Something about the Brampton Excelsiors and Canadian Championships just did not jive. The Excelsiors had enjoyed success in the past, however the recent years had been a nightmare. Not just for Brampton. It seemed the OLA could kiss the Mann and Minto Cups goodbye the moment Brampton earned the right to face the western champs. In 1976 BC swept the championships for the first time in fourteen years. They defeated the Excelsiors at both the Senior and Junior levels. Back in 1962 Brampton were again victims twice. In '77 the Senior Excelsiors would go west again. After their heartbreaking loss the previous year, plus carrying a four series Mann Cup losing streak, they were due some good fortune.

Owen Sound once again finished with the best record in the Major League. On this occasion they were a clear first place finisher with a 19-5 mark. The defending champs followed a couple of wins behind. Brooklin, Fergus and Six Nations all had losing records.

The Brampton duo of Steve Mastine and Pat Differ dominated league scoring. They were the only players to break the 100 point mark. Bob Burke and Bram Wilfong also had strong years for the Excelsiors. The North Stars' Ted Greves and Redmen rookie Stan Cockerton were the only two to score more than 50 goals. Greves got support from Thom Vann and Norm Hope.

The playoffs were anti-climatic as no series lasted longer than five games. The North Stars swept Brooklin. The Excelsiors eliminated Fergus and Owen Sound both in five games. That was it for Senior lacrosse fans in Ontario. Brampton packed its' bags and headed west to try and avoid losing in the Mann Cup Final for the third consecutive year.

Vancouver won the WLA for the second time in three years. They finished first in the league with a 16-7-1 record, in spite of giving up as many goals as they scored. In the Final they narrowly survived a seven game series against a strong Victoria club.

Thus a rematch of the '75 Final would take place. This time it would be a best of seven series, unlike the best of three earlier. That was too bad for Brampton as they won the first two games this time. The second victory was by a convincing 18-7 score. They should have grabbed the cup and ran, before it was too late. Soon Mastine was injured with a broken finger and Burke was knocked out of the series after three games. Meanwhile the Burrards had finally recovered from that tough WLA Final as they ran off four straight wins to reclaim the Cup. Doug Hayes averaged three goals a game to lead the series.

At least the Excelsiors would not be representing Ontario at the Minto Cup. Rexdale saw to that by sweeping Bramalea in the first round of the playoffs. They next lost to Peterborough in a dramatic seven game semi final. In their third year of Jr.A, the Whitby Builders broke through to win the OLA crown. They eliminated Peterborough in five games to win the championship.

They would host, probably the greatest Junior lacrosse team to ever come out of British Columbia. Burnaby Cablevision won 35 out of 37 games and placed six scorers in the top ten, while also having the best defence, led by Rod Banister. They would be sorely tested in Ontario. Whitby had no Minto Cup experience, however they came out of a very competitive league with a 31-4 record. History was truly on their side. Though Victoria had won the championship the year before, the west had won only four Minto Cups in over twenty years - none of them in Ontario. One had to go back to the mid fifties, then to 1949 for the only two times BC teams had won in the east. On both occasions the Minto Cup was held at a neutral site and both times the west sent essentially BC All-Star teams.

1977 would be completely different. After the Stan Cockerton controversy of the year before, it was agreed that both Ontario and BC would send their club champions, with no pick ups! For the first time since 1941, lacrosse would have a truly canadian team championship. Yet another difference was Whitby hosting the series at Iroquois Park Arena. Another Ontario triumph was expected by most fans.

The Builders opened with competitive 12-8 and 12-9 victories. Then the Cables found their legs. The key contest was the fourth game, a tight 12-11 decision for Burnaby. Whitby were a beaten team after that, losing the next two games 15-4 and 17-10. All experts agreed on the reason for the comeback: Rod Banister. His brilliant goaltending netted him the McConaghy award. His foes, the likes of Cam Devine, Ken Colley and Bryce Jordan, were left in total frustration. At the other end, Wayne Colley's debut in the Minto Cup Final had been an unhappy one. He struggled against the sharpshooting of Dan Wilson, Dan Perreault and company.

