The Mount Forest Patriots are a

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

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 based in Mount Forest,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. They play in the

Provincial Junior Hockey League The Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league spanning parts of Southern Ontario. The PJHL is the third tier of the Ontario Hockey Association and is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada ...

(PJHL).Western C Teams , Western Junior C Hockey League , Junior C , Leagues , Ontario Hockey Association

History

With their expansion into the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) 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 As ...

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 is a county of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is in Owen Sound. It is located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Southwestern Ontario. Grey County is also a part of the Georgian Triangle. At the time of the ...

and

Bruce County Bruce County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising eight lower-tier municipalities and with a 2016 population of 66,491. It is named for James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, sixth Governor General of the P ...

. 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 Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, two local Junior "D" teams. Following nine years of WJCHL domination by the

Hanover Barons The Hanover Barons are a junior ice hockey team based in Hanover, Ontario, Canada., Durham, Ontario (2009-10 OnlHanover Barons/ref> They play out of the Provincial Junior Hockey League - Pollock Division.Mount Forest Confederate Sports Section, March 1996 but could not surpass the

Belle River Canadiens The Lakeshore Canadiens are a Canada, Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Belle River, Ontario. They play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. The Canadiens are 5 time Clarence Schmalz ...

(1994),

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. ...

(1995), or the

Paris Mounties The Paris Mounties are a junior hockey team based in Paris, Ontario, Canada. They were members of the Midwestern Junior C Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association until the 2016-17 season when it became the Pat Dougherty Division of the ...

(1996) in the early rounds of the All-Ontario Championship to win the

Clarence Schmalz Cup The Clarence Schmalz Cup is the Ontario Hockey Association's Junior "C" ice hockey championship and championship trophy. The champions of the Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) are awarded the Cup. The PJHL was formed in 2016 from the forme ...

. In 1998, the Patriots were designated the farm team of the

Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best d ...

Durham Huskies The Durham Huskies were 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 c ...

. This relationship resulted in the Patriots fielding the first

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

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 Durham Chronicle Sports Section, April 2001 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. Nonetheless, the arena is often filled 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 The Goderich Flyers are members of the Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) and are based in Goderich, Ontario, Canada. History After the failed and short-lived Lakeshore Pirates folded in 1999, the town of Goderich pushed for a new team. T ...

jumped ahead of the Patriots to take control of the fourth playoff seed and leaving the Patriots eliminated from the playoffs.http://www.ohahockey.ca
/ref> 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 The Hanover Barons are a junior ice hockey team based in Hanover, Ontario, Canada., Durham, Ontario (2009-10 OnlHanover Barons/ref> They play out of the Provincial Junior Hockey League - Pollock Division. The 2006–07 season ended with the Patriots back up in the fifth seed. They challenged the

Hanover Barons The Hanover Barons are a junior ice hockey team based in Hanover, Ontario, Canada., Durham, Ontario (2009-10 OnlHanover Barons/ref> They play out of the Provincial Junior Hockey League - Pollock Division. During the summer of 2016 the eight junior "C" leagues in Southern Ontario came together as the

. The former leagues became divisions and assigned to one of four conferences. The Patriots were assigned to the North Conference and the Pollock Division. The Patriots have seen some success recently after the amalgamation of the

. This success has been within their own division (Pollock) after winning the 2016-17 and 2017-18 division championships over the

Walkerton Hawks The Walkerton Capitals are a Junior ice hockey team based in Walkerton, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Western Junior C Hockey League. until the 2016-17 season when the league became a division became the Pollock Division of the Provincial ...

. After defeating the

Wingham Ironmen The Wingham Ironmen are a Junior ice hockey team based in Wingham, Ontario, Canada. They began play in the Northern Junior D Hockey League and eventually moved up to the Western Junior C Hockey League where they played until the 2016-17 season ...

4-0, they would see the 2nd-seeded

Mitchell Hawks The Mitchell Hawks are a Junior ice hockey team based in Mitchell, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. History The Mitchell Hawks were founded in 1966 in one of the many Ontario Ho ...

in the semi-finals for the Pollock Division. Though Mitchell was, on paper, the better team, and the Hawks jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, the Patriots would fight back and win the series 4 games to 3. On the road in Game 7, the Patriots took the game 5-2 for their first upset in the Pollock division that year. The second upset was when the Patriots defeated the

4 games to 3 in the division final to win their first league championship in 20 years. After their division win they would face the renowned

Alliston Hornets The Alliston Hornets are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Alliston, Ontario, Canada. Starting with the 2016-17 hockey season the Hornets will be members of the Provincial Junior Hockey League. Prior to the change they played in the Geor ...

. The Hornets would end up handling the series fairly easily, 4 games to 1. The Patriots 2017–2018 season was one for the team's history books. After finishing first with a league record of 31-7-2 and one of the most successful seasons in Patriots history, they received a first-round bye. The second round saw them matched up against a familiar adversary: the

. The previous year, the Patriots had swept the Ironmen in the quarter-finals. Though the round initially looked to be close, the Patriots took the series 4-0. The Patriots were once again matched against the

in the division final. This series was in the Patriots' favor for the second year in a row, with Mount Forest winning their second division title in as many years, 4-2. After their 2nd division win in 2 years, the Patriots faced the newly acclaimed Carruthers Division champions

Stayner Siskins The Stayner Siskins are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Stayner, Ontario. They were members of the Georgian Mid-Ontario Junior C Hockey League until 2016 when it merged into the Provincial Junior Hockey League. History The Stayner S ...

. The Siskins won a closely matched series 4-1, before going on to lose to Schmalz Cup Champions the

Lakefield Chiefs The Lakefield Chiefs are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Central Ontario Junior C Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association until the 2016-17 season when this league became the Orr ...

Season-by-season standings

(*) ''The 1999-00 Season was altered drastically due to the folding of the

Lakeshore Pirates Lake Shore or Lakeshore may refer to: * the shore of a lake Places * Lakeshore, Ontario, Canada **Lakeshore (provincial electoral district) * Lakeshore, California (disambiguation), the name of several places in the U.S. * Lakeshore, Florida, U.S. ...

. As a disproportionate number 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–presenthttp://www.ohahockey.ca
/ref>

References

External links

Official Patriots Webpage
{{OHA-C Ice hockey teams in Ontario