Palmerston 81's
| Mapleton-Minto 81's | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Palmerston, Ontario Harriston, Ontario Drayton, Ontario |
| League | WOAA Senior Hockey League |
| Division | North |
| Home arena | Palmerston & District Community Centre, Harriston Arena, PMD Drayton Arena |
| Colours | Blue, Red, and White |
| General manager | Rick Fisk |
| Head coach | Steve Kucherway |
| Franchise history | |
| 1981-2011 | Palmerston 81's |
| 2011-Present | Mapleton-Minto 81's |
| Previous franchise history | |
| merged in 2011 | Drayton Icemen |
The Mapleton-Minto 81's are a senior hockey team based out of Palmerston, Harriston, and Drayton, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League.
Palmerston won the WOAA Grand Championship in the 1957-58 season. The current Palmerston 81's have three WOAA Sr. "A" Championships, in 1998-99, 2005–06, and 2007–08, and they have a WOAA Sr. "AA" Championship, in 2002-03.
Palmerston, the defending Senior "A" Champions, had a very strong year, with a 17-7-0 record, good for fourth in the North Division.
The 81's would face the South Division champions, the Clinton Radars in the "AA" quarter-finals. After falling behind by losing the first game of the series, Palmerston would win two in a row in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead. Clinton would come back and win two in a row to put Palmerston behind 3-2, however in the sixth game, the 81's staved off elimination with a convincing 5-2 victory, forcing a seventh game in Clinton. The 81's would fall behind the Radars 3-0 after the first period and could never recover, losing 6-2 and being eliminated from the playoffs.
After starting the season off with a 7-2-1 record in their first 10 games, the 81's would slump, losing six of their next eight games, to sit with a 9-8-1 record, and push the team out of the "AA" playoff picture. Palmerston snapped out of their slump, and in their remaining eight games, they posted an impressive 7-0-1 record, and finish in fifth place in the North Division, and qualifying for the "A" playoffs.
The 81's opening opponent in the quarter-finals was the Monkton Wildcats, and Monkton surprised Palmerston with a 4-3 OT victory in the series opener, followed by a 2-1 win in the second game to take a 2-0 series lead. The 81's fought back, winning games three and four to tie the series, but the Wildcats put Palmerston on the brink of elimination with a 4-0 victory in the fifth game to take a 3-2 series lead. The 81's would once again fight back, hanging on for a 4-3 win in the sixth game, sending the series to a seventh and deciding game. Palmerston would complete the comeback, defeating Monkton 5-4, and advance to the "A" semi-finals.
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