Bradford Rattlers The Bradford Rattlers are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based out of Bradford , Ontario . They play out of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League . Recently , the Rattlers , known until now as the Bulls , were bought out by a local group of investors for the purpose of moving the team up to Junior " A " from the Georgian Mid - Ontario Junior C Hockey League . History . The Bradford franchise was founded in 1971 as they joined the South - Central Junior " D " Hockey League . The league soon became the Central Junior " C " , then the Mid - Ontario Junior " C " , and finally after merging with the Georgian Junior " C " league became the Georgian Mid - Ontario Junior " C " Hockey League . Their team ' s first championship was the Junior " D " OHA Cup in 1973 . They won the All - Ontario Junior " D " title by defeating the Mitchell Hawks 4 - games - to - 1 . That summer , the SCJDHL was promoted to Junior " C " . In 1980 , Bradford won their league and went all the way to the Clarence Schmalz Cup All - Ontario Final . In the end , they lost out to the Leamington Flyers 4 - games - straight . In 1986 , they made it all the way back to the All - Ontario final only to lose to the Norwich Merchants 4 - games - to - 3 . In 1989 , the Bulls struck gold . They won their league and then followed it up with a 4 - games - to - 2 series victory to defeat the Hanover Barons to win their only ever Clarence Schmalz Cup . The Bulls won the league again in 1998 , but did not reach the All - Ontario Final . The Most valuable Player of the playoffs was Noah Bell , who was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League a year later by the Sudbury Wolves . The Bradford Bulls were bought out towards the end of the 2005 - 06 season by a local party who owned an independent Junior " A " travelling team known as the Toronto Rattlers . The Rattlers toured the United States playing games in junior hockey tournaments and against college teams from 2004 until 2006 . A number of alumni received US college offers and Russia n Kirill Tulupov was taken by the New Jersey Devils in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft . The new ownership group wanted the thirty - five year old Toronto - Area franchise moved up to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League , but when the Ontario Hockey Association turned down the request the team walked away from the OHA . Under the new name " Rattlers " , the team is now a member of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League - - an independent league , free of OHA control . 2006 - 07 . The Bradford Rattlers first ever game in the GMHL was against the South Muskoka Shield on September 15 , 2006 in Gravenhurst , Ontario . The Rattlers dismantled the Shield , winning by a score of 10 - 1 . Andreas Goetz picked up the teams first ever Junior " A " victory in net . Their first home game was on September 17 , 2006 against the Toronto Canada Moose , a 5 - 3 win . On September 24 , 2006 , the Bradford Rattlers became the last undefeated team of the GMHL ' s inaugural season , moving to 5 - 0 - 0 - 0 , defeating the ( until then undefeated ) Richmond Hill Rams by a score of 3 - 1 . The winning streak lasted until October 15 , 2006 , 10 - 0 - 0 - 0 , as the Rattlers picked up an overtime loss to the King Wild . The Rattlers still had yet to lose a game in regulation . On January 21 , 2007 , the streak ended . Entering the game against the Deseronto Thunder the Rattlers had compiled a 27 - 0 - 0 - 4 record . At one point , the Thunder were leading 5 - 2 but in typical Rattler fashion , Bradford came back . The comeback was not enough as they lost for the first time ever in regulation by a score of 6 - 5 . Their league record of 31 straight games without a regulation loss will be a challenge to ever surpass . The Rattlers finished the season in first place , earning a bye into the league semi - final . Their semi - final opponent was the Deseronto Thunder . The Thunder game out flying , winning the first two games of the series . With their backs almost against wall , the Rattlers pulled themselves together and won the next four games straight to earn the right to play in the league final . The league final was against the league ' s second seeded King Wild . The Rattlers squeaked out Game One with a 2 - 1 victory . Game Two saw the Wild come alive with a convincing 6 - 3 victory to even the series . The Rats came back on fire and won Game Three 5 - 0 . Game Four and Five went to overtime with Bradford winning 2 - 1 and 4 - 3 , respectively , to win the Bradford Rattlers the first ever Bob Russell Cup as GMJHL Champions . The Rattlers faced the WHA Junior West Hockey League ' s New Westminster Whalers for the NJHA Alliance Cup . The Rattlers swept the series 3 - games - to - none . 2007 - 08 . On December 30 , 2007 , the Rattlers hosted the Moscow Selects All - star team in an exhibition game . The Selects won the game by a score of 8 - 4 . This was the second game of seven that the Moscow team played against different GMJHL clubs . In 2007 - 08 , the Rattlers challenged their 31 - game record for regular season games without a regulation loss ( one season ) , but came up short with a still impressive 28 - game streak with a 5 - 3 January 6 loss to the Deseronto Storm . The Rattlers did , however , set a new league record for regular season games without a regulation loss ( multiple seasons ) with 38 . This also marked the end of the longest winning streak in GMJHL history of 27 straight wins . The Rattlers began the 2008 playoffs against the Toronto Canada Moose , whom they swept . They then defeated the South Muskoka Shield 4 - games - to - 1 . In the league semi - final , they swept the Elliot Lake Bobcats , and in the league final they swept the Innisfil Lakers to win their second straight Russell Cup . There was no Alliance Cup in 2008 . 2008 - 09 . On January 5 , 2009 , the Rattlers played off against Kazakhstan ' s Torpedo UST - Kamenogorsk Under - 18 squad in Shelburne , Ontario . At one point leading 5 - 0 , the Rattlers played a lot of their younger players in the second half of the game . The final score was 6 - 5 for Bradford . The Rattlers finished the 2008 - 09 season with the second best record in the South Division and third best in the league . In the playoffs , the Rattlers first met the Toronto Canada Moose . After winning the first two games , the Moose came back and took game three and four of the best - of - 5 series to force a decisive game five . The Rattlers overcame the potential upset and won the series 3 - games - to - 2 . In the division semi - final , the Rattlers drew the pesky Deseronto Storm . The Rattlers took game one , but in game two and three the Storm took control . The Rattlers had to win game four to prolong the best - of - 5 series , and succeeded with a 5 - 1 victory . The next morning it was announced that the Deseronto Storm protested the result of game four due to a roster violation by Bradford . Upon review of the league , the result of game four was overturned and the Rattlers were disqualified from the remainder of the playoffs . Season - by - Season Standings . ( * ) " Standings Incomplete . "