey League was renamed the OHA Senior A Hockey League
OHA Senior A Hockey League
The OHA Senior A Hockey League was a top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in Ontario from 1975 until 1987. The league was sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and competed for the Allan Cup.-History:...

, as the original folded in 1979.

In 1981, the Squires won the OHA championship by defeating the Hornets 4-games-to-1, they also gained a berth to the Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

. The Squires traveled all the way to Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...

, 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....

 to compete in a first-time round robin tournament for the prestigious trophy. Their first game saw the Squires get embarrassed by the Thunder Bay Twins
Thunder Bay Twins
The Thunder Bay Twins were a Canadian Amateur Senior and Professional ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Twins won five Allan Cups as National Senior Champions from 1970 until 1991.-Merger:...

 8-3. Game two had the Squires defeat the St. Boniface Mohawks 6-4 and in game three the Squires beat the Grand Falls Cataracts 6-3. In the semi-final, the Squires drew Grand Falls again, while the Twins drew the Mohawks whom they just defeated 5-4 in overtime. The Squires repeated their 6-3 performance over the Cataracts, but the Twins were shocked by the Mohawks with a 4-3 loss. Petrolia beat St. Boniface 5-1 to win their second Allan Cup.

The 1982 playoffs ended a little tougher than 1981, with the Squires requiring all seven games to defeat the Hornets. The Squires were also Eastern Canadian champions. Petrolia qualified for their third Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

, but were up against a tough Cranbrook Royals
Cranbrook Royals
The Cranbrook Royals were a senior men's ice hockey team that played in the Western International Hockey League from 1965 to 1987.Prior to the commencement of the 1965–66 WIHL season it was announced that the Cranbrook Royals would be added to the league, with the result being that the WIHL would...

 team at Cranbrook, British Columbia
Cranbrook, British Columbia
Cranbrook, British Columbia is a city in southeast British Columbia, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary's River, It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2006, Cranbrook's population is 18,267, and the...

. The Royal won games one and two easily and the Squires made game three interesting but still lost. It took until game four until the Squires woke up and won 6-1, but it was too late as the Royals took game five 7-3 and the series to win the national championship.

In 1986, the OHA Senior A Hockey League was reduced in size and declared Senior AAA. The Squires dropped to their local Seaway-Cyclone Senior B Hockey League. After two seasons in the league, the Squires seemingly took a one year leave from the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario 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...

 for the 1988-89 season and returned in for the 1989-90 Seaway-Cyclone Senior B season. In a time where all Senior teams systematically disappeared and never came back, the Squires refused to disband and came right back to action.

In 1990, the Seaway Cyclone Senior B Hockey League merged with the Southern Senior A Hockey League to create the Southwestern Senior A Hockey League. The Squires are the only remaining team from the founding of the Southwestern League to still exist in modern hockey. Throughout the 1990s, the Southwestern League, led by Petrolia, struggled to stay alive and fought for recognition from the OHA and Hockey Canada
Hockey Canada
Hockey Canada, formally known as the Canadian Hockey Association, is the national governing body of ice hockey in Canada and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Hockey Canada controls a vast majority of ice hockey in Canada, with a few exceptions...

 to be declared the top level of senior hockey in the Province of 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....

.
The Petrolia Squires and the city of Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....

 were awarded the 2001 Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

. In the first game, the Squires defeated the Stony Plain Eagles
Stony Plain Eagles
The Stony Plain Eagles are a senior ice hockey team based in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada. Founded in the 1930s, the team moved up to the Senior AAA ranks in 1992. They presently play in the Chinook Hockey League.-History:...

 3-1. They then met and were massacred by the home-province rival Dundas Real McCoys
Dundas Real McCoys
The Dundas Real McCoys are a Senior "AAA" ice hockey team based out of Dundas, Ontario. They play in the Ontario Hockey Association's Major League Hockey.-History:...

 8-0. In their final round robin game, a 2-2 tie with the Lloydminster Border Kings
Lloydminster Border Kings
The Lloydminster Border Kings are a Senior AAA ice hockey team based in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada. They play in the Chinook Hockey League, as the once prominent Wild Goose Hockey League is on hiatus for 2008-09. The Border Kings captured the Allan Cup, Canada's national senior...

 earned them a semi-final berth over the McCoys. In the semi-final, the Squires defeated Stony Plain 3-0, but fell to Lloydminster in the Allan Cup final by a score of 7-2.

In 2002, the Southwestern Senior A Hockey League was recognized as the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario 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...

's Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

 representative and was renamed the OHA Senior AAA Hockey League. In 2004, the league was renamed Major League Hockey
Major League Hockey
Allan Cup Hockey is the top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in the province of Ontario. As a member of the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada, the league contends for the famed Allan Cup. The league came to its latest incarnation when it lost several teams leaving it with two...

.

The Petrolia Squires were the only Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario 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...

