# Wainwright Bisons

The Wainwright Bisons are a junior "B" ice hockey team based in Wainwright, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the North Eastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League (NEAJBHL). They play their home games at Peace Memorial Multiplex.

## History

Since the 1990–91 season the Wainwright Bison have three league championships winning in the 2001, 2016 and 2017 playoffs. The victory advanced the Bison to the Russ Barnes Trophy championships which is the Alberta Provincial Jr. B Championships featuring eight teams. The Heritage and Capital Hockey leagues qualify their playoff champion and playoff finalist, while the Calgary Jr. B, North West, and the North East Hockey leagues send just their playoff champions. The final team is the team selected to host the tournament event.
In 2013, Wainwright was the Russ Barnes host and as such participated in their second Provincial Championship. In 2016, the Bisons advanced to the Provincial Championship but as the league champion. In 2017, the team won the league championship to advance and win the Russ Barnes Trophy and advanced to the Keystone Cup. Here they won the Western Canadian Junior B Championship with an overtime win in the final game.

## Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
| 2010–11 | 32 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 39 | 192 | 140 | 813 | 4th, NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 3–1 (Wheat Kings) Lost Semifinals, 0–4 (Ice) |
| 2011–12 | 32 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 36 | 195 | 138 | — | 5th, NEAJBHL | Lost Quarterfinals, 1–3 (Wheat Kings) |
| 2012–13 | 34 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 54 | 142 | 77 | — | 2nd, NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Tigers) Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Wheat Kings) Lost League Finals, 1–4 (Ice) |
| 2013–14 | 34 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 56 | 195 | 94 | — | 2nd, NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Canadiens) Won Semifinals, 4–2 (Bandits) Lost League Finals, 2–4 (Ice) |
| 2014–15 | 36 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 67 | 235 | 89 | 727 | 1st, NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Border Chiefs) Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Bandits) Lost League Finals, 2–4 (Ice) |
| 2015–16 | 36 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 58 | 179 | 100 | 1034 | 1st of 10 NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Bandits) Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Ice) Won League Finals, 4–1 (Wheat Kings) NEAJBL Champions |
| 2016–17 | 36 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 64 | 220 | 95 | 1133 | 1st of 10 NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Tigers) Won Semifinals, 4–2 (Wheat Kings) Won League Finals, 4–0 (Canadiens) NEAJBL Champions |
| 2017–18 | 36 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 68 | 224 | 73 | 911 | 1st of 10 NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Tigers) Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Ice) Won League Finals, 4–1 (T-Birds) NEAJBL Champions |
| 2018–19 | 32 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 58 | 218 | 65 | 882 | 1st of 9 NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (T-Birds) Won Semifinals, 4–1 (Canadiens) Won League Finals, 4–0 (Clippers) NEAJBL Champions |
| 2019–20 | 32 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 49 | 145 | 107 | 35 | 2nd of 8 NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Tigers) Loist Semifinals, 2-4 (Canadiens) |
| 2020–21 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 22 | 12 | 79 | Remaining Season Cancelled - covid-19 | Remaining Season Cancelled - covid-19 |
| 2021–22 | 33 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 53 | 136 | 84 | 866 | 1st of 7 NEAJBHL | Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Wheat Kings) Won League Finals, 4–0 (Canadiens) NEAJBL Champions |
| 2022–23 | 31 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 47 | 166 | 72 | 530 | 2nd of 8 NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Border Chiefs) Won Semifinals, 4–2 (Wheat Kings) Won League Finals, 4–1 (Canadiens) NEAJBL Champions |
| 2023–24 | 31 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 52 | 197 | 76 | x | 2nd of 8 NEAJBHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Rangers) Won Semifinals, 4-2 (Bandits) Won League Finals 4-2 (Tigers) NEAJBL Champions |
| 2024–25 | 35 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 58 | 228 | 77 | 750 | 1st of 8 NEAJBHL | Quarterfinals bye Won Semifinals, 4–2 (Canadiens) tbd League Finals, 0-2 (Bandits) |

