Hamilton Fincups The Fincups were a junior team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years , from 1974 to 1978 . The team played in Hamilton , Ontario for three years , and in St . Catharines , Ontario for one . History . The Fincups were a short - lived team in the Ontario Hockey Association that was very successful on the ice , but did poorly generating revenue . The club bounced around in three outdated arenas in four years . Unable to turn much of a profit , the Fincups moved out of town , becoming the Brantford Alexanders . The name " " Fincup " " is a combination of the team ' s owners , Joe Finochio and the Cupido brothers , Ron and Mario . They renamed the old Hamilton Red Wings after the 1974 season ; the franchise had history in Steeltown dating back to the early 1950 ' s . The new owners hired Bert Templeton as the team ' s new coach . Templeton was voted winner of the Matt Leyden Trophy as Coach of the Year in his first season . Templeton was let go partway through the Fincups ' fourth season and replaced by Dave Draper . In the four short seasons that the Fincups played , the team won the Memorial Cup once , and the J . Ross Robertson Cup once . The Fincups also represented Canada at the World Junior Tournament and came away with a silver medal . The Fincups won the Emms Division regular season title for two consecutive years in 1975 – 76 and 1976 – 77 , and the Hamilton Spectator Trophy in 1976 – 77 as the first overall team in the OHA regular season . The Fincups made the OHA finals all 3 years they played out of Hamilton , and came within one win of making it four consecutive appearances in the championship series in their only year in St . Catharines . Memorial Cup 1976 . The Hamilton Fincups of 1976 were a small , hard - working and determined team which practiced meticulously and strived to be top in condition . Their hard work won the Emms division regular season in 1976 and eliminated the Kitchener Rangers , Toronto Marlboros and the Sudbury Wolves to make to the Memorial Cup hosted at the Montreal Forum . Their opponents for the 1976 national title would be the WHL ' s New Westminster Bruins and the QMJHL ' s Quebec Remparts . Hamilton lost the first game of the round - robin to Quebec 4 - 3 , due to the 45 save performance of the Remparts goalie Barrette . The Bruins would defeat the Remparts the next day 4 - 2 . The third game saw the Fincups score seven power play goals to beat the Bruins 8 - 4 in a game with many penalties , which concluded the round - robin . The win and the large goal differential put Hamilton directly into the final game . New Westminster would solidly beat Quebec 10 - 3 in the semi - final game . The next day in front of 4 , 350 fans at the Montreal Forum , the Fincups played a tenacious forechecking game and defeated the New Westminster Bruins 5 - 2 in Memorial Cup Final game . The win brought the Memorial Cup back to the " Steel City " for the first time in 14 years . Instability . The team ' s move to St . Catharines , Ontario in 1977 was necessitated by the closure of the old Barton Street Arena in Hamilton . During the 1976 Memorial Cup run , the Hamilton Spectator was filled with speculation about a possible move to Brantford , Ontario , as the old arena in Hamilton was obviously on its last legs . However , the city of Hamilton refused to make a decision about a new arena , and debated whether to build a 5 , 000 - seat building for the Fincups or a 16 , 000 seat arena in hopes of pursuing a World Hockey Association team . In August 1976 , the ice - making machinery in the dilapidated , 67 - year - old barn broke down and Fincup ownership , who also owned the building , chose to demolish the battered , ancient arena rather than repair it . The team was unable to negotiate a short - term lease to use the only other semi - suitable arena in Hamilton , the Mountain Arena , due to opposition from local residents , and so the homeless team was forced to move to St . Catharines , Ontario , about an hour down the highway , who had recently witnessed the departure of their own OMJHL team , the Black Hawks . Team ownership was able to negotiate a lease for Mountain Arena for the 1977 - 78 OHL season , but at the end of the year the city of Hamilton was still no closer to building a new arena than they had been two years earlier . Moreover , the team was losing money at the tiny , out of the way Mountain Arena . Out of long - term options in Hamilton , the team was moved at the end of that season to Brantford , where they were renamed the Brantford Alexanders . Players . The heart and soul of the Fincups was their captain Dale McCourt . He led the team to the Memorial Cup title in 1976 , and the Hamilton Spectator Trophy in 1977 . He was voted CHL Player of the year for his efforts . There are 21 Fincups alumni who made the NHL . Arenas . The Hamilton Fincups played home games at the Barton Street Arena , also known as the Hamilton Forum from 1974 – 1976 . The St . Catharines Fincups played in the Garden City Arena in downtown St . Catharines , Ontario in 1976 – 1977 . After moving back to Hamilton , the Fincups played out of the Mountain Arena from 1977 – 1978 .