Grand_Falls-Windsor_Cataracts
Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts
Ice hockey team in Grand Falls-Windsor, NL
The Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts are a senior ice hockey team based in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador and a member of the Central Division of the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League.
| Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts | |
|---|---|
| City | Grand Falls-Windsor, NL |
| League | Central West Senior Hockey League |
| Founded | 1966 (1966) |
| Home arena | Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium |
| Colours | Green, white |
| Franchise history | |
| 1928–48 | Grand Falls |
| 1948–55 | Grand Falls All-Stars |
| 1956–65 | Grand Falls Andcos |
| 1966–91 | Grand Falls Cataracts |
| 1991–present | Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts |
Since it was founded in 1966, the Cataracts hockey club has been awarded the Herder Memorial Trophy eight times as all-Newfoundland senior hockey champions, including three consecutive championships from 2014 to 2016. The Cataracts were awarded the Evening Telegram Trophy on four occasions for finishing first overall in the NSHL regular season. The Cataracts won the Allan Cup in 2017 in Bouctouche, NB.
The Cataracts have played all their home games at the Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium, formerly known as the Grand Falls Stadium until 1991.
The Grand Falls Cataracts were founded in 1966 by a group led by Leo Murphy, Al Dwyer Jr., Jim Temple and Walter Davis and supported by the Cataracts Booster Club whose members were ex-hockey players and hockey fans. The Cataracts joined the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League (NSHL) for the 1966–67 season. The previous papertown entry in the provincial senior league, the Grand Falls Andcos, had folded at the end of the 1964–65 season. Winnipeg native Nick Mickoski was hired as the Cataracts' first head coach. At the end of the 1967-68 regular season, the Cataracts finished in first place and were awarded the Evening Telegram Trophy. The Cataracts won back-to-back all-Newfoundland senior hockey championships in 1981 and 1982 but did not join the NSHL in 1983–84. The club re-joined the NSHL in 1984–85 to make it a four-team league.
At the end of the 2010–2011 season, after finishing first place in the league, the Cataracts defeated the Conception Bay North Cee Bee Stars 4–0 in the finals series to win the Herder Memorial Trophy. It was the hockey club's first provincial senior hockey championship since 1982. From 2011 to 2014 the club was part of the re-formed Newfoundland Senior Hockey League. In 2012 Herder finals, the Cataracts were runners-up to the Clarenville Caribous who took the Provincial title.
On March 8, 2015, Cataracts' import Rob Hennigar scored the OT winner to win the CWSHL finals series four-games-to-two. The Cataracts were awarded their second straight all-Newfoundland senior championship and the home town received its thirteenth Herder Memorial Trophy.
The Cataracts won their first Allan Cup on April 15, 2017 in Bouctouche, NB after defeating the Lacombe Generals 7–4 in the final.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
| Led league in points† | Herder Trophy champions‡ |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, DNQ = Did not qualify
NSHL = Newfoundland Senior Hockey League (1962-1989) or Newfoundland Senior Hockey League (2011-2014), NSHL-C = Newfoundland Senior Hockey League - Central Division, CBIHL = Central Beothuck Intermediate Hockey League, WCSHL = West Coast Senior Hockey League, CWSHL = Central West Senior Hockey League
| Season | League | Regular season | League Postseason | Herder Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | PTS | Finish | GP | W | L | GF | GA | Result | GP | W | L | GF | GA | Result | ||
