Leamington Flyers

Leamington Flyers
City	Leamington, Ontario, Canada
League	Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League
Division	Western
Founded	1954
Home arena	Heinz Arena
Colors	Red and White
General manager	Mike Sadler
Head coach	Tony Piroski
Affiliates	Saginaw Spirit (OHL) Wheatley Sharks (GLJHL)

The Leamington Flyers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Leamington, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.

History

Bill Burgess, coach and general manager of the local Intermediate Flyers, formed the Junior Flyers in 1954. They were a Junior B team in the Southwestern League until 1958 when they quit the league.

The Flyers were a part of the BCJBHL 1958 until 1964. When the OHA allowed the Border Cities League to fail in 1964, the town mothballed the Junior team and operated a top notch Juvenile team in its stead. In 1966, the team operated as an independent team, playing only in OHA playdowns and exhibition against local all-star, juvenile, and intermediate teams. In 1967, they joined the Western Junior B League. They entered the new Border Cities league in 1968. When the league became the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League in 1970, the Flyers stayed on board. The Flyers were promoted to the Western Junior "B" league in 1992 and are still a charter member.

On January 3, 1993, the Leamington Flyers helped set a record for the highest scoring tie in the history of the Western Ontario Hockey League by tying the London Nationals 11-11. The Flyers hold the record for the most lopsided game in the history of the WOHL. On January 20, 1995, the Flyers defeated the Windsor Bulldogs by a score of 30-3. On January 26, 2002, the Flyers set the WOHL record for largest margin in a shutout victory by defeating the Aylmer Aces by a score of 16-0.[1]

At the beginning of the 2006-07 season, it was announced that the Flyers have officially affiliated with the Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit.

Tuesday March 16, 2010 The Leamington Flyers hired Head Coach Tony Piroski, Piroski dominated when he was with the Essex 73's Junior C Hockey Club, winning 7 League Titles and 3 Provincial Titles in 9 seasons. In Piroski's first season the team went from 7 wins to 26 wins, losing a heart breaking Game 7 overtime to the Lasalle Vipers. The Spring of 2011 the Flyers brought aboard OHL Scout Mike Sadler as the clubs General Manager.

Season-by-season results

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	P	Results	Playoffs
1958-59	20	5	14	1	-	67	103	11	4th BCJBHL
1959-60	29	6	23	0	-	109	181	12	6th BCJBHL
1960-61	29	7	22	0	-	105	223	14	7th BCJBHL
1961-62	30	13	17	0	-	132	156	26	5th BCJBHL
1962-63	36	11	25	0	-	134	203	22	6th BCJBHL
1963-64	28	16	12	0	-	139	147	32	3rd BCJBHL
1964-67	No League to Play In
1967-68	51	5	46	0	-	160	355	10	5th WOJBHL
1968-69	30	21	8	1	-	171	119	43	2nd BCJHL
1969-70	34	23	9	2	-	159	104	48	2nd BCJHL	"C" Champions
1970-71	40	30	8	2	-	247	133	62	2nd GLJHL
1971-72	36	20	12	4	-	209	169	44	2nd GLJHL	Won League, Won CSC
1972-73	42	34	6	2	-	298	148	70	2nd GLJHL	Won League
1973-74	43	19	20	4	-	184	193	42	6th GLJHL	Won League
1974-75	42	25	9	8	-	220	129	58	2nd GLJHL
1975-76	42	26	13	3	-	235	173	55	3rd GLJHL
1976-77	42	22	16	4	-	201	166	48	2nd GLJHL
1977-78	42	21	16	5	-	204	206	47	3rd GLJHL
1978-79	40	15	19	6	-	226	223	36	6th GLJHL
1979-80	42	36	4	2	-	344	156	74	1st GLJHL	Won League, Won CSC
1980-81	42	28	10	4	-	328	180	60	2nd GLJHL
1981-82	39	26	10	3	-	264	192	55	2nd GLJHL
1982-83	39	29	8	2	-	331	154	62	1st GLJHL
1983-84	40	19	16	5	-	180	170	43	5th GLJHL
1984-85	39	15	20	4	-	171	202	34	7th GLJHL
1985-86	40	13	20	7	-	205	252	33	7th GLJHL
1986-87	38	23	12	2	1	240	163	49	4th GLJHL
1987-88	39	26	10	3	0	247	157	55	1st GLJHL
1988-89	38	29	8	1	0	259	143	59	4th GLJHL
1989-90	40	21	13	4	2	194	176	48	4th GLJHL
1990-91	39	18	21	0	0	157	183	36	8th GLJHL
1991-92	42	13	25	2	2	163	232	30	10th GLJHL
1992-93	52	15	27	5	5	-	-	40	5th WOJHL West
1993-94	52	36	14	0	2	293	213	74	1st WOJHL West
1994-95	52	37	11	0	4	320	199	78	2nd WOJHL West
1995-96	52	34	10	6	2	303	202	76	1st WOJHL West	Lost Final
1996-97	52	31	13	3	5	276	198	70	1st WOJHL West	Lost Final
1997-98	52	29	19	3	1	189	171	62	2nd WOJHL West
1998-99	52	36	12	0	4	254	167	76	2nd WOJHL West
1999-00	54	36	14	0	4	250	183	76	3rd GOHL
2000-01	54	24	24	4	2	176	187	54	6th GOHL
2001-02	54	36	15	2	1	276	172	75	2nd WOJHL
2002-03	48	37	8	1	2	231	131	77	1st WOJHL
2003-04	48	28	18	1	1	178	151	58	4th WOJHL
2004-05	48	20	20	3	5	166	179	48	6th WOJHL
2005-06	48	10	33	1	4	110	196	25	9th WOJHL
2006-07	48	17	28	-	3	159	199	37	8th WOJHL	Lost Quarter-final
2007-08	48	25	21	-	2	187	191	52	6th GOJHL-W	Lost in Quarter-final
2008-09	52	28	19	-	5	184	170	61	5th GOJHL-W
2009-10	50	7	38	-	5	128	276	19	8th GOJHL-W	Lost Conf. QF
2010-11	51	26	21	-	4	183	162	56	6th GOJHL-W	Lost Conf. QF

2011-2012 Coaching Staff

• General Manager: Mike Sadler
• Assistant Manager: Kevin Hopper
• Head Coach: Tony Piroski
• Assistant Coach: Jamie Mcdermott
• Assistant Coach: Lee Jones
• Assistant Coach: Mark Epplett
• Goalie Coach: Ed Wheeler
• Trainer: Dr. Steve O'neil
• Equipment Manager: John Forbes
• Equipment Manager: Ryan Sellon
• Equipment Manager: Howard Hughes
• Dressing Room Assistant: Riley Jones

Clarence Schmalz Cup Appearances

1972: Leamington Flyers defeated Cobourg Cougars 4-games-to-1

1980: Leamington Flyers defeated Bradford Blues 4-games-to-none

Notable alumni

• Chris Allen
• Darren Banks
• Tim Gleason
• Kris Manery
• Steve Ott
• Eric Reitz
• Charlie Stephens
• Darren McCarty
• Tim Hrynewich

External links

• Flyers Webpage