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Tavistock Braves

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Tavistock Braves
CityTavistock, Ontario
LeagueProvincial Junior Hockey League - Doherty Division (formerly Midwestern Junior C Hockey League)
Founded1970
Home arenaTavistock & District Recreation Centre
ColoursBlack, Yellow, and White
General managerBrent Lange (2024)
Head coachZac Berg (2024)
Championships
OHA Cups1983

The Tavistock Braves are a Junior ice hockey team based in Tavistock, Ontario, Canada. They currently play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association.

History

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During the 1981-82 season Tavistock finished first overall in regular season league play for the first time in franchise history. In 1982-83 the feat was repeated and was upstaged with the first and only OHA Cup in franchise history. In 1986-87 and 1987-88 Tavistock would once again post back-to-back first overall regular season finishes. However, in both seasons they would fall short of the OHA Cup.

After suffering relative mediocrity through the 1990s Tavistock would return as a power in the 2000s. In the early 2000s Tavistock was consistently held just short of a championship by a pair of Hawks. Both Exeter and Hagersville took turns ending Tavistock's postseason runs a little earlier than expected.

As the decade progressed Tavistock would encounter a new rival. In the spring of 2006 the Delhi Travellers would be responsible for eliminating the Braves in the conference finals in four games. In 2006-07 Tavistock finished first place overall during the regular season. The league's top two scorers, Jeff Roes and Joe Voll played for the Tavistock Braves during the 06-07 season, Voll set a team and conference record tallying 122 points in 42 games. However come playoff time the Braves again found themselves in a battle for the conference title with Delhi. This time falling short in a dramatic game seven double overtime loss. In 2007-08 Tavistock would again meet the rival Travellers in the McConnell Conference final, however unlike the previous two years the Braves managed to come back from a 3-1 series deficit to take the Conference title. Twenty-five years after their previous OHA Cup Championship the Braves were unable to duplicate the accomplishment and fell to a strong Thamesford Trojans team in four games.

With the restructuring of the Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League for the 2008-09 season Tavistock found themselves in a conference with longtime local rivals the Ayr Centennials and Wellesley Applejacks as well as a newly formed foe in Thamesford. Due to an imbalanced schedule Tavistock and Thamesford would play each other eight times during the regular season. The two heavy weights of the division battled it out for the conference title until January when Thamesford began to pull away. As expected the two teams breezed through their first rounds and met up in the conference finals. Tavistock came out with the short end of the stick losing an extremely close series four games to one with no games were decided by more than a goal.

In the Summer of 2013, the Ontario Hockey Association realigned and the Braves ended up in the Midwestern Junior C Hockey League.

For the 2016-17 season the eight Ontario Junior "C" hockey leagues amalgamated into one league, the Provincial Junior Hockey League. The Midwestern League was placed in the South Conference and re-branded the Pat Doherty division.