| 1966-67 | NSHL | 40 | 15 | 22 | 3 | - | 146 | 162 | 33 | 5th | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify | ||||||
| 1967-68 | NSHL | 40 | 21 | 15 | 4 | - | 197 | 156 | 46† | 1st | 7 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 30 | Lost Herder semi-finals 3–4 to Corner Brook Royals | ||||||
| 1968-69 | NSHL | 40 | 17 | 16 | 7 | - | 153 | 150 | 41 | 3rd | 6 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 36 | Lost Herder semi-finals 2–4 to Gander Flyers | ||||||
| 1969-70 | NSHL | 40 | 17 | 18 | 5 | - | 173 | 185 | 39 | 4th | 7 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 29 | Lost Herder semi-finals 3–4 to Gander Flyers | ||||||
| 1970-71 | NSHL | 36 | 14 | 17 | 5 | - | 148 | 149 | 33 | 3rd | 7 | 4 | 3 | 27 | 16 | Won Herder Memorial Trophy vs. St. John's Capitals, 4-3‡ | ||||||
| 1971-72 | NSHL | 36 | 25 | 8 | 3 | - | 188 | 98 | 53† | 1st | 12 | 12 | 0 | Won Herder Memorial Trophy vs. St. John's Capitals, 4-0‡ | ||||||||
| 1972-73 | NSHL | 36 | 17 | 18 | 1 | - | 158 | 149 | 35 | 3rd | Lost Herder finals to St. John's Capitals, 0-4 | |||||||||||
| 1973-74 | NSHL | 32 | 17 | 11 | 4 | - | 171 | 136 | 38 | 2nd | 10 | 5 | 5 | 64 | 54 | Lost Herder finals to St. John's Capitals, 1-4 | ||||||
| 1974-75 | NSHL | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | - | 84 | 66 | 18 | 2nd | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 13 | Lost Herder semi-finals to Corner Brook Royals , 0-2 | ||||||
| 1975-76 | NSHL | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | - | 111 | 71 | 26 | 2nd | 8 | 4 | 4 | 43 | 37 | Lost Herder finals to St. John's Capitals, 1-4 | ||||||
| 1976-77 | NSHL | 32 | 11 | 19 | 2 | - | 161 | 179 | 24 | 3rd, West | 3 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 21 | Lost Herder quarter-finals to Gander Flyers, 1-2 | ||||||
| 1977-78 | NSHL | 32 | 19 | 12 | 1 | - | 200 | 163 | 39 | 3rd, West | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 25 | Lost Herder quarter-finals to Gander Flyers, 0-3 | ||||||
| 1978-79 | NSHL | 30 | 8 | 15 | 7 | - | 135 | 172 | 23 | 5th | - | - | - | - | - | Did not Qualify for playoffs | ||||||
| 1979-80 | NSHL | 34 | 17 | 15 | 2 | - | 191 | 170 | 36 | 3rd | 4 | 1 | 3 | Lost semi-finals 1–3 to Labatt BlueCaps | ||||||||
| 1980-81 | NSHL | 32 | 20 | 9 | 3 | - | 198 | 138 | 43† | 1st | 11 | 8 | 3 | 47 | 33 | Won Herder Memorial Trophy vs. Corner Brook Royals, 4-2‡ | ||||||
| 1981-82 | NSHL | 32 | 19 | 10 | 3 | - | 212 | 148 | 41 | 2nd | Won Herder Memorial Trophy vs. Gander Flyers, 4-3‡ | |||||||||||
| 1982-83 | NSHL | 31 | 18 | 11 | 2 | - | 174 | 134 | 38 | 2nd | Lost Herder finals 3–4 to Stephenville Jets | |||||||||||
| 1983-84 | CBIHL | 24 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 29 | 3rd | 13 | 9 | 4 | Won Central Beothuck League Championship | n/a | ||||||||||
| 1984-85 | NSHL | 36 | 7 | 28 | 1 | - | 170 | 258 | 15 | 4th | Lost Herder semi-finals 0–3 to Corner Brook Royals | |||||||||||
| 1992-93 | CBIHL | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993-94 | CBIHL | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002-03 | WCSHL | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003-04 | WCSHL | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004-05 | WCSHL | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | WCSHL | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006-07 | WCSHL | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007-08 | WCSHL | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008-09 | WCSHL | 24 | 12 | 12 | 110 | 116 | 25 | 3rd | lost 1–4 to Clarenville Caribous | |||||||||||||
| 2009-10 | WCSHL | 24 | 16 | 8 | 124 | 83 | 33 | 2nd | lost 2–4 to Clarenville Caribous | |||||||||||||
| 2010-11 | NSHL | 24 | 15 | 6 | - | 3 | 134 | 95 | 33† | 1st | Won Herder Memorial Trophy vs. CBN Eastlink CeeBee Stars, 4-0‡[1] | |||||||||||
| 2011-12 | NSHL | 24 | 15 | 7 | - | 2 | 109 | 77 | 32 | 2nd | Lost Herder finals to Clarenville Caribous 1-4 | |||||||||||
