The Almaguin Spartans are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in South River, Ontario. They play in the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL). They were originally the Mattawa Voyageurs of Mattawa, Ontario.
| Almaguin Spartans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Sundridge, Ontario, Canada |
| League | Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Home arena | Sundridge Strong Joly (SSJ) Arena |
| Colours | Green, black, and white |
| General manager | David Forde |
| Head coach | Myles Pepin |
| Franchise history | |
| 2011–2014 | Mattawa Voyageurs |
| 2014–present | Almaguin Spartans |
History edit
The Voyageurs were announced as a team in spring 2011.[1] On September 16, 2011, the team played its first game, at home, against the Bobcaygeon Bucks. The Voyageurs lost the game in a shootout 5–4. On September 18, at home again, the Voyageurs picked up their first win, 5–4 in overtime over the Algoma Avalanche.
In July 2014, the team was approved for relocation to South River, Ontario, where they became the Almaguin Spartans.[2]
In March 2015, Myles Pepin was promoted from assistant coach and was named the team's new head coach.
During the 2018 playoffs, the Spartans swept their first three playoff series with nine straight wins before losing two games to the St. George Ravens in the final series. The Spartans then claimed their first Russell Cup championship over the Ravens in six games.
For the 2019–20 season, Andre Laperriere was named the head coach when Pepin stepped aside for an advisory role to spend more time with family.[3]
Season-by-season records edit
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | Regular season finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattawa Voyageurs | ||||||||||
| 2011–12 | 42 | 19 | 21 | — | 2 | 170 | 206 | 40 | 9th GMHL | Lost Bye Round |
| 2012–13 | 42 | 10 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 169 | 289 | 22 | 14th GMHL | Lost Division Quarter-finals |
| 2013–14 | 42 | 16 | 24 | — | 2 | 185 | 279 | 34 | 14th GMHL | Lost Division Quarter-finals |
| Almaguin Spartans | ||||||||||
| 2014–15 | 42 | 16 | 24 | — | 2 | 196 | 211 | 26 | 4th North Div. 13th GMHL |
Lost Elimination Qualifier |
| 2015–16 | 42 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 267 | 107 | 69 | 3rd North Div. 5th GMHL |
Lost Championship play-in game |
| 2016–17 | 42 | 23 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 164 | 154 | 49 | 6th of 10, North Div. 11th of 21, GMHL |
Lost Division Quarter-finals |
| 2017–18 | 42 | 31 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 217 | 145 | 62 | 1st of 9, North Div. 4th of 21, GMHL |
Russell Cup Champions |
| 2018–19 | 42 | 21 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 183 | 187 | 44 | 5th of 10, North Div. 10th of 22, GMHL |
Lost Division Quarter-finals |
| 2019–20 | 42 | 18 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 191 | 218 | 39 | 7th of 10, North Div. 16th of 23, GMHL |
Lost Division Semi-finals |
| 2020–21 | Season Lost to COVID 19 pandemic | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | 38 | 7 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 94 | 177 | 17 | 10th of 10, North Div. 18th of 19, GMHL |
Lost Play in Rd 0-1 (South Muskoka Shield) |
| 2022–23 | Spartans did not compete this season | |||||||||
| 2023–24 | 42 | 11 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 130 | 236 | 24 | 6th of 7, North Div. 13th of 15, GMHL |
Lost Play in Game 4-5 (Le Becard de Senneterre) |
Playoffs edit
- 2012
- Orangeville Americans defeated Mattawa Voyageurs 2-games-to-none in bye round
- 2013
- Temiscaming Titans defeated Mattawa Voyageurs 3-games-to-none in division quarter-finals
- 2014
- South Muskoka Shield defeated Mattawa Voyageurs 3-games-to-none in division quarter-finals
- 2015
- Sturgeon Falls Lumberjacks defeated Almaguin Spartans 5–4 (OT) in the North Division Elimination Qualifier Game
- 2016
- Almaguin Spartans defeated Bracebridge Blues 3-games-to-1 in division quarter-finals
- Almaguin Spartans defeated Temiscaming Titans 3-games-to-1 in division semi-finals
- Almaguin Spartans defeated South Muskoka Shield 4-games-to-2 in division finals
- Almaguin Spartans 1–3 in Russell Cup Round Robin (Lost 1–4 vs. Steam, Lost 1–5 vs. Kings, Lost 1–7 vs. Kings, Won 4–3 vs. Steam)
- Tottenham Steam defeated Almaguin Spartans 7–2 in the Russell Cup Championship play-in game.
- 2017
- South Muskoka Shield defeated Almaguin Spartans 3-games-to-2 in division quarter-finals
- 2018
- Almaguin Spartans defeated South Muskoka Shield 2-games-to-none in division quarter-finals
- Almaguin Spartans defeated Temiscaming Titans 3-games-to-none in division semi-finals
- Almaguin Spartans defeated Bradford Rattlers 4-games-to-none in division finals
- Almaguin Spartans defeated St. George Ravens 4-games-to-2 in Russell Cup finals
- 2019
- New Tecumseth Civics defeated Almaguin Spartans 2-games-to-1 in division quarter-finals
- 2020
- Almaguin Spartans defeated Ville-Marie Pirates 2-games-to-1 in division quarter-finals
- Temiscaming Titans defeated Almaguin Spartans 3-games-to-none in division semi-finals
References edit
- ^ "Spartans move to South River". NorthBayNipissing.com. July 30, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
- ^ "Junior A hockey franchise on its way to Sundridge". NorthBayNipissing.com. March 31, 2014.
- ^ "Almaguin Spartans Announce New Head Coach for 2019-2020 Season". GMHL. June 3, 2019.