## Russ Barnes Trophy

Alberta Jr. B Provincial Championships
| Year | Round-robin | Record | Place | Semifinal | Bronze medal game | Gold medal game |
| 2001 | W, Fort St. John Huskies, 5–3 W, Edmonton River Kings, 6–4 W, Calgary Royals Blue, 4–2 | 3–0–0 | 1st of 4, Pool | L, Edmonton Royals, 1–8 | Not played | — |
| 2013 | T, Okotoks Bisons, 2–2 T, Calgary Rangers, 1–1 L, Sherwood Park Knights, 2–5 | 0–1–2 | 4th of 4, Pool | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 2016 | L, CRAA Gold, 3–4 W, Mountainview Colts, 2–1 W, Wetaskiwin Icemen, 7–1 | 2–1–0 | 1st of 4, Pool | W, Red Deer Vipers, 3–1 | — | L, North Peace Navigators, 2–3 Silver Medal |
| 2017 | W, Fairview Flyers, 7–3 W, Beaumont Chiefs, 11–2 L, Cochrane Generals, 3–4 | 2–1–0 | 1st of 4, Pool | W, Wetaskiwin Icemen, 5–2 | — | W, Cochrane Generals, 5–4 Gold Medal |
| 2018 | W, Wetaskiwin Icemen, 5–0 W, Fort St. John Huskies, 5–3 T, Coaldale Copperheads, 1–1 | 2–0–1 | 1st of 4, Pool B | W, Beverly Warriors, 4–3 | — | W, Red Deer Vipers, 5–1 Gold Medal |
| 2019 | W, Fort St. John Huskies, 6-4 W, Wetaskiwin Icemen, 7-4 W, Coaldale Copperheads, 5-3 | 3–0–0 | 1st of 4, Pool | W, Beverly Warriors, 7–2 | — | L, Airdrie Thunder, 3-4 Silver Medal |
| 2022 | L, Okotoks Bisons, 0-4 L, CBHA Rangers, 5-8 W, Sherwood Park Knights, 4-2 | 1–2–0 | 4th of 4, Pool B | did not qualify | — | - |
| 2023 | W, Sylvan Lake Wranglers, 2-1 L, CBHA Rangers, 0-2 W, Fort St. John Huskies, 5–0 W, Okotoks Bisons, 5-4 | 2–2–0 | 2nd of 6, Full | — | — | W, Okotoks Bisons, 3–1 Gold Medal |
| 2024 | W, NWCAA Stampeders, 5-3 W, St. Albert Merchants, 4-0 L, La Crete Lumber Barons, 1-3 L, Okotoks Bisons, 3-4 | 2-1–1 | 3rd of 6, Full | — | Lost 5-6 St. Albert Merchants | |

## Keystone Cup

Western Canadian Jr. B Championships (Northern Ontario to British Columbia) Six teams in round-robin play. 1st vs. 2nd for gold/silver & 3rd vs. 4th for bronze.
| Year | Round-robin | Record | Standing | Bronze medal game | Gold medal game |
| 2017 | T, Beaver Valley Nitehawks, 3–3 W, Nipigon Elks, 9–2 W, Arborg Ice Dawgs, 5–0 T, Peguis Juniors, 4–4 W, Regina Capitals, 2–1 | 3–0–2 | 2nd of 6 | — | W, Beaver Valley Nitehawks, 4–3 OT Keystone Cup Champions |
| 2018 | Alberta elected not to send Keystone Cup representative | Alberta elected not to send Keystone Cup representative | Alberta elected not to send Keystone Cup representative | Alberta elected not to send Keystone Cup representative | Alberta elected not to send Keystone Cup representative |

## NHL alumni

* Shawn Heins
* Gord Mark
* Jeff Woywitka