New Westminster Bruins Explained

Team:New Westminster Bruins
City:New Westminster, British Columbia
League:Western Hockey League
Operated:–81 and 1983–88
Championships:1977 & 1978 Memorial Cup Champions
Arena:Queen's Park Arena
Colours:Black, white & gold
Name1:Calgary Buffaloes
Dates1:1966–67
Name2:Calgary Centennials
Dates2:1967–77
Name3:Billings Bighorns
Dates3:1977–82
Name4:Nanaimo Islanders
Dates4:1982–83
Name5:New Westminster Bruins
Dates5:1983–88
Name6:Tri-City Americans
Dates6:1988-Present
Altname1:Estevan Bruins
Altdates1:1966–71
Altname2:New Westminster Bruins
Altdates2:1971–81
Altname3:Kamloops Junior Oilers
Altdates3:1981–84
Altname4:Kamloops Blazers
Altdates4:1984-Present

The New Westminster Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name:

Both incarnations of the franchise played at Queen's Park Arena in the Vancouver suburb of New Westminster, British Columbia.

History

First Bruins

The franchise began in 1946 as the Humboldt Indians of the original version of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (1948–1966), moving to Estevan to become the Bruins in 1957. They were a founding member of the Western Canada-based Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (later renamed the Western Canada Hockey League) in 1966. The Estevan Bruins had been a successful franchise, including a loss in the 1968 Memorial Cup national championship, when team owner and coach Punch McLean moved the team to New Westminster for the 1971–72 WCHL season.Once the team arrived in New Westminster, the success continued throughout much of the decade. The Bruins won the President's Cup four times in a row between 1975 and 1978. They made it to the Memorial Cup finals four years in a row as well, losing in 1975 and 1976 before winning it in 1977 and 1978. The WCHL was renamed the Western Hockey League for the 1978–79 WHL season. That season, after a brawl at the end of a game against Portland in March 1979 at Queens Park Arena, some local hockey fans started to look with disfavour upon the Bruins' rough tactics, and the team's popularity began to wane. The Bruins moved to Kamloops, British Columbia, for the 1981–82 WHL season, where they would become first the Kamloops Junior Oilers and, from the 1984–85 WHL season, the Kamloops Blazers.

Second Bruins

The second incarnation of the Bruins arrived in New Westminster in 1983 from Nanaimo, British Columbia, where they had previously been known as the Nanaimo Islanders. The team originated in Calgary in 1966–67 with a stop as the Billings Bighorns. The team only played one season in Nanaimo before moving. The new Bruins did not enjoy the same level of success, and lasted only five seasons in New Westminster before moving to Kennewick, Washington, to become the Tri-City Americans. This franchise has never won the WHL championship in any of its incarnations.

Season-by-season records

First Bruins (1971–81)

Note: GP = games played, W = wins, L = losses, T = ties Pts = points, GF = goals for, GA = goals against

Season GP W L T GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
68 40 27 1 285 240 81 3rd West Lost quarter-final
68 31 22 15 283 264 77 4th West Lost quarter-final
68 36 21 11 284 250 83 2nd West Lost semi-final
70 37 22 11 319 260 85 3rd West Won championship, 2nd in Memorial Cup
72 54 14 4 463 247 112 1st West Won championship, 2nd in Memorial Cup
72 47 14 11 363 216 105 1st West Won championship and Memorial Cup
72 33 28 11 345 310 77 3rd West Won championship and Memorial Cup
72 34 32 6 310 301 74 3rd West Eliminated in round robin
72 10 61 1 244 443 21 4th West Out of playoffs
72 17 54 1 306 512 35 5th West Out of playoffs

Second Bruins (1983–88)

Season GP W L T GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
72 34 36 2 304 348 70 2nd West Lost West Division semi-final
72 41 29 2 379 302 84 2nd West Lost West Division final
72 25 45 2 276 373 52 5th West Out of playoffs
72 18 50 4 300 432 40 6th West Out of playoffs
72 33 34 5 339 358 71 4th West Lost West Division semi-final

NHL alumni

Totals include both incarnations of the Bruins

See also

References