The Sutherland Cup was the pinnacle of Junior “B” Hockey in the province of Ontario and is the championship trophy of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. As there is no national championship for Junior “B”, the Sutherland trophy is the highest attainable achievement for teams competing at this level.

The trophy was first awarded in 1934 and continues to this day to be a goal for all teams in Ontario who compete in Junior “B”. Burlington has always had strong developmental and competitive hockey at the minor league level but rarely before 1981 did they put together a team strong enough and sufficiently talented enough to challenge the powerhouses of Junior “B” hockey in the province. In fact, this is the only Junior team from Burlington that has ever competed for and won the coveted Sutherland Cup.

In 1981 all the pieces came together and the Cougars presented a formidable force in the rinks of Southern Ontario including our own Burlington Central arena. They finished first in the Central Division of the Ontario Junior “B” league and entered the playoffs as prohibitive favourites. Just to arrive at the championship, the Cougars would have to succeed in what was a gruelling stretch of five playoff series. In the very first round against the 5th place Acton Sabres, they were extended to 7 games. Round 2 also required 7 games but they knew they were really destined to make a strong bid for the trophy when they defeated their arch-rivals, the Oakville Blades in 4 games. They went on to defeat the St. Michaels Buzzers in 5 games and then prevail in the championship series against a very talented Stratford Cullitans team in 6 games.

The team members were: Grant Blair, Noble Carlton, Urban Jakobsson, Grant Ziliotto, Mike Halstead, Scott MacLellan, Bill Kirk, Mike Knowlton, Jay LeMay, Peter Donaldson, Bryan Grigsby, Steve Short, Doug McCallion, Peter Flood, Derek Murphy, Jeff Ward, Dave Conacher, Marty Prowse, Deron Ellsworth, Rob Bryson COACH: Phil Cameron

The Cougars of 1981 were the talk of the town in Burlington. They captured the interest and support of thousands of Burlingtonians who got caught up in their grit, determination and skill. Congratulations 1981 Cougars and welcome to the Burlington Sports Hall of Fame.