Season-by-season standings

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Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results Playoffs
1970-71 34 17 12 5 - 210 177 39 2nd WJDHL
1971-72 30 7 22 1 - 138 210 15 7th WJDHL
1972-73 29 4 22 3 - 114 202 11 8th WJDHL
1973-74 34 6 27 1 - 141 269 13 8th WJDHL
1974-75 32 12 18 2 - 168 198 28 7th WJDHL
1975-76 28 16 8 4 - 173 131 36 3rd WJDHL
1976-77 31 21 8 2 - 216 150 44 3rd WJDHL
1977-78 34 8 25 1 - 149 239 17 8th WJDHL
1978-79 34 9 21 4 - 158 236 21 8th WJDHL
1979-80 33 10 19 4 - 148 182 24 8th WJDHL
1980-81 34 19 10 5 - 217 150 43 4th WJDHL
1981-82 38 27 7 4 - 260 165 58 1st WJDHL
1982-83 38 31 5 2 - 278 147 64 1st WJDHL
1983-84 34 15 17 2 - 220 186 32 5th WJDHL
1984-85 34 23 9 2 - 230 158 48 2nd of 5 North Div.
3rd of 10 WJDHL
1985-86 42 20 15 7 - 206 195 47 3rd of 6 North Div.
5th of 12 WJDHL
1986-87 40 28 8 4 - -- -- 60 1st of 6 SJDHL Won League
Lost OHA Cup Final, 3-4 (Irish)
1987-88 31 24 4 3 - -- -- 51 1st of 5 SJDHL
1988-89 36 19 16 1 - 238 194 39 4th of 7 North Div.
10th of 19 WJDHL
1989-90 35 9 21 5 - 133 183 23 5th of 6 North Div.
14th of 18 WJDHL
1990-91 40 16 21 3 0 181 209 35 7th of 9 Eastern Div.
12th of 18 WJDHL
1991-92 34 16 16 2 0 162 172 34 5th of 8 Eastern Div.
12th of 17 OHAJDL
1992-93 39 13 17 7 2 141 164 35 7th of 9 Eastern Div.
12th of 18 OHAJDL
1993-94 40 12 22 6 - 179 225 30 6th of 9 Eastern Div.
12th of 18 OHAJDL
1994-95 39 21 11 3 4 189 172 49 3rd of 9 Eastern Div.
5th of 18 OHAJDL
1995-96 40 17 21 0 2 181 198 36 3rd of 4 Bauer Div.
4th of 8 McConnell Conf.
11th of 18 OHAJDL
1996-97 39 20 16 1 2 196 176 43 2nd of 4 Bauer Div.
3rd of 8 McConnell Conf.
7th of 18 OHAJDL
1997-98 37 8 28 1 2 115 168 17 4th of 4 Bauer Div.
6th of 8 McConnell Conf.
14th of 18 OHAJDL
1998-99 37 15 20 1 1 126 148 32 3rd of 4 Bauer Div.
5th of 8 McConnell Conf.
14th of 18 OHAJDL
1999-00 38 15 21 1 1 145 188 32 3rd of 4 Bauer Div.
5th of 8 McConnell Conf.
12th of 18 OHAJDL
Won Div. SF, 4-3 (Centennials)
Won Div. Final, 4-2 (Wellesley)
Lost Conf. Final, 1-4 (Bulldogs)
2000-01 40 29 9 2 0 -- -- 60 1st of 4 Bauer Div.
1st of 9 McConnell Conf.
2nd of 18 OHAJDL
Won Div. SF, 4-0 (Dukes)
Lost Div. Final, 3-4 (Applejacks)
2001-02 40 28 7 4 1 213 112 61 1st of 4 Bauer Div.
1st of 9 McConnell Conf.
2nd of 19 OHAJDL
Won Conf. QF, 4-0 (Dukes)
Won Conf. SF, 4-0 (Travellers)
Won Conf. Final, 4-1 (Applejacks)
Lost OHA Cup Final, 0-4 (E. Hawks)
2002-03 40 21 15 2 2 158 145 46 3rd of 4 Bauer Div.
4th of 9 McConnell Conf.
6th of 18 OHAJDL
Won Conf. QF, 4-3 (Centennials)
Lost Conf. SF, 2-4 (Applejacks)
2003-04 40 30 9 1 0 187 116 61 1st of 4 Bauer Div.
2nd of 9 McConnell Conf.
2nd of 18 OHAJDL
Won Conf. QF, 4-0 (Centennials)
Won Conf. SF, 4-1 (Applejacks)
Won Conf. Final, 4-2 (H. Hawks)
Lost OHA Cup Final, 2-4 (E. Hawks)
2004-05 39 27 9 3 0 174 126 57 1st of 4 Bauer Div.
2nd of 9 McConnell Conf.
2nd of 18 OHAJDL
Won Conf. QF, 4-0 (Bulldogs)
