Couchiching Terriers | |
---|---|
City | Orillia, Ontario, Canada (1940s-1997) Rama, Ontario, Canada (1997-2010) |
League |
Ontario Junior Hockey League Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League Mid-Ontario Junior B Hockey League Georgian Bay Junior Hockey League |
Operated | Circa 1940s-2010 |
Home arena |
Orillia Community Centre Arena Mnjikaning Arena Sports Ki |
Colours |
Black, Red, and White |
General manager | Roy Micks |
Head coach | Bart Crashley |
Affiliates |
Barrie Colts (OHL) Alliston Hornets (GMOHL) |
Franchise history | |
19xx-1986 | Orillia Travelways |
1987-1989 | Orillia Laidlaws |
1989-1997 | Orillia Terriers |
1997-2010 | Couchiching Terriers |
The Couchiching Terriers were a Junior A ice hockey team from Rama, Ontario, Canada from Lake Couchiching. The team originated in neighbouring Orillia, Ontario, and played in the Ontario Junior A Hockey League. The Terriers were 1985 Centennial Cup National Champions and three time Dudley Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Champions (1984, 1985, 1986). The team folded in 2010 when offered a buyout from the league.
The Junior A team that now boasts the name "Terriers" was previously known as the Orillia Travelways and was a member of the Mid-Ontario Junior B Hockey League from at least 1971 to 1978. The Mid-Ontario league was discontinued in 1978 and the Travelways were added to the Central Junior B Hockey League at that time. They moved up to the Tier II Junior A ranks for the first time in 1981, joining the Ontario Junior Hockey League, and won the 1985 Centennial Cup as the best Junior A team in Canada.
They are not connected with the Orillia Terriers, a different club which competed in the OHA Senior A and Intermediate A ranks from 1968 to 1982.
Orillia was the league's top team, winning three straight playoff championships, but dropped out in 1986 when faulty trusses forced the closing of the Orillia Community Centre. During their absence the Junior A league collapsed, so the team returned to the Central Junior B league in 1987 under the name "Laidlaws" (their sponsor, the Travelways bus line was acquired by Laidlaw transportation). When Laidlaw dropped the sponsorship, they returned to their "Terriers" name in 1989 and returned to Tier II in 1993 when the Central loop became the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. The Terriers won the new league's first playoff championship in 1994.