The Amherstburg Admirals are a Canadian junior ice hockey club based in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association.

Amherstburg Admirals
CityAmherstburg, Ontario, Canada
LeagueProvincial Junior Hockey League
ConferenceWest
DivisionStobbs
Founded1987 (1987)
Home arenaLibro Centre
ColoursBlue, yellow, and white
     
General managerAndrew Sykes
Head coachBeau Hunter
Franchise history
1987–2013Kingsville Comets
2013–presentAmherstburg Admirals

From 1987 until 2013, the team was located in Kingsville, Ontario, as the Kingsville Comets.

History

edit

In the late 1980s the perennial powerhouse Leamington Flyers seemed poised to make a jump to the Western Ontario Junior B Hockey League. The GLJHL granted expansion to the Comets right on Leamington's doorstep. In 1992, the Flyers finally made the jump and a lot of the local skill attributed to the Flyers switched over to the Comets. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s the Comets would be competitive. As the 2000s wore on, despite a newly renovated arena from the municipality,[1] performance on the ice and attendance greatly declined.

The 2011-2012 season was the Kingsville Comets 25th year of play in the Great Lakes Jr. C league.

In April 2013, the team had struck a tentative deal with the Ontario Hockey Association and the town of Amherstburg, Ontario, to relocate the struggling franchise. Amherstburg had recently constructed a new arena which only required minor upgrades to host a Junior C team.[2] In 26 years in Kingsville the team failed to win a league championship or appear in the GLJHL final. Due to Kingsville's location, the Comets usually ran into either the Essex 73's or the Belle River Canadiens by either the division semi-final or final. In the Comets' 26 seasons, Essex and Belle River combined for 22 league titles.

On September 15, 2013, the Admirals made their hometown debut against the defending league champion Essex 73's. The Admirals would fall 6-0 in front of a sold-out crowd. Chris Wallace played the entire game for the Admirals, making 29 saves.[3] The next night, the Admirals traveled to Wheatley, Ontario, for their first road game and came home with their first win. Josh Lafromboise scored the Admirals' first ever goal at 10:38 into the first period and Dan Matoski scored the game winner 1:54 in the third to take a 6-4 victory over the Wheatley Sharks. Chris Wallace picked up the first ever victory in net.[4]

Season-by-season record

edit
 
Opening ceremonies to 2013-14 season
 
Admirals' player lining up for draw (2013)
 
Admirals' goalie during 2013-14 season, wearing "baby blues".
Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results Playoffs
Kingsville Comets
1987-88 40 4 35 1 0 115 277 9 10th GLJHL DNQ
1988-89 38 7 30 1 0 168 296 15 12th GLJHL DNQ
1989-90 40 19 20 1 0 155 173 39 6th GLJHL Lost semi-final (Belle River)
1990-91 42 11 28 1 2 144 239 25 9th GLJHL DNQ
1991-92 40 18 21 1 0 213 225 37 7th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Belle River)
1992-93 40 24 14 1 1 211 176 50 4th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Belle River)
1993-94 42 15 21 4 2 177 186 36 7th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Belle River)
1994-95 42 20 15 5 2 180 136 47 4th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Mooretown)
1995-96 40 17 17 5 1 173 161 40 6th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Belle River)
1996-97 40 26 12 2 0 179 124 54 3rd GLJHL Lost semi-final (Mooretown)
1997-98 44 19 18 6 1 142 156 45 6th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Essex)
1998-99 40 28 10 0 2 199 138 58 4th GLJHL Lost semi-final (Belle River)
1999-00 44 24 14 2 4 201 147 54 3rd GLJHL Lost semi-final (Wallaceburg)
2000-01 40 24 10 3 3 158 101 54 2nd GLJHL Lost semi-final (Wallaceburg)
2001-02 40 20 13 4 3 166 134 47 3rd GLJHL Lost semi-final (Wheatley-Southpoint)
2002-03 40 21 12 5 2 159 136 49 4th GLJHL Lost semi-final (Essex)
2003-04 40 18 17 3 2 148 137 41 5th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Dresden)
2004-05 40 22 16 1 1 141 133 46 4th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Wheatley-Southpoint)
2005-06 40 22 16 1 1 182 156 46 5th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Dresden)
2006-07 40 13 22 2 3 146 183 31 6th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Wheatley-Southpoint)
2007-08 40 17 21 1 1 161 192 36 5th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Belle River)
2008-09 40 9 29 - 2 129 209 20 9th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Essex)
2009-10 40 12 26 - 2 148 223 26 7th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Belle River)
2010-11 40 15 23 - 2 137 165 32 7th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Belle River)
2011-12 40 9 28 - 3 108 182 21 8th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Essex)
2012-13 40 11 26 - 3 119 169 25 8th GLJHL Lost quarter-final (Essex)
Amherstburg Admirals
2013-14 40 19 18 - 3 133 146 41 7th GLJHL Lost quarters - 3-4 - (Belle River)
2014-15 40 25 12 - 3 183 149 53 2nd GLJHL Won quarters - 4-0 - (Wheatley)
Won semi's - 4-2 - (Bleheim)
Lost League Finals - 2-4 - (Essex)
2015-16 40 24 12 3 1 170 116 52 3rd GLJHL Won quarters - 4-0 - (Wheatley)
Won semi's - 4-2 - (Blenheim)
Lost League Finals, 3-4 (Essex)
2016-17 40 26 14 0 - 193 130 52 3rd Stobbs Won Div Quarters - 4-2,(Wheatley)
Lost div semi-finals - 0-4, (Essex)
2017-18 40 25 11 2 2 163 108 54 4th Stobbs Lost Div Quarters - 3-4,(Mooretown)
2018-19 40 28 9 0 3 155 88 59 4th Stobbs Won Div Quarter-final - 4-0 - (Mooretown)
Lost div semi-final 0-4 (Essex)
2019-20 40 24 12 1 3 148 118 52 3rd of 9 Stobbs Won Div Quarter-final - 4-3 - (Petrolia)
Lost div semi-final 0-4 (Mooretown)
2020-21 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22 32 16 15 0 1 90 105 33 4th of 9 Stobbs Lost div quarter-final - 0-4 - (Wheatley)
2022-23 42 13 26 3 0 117 186 29 6th of 8 Stobbs Lost div quarter-final - 0-4 - (Wheatley)
2023-24 42 10 32 0 0 109 219 20 6th of 8 Stobbs Lost div quarter-final - 1-4 - (Blenheim)

References

edit
 
The Kingsville Comets lasted as members of the GLJHL for 26 seasons, forming in 1987 and being relocated to Amherstburg in 2013. This was the final Comets logo, used for their last few seasons.
  1. ^ "Kingsville arena complex gets $3.5M new lease on life". Archived from the original on 2013-10-02. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  2. ^ "Comets expected to relocate to Amherstburg | Windsor Star". Archived from the original on 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  3. ^ "Gamesheet: Essex at Amherstburg - Sun, Sep 15, 2013".
  4. ^ "Gamesheet: Amherstburg at Wheatley - Mon, Sep 16, 2013".
edit