How significant a win was it? No other BC team has won the Minto Cup in Ontario since then. Not even the Gaits, who had two cracks at it, nor the more recent Burnaby Dream Teams have been able to breakthrough in the east.

Manchester, England was the site of the fourth World Field Lacrosse Championship. Granted lacrosse was a curious sport to be holding a World Championship as so few countries played the game. In Britain it was considered a schoolgirl sport. The Americans only played it in college. Even in Canada, the birthplace of the game, it was just played in small pockets around the country. With only Australia, Canada, England and the United States competing lacrosse made Curling's world championship seem like the World Cup of soccer. Even sports such as cricket and baseball were played by more countries. Unlike cricket, lacrosse had an even bigger handicap - lack of competitiveness. The Americans had won every game in every championship going back to 1966. Made one wonder what the point was in even holding a world championship. A Box World version would come along a couple of years later - with Canada replacing the United States as the dominant country. In fact Canada would be split in three(Canada East, Canada West and the Iroquois Nation). Excuse me but what kind of a World Championship is that? The Iroquois Nation would eventually compete in the field game as well. True the Iroquois are a people but they are not a country. One could point out correctly that England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are not countries either. At least such teams had a long history dating back to the beginning of international soccer and rugby. In the case of lacrosse, it all smacked too much of revisionism. Our game pretending to be on the scale of other major international sports.

Nevertheless, there was a world field championship held in Manchester in 1978 and the unthinkable happened. For the first and only time the Americans failed to win the Gold Medal. They did beat Canada in round robin play by a record score. The pair met again in the Final and the Canadians pulled off the upset. Stan Cockerton scored in overtime as Canada won its first and only World Field title.

Major lacrosse in Ontario lost the Six Nations Braves. The league did welcome back Peterborough and Windsor. It would be the Warlocks last appearance in Senior A. Orangeville was left with the only team in Senior B, thus they played a full schedule against the Major clubs. Things had certainly changed from the beginning of the century, when the Dufferins were the dominant team in the province. Even their last stint in Senior A in 1932-33 had produced two respectable seasons. Percy Bradley had even won the '32 scoring title! Following in his footsteps, Terry Sanderson led Orangeville and the league with over 50 goals. Yet the modern version of the Dufferins won only 4 times while losing 20 games.

Sanderson was the league's only 50 goal scorer. Bram Wilfong and Ron Smith both fell one goal shy. That didn't do the Excelsiors much good as Brampton had the other losing record in the circuit. The defending champs missed the playoffs in sixth place. Windsor, at least, managed a 12-12 mark. They also missed the post season.

Owen Sound finished on top of the table with 18 wins and 6 losses. They were followed closely by the Red Oaks of Peterborough(sponsored by the Red Oak Hotel) with a 16-8 record. The Petes swept the scoring race. Paul Evans set up 96 goals, remarkable considering that only two other players in the league scored more than 96 points. Evans ran away with the championship and was the only player over 100 points. Teammate Pete Guerin narrowly missed with 99. Brooklin and Fergus rounded out the contenders.

The playoffs were a disaster. It only took 12 games to complete the three series. Again the North Stars fell short in the end. Peterborough was back and would host the Mann Cup. They also won their first championship in five years. One could call it a successful title defence. Peterborough had last been in Senior A back in 1973 - a repeat five years in the making. The Red Oaks were down 3 games to 2 in the Mann Cup Final but rallied to take the last contests. Goaltender Tim Barrie won the Mike Kelly Award. Paul Evans set a Final record with 21 assists. His brother Brian led Victoria with 19 helpers.

For the only time between 1971 and 1990 the Peterborough juniors failed to make the OLA Final. Arguably they had the second best team in the province, however the system sabotaged their chances. The Jr.A League was divided into two divisions. The top six clubs from the previous year formed the East Division, while the five lowest returning teams made up the West Division. The two division champs met in the Final. That forced the Gray-Munros to play Whitby in the Semi Final. They first disposed of the Green Gaels in a six game Quarter Final, ending Jim Bishop's two year return to the Junior game. The defending champion Builders swept Peterborough in the next round. They went on to sweep Elora and repeat as champions.

