Sarnia Legionnaires (1969-)

The Sarnia Legionnaires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
==History==
The Sarnia Bees joined the ranks of the current Western Junior "B" league in 1969. The Bees were an upstart team in direct competition with the historic Sarnia Legionnaires of the Western Ontario Junior A Hockey League. By mid-season, the Bees had stolen away most of the Legionnaires fan base and the team was forced to fold.
Over the next quarter century the Bees had some good teams but the club seldom lived up to the legend of the Sarnia Legionnaires.
After dominating the Western Ontario Junior B Hockey League during the 1970-71 season, the Bees elected to jump to the Legionnaires' old league, the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League, but the adventure was not overly successful and the Bees returned to the WOJHL the next season. Their experience in Junior A seemingly fueled the Bees during the 1972-73 season as they won the WOJHL championship and went on to defeated the Metro Junior B Hockey League's Toronto Nationals 4-games-to-2 to win Sarnia's first Sutherland Cup since the Sarnia Legionnaires did it in 1968.
In 1983, the Bees were again WOJBHL champions and pushed all the way to the Sutherland Cup finals. In the final, they met the Metro Junior B Hockey League's St. Michael's Buzzers. After a long battle, the Buzzers finished off the Bees in game 7 to deny the franchise of its second Sutherland Cup.
In 1995, the Ontario Hockey League accepted the expansion of a new team known as the Sarnia Sting. To stay out of the shadow of the OHL team, the Bees changed their name to the Steeplejacks. After another couple name changes, the Sarnia franchise became the Sarnia Blast in 2001. The team is a long standing member of the Western Junior "B" league (WOHL).
In 2002, the Blast won the WOHL championship and qualified for the Sutherland Cup final. In the final they met the Mid-Western Junior B Hockey League's Elmira Sugar Kings. The series went the distance, but the Blast prevailed in game 7 of the series and brought the Sutherland Cup back to Sarnia for the seventh time and the first time in 29 years.
In 2008, the ownership of the Sarnia Blast was transferred to a consortium of local individuals. In memory of the fabled Sarnia Legionnaires of old, the new owners and the local Royal Canadian Legion allowed for the current team to resurrect the name. The new owners said they will put pictures of the original Legionnaires in their dressing room, hoping that will inspire today's young players.
In their first year back under the Legionnaire name after a 38-year absence, the club finished first in the Western Conference of the Greater Ontario Hockey League. In the playoffs, they won the conference championship by eliminating the St. Thomas Stars 4-1 in games, taking out the Strathroy Rockets 4-3 in games and ousting the London Nationals 4-2 in games to win the Weir Cup.
The team set a league record in the 2009 playoffs when it scored three goals in 14 seconds in a game against Strathroy.
Sarnia Jr. 'B' hockey teams named the Legionnaires have now won six Western Ontario championships in 17 years of action, along with four Sutherland Cups. 
==Season-by-Season Results==
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	T 	OL 	GF 	GA 	P 	Results 	Playoffs 	 	 	 	 	
1969-70	36 	19 	12 	5 	- 	199 	158 	43 	2nd WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1970-71	42 	32 	8 	2 	- 	263 	143 	66 	1st WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1971-72	56 	15 	31 	10 	- 	158 	200 	40 	8th SOJAHL 	Did not qualify 	 	 	 	 	
1972-73	41 	34 	3 	4 	- 	289 	144 	72 	1st WOJHL 	Won League, Won SC 	 	 	 	 	
1973-74	40 	31 	6 	3 	- 	275 	144 	65 	1st WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1974-75	40 	22 	13 	5 	- 	202 	161 	49 	1st WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1975-76	40 	26 	10 	4 	- 	272 	183 	56 	2nd WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1976-77	40 	19 	13 	8 	- 	208 	158 	46 	2nd WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1977-78	40 	18 	17 	5 	- 	213 	208 	41 	3rd WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1978-79	42 	20 	18 	4 	- 	242 	266 	44 	4th WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1979-80	42 	25 	12 	5 	- 	246 	163 	55 	3rd WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1980-81	42 	26 	10 	6 	- 	236 	170 	58 	2nd WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1981-82	42 	36 	4 	2 	- 	290 	138 	74 	1st WOJHL 	Won League 	 	 	 	 	
