The Drumheller Falcons were a

Junior A Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The reg ...

(AJHL) based in

Drumheller Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of Central Alberta, east-central Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler, Alberta, Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often ref ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. The Falcons joined the AJHL in the 1971–72 season as the league's seventh team after acquiring the assets of the Ponoka Stampeders franchise that ceased operations after the 1969–70 season. The Falcons had their best season in 1974-75. They finished second overall during the regular season, advanced through the post season to the AJHL finals, going the full seven games before losing the championship to the

Spruce Grove Mets The St. Albert Saints were a junior ice hockey franchise based in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, for twenty-seven seasons from 1977 to 2004. Before 1977, the team played in nearby Spruce Grove as the Spruce Grove Mets, and in 2004 the team again m ...

, who would go on to win that year's

Centennial Cup The Centennial Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), which determines the national champion of junior A ice hockey. It is a ten-team round robin featuring the winners of ...

as the best Junior A hockey team in Canada, with no other challenger good enough to take them to a full 7-game series. The Falcons would struggle with attendance the following season, then took a three-year leave of absence. The Falcons returned in 1979, however were consistently overmatched, winning just 29 games total between 1979 and 1983. The Falcons folded midway through the 1982-83 season having lost every game they played that year. The Falcons still hold the record for longest losing streak spanning two seasons at 35; a record stopped only by the team's demise. Four Falcons alumni went on to play in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Merlin Malinowski Merlin "The Magician" Malinowski (born September 27, 1958) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre. Malinowski was born in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, but grew up in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. Playi ...

Jim Nill James Edward Nill (born April 11, 1958) is a Canadian former ice hockey player and the current general manager of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nill played in the NHL throughout the 1980s with the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver ...

Bryan Maxwell Bryan Clifford Maxwell (born September 7, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 331 games in the National Hockey League and 124 games in the World Hockey Association. He played for the Cleveland Crusaders, Cincinna ...

and

John Hilworth John Hilworth (born May 23, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 57 games in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings. Hilworth was born in Jasper, Alberta Jasper is a specialized municipality an ...

. Drumheller would not get a second chance in the AJHL until 2003, when the

Drumheller Dragons The Drumheller Dragons are a junior A ice hockey team based in Drumheller, Alberta, Canada, with home games at Drumheller Memorial Arena. They are members of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, which is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey Le ...

were founded as an expansion team.

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against'' ^†Folded with a record of 0-24-0. The team forfeited two games following its demise.

Playoffs

*1972 ''DNQ'' *1973 ''Lost semi-final'' :

Calgary Canucks The Calgary Canucks are a junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with home games at the Ken Bracko Arena. They have won the AJHL championship nine times and one national champ ...

defeated Drumheller Falcons ''4-games-to-1 with 1 tie'' *1974 ''DNQ'' *1975 ''Lost final'' :Drumheller Falcons defeated

Taber Golden Suns The Taber Golden Suns were a Junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League based in Taber, Alberta, Canada. History The Golden Suns were founded in 1974 as an expansion club, lasting seven seasons before being sold and relocated ...

''4-games-to-1'' :

defeated Drumheller Falcons ''4-games-to-3'' *1976 ''DNQ'' *1977-79 ''Did Not Participate'' *1980 ''DNQ'' *1981 ''Lost quarter-final'' :

Calgary Spurs The Calgary Spurs were a Junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Founded in 1972 as The Pass Red Devils and following a two-year stop as the Pincher Creek Panthers, the franchise became the second AJHL franchise in Calgary ...

defeated Drumheller Falcons ''3-games-to-none'' *1982 ''DNQ'' *1983 ''Did Not Finish Season''

References

Alberta Junior Hockey League website
*AJHL Annual Guide & Record Book 2006-07 Defunct Alberta Junior Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in Alberta Defunct junior ice hockey teams in Canada Ice hockey clubs established in 1971 Drumheller 1971 establishments in Alberta 1983 disestablishments in Alberta Sports clubs disestablished in 1983 {{Canada-icehockey-team-stub

Season-by-season record

Playoffs

See also

References