Wiarton Rock

Wiarton Rock
City Wiarton, Ontario, Canada
League Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League
Founded 2006
Home arena Wiarton Arena & Community Centre
Colors Blue, Red, and White
              
General manager Joe Ziel
Head coach Joe Ziel
Franchise history
2006-2010 King Wild
2010-2011 Vaughan Wild
2011-2014 Lefroy Wave
2014-2016 Grey Highlands Bravehearts
2016-present Wiarton Rock

The Wiarton Rock are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Wiarton, Ontario. The team is in the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL). The Rock have been relocated multiple times, spending time in King, Nobleton, Lefroy, and Markdale, Ontario.

Lefroy logo for three seasons before move to Markdale.

History

Bravehearts goalie on Breast Cancer Awareness night during 2014-15 season.

The King Wild's first game was the first game in the GMHL's history. The game took place on September 8, 2006 against the Richmond Hill Rams in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The Wild lost 6-0 to the Rams despite outshooting them. The Wild's first victory was a 5-1 decision over the Toronto Canada Moose on September 9, 2006. The team's first home game was against the Nipissing Alouettes on September 10, 2006. The Wild were victorious, winning by a close 5-3 score.

The 2006-07 finalists started the 2007-08 season off rather slow. After playing poorly for most of the season, the Wild surged in the last quarter, and with a long winning streak drew a .500 record by the final regular season game. In the bye round of the playoffs, all byes had been picked and the final two teams remaining were the Wild and the Douro Dukes who would play in the first round practically by default. Although the Dukes played inspired hockey, the Wild swept the series 4-0. The Wild put on a tough show for the Temiscaming Royals in the league quarter-finals, but were still defeated by the second seeded team in six games.

In March 2008, the Wild and the Richmond Hill Rams challenged the Mexico national ice hockey team to a set of four exhibition games. The first of two games for the Wild happened on the 22nd, as the Wild defeated the Mexican Senior team 7-6 in overtime. On the 25th, the Wild played them again and beat them again 7-6, this time in regulation.

At the 2010 Summer AGM, it was announced that the Wild will relocate to the Vaughan Ice Plex in Vaughan, Ontario after two seasons in Nobleton and two previous in King City.

In the summer of 2011, the Vaughan Wild moved to Lefroy, Ontario and became the Lefroy Wave. In the Spring of 2014, the Wave moved to Markdale, Ontario and became the Grey Highlands Bravehearts. The Bravehearts are the first junior team to call home since the Junior D Markdale Mohawks played their final season in 1984-85.

After two seasons in Markdale, the Bravehearts are on the move again, and will be setting up shop in Wiarton, Ontario for the 2016-17 season. The formal name of the team is yet to be determined but team owners/officials have announced that they will not use any historic/previous Wiarton team names.

Season-by-season standings

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results Playoffs
King Wild
2006-07 42 26 13 - 3 190 152 55 2nd GMHL Lost Final
2007-08 42 20 20 - 2 186 179 42 8th GMHL Lost Quarter-final
2008-09 43 26 15 - 2 241 200 54 7th GMHL Lost Division Quarter-final
2009-10 42 18 20 - 4 212 205 40 7th GMHL Lost Quarter-final
Vaughan Wild
2010-11 42 13 24 - 5 173 215 31 11th GMHL Lost Qualifier
Lefroy Wave
2011-12 42 23 18 - 1 179 186 47 6th GMHL Lost Quarter-final
2012-13 42 4 35 1 2 110 252 11 15th GMHL Lost Division Quarter-final
2013-14 42 5 34 - 3 121 274 13 19th GMHL Lost Qualifier
Grey Highlands Bravehearts
2014-15 42 18 21 - 3 202 245 39 3rd NC Div-12th GMHLLost Division Semi-final, 2-3 (Aces)
2015-16 42 18 22 0 2 217 256 38 7th C Div - 20th GMHL Lost Div. Quarterfinal, 3-0 (Coyotes)
Wiarton Rock

Playoffs

King goalie with GMHL Official (2007)
Bravehearts player on Breast Cancer Awareness night during 2014-15 season.
King Wild defeated Toronto Canada Moose 4-games-to-1 in quarter-final
King Wild defeated Richmond Hill Rams 4-games-to-2 in semi-final
Bradford Rattlers defeated King Wild 4-games-to-1 in final
King Wild defeated Douro Dukes 4-games-to-none in bye round
Temiscaming Royals defeated King Wild 4-games-to-2 in quarter-final
Deseronto Storm defeated King Wild 3-games-to-none in division quarter-final
South Muskoka Shield defeated King Wild 3-games-to-none in quarter-final
Toronto Canada Moose defeated Vaughan Wild 9-1 in last minute qualifier
Lefroy Wave defeated Shelburne Red Wings 2-games-to-none in bye round
Bradford Rattlers defeated Lefroy Wave 3-games-to-2 in quarter-final
Bradford Rattlers defeated Lefroy Wave 3-games-to-none in division quarter-final
Toronto Predators beat Lefroy Wave 5-3 in qualifier

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.