Sackville Blazers Explained

The Sackville Blazers are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. The Blazers play in the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League and are the only team in history to have won three consecutive Don Johnson Cups as Maritime Junior B Champions.

History

The Sackville Blazers became a reality for the 1982/83 season. This came after seven years of hard work to gain entry into Junior hockey for Sackville. Starting with the 1997/98 season, the Blazers have had a continuous run of finishing first overall season after season.

The Sackville Blazers' Maritime dynasty began with the 2002–03 season. After winning the NSJBHL Championship, the Blazers went on to the Don Johnson Cup. After finishing first in the round robin with winds including 7–3 over the St. John's Junior Hockey League's St. John's Jr. Celtics, 6–1 over the Island Junior Hockey League's Sherwood Falcons, and 5–1 over the host Mt. Pearl Jr. Blades, the Blazers received a bye directly into the final. Sackville met Mt. Pearl again and dispatched them 6–4 to win their first Maritime Junior B Championship.

In 2004, the Blazers won their second straight NSJBHL title to move on to the Don Johnson Cup again. Starting off with a 6–2 loss to the Island Junior Hockey League's Kensington Vipers, the Blazers needed to win their final two games to guarantee another shot at the Cup. The Blazers knocked off the St. John's Junior Hockey League's Conception Bay North Jr. Stars and the host Antigonish Bulldogs to clinch a spot in the semi-final. In the semi-final, they again defeated Conception Bay North 7–2 and in the final they avenged their only loss with a 3–2 win over Kensington to win their second straight Don Johnson Cup.

In 2005, the Blazers again won their league championship, their third in consecutive years. They entered the Don Johnson Cup as one of only three teams to have won two consecutive titles (Antigonish Bulldogs and St. John's Jr. 50's begin the other two) with an opportunity to make history. The Blazers kicked off the tournament with a 6–1 romp over the Kensington Vipers and a 10–3 demolishing of the St. John's League's Trinity Placentia Flyers. In their final round robin game, they dropped a win to the host Strait Pirates and lost their bye to the tournament final. In the semi-final, the Blazers again beat Trinity Placentia 4–2 and in the final they avenged their loss to Strait 1–0 to clinch their third consecutive Don Johnson Cup—the only team in history to win three in a row.

In 2012–13, the Blazers would finish the season in second place with a record of 20-12-2. The Blazers would win the Nova Scotia playoffs and move on to the Don Johnson Memorial Cup in Moncton, New Brunswick. The Blazers finished second in the round robin with a record of two wins, a loss, and a regulation tie. The Blazers started the tournament with a 5–4 win over the New Brunswick Junior B Hockey League's Fredericton Caps. The next game, the Blazers lost 6–1 to the Island Junior Hockey League's Kensington Vipers. In their third game, the Blazers lost 3–2 in overtime to the St. John's Junior Hockey League's St. John's Jr. Caps. In their final round robin game, Sackville defeated the host Mocton Vito's 4–3. In the semi-final, the Blazers avenged their earlier overtime loss to the St. John's Jr. Caps by defeating them 6–5 in overtime. Sackville would drop the final to the Kensington Vipers in a close 4–3 decision.

