Valley Wildcats

Valley Wildcats
CityBerwick, Nova Scotia
LeagueMaritime Junior Hockey League
DivisionEastlink South
Founded1967 (Antigonish Bulldogs)
Home arenaKings Mutual Century Centre
ColoursRed, white, dark blue      
General managerBrandon Benedict
Head coachBrandon Benedict
Franchise history
1967-2008Antigonish Bulldogs
2008-2010Halifax Lions
2010-2012Metro Marauders
2012-2013Metro Shipbuilders
2013-presentValley Wildcats

The Valley Wildcats are a Canadian junior ice hockey franchise from the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia. The team is a member of the Maritime Junior Hockey League and plays in the EastLink Division. They play their home games in the Kings Mutual Century Centre in Berwick, Nova Scotia.

History

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The Antigonish Bulldogs were founded in 1967 as members of the Antigonish-Pictou-Colchester Junior B Hockey League. After two seasons the league became the Northumberland Junior B Hockey League. In 1974, the Bulldogs became a founding member of what became the Eastern Junior A Hockey League, but returned to the Northumberland League in 1975. The Bulldogs would win league titles and provincial titles in 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985. They would also win the Don Johnson Cup as Atlantic Junior B Champions in 1983 and 1984, the first team to ever win the Cup back-to-back. In 1987 they jumped to the Metro Valley Junior A League, which became the MJAHL in 1991.

The franchise was known as the Antigonish Bulldogs for 40 years. After it was decided that operating in Antigonish, Nova Scotia was no longer viable, the franchise was sold to a Metro Halifax group and then relocated to that city in the summer of 2008. The team's nickname, then, as the Halifax Lions was announced on August 22, 2008. The name is a tribute to the successful Halifax Lions teams of the 1980s.

In 2010, the team was relocated to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and renamed again as the Metro Marauders. Two years later, it was renamed the Metro Shipbuilders.

In 2013 it was announced that the Halifax Regional Municipality was losing Junior A hockey, due to low attendance rates in the area. The Metro franchise's move to the valley area of Nova Scotia was confirmed by the league's board of governors ahead of the 2013 MHL draft on June 15. The franchise was renamed the Valley Wildcats and was based in Kentville, Nova Scotia.

On April 5, 2014 it was announced that the franchise would be relocating once again, this time from Kentville to Berwick, Nova Scotia but will remain as the Valley Wildcats.

Season-by-season record

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Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results Playoffs
1967-68 18 7 10 1 - -- -- 15 2nd APCJBHL Lost final
1968-69 Statistics Not Available
1969-70 24 13 9 2 - 103 92 28 3rd NJBHL Lost semi-final
1970-71 30 14 13 3 - -- -- 31 3rd NJBHL Lost semi-final
1971-82 Statistics Not Available
1982-83 24 16 7 1 - -- -- 33 1st NJBHL Won League, won DJC
1983-85 Statistics Not Available
1985-86 30 19 9 2 - 147 119 40 2nd NJBHL
1986-87 40 11 21 8 - 171 222 30 4th MVJHL
1987-88 40 21 16 3 - 202 171 45 3rd MVJHL
1988-89 40 20 13 7 - 209 186 47 3rd MVJHL
1989-90 38 24 12 2 - 230 181 50 3rd MVJHL
1990-91 40 21 12 7 - 210 172 49 3rd MVJHL
1991-92 46 25 14 7 - 256 195 57 2nd MJAHL
1992-93 48 23 16 7 2 235 179 55 3rd MJAHL Won League
1993-94 48 32 13 2 1 273 177 67 2nd MJAHL Won League
1994-95 48 27 14 7 0 215 202 61 2nd MJAHL
1995-96 54 32 19 2 1 288 231 67 2nd MJAHL
1996-97 56 30 21 3 2 287 264 65 4th MJAHL
1997-98 51 19 25 3 4 229 244 45 7th MJAHL
1998-99 48 29 16 3 - 241 149 64 3rd MJAHL
1999-00 52 34 12 5 1 273 181 74 3rd MJAHL
2000-01 52 33 16 2 1 260 187 69 2nd MJAHL Won League
2001-02 52 4 41 4 3 123 296 15 10th MJAHL
2002-03 52 24 27 1 0 210 226 49 7th MJAHL
2003-04 52 20 25 3 4 166 206 47 7th MJAHL
2004-05 56 23 25 5 3 200 216 54 8th MJAHL
2005-06 56 30 22 0 4 196 182 65 5th MJAHL Lost in division semi-final
2006-07 58 28 21 0 9 218 229 65 7th MJAHL Lost in division quarter-final
2007-08 58 6 48 - 4 105 299 16 12th MJAHL
2008-09 54 10 39 - 5 159 288 25 10th MJAHL
2009-10 50 22 24 - 4 178 199 48 6th MJAHL Lost quarter-final
2010-11 52 27 21 - 4 173 177 58 7th MHL Lost Mini Series
2011-12 52 27 19 - 6 202 192 60 6th MHL Lost quarter-final
2012-13 52 4 46 - 2 124 287 10 11th MHL DNQ
2013-14 52 19 28 - 5 141 204 43 9th MHL Lost quarter-final
2014-15 48 25 16 - 7 187 164 57 6th MHL Lost semi-final
2015-16 48 26 17 2 3 179 165 57 2nd of 6 South
5th of 12 MHL 		Lost semi-finals 2-4 (Crushers)
2016-17 50 12 31 4 3 140 245 31 6th of 6 South
12th of 12 MHL 		DNQ
2017-18 50 17 31 1 1 140 196 36 6th of 6 South
10th of 12 MHL 		DNQ
2018-19 50 6 40 4 0 93 240 16 6th of 6 South
12th of 12 MHL 		DNQ
2019-20 52 11 37 4 0 130 227 26 6th of 6 South
12th of 12 MHL 		DNQ
2020-21 32 9 21 2 0 87 132 20 6th of 6 South
12th of 12 MHL 		playoffs impacted by covid 19 restrictions
2021-22 38 19 16 2 1 109 119 41 3rd of 6 South
7th of 12 MHL 		Won Div Semifinals 4-2 (Mariners)
Lost Div Finals 3-3 (Bearcats)
2022-23 52 22 26 1 3 181 209 48 3rd of 6 South
7th of 12 MHL 		Lost Div Semifinals 2-4 (Bearcats)
2023-24 52 10 40 2 0 179 319 22 6th of 6 South
12th of 12 MHL 		DNQ
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See also

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Preceded by Don Johnson Cup Champions
1983 and 1984 		Succeeded by
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