1981 Air Canada Cup
# 1981 Air Canada Cup

The 1981 Air Canada Cup was Canada's third annual national midget 'AAA' hockey championship, which was played April 14 – 19, 1981 at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Lions du Lac St-Louis won their first national championship, defeating the Kitchener Greenshirts in the gold medal game. The Antigonish Novas from Nova Scotia won the bronze medal. Future National Hockey League players competing in this tournament were Lyndon Byers, Bobby Dollas, Normand Lacombe, Gary Leeman, Darryl Reaugh, Mike Tomlak and Brad Shaw.

## Teams

| Result | Team | Branch | City |
| - | - | - | - |
| | Lions du Lac St-Louis | Quebec | Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC |
| | Kitchener Greenshirts | Ontario | Kitchener, ON |
| | Antigonish Novas | Nova Scotia | Antigonish, NS |
| 4 | Current River Comets | Thunder Bay District | Thunder Bay, ON |
| 5 | Notre Dame Hounds | Saskatchewan | Wilcox, SK |
| 6 | Gloucester Rangers | Ottawa District | Gloucester, ON |
| 7 | Calgary Northstars | Alberta | Calgary, AB |
| 8 | North River Atlantic Insulators | Prince Edward Island | North River, PE |
| 9 | M.N.S. Stars | Manitoba | Winnipeg, MB |
| 10 | Saint John Pepsi | New Brunswick | Saint John, NB |
| 11 | Corner Brook Royals | Newfoundland | Corner Brook, NL |
| 12 | Prince George Kings | British Columbia | Prince George, BC |

## Round robin

### DC8 Flight

**Standings**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Kitchener Greenshirts | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 15 | +9 | 8 |
| 2 | Lions du Lac St-Louis | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 15 | +14 | 7 |
| 3 | Notre Dame Hounds | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 12 | +10 | 7 |
| 4 | Calgary Northstars | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 25 | −6 | 4 |
| 5 | M.N.S. Stars | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 18 | −6 | 4 |
| 6 | Prince George Kings | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 28 | −21 | 0 |

**Scores**

* M.N.S. 4 - Kitchener 2
* Calgary 5 - Prince George 1
* Lac St-Louis 3 - Notre Dame 3
* Notre Dame 4 - M.N.S. 0
* Lac St-Louis 8 - Prince George 2
* Kitchener 6 - Calgary 4
* Lac St-Louis 7 - M.N.S. 1
* Notre Dame 6 - Calgary 4
* Kitchener 5 - Prince George 2
* Lac St-Louis 8 - Calgary 2
* M.N.S. 3 - Prince George 0
* Kitchener 4 - Notre Dame 2
* Calgary 5 - M.N.S. 4
* Notre Dame 7 - Prince George 2
* Kitchener 7 - Lac St-Louis 3

### DC9 Flight

**Standings**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Antigonish Novas | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 11 | +14 | 8 |
| 2 | Current River Comets | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 6 |
| 3 | Gloucester Rangers | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 6 |
| 4 | North River Atlantic Insulators | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 16 | −3 | 4 |
| 5 | Saint John Pepsi | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 20 | −8 | 3 |
| 6 | Corner Brook Royals | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 21 | −12 | 3 |

**Scores**

* Corner Brook 2 - North River 2
* Current River 2 - Gloucester 0
* Anigonish 7 - Saint John 3
* Current River 5 - Saint John 3
* Gloucester 6 - Corner Brook 1
* Antigonish 4 - North River 1
* Gloucester 4 - Saint John 0
* Current River 4 - North River 2
* Antigonish 8 - Corner Brook 2
* North River 4 - Gloucester 2
* Saint John 2 - Corner Brook 0
* Antigonish 5 - Current River 1
* Saint John 4 - North River 4
* Corner Brook 4 - Current River 3
* Gloucester 4 - Antigonish 1

## Playoffs

### Quarter-finals

* Antigonish 5 - Gloucester 3
* Lac St-Louis 8 - Calgary 2
* Current River 7 - North River 6
* Kitchener 5 - Notre Dame 2

### Semi-finals

* Lac St-Louis 3 - Antigonish 2
* Kitchener 6 - Current River 0

### Bronze-medal game

* Antigonish 9 - Current River 3

### Gold-medal game

* Lac St-Louis 7 - Kitchener 2

## Individual awards

* Most Valuable Player: Dale Derkatch (Notre Dame)
* Top Scorer: Normand Lacombe (Lac St-Louis)
* Top Forward: Dale Derkatch (Notre Dame)
* Top Defenceman: Calvin Fraser (Antigonish)
* Top Goaltender: James Falle (Gloucester)
* Most Sportsmanlike Player: Mike Vinsky (M.N.S.)
