Canadian Junior Hockey 1982 - 83 Memorial Cup

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The 1983 Memorial Cup Tournament introduced a change in the format of the tournament with the introduction of a host team, becoming a four team tournament. In addition this tournament was the first Memorial Cup to be played outside of Canada. The 1983 tournament was held in Portland, Oregon, hosted by the Portland Winter Hawks. The Lethbridge Broncos were the Western Hockey League champions as they defeated the Winter Hawks in five games to win the President's Cup and earn their first trip to a Memorial Cup final. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's representatives were the Verdun Juniors. The Juniors captured the QMJHL title by defeating the Longueuil Chevaliers in the final that went five games. The Oshawa Generals qualified as the Ontario Hockey League's representative by sweeping the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in four games to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup. Controversy took place before the first puck had been dropped, as the Broncos were upset that goaltender Mike Vernon of the Calgary Wranglers had been picked up to play for the Winter Hawks in the Memorial Cup. Over the history of the Memorial Cup, teams had been able to pick up additional players from teams in their league to supplement their roster. Since Lethbridge had won the WHL title they felt that they should have first crack at Vernon. These rules were changed, with the 1983 Memorial Cup being the last one in which teams could add to their existing roster by picking up players from their respective league. The round robin tournament was a single game format tournament with the top team moving directly to the final and the second and third place teams would play a semi-final game to determine the second team for the final. Portland advanced to the final with a record of 2-1 while Verdun and Oshawa would meet in the semi-final. In the semi-final game Oshawa skated to a 7-5 win to advance to the final. In the final the Portland Winter Hawks posted an 8-3 win to become the first team to win the Memorial Cup without winning its own league title. In addition history was made as Portland became the first United States based team to win the Memorial Cup. The Memorial Cup was originally known as the OHA Memorial Cup and was donated by the Ontario Hockey Association in March, 1919. Initially the Cup was awarded to the national junior hockey champions of Canada. Later on it came to signify Junior 'A' hockey supremacy when in 1934, junior hockey in Canada was divided into 'A' and 'B' classifications. In 1971, junior 'A' hockey was divided once again to form a major junior and a Tier 'II' level. The Memorial Cup was awarded to the higher category. In 1972, a round-robin tournament format replaced the old play-down system to determine the champions. Since then, the champions of the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), along with a host club, have met each spring in a round-robin series with the two top teams playing off in a sudden-death game to determine the Cup champions.

Canadian Junior Hockey 1982 - 83 Memorial Cup Games

Saturday May-07, 1983 - Oshawa 8, Lethbridge 2
Saturday May-07, 1983 - Portland 7, Verdun 6
Sunday May-08, 1983 - Verdun 4, Lethbridge 3
Sunday May-08, 1983 - Portland 10, Oshawa 5
Monday May-09, 1983 - Lethbridge 9, Portland 3
Tuesday May-10, 1983 - Oshawa 5, Verdun 1
Thursday May-12, 1983 - Oshawa 7, Verdun 5
Saturday May-14, 1983 - Portland 8, Oshawa 3

Canadian Junior Hockey 1982 - 83 Memorial Cup Winning Roster

1983 - Portland Winter Hawks - Curt Brandolini, Bruno Campese, Brian Curran, Brad Duggan, Ray Ferraro, Terry Jones, Randy Heath, Greg Holomay, Kelly Hubbard, John Kordic, Derek Laxdal, Tim Lorenz, Cam Neely, Rich Kromm, Jim Playfair, Ray Podloski, Grant Sasser, Alfie Turcotte, Mike Vernon, Bryan Walker, Gord Walker, Ken Yaremchuk, Brian Shaw (general manager), Ken Hodge (coach)

Canadian Junior Hockey 1982 - 83 Memorial Cup Awards

Tournament MVP - Alfie Turcotte, Portland Winter Hawks
Sportsmanship: David Gans, Oshawa Generals
Outstanding Goaltender: Mike Vernon, Portland Winter Hawks
All Star Team: Goaltender - Peter Sidorkiewicz (Oshawa)
Forwards - Centre - Ken Yaremchuk (Portland), Left Wing - Randy Heath (Portland), Left Wing - Randy Heath (Portland)
Defencemen - Joe Cirella (Oshawa) Jerome Carrier (Verdun)