1982-83	42 	22 	14 	6 	- 	204 	172 	50 	3rd WOJHL 	Lost Final 	 	 	 	 	
1983-84	48 	32 	10 	6 	- 	262 	172 	70 	2nd WOJHL 	Lost Final 	 	 	 	 	
1984-85	48 	30 	15 	3 	- 	266 	211 	63 	3rd WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1985-86	42 	25 	16 	1 	- 	257 	196 	51 	3rd WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1986-87	42 	26 	11 	5 	- 	268 	192 	57 	3rd WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
1987-88	42 	25 	13 	4 	0 	215 	158 	54 	3rd WOJHL 	Won League 	 	 	 	 	
1988-89	42 	34 	8 	0 	0 	312 	150 	68 	1st WOJHL 	Won League 	 	 	 	 	
1989-90	39 	34 	3 	1 	1 	292 	147 	70 	1st WOJHL 	Lost Final 	 	 	 	 	
1990-91	48 	33 	14 	1 	0 	255 	185 	67 	3rd WOJHL 	Lost Final 	 	 	 	 	
1991-92	50 	27 	18 	4 	1 	233 	221 	59 	3rd WOJHL West 	 	 	 	 	 	
1992-93	52 	37 	12 	3 	0 	- 	- 	77 	1st WOJHL West 	Won League 	 	 	 	 	
1993-94	51 	30 	19 	2 	0 	295 	242 	62 	2nd WOJHL West 	 	 	 	 	 	
1994-95	52 	22 	27 	0 	3 	236 	237 	47 	3rd WOJHL West 	 	 	 	 	 	
1995-96	52 	22 	23 	6 	1 	229 	231 	51 	4th WOJHL West 	 	 	 	 	 	
1996-97	52 	11 	36 	1 	4 	175 	281 	27 	5th WOJHL West 	 	 	 	 	 	
1997-98	52 	18 	28 	3 	3 	171 	233 	42 	5th WOJHL West 	 	 	 	 	 	
1998-99	52 	33 	14 	0 	5 	241 	175 	71 	3rd WOJHL West 	 	 	 	 	 	
1999-00	54 	37 	13 	0 	4 	228 	161 	78 	2nd GOHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
2000-01	54 	34 	18 	1 	1 	220 	172 	70 	4th GOHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
2001-02	54 	36 	15 	1 	2 	274 	190 	75 	3rd WOJHL 	Won League, Won SC 	 	 	 	 	
2002-03	48 	34 	12 	1 	1 	250 	161 	70 	2nd WOJHL 	Lost Final 	 	 	 	 	
2003-04	48 	32 	10 	0 	6 	215 	151 	70 	1st WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
2004-05	48 	28 	13 	3 	4 	193 	150 	63 	3rd WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
2005-06	48 	23 	22 	0 	3 	171 	181 	49 	6th WOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
2006-07	48 	31 	12 	- 	5 	225 	180 	67 	2nd WOJHL 	Lost Final 	 	 	 	 	
2007-08	48 	26 	19 	- 	3 	158 	149 	55 	13th GOJHL 	 	 	 	 	 	
2008-09	52 	37 	11 	- 	4 	228 	158 	78 	1st WOHC 	Won League 	 	 	 	 	
2009-10	50 	21 	23 	- 	6 	174 	176 	48 	6th GOJHL-W 	Lost Conf. QF 	 	 	 	 	
2010-11	51 	24 	24 	- 	3 	198 	208 	51 	7th GOJHL-W 	Lost Conf. QF 	 	 	 	 	
2011-12	51 	32 	14 	- 	5 	241 	178 	69 	1st GOJHL-W 	Lost Conf. SF 	 	 	 	 	
2012-13	51 	22 	20 	- 	9 	197 	195 	53 	7th GOJHL-W 	Lost Conf. QF 	 	 	 	 	
2013-14	49 	29 	18 	- 	2 	217 	184 	60 	4th GOJHL-W 	Lost Conf. QF 	 	 	 	 	
2014-15	49 	33 	15 	- 	1 	230 	179 	67 	3rd GOJHL-W 	Won Conf. Quarter, 4-2 (St. Thomas)Lost Conf. Semi, 2-4 (LaSalle)	 	 	 	 	
2015-16	50 	23 	22 	2 	3 	157 	186 	51 	5th of 9-W19th of 26 	Lost Conf. Quarter, 3-4 (LaSalle) 	 	 	 	 	
2016-17	50 	22 	22 	0 	6 	163 	182 	50 	6th of 9-W15th of 27 	Lost Conf. Quarter, 2-4 (Leamington) 	 	 	 	 	
2017-18	50 	29 	15 	1 	5 	204 	173 	64 	4th of 9-W10th of 26 	Lost Conf. Quarter, 1-4 (St. Thomas) 	 	 	 	 	
2018-19	48 	28 	12 	4 	4 	186 	153 	64 	4th W 	Lost Conf. Quarter, 0-4 (LaSalle) 	 	 	 	 	
2019-20	50 	17 	29 	1 	3 	137 	222 	38 	8th of 9-W 	Lost Conf Quarter, 0-4 (Nationals) 	 	 	 	 	
2020-21	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic 	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22	48 	11 	35 	1 	1 	122 	220 	24 	9th of 9-W23rd of 25 	Did not qualify for post season 	 	 	 	 	
2022-23	50 	11 	32 	6 	1 	153 	275 	29 	8th of 9-W21st of 25 	Lost Conf. Quarter, 0-4 (Leamington) 	 	 	 	 	
2023-24	50 	17 	27 	4 	2 	176 	249 	40 	7th of 8-W17th of 23 	Lost Conf. Quarter, 0-4 (Lincoln) 	 	 	 	 	
==Sutherland Cup Appearances==
:1973: Sarnia Bees defeated Toronto Nationals 4-games-to-2
:1982: St. Michael's Buzzers defeated Sarnia Bees 4-games-to-3
:2002: Sarnia Blast defeated Elmira Sugar Kings 4-games-to-3
==Notable alumni==
*Frank Beaton
*Jerry Butler
*Dino Ciccarelli
*Mike Crombeen
*Michael Dark
*Scott Garland
*Matt Martin
*Tony McKegney
*Robbie Moore
*Mike Murray
*Bob Neely
*Rumun Ndur
*Kraig Nienhuis
==External links==
*Legionnaires Webpage
Category:Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League
Category:Canadian ice hockey teams
Category:Ontario Hockey Association