Grimsby Peach Kings The Grimsby Peach Kings are a Junior " C " team based out of Grimsby , Ontario . They play out of the Niagara Junior C Hockey League . Before joining the Niagara " C " , the Kings played in the Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League . History . One of the oldest hockey clubs in Ontario , the Peach Kings officially joined the Ontario Hockey Association in 1922 , however the " Peach Kings " moniker had been used for local sports teams for several decades prior . The name refers to Grimsby ' s unique ability to cultivate peaches , a fruit that cannot be farmed without proper conditions . In the early 1920s Col . Roberts had built a large cold storage facility for fruit in the summer that had ample capacity to make ice in the winter . In turn , work began on an arena in the summer of 1921 . When the arena opened in January 1922 , it was one of only 8 arenas in the world and the Montreal Canadiens soon took advantage of it for their training camp . Shortly after , the professional Saskatoon Sheiks ( who were later sold to New York to become the Rangers ) also held training camps in Grimsby , and the town became an overnight hockey hotspot . For the 1924 - 25 season , sponsors got involved and began scouring Ontario for the best hockey players to play for the Peach Kings . When this squad took to the ice in the fall of 1924 , they skated on the same ice as Hall of Famers Howie Morenz , Georges Vézina , and Aurel Joliat skated on for training camp with the Canadiens . With Pud Reid as their captain , they took the league title that year playing against Brantford , Niagara Falls , Welland , Port Colborne , and Dunnville . In the OHA Intermediate A playoffs , the Peach Kings eliminated Paris , Toronto , and New Hamburg on their way to the finals . They beat Kingston in a two - game series to take the OHA championship . In accordance with the custom of the time , the Intermediate champions would play the previous year ' s Allan Cup champions , the top senior amateur team in Canada . What was supposed to be a decisive victory for the famous Sault Ste . Marie Greyhounds over Grimsby turned out different . With only 1000 fans watching at Toronto ' s Mutual St . Arena ( the precursor to Maple Leaf Gardens ) what was expected to a blowout , the Grimsby upstarts led 3 - 0 after two periods . The Greyhounds scored twice in the 3rd , but it was not enough as Grimsby held on . This marked the only time in history the Allan Cup titleholders lost to the Intermediates . From this heralded team , Gerry Carson went on the play for the Montreal Canadiens , Shorty Horne played for the Toronto Maple Leafs , and Pop McVicar , Artie Clark , and Pud Reid all played for the Chicago Cardinals of the American Association . In 1939 - 40 , the Peach Kings won the OHA Jr . C Final . Featuring Mush Miller and Red Mason , the Peach Kings defeated Bolton to face Markham in the provincial final . Games were held in Grimsby and the famed Maple Leaf Gardens . They brought home a second provincial championship and won the Clarence Schmalz Cup ( however it was yet to be named that ) . Returning to Intermediate hockey after World War II , the Peach Kings had more good years . They won their local Fruitbelt League in 1946 and 1947 , but lost to Owen Sound in the OHA playoffs in 1946 . In 1947 , they made it to the OHA finals to play the Markham Millionaires in a best of 5 series . With the Peach Kings leading the series 2 - 1 , the series shifted to Grimsby ice . Fans lined up all afternoon to get into the tiny arena , and eventually over 2000 packed the rink to watch a 3 - 3 tie after 60 minutes . The 10 - minute overtime period was not sudden death like it is today , and Markham scored early . But with less than 2 minutes remaining , Grimsby rookie Barry Blanchard wound up behind his own net , carried the puck down the ice , and dropped it to Norman Warner who evened the score . Then with 39 seconds remaining , William Hutchison put the puck past the Markham goalie to win the Provincial Championship . The Peach Kings struggled through the 50s , 60s , 70s , and 80s , but almost always retained a team wearing the Peach Kings sweater . Fortunes reversed however when the team was purchased in the mid - 1990s and re - emerged as a Jr C team . By 2001 , the team was strong claiming 1st place in the league for the 2002 - 03 season . In the playoffs , they dismissed Dunnville , Dundas , Norwich and the defending Ontario champion Essex 73 ' s on the way to the OHA Finals . Led by captain Dean Davidson and stars Matt Hodges , Kyle Hodges , Biff Fuller , Don Forbes , Ryan Toth , and Josh Horley , the Peach Kings beat Georgina in four games to claim the Provincial " C " Championship for the first time since 1940 . The following year with many of the same players , as well as new ones such as Jay Anderson , Derek Nichols and Steve Foster playing a larger role , the Peach Kings repeated by winning again , this time over Wingham in the Finals . These were the first back - to - back championships in team history . The following year , 2004 - 05 , the Peach Kings made a run for the finals again led by Hodges , Fuller , Toth , Nichols , Anderson , and Foster with newcomers like star goalie Steve Mason , Dan Ellis , Joel Bristo , Joel Agnew , and returnee Scott Clark , the Peach Kings played to the finals again looking to win for a third straight time . Taking a 3 - 2 series lead over the Essex 73 ' s into the Grimsby Arena , it looked like Grimsby would win again having not lost at home all season . Essex , making their first of five straight CSC Finals appearances , fought back and won Game 6 and Game 7 in Essex and reclaimed the provinical title which Grimsby had held for the previous two years . At the 2008 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships , former Peach King goaltender Steve Mason led the Canadian National Team to a fourth straight gold medal . He went 5 - 0 with a . 951 save percentage at the tournament and won various awards : First Team All - Star , Top Goalie in the tournament , as well as MVP of the Tournament . Grimsby has claimed eight straight Niagara East division titles from 2003 to 2010 , ensuring they have finished in the final eight teams in Ontario over this time , only twice ( 2006 and 2009 ) not making the semi - finals ( final four teams ) . However , recently the team has not matched the playoff success of the 2003 and 2004 championship years . The team has three Clarence Schmalz Cups .