| 2012-13 | NSHL | 24 | 20 | 3 | - | 1 | 114 | 78 | 41† | 1st | Lost Herder semi-finals | |||||||||||
| 2013-14 | NSHL | 24 | 19 | 5 | - | 0 | 124 | 70 | 38† | 1st | Won Herder Memorial Trophy‡ | |||||||||||
| 2014-15 | CWSHL | 24 | 13 | 10 | - | 1 | 99 | 82 | 27 | 2nd | Won Herder Memorial Trophy vs. Corner Brook Royals, 4-0‡ | |||||||||||
| 2015-16 | CWSHL | 22 | 15 | 6 | - | 1 | 98 | 72 | 31† | 1st | 10 | 8 | 2 | 45 | 17 | Won CWSHL championship vs. Corner Brook Royals, 4-1[2] | 3 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 4 | Won Herder Memorial Trophy vs. St. John's Toyota Plaza Caps, 3-0‡ |
| 2016-17 | CWSHL | 18 | 13 | 2 | - | 3 | 76 | 52 | 29† | 1st | Lost CWSHL championship in OT to Clarenville Caribous, 3-4 | Did not qualify | ||||||||||
| 2017-18 | CWSHL | 16 | 6 | 10 | - | 0 | 55 | 65 | 12 | 3rd | Lost CWSHL semi-final in OT to Clarenville Caribous, 1-4[3] | Did not qualify | ||||||||||
| 2018-19 | NSHL-C | 17 | 10 | 5 | - | 2 | 65 | 48 | 22 | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 18 | Won Central Division championship vs. Gander Flyers, 4-2[4] | 5 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 10 | Won Herder Memorial Trophy vs. Southern Shore Breakers, 4-1‡ [5] |
| 2023-24 | CWSHL | 18 | 13 | 4 | - | 1 | 118 | 74 | 27 | 2nd | 9 | 5 | 4 | 40 | 31 | Lost CWSHL championship vs. Deer Lake Red Wings, 1-4 | Did not qualify | |||||
| Year | Location | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Round-robin results | Playoffs Result |
| 1971 | Galt, Ontario | 5 | 2 | 3 | - | - | 16 | 19 | Lost Eastern final to Galt Hornets, 2-3 | |
| 1972 | Spokane, Washington with Kimberley, British Columbia | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 | Lost Eastern final to Barrie Flyers, 0-4 | |
| 1981 | Thunder Bay, Ontario | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 27 | Lost Eastern semi-final to Petrolia Squires, 3-6 | |
| 1982 | Sarnia, Ontario | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 32 | Lost Eastern final to Petrolia Squires, 0-3 | |
| 2012 | Lloydminster, Sask | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 17 | 3rd Pool One | Lost semi-final to South East Prairie Thunder |
| 2015 | Clarenville, NL | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 12 | 2nd Division One | OT loss semi-final to Bentley Generals |
| 2016 | Steinbach, MB | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 1st Division One | Lost semi-final to South East Prairie Thunder, 3-2 |
| 2017 | Bouctouche, NB | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 9 | 1st Division Two | Won Allan Cup vs. Lacombe Generals, 7-4 |
For the current team roster see the Cataracts profile on the league website
Team captains
- Leo Murphy, 1967–68, 1970–71
- Jim Beckman, 1971–72
- Al Dwyer, 1973–74
- Roger Elliott, 1980-81
- Harold Stanley, 1975–76
- Gene Faulkner, 1981-82
- Brian Grouchy, 2002–03
- Brad Lewis, 2006–13
- Mike Brent, 2013–19, 2023-24
Head coaches
- Nick Mickoski, 1966–69
- Len Haley, Jim Beckman, 1969–70
- Jean-Marc Pichette , 1970–73
- Leo Murphy, 1973-76 (playing-coach)
- Joe Grimes, 1977–78
- Al Dwyer Jr., 1978–79
- Joe Byrne, 1979-1980, 1980-1981, 1981-1982
- Gord Gallant, 1982–83
- Alex Faulkner, Tony Grimes, 1984-1985
- Mike Brown, John McSween 2002-2003
- Robert Goulding 2003-2004
- Robert Goulding, Barry Manual 2004-2005
- Tony Walsh, Barry Manual 2005-2006
- Barry Manual, 2006–2007, 2007-2008
- Walt Lewis, 2008–09
- Paul Glavine, 2009–10
- Brian Casey, 2010-11, 2011–2012
- Shane Lukinchuk, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015
- Tom Coolen, 2015–2016, 2016-2017
- Pat Yetman , 2017-2018, 2018-2019
- Paul Whelan, 2023-24
Team MVP
(Cataracts most valuable player in the regular season)
- Tyler Whitehead, 2011
- Cam Fergus, 2016
- Jordan Maher, 2024
James "Bucky" Hannaford Jr. Award
(Awarded to the player who shows dedication to the team both on and off the ice)
