Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League The Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League was a Tier II Junior " A " ice hockey that lasted from the late 1960s until 1977 in Southern Ontario , Canada . The league was swallowed by what is now called the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League in 1977 . History . In 1956 the tradition Big ' 10 ' League was divided , its Western Division became the Western Ontario Junior " B " Hockey League , and the Central Division became the Central Junior " B " Hockey League . In the 1960s , the Western Junior " B " Hockey League was arguably the top league of Junior " B " hockey in Ontario . The Western ' s brass and the team owners felt that they should , as a whole , be promoted to Junior " A " status . In 1968 they pushed the issue with the Ontario Hockey Association . The the OHA refused the promotion and in return the league declared itself renegade . Declaring themselves the Western Junior " A " Hockey League , the WOJAHL operated independently for the next two seasons . After the 1969 playoffs , the WOJAHL champion St . Thomas Barons , starring future NHL er Ken Murray , faced off against future Hockey Hall of Fame r Bobby Clarke and the Flin Flon Bombers of the Western Canada Hockey League to determine a National Champion outside of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association . The first two games of the Best - of - Seven series took place in St . Thomas , Ontario . Flin Flon won game one 6 - 2 , while St . Thomas returned the favour in game two with a 6 - 3 win . The teams then shipped out to Flin Flon , where the Bombers took game three 5 - 0 . In game four , the Bombers led 4 - 0 at 10 : 10 of the second period , and the last of two brawls in the game would break out . In retaliation , the Barons walked off the ice . When St . Thomas made it clear they would not finish the series , the Canadian Hockey Association awarded the championship to the Bombers . Coach Keith Kewly and Manager Jack Cassidy were suspended one season by their league and the team was fined $ 700 . The town of St . Thomas had to raise $ 4500 to bring the team back home from Manitoba . Initially the CHA suspended the Barons for the entire 1969 - 70 season , but the suspension was overturned by the WOJAHL . In 1970 , the Top Tier of Junior Hockey in Ontario broke away from the OHA as well . To save face , the OHA opened negotiations with the WOJAHL . The league was welcomed back into the OHA as the top level in its system and changed its name to the Southern Ontario Junior " A " Hockey League . The 1971 League title went to the Detroit Jr . Red Wings , starring Mark Howe and Marty Howe , sons of legend Gordie Howe . Detroit defeated Guelph 3 - games - to - 2 with two ties to clinch the title . Detroit went on to defeat the Ottawa M & W Rangers in the quarterfinals of the Centennial Cup before losing to the Charlotetown Islanders in the Eastern Final . The next season saw the Guelph CMC ' s challenge and defeat Detroit in the final 4 - games - to - 1 . The CMC ' s pushed further and ended up winning the Manitoba Centennial Cup as Canadian Tier II Junior " A " Champions . In 1973 , the Chatham Maroons took the league crown and then defeated the newly formed Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League ' s champion the Wexford Warriors for the OHA Crown . The next season ' s title was won by the Windsor Spitfires who then fell to the Warriors in seven games . The ' 75 title was won by the CMC ' s again . They made it all the way to the National title , but fell to the Alberta Junior Hockey League champion . In 1975 - 76 , the CMC ' s were bought and renamed the Guelph Platers . They won the league once again , and moved on to the national title playdowns . Their first opponent was the Rockland Nationals of the Central Junior A Hockey League . After going up 3 - games - to - none on them , the Platers fell apart and lost in seven games . The league had six teams in 1975 - 76 but that was only due to the additions of the Hamilton Mountain A ' s and the Owen Sound Greys . The Jr . Red Wings had gone back to playing in the United States , the Sarnia Bees went to the newly formed Western Junior B Hockey League and the Windsor Spitfires moved up to the Ontario Hockey League . In 1976 - 77 the Collingwood Blues also joined the league but three other teams dropped out , reducing the number of clubs to four . The Niagara Falls Flyers folded to make way for a new OHL franchise in that city , the Welland Sabres also folded and Chatham returned to Junior B . After the 1977 playoffs , the league folded and the Platers and A ' s were invited to join the OPJHL . The Greys went on hiatus for one season and then moved up to the Major Intermediate A Hockey League . Collingwood returned to Junior B . The Guelph Platers joined the OHL in 1982 and are now known as the Owen Sound Attack .