# 1996–97 MetJHL season

The 1996–97 MetJHL season is the 6th season of the Metro Junior A Hockey League (MetJHL). The 16 teams of the Central, Eastern, and Western Divisions competed in a 50-game schedule. The top 12 teams made the playoffs.
The winner of the MetJHL playoffs, the Aurora Tigers, could not move into national playdowns as the Metro was not a member of the Ontario Hockey Association.

## Milestones

On February 21, 1997, the Muskoka Bears' Ryan Venturelli became the first known goaltender in hockey history to score two goals (both empty net) in a hockey game against the Durham Huskies during the Metro Junior A Hockey League 1996-97 regular season.

## Changes

* League switches from 2 divisions to 3, adding Central Division
* Durham Huskies, Quinte Hawks, Syracuse Jr. Crunch, and Port Hope Buzzards join the MetJHL
* Shelburne Hornets become Shelburne Wolves

## Final standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title
Central Division :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | P |
| Wexford Raiders | 50 | 38 | 7 | 5 | 285 | 185 | 81 |
| Thornhill Islanders | 50 | 29 | 17 | 4 | 279 | 195 | 62 |
| Markham Waxers | 50 | 27 | 19 | 4 | 246 | 221 | 58 |
| Niagara Scenic | 50 | 17 | 26 | 7 | 230 | 262 | 41 |
| North York Rangers | 50 | 12 | 33 | 5 | 248 | 341 | 29 |
| Eastern Division |||||||||||
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | P |
| Pickering Panthers | 50 | 34 | 12 | 4 | 232 | 163 | 72 |
| Quinte Hawks | 50 | 34 | 13 | 3 | 280 | 143 | 71 |
| Wellington Dukes | 50 | 21 | 26 | 3 | 212 | 224 | 45 |
| Oshawa Legionaires | 50 | 20 | 30 | 0 | 231 | 292 | 40 |
| Port Hope Buzzards | 50 | 13 | 35 | 2 | 162 | 269 | 28 |
| Syracuse Jr. Crunch | 50 | 10 | 37 | 3 | 220 | 358 | 23 |
| Western Division |||||||||||
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | P |
| Aurora Tigers | 50 | 42 | 5 | 3 | 342 | 138 | 87 |
| Caledon Canadians | 50 | 41 | 7 | 2 | 318 | 145 | 84 |
| Muskoka Bears | 50 | 14 | 34 | 2 | 200 | 298 | 30 |
| Durham Huskies | 50 | 13 | 37 | 0 | 201 | 317 | 26 |
| Shelburne Wolves | 50 | 10 | 37 | 3 | 213 | 348 | 23 |

## 1996-97 MetJHL Playoffs

Division Semi-final
    Wexford Raiders defeated Niagara Scenics 4-games-to-none
    Thornhill Islanders defeated Markham Waxers 4-games-to-3
    Pickering Panthers defeated Oshawa Legionaires 4-games-to-2
    Quinte Hawks defeated Wellington Dukes 4-games-to-1
    Aurora Tigers defeated Durham Huskies 4-games-to-none
    Caledon Canadians defeated Muskoka Bears 4-games-to-none
Interdivision Round Robin
| Team | W | L | T | GF | GA | P |
| x-Wexford Raiders | 4 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 31 | 8 |
| x-Aurora Tigers | 4 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 18 | 8 |
| x-Quinte Hawks | 4 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 22 | 8 |
| x-Caledon Canadians | 3 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 18 | 7 |
| Thornhill Islanders | 2 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 31 | 4 |
| Pickering Panthers | 0 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 46 | 1 |
Semi-final
    Caledon Canadians defeated Wexford Raiders 4-games-to-none
    Aurora Tigers defeated Quinte Hawks 4-games-to-2
Final
    Aurora Tigers defeated Caledon Canadians 4-games-to-none

## Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Peter Bournazakis | Aurora Tigers | 49 | 52 | 80 | 132 | 112 |
| Brian Gionta | Niagara Scenic | 50 | 57 | 70 | 127 | 101 |
| John Rumeo | Wexford Raiders | 50 | 52 | 62 | 114 | -- |
| Brad Tapper | Wexford Raiders | 50 | 42 | 70 | 112 | -- |
| Matt Murley | Syracuse Jr. Crunch | 48 | 52 | 58 | 110 | -- |
| Tim Connolly | Syracuse Jr. Crunch | 50 | 42 | 62 | 104 | 34 |
| Sean Klaver | Aurora Tigers | 48 | 41 | 63 | 104 | 51 |
| Ian Laroque | Quinte Hawks | 44 | 45 | 55 | 100 | -- |
| Andy Korzen | Niagara Scenic | 45 | 41 | 58 | 99 | 22 |
| David Inman | Wexford Raiders | 43 | 32 | 56 | 88 | -- |

## Leading goaltenders

Starting goaltenders only (1000 minutes or over).
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | GA | SO | GAA |
| Jeff Mound | Aurora Tigers | 29 | 1731 | 72 | 5 | 2.50 |
| Jason Flick | Quinte Hawks | 30 | 1774 | 81 | 1 | 2.74 |
| Lyle Zulak | Caledon Canadians | 27 | 1380 | 65 | 2 | 2.83 |
| Daniel Jacques | Pickering Panthers | 28 | 1481 | 70 | 1 | 2.84 |
| Corey Batten | Quinte Hawks | 19 | 1125 | 55 | 2 | 2.93 |