- Mike Brent, 2011
- Sam Hounsell, 2013
- Nicklas Lindstrom, 2016
- Nicklas Lindstrom, 2017
The Cohen's Cup
(Awarded to the Cataract receiving the most points on 3-Star selection during the regular season)
- Andre Gill, 2012–13
- Andre Gill, 2013–14
- Cam Fergus, 2014–15
- Mike Brent, 2015–16
- Danny Wicks, 2016–17
- Danny Wicks, 2017–18
- A.J. Whiffen, 2018–19
- First place in the West Coast senior Hockey League: 2011
- First place in the Central West Senior Hockey League: 2016
- CWSHL championship: 2015, 2016
League individual awards
League MVP (in the regular season)
- Cam Fergus, 2016
- Collin Circelli, 2017
Top Scorer (in the regular season)
- Cam Fergus, 2016
- Jordan Maher, 2024
Top goal scorer (in the regular season)
- Chad Earle, 2011
- Cam Fergus, 2016
Coach of the Year (in the regular season)
- Brian Casey, 2011
- Tom Coolen, 2016
- Tom Coolen, 2017
- Paul Whelan, 2024
Top Goalie (in the regular season)
- A.J. Whiffen, 2016
- Bryan Gillis, 2017
- A.J. Whiffen, 2019
Top Defenseman (in the regular season)
- Luke Gallant, 2016
- Nick Lindstrom, 2019
Rookie of the Year (in the regular season)
- Chad Earle, 2011
- Ethan Simms, 2024
Most Gentlemanly and Effective Player (in the regular Season)
- Cody Drover, 2024
Hockey NL (HNL) Trophies and Awards
HNL team awards
- Eight all-Newfoundland senior hockey championships (Herder Memorial Trophy): 1971, 1972, 1981, 1982, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016
- First place in Newfoundland Senior Hockey League (Evening Telegram Trophy): 1968, 1972, 1981, 2014
HNL individual awards
S. E Tuma Memorial Trophy (Top scorer in the regular season)
- Charlie Greene, 1975
- Gene Faulkner, 1976
- Dennis Goulding, 1977
- Bruce Campbell, 1982
- Ron Hennigar, 2014
T.A. (Gus) Soper Memorial Award (Most valuable player in the Senior "A" leagues in the regular season)
- Jason Stone, 2006
- A.J. Whiffen, 2013
- Ron Hennigar, 2014
- Cam Fergus, 2016
Albert "Peewee" Crane Memorial Trophy (Senior league rookie of the year)
- Terry French, 1969
- Don Howse, 1972
- Brandon Nicholas, 2008
- Chad Earle, 2011
Howie Clouter Memorial Trophy (Most Gentlemanly and Effective Player in the regular season)
- Al Dwyer Jr., 1974, 1975
- Dan Flynn, 1981
- Bruce Campbell, 1982
- Troy Thompson, 2006
- Andre Gill, 2010
- Danny Wicks, 2018
- Danny Wicks, 2019
- Cody Drover, 2024
President's Goaltender's Award (Top goaltender in the regular season)
- Fred Janes, 1968, 1969
- Jean-Guy Morissette, 1972
- Rocky Martin, 1973
- Eddie Davis, 1982
- Mark Yetman, 2012
- A.J. Whiffen, 2013
- A.J. Whiffen, 2014
- A.J. Whiffen, 2016
- A.J. Whiffen, 2019
Top Defenseman (Top defenseman in the regular season)
- Rodi Short, 2014
- Luke Gallant, 2016
Coach of the Year
- Shane Lukinchuk, 2014
- Tom Coolen, 2016
Cliff Gorman Memorial Award (Most valuable player of the Herder Playoffs)
- A.J. Whiffen, 2014
- Cam Fergus, 2015
- Luke Gallant, 2016
Note: (the year honoured is noted)
Retired numbers
- #7 Al Dwyer Jr.
- #12 Jim Temple
- #8 Gene Faulkner (2011)
- #55 Martin Lapointe (2015)
- #16 Clar Goulding (2017)
- # Wayne Faulkner (2017)
- # James "Bucky" Hannaford (2018)
- # Cec Thomas (2018)
Honoured Builders
- Walter Davis (2018)
NL Hockey Hall of Fame
The following people associated with the Cataracts have been inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame. Note: (the year of induction is noted)
- Newfoundland Hockey Scene Issue 9 July 2011 page 8
- "Cataracts Win Central West | Newfoundland Hockey Talk". 16 March 2016.
Bibliography
- Abbott, Bill (2000). Herder Memorial Trophy: A History of Senior Hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador. Breakwater Books.
- Elliott, Jerry "Stats" (2010). Newfoundland and Labrador Senior Hockey: A Trip Down Memory Lane. Jerry Elliott.
- Oldford, Roy (2023). Go Cats Go: The History of the Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts. Roy Oldford.