Richmond Hill Rams

The Richmond Hill Rams were a Junior ice hockey team based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Greater Metro Junior 'A' Hockey League.

History

Richmond Hill Rams

The Rams were a resurrection of the Richmond Hill Rams of the old Metro Junior A Hockey League, which folded in 1995. The creation of the new team, although in a renegade league, was the first Junior team to be established in Richmond Hill in 12 seasons.

The Rams' first game was the first in the GMHL's history. The game was at the Ram's home arena and took place on September 8, 2006, against King Wild. The final result was a 6–0 victory for the Rams. The first goal in the team's history was scored by Darren Archebald, in the first period on the powerplay. Archebald's goal was also the first in the league's history as well. Daniel Jones had the honour of goaltending the team and league's first win and shutout. The Rams 100th goal was scored on November 3, 2006, against the Nipissing Alouettes, scored by Frank Spano with 9:19 remaining in the second period. English player Craig Peacock was also the first player in the league to score a Hat Trick, this was on the 2nd day of the season in a 5–1 win against Nipissing, he also went on to top the whole league in scoring with 39 games played 48 goals and 34 assists for a total of 82 points, 17 ahead of his nearest challenger.

On January 2, 2008, the Rams hosted the Moscow Selects All-star team in an exhibition game. The Selects won the game by a score of 7–4. This was the fourth game of seven that the Moscow team played against different GMJHL clubs.

After finishing the 2007–08 season with exactly the same record as they did in the 2006–07 season, the Rams took a bye during the first round, then were challenged by the Innisfil Lakers in the quarter-final. The Lakers initially took a 3-games-to-none series lead, but the Rams battled back to force a winner-take-all Game 7. The Rams ran out of steam in Game 7 and were defeated 6-4 by the Lakers.

In March 2008, the Rams and King Wild engaged in a 4-game exhibition series against the Mexico national ice hockey team. The first of two games for the Rams was on the 20th, and finished with the Mexico national team winning 6–4. On the 24th, the Rams played them again and lost 5–2.

Ontario Lightning Rams

On January 8, 2008, the ownership of the Rams announced a new sponsorship that changed the team name to the "Ontario Lightning Rams" for 2008–09, but the deal and the name were dropped after one season. In the summer of 2009, the Rams took a leave of absence and never returned to action, along with sister-franchise Espanola Kings.

Season-by-season standings

Playoffs

*''2007'' Lost Semi-final
:Richmond Hill Rams defeated Nipissing Alouettes ''4-games-to-2'' in quarter-final
: King Wild defeated Richmond Hill Rams ''4-games-to-2'' in semi-final
*''2008'' Lost Quarter-final
: Innisfil Lakers defeated Richmond Hill Rams ''4-games-to-3'' in quarter-final
*''2009'' Lost Division quarter-final
: Innisfil Lakers defeated Ontario Lightning Rams ''3-games-to-1'' in division quarter-final

Notable alumni

*Darren Archibald (Vancouver Canucks prospect)
*Craig Peacock (Belfast Giants)
*Shaun Stackhouse (Amarillo Gorillas)

External links

Richmond Hill Rams
copy archived May 17, 2008

{{Toronto Sports

Ice hockey teams in Ontario
Richmond Hill, Ontario