The first time the Greyhounds nearly won a Memorial Cup

From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:

The year after Wayne Gretzky played for the Soo Greyhounds, the team immediately fell from grace to rest as bottom feeders in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) standings.

In the 1978-79 season, the Hounds finished with a lacklustre 26-42-0 record. The following year was even worse, ending with just 22 wins in 68 games. However, Coach Terry Crisp had mentioned, “There is nowhere to go but up”.

Incredibly, the Greyhounds rebounded with a number of skilled draft picks and maturing veterans to finish first in the league in the following 1980-81 season. John Goodwin was the OMJHL’s leading scorer with 165 points, and the team shattered previous records in overall points, most goals scored, and fewest goals allowed.

The Greyhounds had exceeded all expectations. However, they dreamed of higher aspirations than finishing the regular season at the top of the league standings. The goal remained the same that it had always been since 1972 - winning the Memorial Cup.

In the 1980-81 post-season, the Greyhounds reached the OMJHL finals before losing in six games to the Kitchener Rangers. General Manager Sam McMaster explained, “We did better than anyone thought we would and I know every player did his best. Our season ended at 11:01 tonight and we started next season at 11:02.”

Unfortunately, progression is not always linear. Over the next three seasons, the Hounds failed to improve upon their heartbreaking playoff performance. In 1982-83, the team reached the OMJHL finals once more, only to be swept by the Oshawa Generals in four games.

At the onset of the 1984-85 season, McMaster was looking forward to a new beginning. “This year there is a lot of depth,” he said, “I think we have an outstanding team for the people in the Sault. I haven’t been as optimistic as this is the last four years.”

Shockingly, the Greyhound encountered a major bump in the road before the season even started, as starting goalie Jim Samec, awarded MVP for the Hounds in the previous playoff run, announced he was quitting hockey.

The Greyhounds scrambled to find a replacement and obtained Marty Abrams from the Toronto Marlboros two days later.

The Soo Greyhounds were dynamite in another record-breaking regular season, finishing first in the league with 54 wins. More impressive, the team went undefeated at home winning 33 times in 33 games at Memorial Gardens. Heading into the playoffs, it was clear that this team was different.

In the opening round, the Greyhounds quickly dismantled the Kitchener Rangers, sweeping them in four games and outscoring them 32-14. The Hounds received a bye to the Emms Division finals and soaked in seventeen days of rest before facing the hardened Hamilton Steelhawks. The result was a lopsided five-game series where the fresher, disciplined Hounds skated circles around the exhausted, penalty-ridden Hawks.

A lot of bad blood had been built up in the round between teams, and in an unheard of turn of events, Coach Crisp pulled the Hounds off the ice after game 5 before the traditional handshake line could take place. Sault Star writer Steve Buist exclaimed, “Never before have I seen such a disgusting exhibition of vulgar behaviour by one team. I’m sure that there will be howls of outrage and indignation because of the Greyhounds refusal to shake hands at the conclusion of the series but I say who can blame them?”

The OHL finals between the Soo Greyhounds and the Peterborough Petes were electrifying. In game 1, Peterborough Petes’ Mark Teevens scored with 6 seconds remaining to tie the game at 3-3, ending the Hounds’ home winning streak at 38 consecutive games. The Petes followed up by stealing game 2, again at Memorial Gardens. Game 3 was a 6-5 nail-biter victory for the Hounds, where Wayne Presley scored the short-handed game winner with 2:11 left on the clock. The win marked the first ever in the finals for the Greyhounds.

Game four was decided by three goals in just under five minutes in the second period by the Greyhounds, who ran away with a 5-2 win. Peterborough returned the favour in game five, scoring three goals in just over a minute to erase a 5-2 Hounds lead, ultimately winning 7-5 in front of a horrified Sault crowd. For game six, the Hounds earned a decisive 4-3 road victory and pushed the Petes to the brink of elimination. However, neither team had yet to win at home in the series.

The Greyhounds left no doubts in game seven, eliminating the Petes with a resounding 5-2 victory. For the first time in the organization’s thirteen-year journey, the Soo Greyhounds hoisted the J. Ross Robertson Cup, in front of a jam-packed Memorial Gardens crowd no less. As winners of the OHL Championships, the Hounds advanced to the final phase of the dream, the Memorial Cup Tournament.

Playing for the Memorial Cup was different from the OHL Playoffs. Four teams faced off in a round-robin series. The first-place team from the round-robin would advance to the finals. The second and third-place teams would compete in a sudden-death semifinal. The fourth team would be eliminated from contention altogether.

The first game against the Shawinigan Falls Cataracts was nearly over in the first period, as the Hounds trailed 0-3 within ten minutes of play. However, goaltender Abrams replaced Mark Mosey and proceeded to shut the door for the remainder of the game, allowing the Hounds to claw back to a 4-3 win. Against the Verdun Junior Canadiens, the Greyhounds experienced “atrocious” officiating but still won 6-3. Player Chris Felix stated after the game, “They have visors and we have nothing. You can only take so many punches in the face before you retaliate.”

In the Hounds’ final game of the round-robin, the Prince Albert Raiders proved too much to handle in an 8-6 barnburner. The game’s only silver lining came from the fact that the Raiders were, at one point, leading 7-2. More importantly, the two teams were set for an immediate rematch in the winner-take-all sudden-death semifinal.

Unfortunately, the Raiders performed an encore and throttled the Greyhounds 8-3 in the elimination game. Prince Albert’s top line alone scored 5 goals and earned 7 assists. The ice was completely tilted from the opening puck drop. The Raiders proceeded to win the Memorial Cup with a 6-1 thrashing over the Cataracts. The Hounds returned home empty-handed.

Not all was lost. A parade down Queen Street welcomed the Soo Greyhounds home with open arms. Although the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow, the team forged ahead, determined for another chance at the Memorial Cup.

Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provides SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.

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