Whitby had virtually the same team as the year before. One big difference was their signing of Mississauga hold out Rob Gemmell before the season. Despite a competitive regular season fight with Peterborough and Oshawa, the Builders were untouchable in the playoffs. Mississauga went the other way. Going back to their Toronto Township days, Missy had always been near the top in Junior Lacrosse. Twice they'd come second to the Mighty Gaels and twice they'd been runner up to the great P.C.O. dynasty. From 1978 on it would be all downhill. It all came apart during the '77 playoffs. After finishing second in the league, they were upset by Elora in the Quarter Final. Thus 1976 would be the last time the team made the Semi Finals.

Whitby had only one more win left in their season - the 13-11 Minto Cup opener in Burnaby. In each of the following games the Cablevision scored 17 goals or more. The Builders could not keep up. Like their first visit to the West Coast in 1960, Whitby were beaten in five games. They joined Brampton as the only Ontario teams to have lost three Minto Cup Finals.

When speaking of the '79 Junior season, a fan once joked that it was the year of no goaltenders! Ironically, Shawn Quinlan, one of the best between the pipes, debuted for Peterborough. The other clubs were not so fortunate. Poor Windsor received a 40-10 beating in Oshawa. Jayde Gibbs scored a record 19 points in that game. Three nights later, Gibbs counted 21 points in Kitchener.

It was an unlucky year for Whitby's Cam Devine. He tied Gibbs with an incredible 247 points in 28 games. He lost the scoring crown with 19 less goals. Devine had already lost the '77 title in similar fashion when George Chandler scored 41 more goals. Another high mark for the league was Mike McKee's 115 goals. His quick stick on the awesome Green Gael power play was unstoppable.

Overall, it was an outrageous year. Kelly Mitchell joined Gibbs and Devine with over 200 points. Oshawa had five players score 75 goals or more. The Gaels also averaged more than 20 goals per game. On the other hand, Kitchener surrendered 20 goals per game and won only once in 24 tries.

As Oshawa and Whitby tied for first, Durham lacrosse fans drooled at the idea of a playoff showdown. It never materialized. Peterborough upset things by sweeping Whitby in the Quarter Final round. The Centurians(yes Peterborough had a new nickname! thanks to Century 21 sponsorship) had finished only one win behind the top two squads but were greatly overshadowed by the Gaels' and Builders' offences. Next Oshawa nearly fell flat on their face. They opened the Semi Finals with a 19-5 rout over Elora. After that the determined Mohawks gave the Gaels all they could handle. Five tough games followed, including two narrow home wins for Oshawa, before they finally prevailed in six games.

The final was a classic match of contrasts. The hard running, high scoring Green Gaels versus the tough defensive, sometimes dirty Petes. Another view saw the battle between team oriented Peterborough, with three solid lines, and an Oshawa club with five superstars and the other players tagging along behind. With the games being played at the Children's and Kinsmen Arenas, the settings were the worst imaginable for such a classic series.

In the opening game the Gaels prevailed in overtime 15-14. Peterborough responded with a confident second game victory. Their effort in the next contest could only be described as irresponsible. With a second period penalty blitz, including Wayne Batley spearing Gi Goulding and a teammate running Jayde Gibbs feet first into the boards, the Oshawa power play blew the visitors out of the building. The final result was a 16-4 rout. Back home, the Centurians were run off the floor in an 18-10 loss. It appeared the Gaels had avenged three consecutive playoff losses to their rivals. Yet three would soon become four as Mark Vitarelli regrouped his troops. In Game Five, the running game disappeared and Peterborough paced themselves to a 10-5 victory. Bob Hanna's Gaels came back strong the next night and positioned themselves to win the championship. They led by a goal late and with a power play could have put the game away. Instead the Petes scored twice shorthanded and the series was tied 3-3. Interest climaxed as the deciding match was moved to Iroquois Park Arena in Whitby. The Centurians jumped in front early, smothered the Gaels running attack, and led all the way to a 10-8 win.

