The 1981–82 OHL season was the second season of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

. The league grows by two teams when, the Cornwall Royals are transferred from the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

, and the Belleville Bulls are awarded a franchise. Fourteen teams each played 68 games. The

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Ottawa 67's.

Expansion and Realignment

The league expanded by two teams, as the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, ...

and the

Cornwall Royals The Cornwall Royals were a junior ice hockey team based in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981, and the Ontario Hockey League from 1981 to 1992. This team shared its name with o ...

joined the

. Both teams joined the Leyden Division, as the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds moved to the Emms Division.

Belleville Bulls

On February 2, 1981, the OHL granted a franchise to the city of Belleville and the ownership group of Dr. Robert L. Vaughan and Bob Dolan. The Bulls would play their home games at the Yardmen Arena. The Bulls would join the Leyden Division. Prior to joining the OHL, the Bulls played in 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 dates back to 1954 where i ...

, beginning in the 1979–80 season. In their final season in the league, Belleville defeated the Guelph Platers to win the OPJHL championship. The club would reach the 1981 Centennial Cup finals, where they lost to the Prince Albert Raiders of the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years o ...

6–2 in the championship game.

Cornwall Royals

The

were transferred to the

from the

for the 1981–82 season. Originally an expansion team in 1969, the Royals were a very successful club in the QMJHL, winning the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

three times, in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. Cornwall would play their home games at the Cornwall Civic Complex. The Royals would join the Leyden Division. The Royals were able to keep their players from the previous season, including players such as Scott Arniel and

Doug Gilmour Douglas Robert Gilmour (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for seven different teams. Gilmour was a seventh round selection, 134th overall, of the ...

, who helped lead the team to the 1981 Memorial Cup championship.

Regular season

Final standings

''Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched first round bye; z = clinched division title & first round bye''

Expansion and Realignment

Belleville Bulls

Cornwall Royals

Regular season

Final standings

Leyden Division

Emms Division

Scoring leaders

Playoffs

Division quarter-finals

Leyden Division

=(3) Peterborough Petes vs. (5) Kingston Canadians

=(4) Toronto Marlboros vs. (6) Cornwall Royals

Emms Division

=(3) London Knights vs. (5) Brantford Alexanders

=(4) Niagara Falls Flyers vs. (6) Windsor Spitfires

Division semi-finals

Leyden Division

=(1) Ottawa 67's vs. (4) Toronto Marlboros

=(2) Oshawa Generals vs. (3) Peterborough Petes

Emms Division

=(1) Kitchener Rangers vs. (6) Windsor Spitfires

=(2) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (5) Brantford Alexanders

Division finals

Leyden Division

=(1) Ottawa 67's vs. (2) Oshawa Generals

Emms Division

=(1) Kitchener Rangers vs. (2) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

J. Ross Robertson Cup

(L1) Ottawa 67's vs. (E1) Kitchener Rangers

Awards

See also

References