Won Conf. SF, 4-1 (Travellers)
Lost Conf. Final, 2-4 (H. Hawks)
2005-06 37 21 10 5 1 191 126 48 3rd of 4 Bauer Div.
5th of 9 McConnell Conf.
7th of 18 OHAJDL
Won Conf. QF, 4-2 (Dukes)
Won Conf. SF, 4-1 (Applejacks)
Lost Conf. Final, 0-4 (Travellers)
2006-07 42 34 7 0 1 243 116 69 1st of 4 Bauer Div.
1st of 8 McConnell Conf.
1st of 19 SOJHL
Won Conf. QF, 4-0 (Centennials)
Won Conf. SF, 4-2 (H. Hawks)
Lost Conf. Final, 3-4 (Travellers)
2007-08 42 26 14 - 2 169 115 54 2nd of 4 Bauer Div.
3rd of 8 McConnell Conf.
6th of 16 SOJHL
Won Conf. QF, 4-0 (H. Hawks)
Won Conf. SF, 4-1 (Dukes)
Won Conf. Final, 4-3 (Travellers)
Lost OHA Cup Final, 0-4 (Trojans)
2008-09 40 19 17 - 4 131 137 42 2nd of 4 Bauer Div.
6th of 14 SOJHL
Won Div. SF, 4-1 (Centennials)
Lost Div. Final, 1-4 (Trojans)
2009-10 36 17 14 - 5 136 136 39 4th of 5 Bauer Div.
8th of 15 SOJHL
Won Div. SF, 4-1 (Centennials)
Lost Div. Final, 3-4 (Trojans)
2010-11 35 26 6 - 3 160 91 55 1st of 8 McConnell Div.
1st of 15 SOJHL
Won Div. QF, 4-0 (Sailors)
Won Div. SF, 4-3 (Travellers)
Lost Div. Final, 2-4 (Centennials)
2011-12 35 21 11 - 3 141 97 45 3rd of 8 McConnell Div.
6th of 15 SOJHL
Lost div. quarter-final, 3-4 (Dukes)
2012-13 38 17 18 - 3 151 129 37 5th of 7 McConnell Div.
10th of 15 SOJHL
Won Div. QF, 4-2 (Bulldogs)
Lost Div. SF, 1-4 (Centennials)
2013-14 40 16 22 - 2 110 160 34 6th of 9 MWJCHL Lost quarter-final, 2-4 (Firebirds)
2014-15 40 17 21 2 - 117 127 36 7th of 9 MWJCHL Lost quarter-final, 1-4 (Firebirds)
2015-16 40 19 20 1 - 131 151 39 5th of 9 MWJCHL Lost quarter-final, 1-4 (Applejacks)
2016-17 40 18 22 0 - 153 153 36 7th of 9
Doherty Div. PJHL
Lost Div. QF, 3-4 (Mounties)
2017-18 40 29 6 2 3 215 115 63 2nd of 9
Doherty Div. PJHL
Won Div. QF, 4-1 (Firebirds)
Won Div. SF, 4-0 (Navy-Vets)
Won Div. Final, 4-3 (Centennials)
Lost Conf. Final, 0-4 (Rangers)
2018-19 40 32 5 1 2 209 79 67 1st of 9
Doherty Div. PJHL
Won Div. QF, 4-0 (Travellers)
Won Div. SF, 4-3 (Mounties)
Lost Div. Final, 1-4 (Applejacks)
2019-20 40 30 6 3 1 240 92 64 1st of 9
Doherty Div. PJHL
Won Div. QF, 4-0 (Bulldogs)
Won Div. SF, 4-0 (Navy-Vets)
Incomplete Div. Final 1-1 (Applejacks)
Remaining playoffs suspended COVID-19
2020-21 Season Lost due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22 36 26 6 2 2 172 82 56 2nd of 7
Doherty Div. PJHL
Won Div. SF, 4-2 (Applejacks)
Lost Div. Final 2-4, (Firebirds)
2022-23 41 21 15 3 2 142 121 47 4th of 7
Doherty Div. PJHL
Won Div. QF, 4-3 (Navy-Vets)
Lost Div. Final 0-4, (Firebirds)
2023-24 42 23 16 1 2 142 114 49 3rd of 7
Doherty Div. PJHL
Lost Div. QF, 3-4 (Shamrocks)

Playoffs

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  • 1983 Won league, won OHA Championship
Tavistock Braves defeated St. George Dukes 4-games-to-2 in OHA final

Notable alumni

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Jeff Zehr played for the Tavistock Braves during the 1993–94 season.

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