Ontario lost the Minto Cup this season. Even though it was the OLA's turn to host the championship, the CLA arranged a three teams Final with the deciding match being televised on the CBC. Thus Junior A lacrosse moved into the new era of three team round robin championships. The format would be used again in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1990. In such cases as '79, '84 and '86 it could be argued that the best team did not win. Such was the legacy of the round robin tournament. Since 1991 the Minto Cup has returned to the best of seven format and there has never been any question as to who the best teams have been.

So the '79 championship was hosted by Calgary. Peterborough was joined by the Cup holders from Burnaby and an Alberta All-Star team. The Centurians finished comfortably in first place. Yet when they met Burnaby on a Saturday afternoon all went wrong. The Cablevision claimed their third consecutive Minto Cup win thanks to an 8-6 victory in the one game final.

OLA Major had a small but competitive league in 1979. Only four teams entered in Senior A(Peterborough, Brampton, Brooklin and Ohsweken) and last place Ohsweken won only one game. The other three fought it out at the top. The Red Oaks finished first, three points ahead of the Redmen and five up on the Excelsiors. Peterborough's J.J. Johnston won his first scoring title, by a mere two points over Brampton's Bob Burke. That pair, plus Johnston's teammate Jim Wasson were the league's only 50 goal scorers. Again Johnston was marginally better than Burke.

After a double round robin competition Brooklin was eliminated from the playoffs. They lost three out of their four games despite scoring more goals than they gave up. The youthful Redmen were on the verge of contending but not there yet. That left a Peterborough/Brampton final. It was the first time the two clubs had met in the Final since the dramatic seven game series of 1966. Once again Peterborough prevailed. On this occasion the Red Oaks only needed five games.

For the trip west, the champs added only two players. Brampton star Tom Patrick was an expected selection. The second choice was surprising. Oshawa Green Gael teenager Derek Keenan was picked. Keenan had finished fourth in Jr.A scoring with 189 points. Yet he was chosen league MVP over more flashy players such as Gibbs, Devine, Mitchell, McKee or Ken Colley. The Red Oaks also recognised Keenan's better all around game. With his size he would not be out of place in Senior. Keenan would contribute a goal and three assists in four games.

The eastern champs had their hands full in Victoria. The Shamrocks finished first in the competitive WLA then lost only twice in the playoffs. Two losses would be their grand total for the post season. Peterborough was unable to defeat them in four games. Huntsville's Ivan Thompson led the series with 31 points. Fresh from two Minto Cup triumphs, Dan Wilson added a Mann Cup win to his resume. He set up 18 goals in the Final. Bob Cool and Kevin Alexander were the top snipers with 11 and 8 goals respectively. Larry Smeltzer starred in goal, plus added three assists to his career Mann Cup total. He wrapped up his career with 25, one shy of Bob McCready's record.

Back in 1931, Brampton Excelsiors won the Mann Cup for the second consecutive year. It was a remarkable repeat, considering how many players the Excelsiors had lost to professional lacrosse. Equally impressive was their trek west to defend their title. Brampton should have had a dynasty in the making. It wasn't meant to be. The loss of so much talent to professionalism hurt badly, even worse when their top two scorers defected after the '31 campaign. If that wasn't enough of a challenge, the last field champions had to adapt to the box game in 1932. The Excelsiors did not make it three in a row. Far from it. Instead they started a championship drought which lasted nearly half a century. Brampton did win back the Cup in 1942, plus another OLA title the following season, however it was a combined team based in Mimico. For the Excelsiors, a couple of OLA Finals was the best they could do over three decades. The sixties saw two OLA titles and numerous league finals but no Mann Cup. The seventies were no better for the Brampton squad.

