Smiths Falls Bears

Smiths Falls Bears
Smiths Falls Bears
City	Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada
League	Central Canada Hockey League
Division	West Division
Founded	1961
Home arena	Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre; (capacity: 1,500)
Colours	Yellow, black, white ;
Owner(s)	Glenview Sports Entertainment Inc.
General manager	Pat Malloy
Head coach	Pat Malloy
Media	FloSports
Franchise history
1961-1976; 1985-2000	Smiths Falls Bears
2000-2002	Lanark Thunder
2002-present	Smiths Falls Bears

The Smiths Falls Bears is a Junior A ice hockey team based in Smiths Falls. The Bears compete in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) as a member of the West (Robinson) Division. The team has been in existence since 1961, making them the oldest team in the CCHL.

The Bears are one of the ''Original Four'' teams in the league, but then left Smiths Falls in 1976. The team rejoined the league in 1985 and later had a short two-year stint in Lanark before returning to Smiths Falls.

History

The origins of the Smiths Falls Bears trace back to when the Central Junior Hockey League was formed in 1961 under the direction of the Montreal Canadiens. The Bears are one of the oldest franchises in Canadian Junior A hockey, despite a 9-year leave of absence from 1976 to 1985. From 2000 to 2002 the team was known as the Lanark Thunder and played out of Perth, Ontario before the franchise was suspended. As a result, the Smiths Falls Bears were re-admitted to the league as an expansion team for 2002-03 and held an expansion draft.

The Bears inaugural season saw members wear maroon and white - identical colours of the American Hockey League's Hershey Bears. In 1985, the Bears returned to the league wearing the colours black, gold, and white - identical to the Pittsburgh Penguins uniforms in the 1980s. In the early 1990s, the Bears went back to their original colours of maroon and white, but with grey. In 1998, the Bears changed their colours to teal and black, which being such a departure from earlier styles, confused CJHL supporters around the league.

The Bears won their first Art Bogart Cup in 1965 as Central Junior Hockey League champions. The Bears won back-to-back CJHL championships in 1974 and 1975. In 1976, the Bears took a leave of absence from the league, returning in 1985.

In February 2000, a dressing room fire at the Smiths Falls Memorial Centre destroyed almost all of the team's equipment. The equipment was replaced through donations and charities and Bears were able to finish the 1999-00 season. The following summer, the Bears announced their relocation to nearby Lanark, Ontario. Assuming the name of the Lanark Thunder, the owner promised to draw attendance at the Perth Community Arena for the 2000-01 season. While the inaugural season of the Thunder drew satisfactory attendance, it dropped dramatically during the following season and nearly being unable to participate in the playoffs at the conclusion of the 2001-02 season and having to give up their playoff spot to the second-last team (Brockville). The Thunder played the Nepean Raiders in the first round and lost the series 4-0. Immediately afterwards, the team was suspended allowing the original franchise to be re-admitted as an expansion team.

The Smiths Falls Bears missed the playoffs in their first three years returning from Lanark. In December 2004, a new head coach Bill Bowker was assigned to turn the team around. The Bears had won just a single game before January 2005, which resulted in heavy criticism by fans and media alike. But the coaching change paid off as the Bears made the playoffs for the next four years. Their best post-Lanark Thunder season was 2007-08, when the Bears appeared in the CJHL finals after knocking off arch-rivals Brockville Braves in 6 games to compete against arch-rivals Pembroke Lumber Kings. The Lumber Kings won the finals in 5 games. In July 2008, three Bears were chosen in the NHL Draft. Mike Bergin (by the Dallas Stars); Nicholas Tremblay (by the Boston Bruins); and Mark Borowiecki (by the Ottawa Senators). They became the first trio of players from the same CJHL club to be chosen in the NHL Draft. Mark Borowiecki left Clarkson University after the 2010-11 season as he signed a 2-year minor league contract with the Ottawa Senators minor league affiliate the Binghamton Senators.

On February 27, 2010, the Smiths Falls Bears played their final game at the Smiths Falls Memorial Centre. During the off-season, the arena was torn down and replaced with a new one on exactly the same premises. After the 2010-11 season the Bears released their longtime head coach and manager Bill Bowker. Bowker was replaced with Ottawa 67's former assistant coach (and assistant coach of the Bears during the 2010-11 season) Mark Grady.

