1980–81 WHL season explained
The 1980–81 WHL season was the 15th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), featuring thirteen teams and a 72-game regular season. The Victoria Cougars won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for topping the regular season standings—setting a league record with 60 wins—and the President's Cup as league champions, defeating the Calgary Wranglers in the playoff finals.[1]
The season was the first for both the Spokane Flyers, who reactivated the dormant Great Falls Americans franchise, and the expansion Winnipeg Warriors.
Regular season
Final standings
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|
Brian Varga | | 68 | 64 | 96 | 160 | 187 |
| | 72 | 67 | 86 | 153 | 37 |
| | 55 | 65 | 82 | 147 | 65 |
| | 72 | 55 | 84 | 139 | 60 |
| | 72 | 28 | 111 | 139 | 61 |
| | 72 | 56 | 79 | 135 | 121 |
| | 72 | 62 | 71 | 133 | 39 |
| | 69 | 64 | 60 | 124 | 295 |
Mark Sochatsky | | 70 | 40 | 79 | 119 | 279 |
| | 72 | 53 | 65 | 118 | 176 |
|
1981 WHL Playoffs
First round
- Regina defeated Brandon 4 games to 1
- Calgary defeated Billings 4 games to 1
- Lethbridge defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 1
- Spokane defeated New Westminster in 4th place tiebreaker game
Division semi-finals
- Regina earned a bye
- Calgary defeated Lethbridge 3 games to 1
- Victoria defeated Spokane 4 games to 0
- Portland defeated Seattle 4 games to 1
Division finals
- Calgary defeated Regina 4 games to 2
- Victoria defeated Portland 4 games to 0
WHL Championship
- Victoria defeated Calgary 4 games to 3
All-Star game
On January 20, the WHL All-Stars defeated the Victoria Cougars 8–3 at Victoria, British Columbia before a crowd of 3,520.
WHL awards
All-Star Teams
See also
References
Notes and References
- News: Dheensaw . Cleve . 2015-09-20 . Mystery of the missing VIctoria Cougars champion banner . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211203034559/https://www.timescolonist.com/islander/mystery-of-the-missing-victoria-cougars-champion-banner-4627103 . 2021-12-03 . 2024-06-05 . The Times-Colonist.