1980 should not have been any different. There were four teams in Major again, as Fergus replaced Ohsweken. All four would make the playoffs. A lucky break as the Excelsiors would finish fourth! The Major clubs combined their schedule with the Senior B League. Naturally three of them had winning records. Brampton won 7 times while losing 16. The basement dwellers met Brooklin in the Semi Final. The first place Redmen had won all six regular season games, each by at least seven goals. They were led by rookie of the year Ken Colley, who scored 72 goals while running away with the scoring title. In total, six Brooklin players made the top ten. Bram Wilfong was the lone Excelsior. The drought looked safe for another year.

The Redmen did have an Achilles heel: eight rookies and six sophmores in their line up. Brampton at least had experience on their side. They also got a scheduling break. The series opened in Brampton, even though Brooklin had home advantage. In Game One the pennant winners would be minus seven regulars. The madness was about to begin.

The opener will be remember for a bench clearing brawl with many spectators on the floor. Brooklin lost goaltender Wayne Colley and Chuck Lepine. Both were ejected from the game along with Excelsior Gord Lyons. It will also be remembered for Mark Thompson scoring the winner in the final 5 minutes. 11-10 Brampton as Thompson and Ken Archdekin both had hattricks. Dave Wright scored three times for the Redmen. The Excelsiors next won in Brooklin. They led all the way in a 15-9 game. Thompson, Lyons and Bob Burke all scored three goals.

Brooklin coach Tony Gray gave each line a pep talk about playing tougher defence prior to Game Three. The third and fifth games were also scheduled for Brampton. The visitors played like the top team they were, winning 13-10. Ken Colley led with a hattrick. The Redmen next won at home 12-6. A six goal third period broke this one open. Wayne Colley blanked Excelsior shooters for a 42 minute stretch over the second and third periods. Blaine Harrison was top marksman with a trio.

The bubble appeared to have burst on the last place club. Yet scheduling would be key. As the pivotal first game had been held in Brampton, the even more important fifth game would also be in Brampton. The Redmen would host the final two. That would only be an advantage if the series went seven games.

After 28 minutes of play Brooklin led comfortably 7-3. They would not beat Barry Maruk again until the last 3 minutes. Mark Fisher and Burke each scored four goals to bring the Excelsiors back. They won it 14-9. Again the Redmen started fast in Game Six. They won the opening period 5-3, thanks, in part, to Larry Graham's three goals. After that Brampton's zone defence in front of Maruk shut Brooklin down. Lyons finished with a hattrick as the Excelsiors came back for a 12-6 victory.

That was the series Brampton was not suppose to win. After that it would all be shockingly easy for John McCauley's chargers. With the ex-Rexdale Warrior Barry Maruk playing the best lacrosse of his life, the Excelsiors' Mann Cup drought was living on borrowed time.

Next came the defending OLA champs from Peterborough. The Lakers had struggled past Fergus in seven games. They had to win Game Six in Fergus 17-11, then narrowly escaped the seventh game with a 10-9 decision. Just barely getting by was not going to work against the high flying Excelsiors. Brampton dispatched Peterborough in five games. They would host New Westminster in the Mann Cup.

It was a matchup not made in heaven. A last place team versus a third place club. Neither had a winning regular season record. Yet they both had won when it counted. New Westminster came from 3-1 down in the Semi Final to eliminate first place Coquitlam. The Excelsiors entered the series with a 15-19 record on the year. The Salmonbellies were only marginally better at 19-18. Still, they were both playing for the Canadian championship and that's all that mattered.

Bert Large, George Masters and George Thompson performed the ceremonial face off. All three had been on the Combines' championship team of '42. Thompson had played on the last Excelsior champion in '31. Large had been Brampton's starting netminder when they won their fourth OLA title in 1926. By 1931 he had left the team to play professionally.

It was a hot and humid series, which took its toll on the westerners. Starting goaltender Rod Banister had to be replaced after two periods, in the opener, because of the heat. New West led 10-9 at the time. Brampton won it 14-10. This was the last year for picking up players from other teams. The Excelsiors chose well. Peterborough's Bob Wasson was player of the game with 5 points. Wasson and Tom Patrick scored 44 seconds apart to put the easterners ahead for keeps.