Season-by-season record

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results Playoffs
1982-83 28 18 8 2 - -- -- 38 1st MLJBHL Won League
1983-88 Statistics Are Missing
1988-89 29 26 3 0 0 -- -- 52 1st MLJBHL
1989-90 30 19 11 0 0 191 160 38 2nd MLJBHL
1990-91 30 16 12 2 0 168 152 34 2nd MLJBHL
1991-92 28 17 9 0 2 175 162 36 2nd MLJBHL
1992-93 Leave of Absence
1993-94 30 14 13 3 - 172 178 31 3rd NSJBHL
1994-95 31 12 17 2 - 144 167 26 5th NSJBHL
1995-96 32 10 21 0 1 119 178 21 9th NSJBHL
1996-97 32 22 8 2 0 203 137 46 1st NSJBHL
1997-98 33 23 6 4 0 194 98 50 1st NSJBHL
1998-99 32 27 4 1 0 174 91 55 1st NSJBHL
1999-00 32 22 7 2 1 152 104 47 1st NSJBHL
2000-01 34 26 5 3 0 195 105 55 2nd NSJBHL
2001-02 34 27 3 2 2 225 102 58 1st NSJBHL
2002-03 32 26 5 0 1 192 109 53 2nd NSJBHL Won League, Won DJC
2003-04 32 26 5 0 1 192 109 53 1st NSJBHLWon League, Won DJC
2004-05 32 25 5 2 0 193 96 52 1st NSJBHLWon League, Won DJC
2005-06 34 31 2 1 0 198 100 63 1st NSJBHL
2006-07 34 21 10 1 2 130 114 45 2nd NSJHL
2007-08 34 16 18 0 0 117 118 32 7th NSJHL
2008-09 34 17 15 1 1 126 139 36 5th NSJHL
2009-10 34 17 14 2 1 149 136 37 6th NSJHL
2010-11 34 14 19 - 1 133 154 29 5th, Fred Fox Div
7th NSJHL
Did not qualify
2011-12 34 16 15 - 3 139 154 35 4th, Fred Fox Div
6th NSJHL
Lost Div. Semi-Final, ?-? (Ducks)
2012-13 34 20 12 - 2 127 119 42 1st, Fred Fox Div
2nd NSJHL
Won Div. Semi-Final, 4–1 (Leafs)
Won Div. Finals, 4–3 (Elks)
Won LEAGUE Finals, 4–2 (Pirates)
2013-14 34 23 10 - 1 127 175 47 2nd, Fred Fox Div
3 of 11 NSJHL
Won Div. Semi-Final, 4–2 (Ducks)
Won Div. Finals, 4–1 (Penguins)
Won LEAGUE Finals, 4–3 (Miners)
2014-15 34 26 7 - 1 215 130 53 1st, Fred Fox Div
2 of 11 NSJHL
Won Div. Semi-Final, 4–2 (Privateers)
Lost Div. Finals, 2–4 (Maple Leafs)
Season GP W OTW/SOW T/OTL L GF GA P Results Playoffs
2015-16 34 22 2 3 8 - - 71 2nd of 6 Fred Fox
3rd of 11 NSJHL
Won Div Semifinal, 4–1 (Penguins)
Lost Div. Finals, 3–4 (Leafs)
2016-17 34 16 3 3 12 142 127 57 5th of 6 Fred Fox
6th of 11 NSJHL
did not qualify
2017-18 34 15 - 3 16 123 138 33 5th of 6 Fred Fox
8th of 11 NSJHL
did not qualify
2018-19 32 22 - 1 9 155 108 45 5th of 6 Fred Fox
8th of 11 NSJHL
Won Div Semifinal, 4–1 (Privateers)
Won Div Final, 4–2 (Penguins)
Won LEAGUE Finals, 4-2 (Pirates)
2019-20 32 22 3 0 7 162 101 47 1st of 6 Fred Fox
3rd of 12 NSJHL
Won Div Semifinal, 4–2 (Colts)
Playoffs cancelled - covid
2020-21 11 9 0 0 2 62 27 18 2nd of 6 Fred Fox
4th of 12 NSJHL
Won Div Semifinal, 4–0 (Leafs)
Lost Div Finals, 2-4 (Penguins)
2021-22 22 14 1 0 7 87 64 18 1st of 6 Fred Fox
2nd of 12 NSJHL
Won Div Semifinal, 0–0 (Leafs)
Lost Div Finals, 2-4 (Penguins)
2022-23 30 14 13 3 1 103 113 31 4th of 6 Fred Fox
7th of 12 NSJHL
Lost Div Semifinal, 1-4 (Colts)
2023-24 32 17 10 5 0 104 101 39 4th of 6 Fred Fox
6th of 12 NSJHL
tbd Div Semifinal, 0-0 (Colts)

Don Johnson Cup

Eastern Canada Jr B Championships

Year Round Robin Record Standing Semi-final Championship Game
2003 W, St. John's 7-3
W, Sherwood 6-1
W, Mount Pearl 5-1
?, Oromocto ?-?
4-0-01st of 4 n/aW, Mount Pearl 6-4
Don Johnson Cup Champions
2004 L, Kensington 2-6
W, Conception Bay 9-4
W, Antigonish ?-?
2-1-02nd of 4 W, Conception Bay 7-2W, Kensington 3-2
Don Johnson Cup Champions
2005 W, Kensington 6-1
W, Trinity 10-3
L, Strait 3-5
2-1-02nd of 4 W, Trinity 4-2W, Strait 1-0
Don Johnson Cup Champions
2013 W, Fredericton 5-4
L, Kensington 1-6
OTL, St John's 2-3
W, Moncton 4-3
2-1-12nd of 5 OTW, St John's 6-5 L, Kensington 3-4
Cup Finalist
2014 W, Kensington, 8-6
L, Casselman, 5-7
W, Fredericton 5-2
W, Avalon 8-3
3-1-02nd of 6 OTW, Kensington 6-5 OTL, Casselman, 2-3
Cup Finalist
2019 W, CBR, 4-2
L, Moncton, 0-2
W, Kensington 3-2
L, Western 1-9
2-2-04th of 5 OTL, Western 0-1

External links