 Senior level team to have been founded prior to 2000, were the only team to still exist from the OHA Senior A Hockey League
OHA Senior A Hockey League
The OHA Senior A Hockey League was a top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in Ontario from 1975 until 1987. The league was sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and competed for the Allan Cup.-History:...

 without ever disbanding, and were the only Intermediate level team to have survived and still play in the OHA (not including Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League
Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League
The WOAA Senior AA Hockey League is an amateur senior ice hockey league governed by the Western Ontario Athletic Association.-Format:The league uses Hockey Canada playing rules but is not operated under the jurisdictions of the Ontario Hockey Association or Hockey Canada. The league is based in...

 teams, who are not affiliated with the OHA). As of 2008, the Petrolia Squires have been a franchise for 38 seasons and only sat on the sidelines for one of those years.

In the summer of 2008, the Squires left the MLH and joined the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League
Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League
The WOAA Senior AA Hockey League is an amateur senior ice hockey league governed by the Western Ontario Athletic Association.-Format:The league uses Hockey Canada playing rules but is not operated under the jurisdictions of the Ontario Hockey Association or Hockey Canada. The league is based in...

. On October 11, 2008, the Squires travelled to Thedford to defeat the Thedford Dirty Dogs
Thedford Dirty Dogs
The Thedford Dirty Dogs are a senior hockey team based out of Thedford, Ontario, Canada. They have played three seasons in the WOAA Senior Hockey League.-2006-07 Dirty Dogs Season:...

 8-3 to win their first ever WOAA game. Petrolia had a very successful first season in the WOAA, finishing with a 16-2-2 record, earning 34 points, enough for first place in the WOAA South Division and first place overall.

The Squires were 2010 WOAA South Sr. AA Champions defeating the Lucan-Ilderton Jets
Lucan-Ilderton Jets
The Komoka Classics are a senior ice hockey team based out of Komoka, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League.-History:...

 4-games-to-3, but fell in the Sr. AA Final to the Northern Champion Elora Rocks
Elora Rocks
The Elora Rocks are a senior hockey team based out of Elora, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League.-Championships:...

4-games-to-2.

Season-by-season standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout Loses*, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results
1969-70 26 17 8 1
173 115 35 2nd TCIHL
1970-71 28 19 5 4
205 137 42 1st TCIHL
1971-72 27 17 7 3
155 104 37 2nd TCIHL
1972-74 Statistics Not Available
1974-75 27 17 6 4
194 115 38 1st WICHL
1975-76 Statistics Not Available
1976-77 25 22 1 2
260 60 46 1st SWICHL
1977-78 36 33 3 0
149 107 66 1st CSAHL
1978-79 42 32 8 2
282 157 66 1st CSAHL
1979-80 40 32 7 1
242 112 65 1st CSAHL
1980-81 35 23 10 2
218 138 48 2nd OHA Sr. A
1981-82 35 28 7 0
188 95 56 1st OHA Sr. A
1982-83 37 30 6 1
237 106 61 2nd OHA Sr. A
1983-84 38 25 13 0
180 158 50 3rd OHA Sr. A
1984-85 40 16 23 1
198 196 33 6th OHA Sr. A
1985-86 36 18 18 0
148 149 36 5th OHA Sr. A
1986-87 26 11 13 2
123 134 24 7th SCSBHL
1987-88 30 17 11 2
159 121 36 3rd SCSBHL
1988-89 Did Not Participate
1989-90 29 12 18 0 1 139 196 25 4th SCSBHL
1990-91 30 12 17 1 0 119 159 25 8th SWSHL
1991-92 27 15 10 1 1 126 119 32 4th SWSHL
1992-93 23 19 2 2
152 73 40 1st SWSHL
1993-94 24 9 14 1
96 118 20 7th SWSHL
1994-95 28 11 13 2 2 121 144 26 4th SWSHL
1995-96 28 10 17 1
119 153 21 4th SWSHL
1996-97 29 9 16 1 3 109 129 21 3rd SWSHL
1997-98 30 11 17 2 0 129 152 24 4th SWSHL
1998-99 28 21 7 0 0 186 91 42 2nd SWSHL
1999-00 30 22 6 1 1 183 77 46 3rd SWSHL
2000-01 31 24 5 1 1
50 2nd SWSHL
2001-02 32 18 11 2 1 161 151 39 3rd SWSHL
2002-03 31 15 12 2 2 140 146 34 3rd OHA Sr. A
2003-04 32 19 9 1 3 139 122 42 1st OHA Sr. A
2004-05 32 11 19 1 1 129 160 24 5th MLH
2005-06 32 14 15
3 144 165 31 5th MLH
2006-07 30 16 14
0 139 179 32 2nd MLH
2007-08 30 6 22
2 115 154 14 5th MLH
2008-09 20 16 2
2 104 51 34 1st WOAA South
2009-10 20 14 5
1 109 78 29 2nd WOAA South

External links

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