The next night the Salmonbellies again played with the lead until the humidity wore them out. They led 7-6 late in the second period when it all fell apart. Three goals by Gord Lyons, Mark Thompson and Bob Wasson concluded the session. Fast emerging superstar Barry Maruk displayed his lethal passing by setting up all three goals. He then shut down the visitors in the third as Brampton won going away 14-9. The other Peterborough pick up, Jim Wasson, had an 8 point game.

Matters got bleaker for the westerners prior to Game Three. Brian Tasker - who was a WLA Second team all-star - flew to Calgary on the off day for business then got stranded because of the Toronto air traffic controllers strike. Never mind, Bob Tasker made up for it with a 9 point game. This time the Salmonbellies built too big a lead to blow. They outscored the home side 8-1 in the second period. With a 12-5 lead they broke even in the third period, 5 goals apiece. It was a rough game and New Westminster took advantage with 9 power play markers. Gilles Bezeau led them with 7 tallies on the night.

Tasker was back for Game Four. His plane could have been late and he still would have made it. This contest was delayed 45 minutes as head coaches John McCauley and Al Lewthwaite argued over sweater colours! The Excelsiors cleaned up their act in this one. Terry Sanderson - picked up from Brampton's Senior affiliate Orangeville - took their only penalty. New Westminster did not get a power play the entire night. Sanderson made up for his foul by scoring the game winner in the last 2 minutes. The eastern champs outshot the Salmombellies 60-45, winning 9-8.

The losing team scored first in every contest. New Westminster kept that record perfect by getting the first goal in the fifth and final match. Brampton counted the next four to win the period. The visitors battled back to tie it 5-5, only to be crushed by three late goals in the second. Bob Wasson, Bob Burke and Gord Lyons did the damage. Lyons and Wasson struck again to start the last period. At 10-5 it was all over. The Excelsiors cruised home for an 11-7 win and their first Mann Cup triumph in 49 years.

Barry Maruk was named seried MVP. He was at his best during the fifth game. He made 43 saves, intercepted four breakaway passes and set up two goals. He finished the series with 10 assists.

Another drought, of sorts, ended in Jr.A. With a fine mix of veterans and youth, Whitby Builders finally won the Minto Cup. Going back to 1960, they had been jinxed in the Canadian Final. They returned to New Westminster twenty years later and upset a physically superior Salmonbelly club in five games. After a fourth game 14-13 defeat, the Builders blew out the westerners 22-7 in the deciding match. John Jordan had 12 assists in the finale! A fitting way for veterans Jordan and Cam Devine to conclude their careers. Jordan set a series record by scoring 41 points.

It was an interesting junior season. In Etobicoke, Adam Oates rose to stardom by eclipsing the record for points in one game. He scored 29 against Kitchener. Oates also went on to win the scoring title and the first of his three Most Valuable Player awards. In Whitby, a good, young squad had its season blow up in its face. Minto Cup winning coach Jim Hinkson ended his two year run with the Builders disasterously. Meanwhile, Peterborough flirted with perfection only to have one team spoil everything. That team, Oshawa, had as newsworthy a season as any. Jim Bishop returned to the club. The legendary coach had comeback in 1977-78 but that team had been too young to make much of an impact. The '81 side was expected to be an experienced one, until Bishop returned. Not caring for his authoritarian style, Scarborough natives Jayde Gibbs and Mike McKee refused to play. Both sat out more than half the regular season. The lost games eventually cost Gibbs first spot in career Junior A scoring, while McKee had his consecutive 100 goal seasons streak ended. The Gaels stumbled through much of the season until General Manager Bob Duignan cut the Gordian Knot and fired Bishop. Before replacement Peter Vipond could be brought in, both Gibbs and McKee had returned to the line up. Ironically Vipond had captained Bishop's last Minto Cup winner. His style was much more relaxed. He immediately reduced practices from two hours to ninety minutes and won the loyalty of all his chargers. During the playoffs he would often cancel practices to allow his players to be fresh for the upcoming games. The Gaels struggled to a losing record but the playoffs would be different.

