Lakeshore Canadiens


The Lakeshore Canadiens are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Belle River, Ontario. They play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. The Canadiens are four-time Clarence Schmalz Cup Winners as Provincial Junior C Champions. The team was known as the Belle River Canadiens from 1978 until 2014.

History

From 1985 until 2001, the Canadiens were one of the most feared teams in all of Ontario Junior "C" hockey. Within those 17 years, the Canadiens won 11 GLJHL Championships and 4 Clarence Schmalz Cups as All-Ontario Junior "C" Champions in 8 trips to the All-Ontario Finals. After 9 years The Canadiens once again won the Great Lakes Junior "C" Title in 2010 defeating the Wallaceburg Lakers in 4 Games. In the Schmalz Cup Semi-Finals they defeated the Grimsby Peach Kings 4 Games to 1 to advance to their first Ontario Final in 9 Years. The Canadiens then Lost the Schmalz Cup in 6 Games to the Alliston Hornets. In 2011 The Canadiens won their 2nd Consecutive Great Lakes title. They once again faced the Grimsby Peach Kings in the Ontario Semi Finals. Grimsby would win the series 4 games to 1.
The Belle River Canadiens have won 14 Great Lakes Junior C League Championships, they are 2nd to the Essex 73's who have won 18. Essex and Belle River have also won the most Ontario Championships, Essex with 6, and the Canadiens with 4.
On June 6, 2014, the team announced it was changing its name to the Lakeshore Canadiens.
The Canadiens moved into the brand new Atlas Tube Centre in the fall of 2014. In their first game at the new Atlas Tube Centre Sebastian Kanally scored the first ever goal 38 seconds into the game as the Canadiens defeated their rivals from Essex by a score of 3–1. The Canadiens would finish 24–13–0–3 in their first full season in their new rink.
The summer of 2016 saw the GLJHL become the Bill Stobbs Division of the new Provincial Junior Hockey League, which resulted from the amalgamation of the eight junior "C" hockey leagues in Southern Ontario.
In 2017-2018 long time General Manager Mark Seguin hired Anthony Iaquinta as Head Coach, under Iaquinta the Canadiens finished First Place in the Stobbs division finishing with a record of 27-8-2-3, the Canadiens would sweep the Blenheim Blades and Mooretown Flags in the first 2 rounds, they would face their rivals from Essex in the division finals. In front of 3 straight sell out crowds on home ice the Canadiens would knock off the 73's in 5 games to claim their 14th League Championship.
2018-2019 would be another successful season for the Canadiens, finishing with a regular season record of 28-7-2-3 good enough for 2nd place in the Stobbs Division. In the playoffs the Habs would eliminate the Wheatley Sharks in 4 games, in the semi Finals they would face a very good Dresden Kings team. The Canadiens would defeat the Kings in 6 games in a hard fought series setting up a rematch with the Essex 73's for a third straight season. The result would be the same as the previous season, the Canadiens once again defeating the 73's in 5 games in front of huge crowds at the Atlas Tube Centre to claim their 2nd straight Stobbs title and 15th League Championship in total. The Exeter Hawks would defeat the Canadiens in 7 games in the All Ontario playoffs.

Season-by-season record

2019-2020 Team Staff

Notable alumni