Ayr Centennials
| Ayr Centennials | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Ayr, Ontario |
| League | Provincial Junior Hockey League |
| Conference | Central |
| Division | Doherty |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Home arena | North Dumfries Community Complex |
| Colors | Red, Black, Silver, White |
| General manager | Jay Purden |
| Head coach | Scott Eby |
| Affiliate(s) | Cambridge Winter Hawks |
| League Champions | 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Clarence Schmalz Cups | 2016, 2017 |
The Ayr Centennials are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Ayr, Ontario. They play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association.
The Ayr Centennials were founded in 1982 as members of the Southern Junior D Hockey League. Clarence Eby, whose son and grandson would become heavily involved with the team, was a founding member of the club in 1982. In 1985, Eby's son Don started volunteering with the club. Don’s legacy with the team began when son Scott started playing for the team at the age of 15, but Don's wife Julie waited a few years before joining her husband, taking over for her father-in-law Clarence as treasurer. Working in many capacities with the team, the pair ran the Cens’ operations through most of the 1990s, which included paying the team's bills.
In 1988, the Southern League merged with the Western Junior D Hockey League. In 1991, the Junior D rank was vacated and the league was replaced with the OHA Junior Development League. This league lasted up until 2006 when it was vacated and the Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League was created.
The Centennials had success in the Southern League but failed to win any league titles.
In the bloated Western League and Development League, the Centennials did exceptionally well but still failed to make a dent. In fact, despite finishing in the top ten teams of the league ten times in nineteen years, the Centennials never made the superleague's final once.
In the early-2000s, the Centennials lost their touch for winning. In the last year of the OHAJDL in 2005=06, they had their worst season ever, winning only 2 games in 36 tries and finishing dead last. In three seasons, from 2005 to 2007, they only won 17 games. The team was at that point where it was ready to fold.
Since joining the SOJHL in 2006, the Centennials have improved every season. In 2006-07 they finished 17th with 6 wins. In 2008-09 they finished 15th with 11 wins. In 2008-09 they really came together and had their best season in years, winning 18 games and finishing 7th. In 2009-10 the Centennials continued to improve with a 21-11-4 record, solidifying 3rd overall in the SOJHL.
In the summer of 2010, the Bauer conference dissolved, leaving Thamesford, Ayr, Tavistock, Port Stanley and Wellesley to disperse into the remaining McConnell and Yeck Conferences. The 2010-11 season saw the Centennials best season since 1983-84. Finishing 4th overall in the SOJHL, the Centennials were the McConnell Conference Champions and advanced to the OHA Cup versus Thamesford, eventually losing in 4 games.
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