In 2016, the Smiths Falls Bears and the Town of Smiths Falls was awarded the 2018 Fred Page Cup. The Bears have the newest and most-suitable facility in the league.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

1961-62	28	10	14	4	-	--	--	24	6th OHDJHL	Lost semi-final
1962-63	32	10	9	3	-	140	124	43	2nd OHDJHL	Lost final
1963-64	32	13	16	3	-	--	--	29	6th OHDJHL	Lost quarter-final
1964-65	36	29	5	2	-	175	75	60	1st CJHL	Won League
1965-66	36	20	9	7	-	177	123	47	4th CJHL	Lost semi-final
1966-67	50	22	20	8	-	186	176	52	2nd CJHL	Lost final
1967-68	40	21	15	4	-	197	143	46	2nd CJHL	Lost final
1968-69	40	20	11	9	-	157	123	49	2nd CJHL	Lost semi-final
1969-70	40	13	22	5	-	135	159	31	4th CJHL
1970-71	48	31	12	5	-	247	183	67	1st CJHL
1971-72	48	29	17	2	-	250	208	60	1st CJHL	Won League
1972-73	55	25	29	1	-	246	274	51	4th CJHL
1973-74	50	30	17	3	-	301	240	63	1st CJHL	Won League, won CC
1974-75	50	27	16	7	-	287	222	61	2nd CJHL	Won League, won CC
1975-76	50	24	20	6	-	223	227	54	3rd CJHL
1976-85	Did Not Participate
1985-86	60	12	44	1	3	231	389	28	7th CJHL
Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
1986-87	54	24	25	5	-	218	219	55	5th CJHL
1987-88	56	4	52	0	-	174	441	11	8th CJHL
1988-89	55	24	30	1	-	269	305	52	6th CJHL
1989-90	56	17	33	1	5	225	294	40	8th CJHL
1990-91	53	13	31	3	6	285	375	35	8th CJHL
1991-92	57	9	46	1	1	206	423	20	10th CJHL
1992-93	57	8	43	2	4	184	385	22	10th CJHL
1993-94	57	33	15	4	5	293	229	75	3rd CJHL
1994-95	54	29	10	8	7	237	203	73	2nd CJHL
1995-96	54	26	26	2	-	253	247	54	1st in West
1996-97	53	41	8	4	-	271	172	87	2nd in West	Lost final
1997-98	54	26	19	11	-	224	202	69	2nd in West
1998-99	54	28	20	6	-	202	220	62	4th in West
1999-00	56	25	28	3	-	240	256	53	4th in West
2000-01	55	24	23	8	0	207	194	59	4th in West
2001-02	55	16	26	15	-	212	260	47	4th in West
2002-03	55	9	39	7	2	196	317	25	5th in West	DNQ
2003-04	55	11	38	5	4	196	335	28	5th in West	DNQ
2004-05	57	9	42	1	5	165	304	24	5th in West	DNQ
2005-06	59	18	31	5	5	193	250	46	4th in West	Lost quarter-final
2006-07	55	25	23	5	2	199	200	57	4th in West	Lost semi-final
2007-08	60	41	15	4	0	280	183	86	2nd CJHL	Lost final
2008-09	60	36	22	-	2	247	205	74	5th CJHL	Lost quarter-final
2009-10	62	18	40	-	4	148	256	40	10th CJHL	DNQ
2010-11	62	27	29	-	6	191	229	60	8th CCHL	Lost quarter-final
2011-12	62	30	30	-	2	220	240	62	8th CCHL	Lost quarter-final
2012-13	62	36	22	-	4	235	183	76	7th CCHL	Lost quarter-final
2013-14	62	41	17	-	4	238	174	86	2nd CCHL	Lost final
2014-15	62	28	26	3	5	173	206	64	5th of 6 in West 7th of 12 CCHL	Lost Prelim. Round, 1-2 (Raiders)
2015-16	62	38	22	0	2	220	170	78	4th of 6 in West 6th of 12 CCHL	Lost quarterfinals, 0-4 (Hawks)
2016-17	62	21	34	5	2	177	209	55	6th of 6 in West 7th of 12 CCHL	Lost quarterfinals, 1-4 (Colts)
2017-18	62	21	34	3	1	158	196	55	5th of 6 in West 9th of 12 CCHL	Did not qualify for playoffs
2018-19	62	28	23	0	9	195	211	67	3rd of 6 in West 6th of 12 CCHL	Lost quarterfinals, 1:4 (Braves)
2019-20	62	33	24	5	-	223	216	71	3rd of 6 in West 6th of 12 CCHL	Playoffs cancelled due to civd-19 pandemic.
2020-21	Season cancelled due to covid-19 pandemic restrictions
2021-22	55	25	25	4	1	193	216	55	5th of 6 in West 7th of 12 CCHL	Lost quarterfinals, 0-4 (Jr. Senators)
2022-23	55	37	15	1	2	232	165	77	1st of 6 in West 3rd of 12 CCHL	Won quarterfinals, 4-1 (Canadians) Won semifinals 4-1 (Wolves) Lost Finals 3-4 (Jr. Senators)
2023-24	55	36	15	1	3	193	128	76	1st of 6 in West 2nd of 12 CCHL	Won quarterfinals, 4-1 (Canadians) Won semifinals 4-1 (Colts) Lost Finals 2-4 (Grads)

Championships

CJHL Bogart Cup Championships: 1965, 1972, 1974, 1975

Eastern Canadian Fred Page Cup Championships: None

CJAHL Royal Bank Cup Championships: None

Notable alumni

References

External links

Smiths Falls Bears Website