The 1996–97 OPJHL

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

is the fourth season 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 dates back to 1954 where i ...

(OPJHL). The twenty-two teams of the MacKenzie, MacKinnon, Phillips, and Ruddock Divisions competed in a 51-game schedule. The top 4 teams of each division make the playoffs. The winner of the OPJHL playoffs, the Milton Merchants, lost the 1997 Buckland Cup and

Dudley Hewitt Cup The Dudley-Hewitt Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy awarded to the Central Canadian Junior A champion. The trophy is currently decided by round robin tournament format, at the conclusion of the playoffs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League ...

to the

Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats The Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Rayside-Balfour, Ontario, Rayside-Balfour, Ontario, Canada. This defunct hockey team was a part of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. History A very successful franchis ...

of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Changes

*Royal York Royals become the Vaughan Vipers. *Stouffville Clippers become the Stouffville Spirit.

Final standings

''Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title''

1996-97 OPJHL Playoffs

''Division Semi-final'' : Newmarket 87's defeated Bowmanville Eagles ''4-games-to-2'' : Kingston Voyageurs defeated Ajax Axemen ''4-games-to-none'' : Peterborough Jr. Petes defeated Lindsay Muskies ''4-games-to-2'' :

Collingwood Blues Collingwood Blues may refer to: * Collingwood Blues (1988–2011) * Collingwood Blues (2020) {{Disambiguation ...

defeated Orillia Terriers ''4-games-to-2'' : Milton Merchants defeated

Streetsville Derbys The Streetsville Derbys are a Junior "C" ice hockey team from Streetsville, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Provincial Junior Hockey League assigned to the South Conference and in the Bloomfield Division. The Derbys joined the PJHL as an ...

''4-games-to-none'' : Brampton Capitals defeated St. Michael's Buzzers ''4-games-to-2'' : Mississauga Chargers defeated Hamilton Kiltys ''4-games-to-2'' ''Division Final'' : Newmarket 87's defeated

Collingwood Blues Collingwood Blues may refer to: * Collingwood Blues (1988–2011) * Collingwood Blues (2020) {{Disambiguation ...

''4-games-to-none'' : Kingston Voyageurs defeated Peterborough Jr. Petes ''4-games-to-1'' : Milton Merchants defeated Mississauga Chargers ''4-games-to-none'' : Bramalea Blues defeated Brampton Capitals ''4-games-to-2'' ''Semi-final'' : Newmarket 87's defeated Kingston Voyageurs ''4-games-to-1'' : Milton Merchants defeated Bramalea Blues ''4-games-to-3'' ''Final'' : Milton Merchants defeated Newmarket 87's ''4-games-to-3''

OHA Buckland Cup and
Dudley Hewitt Cup The Dudley-Hewitt Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy awarded to the Central Canadian Junior A champion. The trophy is currently decided by round robin tournament format, at the conclusion of the playoffs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League ...
Championship

''Best-of-7'' :

(

NOJHL The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Junior ice hockey league with eleven teams in Northeastern Ontario and Upper Michigan. The league is a constituent member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and is governed by the N ...

) defeated Milton Merchants ''4-games-to-1'' ::Milton 4 - Rayside-Balfour 0 ::Rayside-Balfour 4 - Milton 3 OT ::Rayside-Balfour 5 - Milton 3 ::Rayside-Balfour 9 - Milton 2 ::Rayside-Balfour 4 - Milton 1

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes''

References

External links