Early July did much to determine the post-season results. Peterborough rolled into Oshawa still unbeaten and pondering the idea of choosing the Green Gaels as a first round opponent. That was until they narrowly escaped with a one goal win. A couple of night's later Oshawa was blown out at Iroquois Park. The Builders ripped the Gaels' zone defence to shreds. After the game Fred Upshaw Sr. predicted that Whitby would pick Oshawa for a Quarter Final opponent. For six years Durham Region lacrosse fans had waited in vain for a playoff matchup. The gate for such a series would be of Minto Cup size. Sure enough the second place Builders did choose to play fifth place Oshawa. To call it a bad decision was an understatement.

The Gael's headed into the playoffs with their starting goaltender Ken Passfield injured. They picked up Scarborough's Henry Bennett. This would be Little Hank's one moment of fame. With Bennett in goal and the zone defence abandoned Oshawa surprised Whitby by winning the first three games of the series. The third game blow out climaxed with a bench clearing brawl. Andy Perroni had been run into the boards and injured earlier in the contest, thus Whitby's frustration exploded towards the end. While Wayne Crawford was in the stands battling Gaels fans and the police were filing into the arena and the players were fighting with each other, Whitby netminder Rob McLean stood in the middle of the floor as if he was waiting for a bus. Finally an Oshawa player charged towards him but instead of exchanging punches they hugged like long lost brothers! There the pair stood chatting with their arms around each other, while everyone else around them was trying to kill each other. Apparently they had met at a party on the weekend. Not all people in Oshawa and Whitby hated each other.

The series ended in five games. Nothing went right for the defending champions. In the last contest they scored nine first period goals, yet still lost 19-15.

The James Gang wisely passed on Oshawa in the Semi Final. They swept fourth place Brampton instead. Their invincibility at home would be key in the Final. They clearly outclassed the Gaels all four games at the Memorial Centre. The three contests in Oshawa were much more interesting. Peterborough's 29-0 record was spoiled in Game Two. The home side eventually won a seesaw battle 15-11. The fourth match also went the Green Gaels way, as did the sixth, in overtime. A crowd of over 3,000 attended the finale. An estimated 2/3's of them made the trip up from Oshawa. Fred Upshaw Jr. gave them the first goal of the match. After that Peterborough's defence easily dominated. It was the Gaels eighteenth playoff game and they'd run out of upsets.

Peterborough went on to host and sweep Burnaby for their first Minto Cup win in six years.

The Excelsiors and Salmonbellies were up to their old tricks again. Brampton placed third in an expanded Major League while New Westminster finished fourth in the WLA. Yet, when September came around the two met for the Mann Cup again.

Owen Sound returned to Sr.A and Scarborough joined them. The North Stars grabed the fourth and final playoff spot with a 13-11 record. Mike McMillan led them with 52 goals. He finished runner up to J.J. Johnston in goals and points. Scarborough wallowed in the basement their initial season. They were respectable and won eight times.

The Excelsiors' record had improved to 13-10-1. The defending champs once again faced Brooklin to begin the playoffs. They defeated the Redmen in six games. At the same time Owen Sound upset the first place Lakers in six games. For the third time Brampton and Owen Sound met in the Final. In '75 the North Stars had been swept. In '77 they had managed one win. This time around they were victorious twice. Still not good enough to win the Ontario crown.

Out west, New Westminster won only ten regular season games, while losing thirteen and tying once. Hardly championship material. The playoffs were completely different. The Salmonbellies stormed to another championship by winning eight out of nine games. They next extended that run to twelve out of thirteen games by sweeping the Excelsiors in the Mann Cup Final. They outscored Brampton 61-33 over the four games. Jim Weller led Brampton and topped the series with nine goals. The high point men were all on New Westminster: Wayne Goss(21) Dave Durante(17) Derek Dickson(14).

Thus, for the second year in a row, a team with a losing record had rebounded to win the Canadian championship. This had never happened before in the history of the Mann Cup. Yet it would happen once more in two years time.

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