The Minto 81's are a senior hockey team based out of Palmerston and Harriston, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Ontario Elite Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada.
Palmerston won the WOAA Grand Championship in the 1957âÂÂ58 season. The current Palmerston 81's have three WOAA Sr. "A" Championships, in 1998âÂÂ99, 2005âÂÂ06, and 2007âÂÂ08, they have a WOAA Sr. "AA" Championship, in 2002âÂÂ03, and two OEHL Sr. "AA" Championships, which were in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.
Palmerston, the defending Senior "A" Champions, had a very strong year, with a 17âÂÂ7âÂÂ0 record, good for fourth in the North Division.
The 81's would face the South Division champions, the Clinton Radars in the "AA" quarter-finals. After falling behind by losing the first game of the series, Palmerston would win two in a row in overtime to take a 2âÂÂ1 series lead. Clinton would come back and win two in a row to put Palmerston behind 3âÂÂ2, however in the sixth game, the 81's staved off elimination with a convincing 5âÂÂ2 victory, forcing a seventh game in Clinton. The 81's would fall behind the Radars 3âÂÂ0 after the first period and could never recover, losing 6âÂÂ2 and being eliminated from the playoffs.
After starting the season off with a 7âÂÂ2âÂÂ1 record in their first 10 games, the 81's would slump, losing six of their next eight games, to sit with a 9âÂÂ8âÂÂ1 record, and push the team out of the "AA" playoff picture. Palmerston snapped out of their slump, and in their remaining eight games, they posted an impressive 7âÂÂ0âÂÂ1 record, and finish in fifth place in the North Division, and qualifying for the "A" playoffs.
The 81's opening opponent in the quarter-finals was the Monkton Wildcats, and Monkton surprised Palmerston with a 4âÂÂ3 OT victory in the series opener, followed by a 2âÂÂ1 win in the second game to take a 2âÂÂ0 series lead. The 81's fought back, winning games three and four to tie the series, but the Wildcats put Palmerston on the brink of elimination with a 4âÂÂ0 victory in the fifth game to take a 3âÂÂ2 series lead. The 81's would once again fight back, hanging on for a 4âÂÂ3 win in the sixth game, sending the series to a seventh and deciding game. Palmerston would complete the comeback, defeating Monkton 5âÂÂ4, and advance to the "A" semi-finals.
Palmerston would face the defending "A" champions, the Durham Thundercats in the semi-finals, and the 81's would win a very wild opening game by a score of 9âÂÂ7. Durham rebounded to tie the series up in the second game, however, Palmerston would dominate the Thundercats in the third game, winning 10âÂÂ5, and taking a 2âÂÂ1 series lead. Palmerston's offense stayed hot, defeating Durham 7âÂÂ3 in the fourth game, and then defeating the Thundercats in the fifth game by a 7âÂÂ4 score to win the series, advancing to the "A" finals.
The 81's next opponent would be the Lucknow Lancers, and after dropping the series opener by a 5âÂÂ4 score, Palmerston would win the next two games by scores of 6âÂÂ4 and 7âÂÂ1 to take a 2âÂÂ1 series lead. Lucknow evened the series with a 7âÂÂ5 victory in the fourth game, however, Palmerston once again took the series lead with a solid 7âÂÂ3 win in the fifth game. The 81's would hang on for a 3âÂÂ2 win in the sixth game, winning the "A" championship for the second time in three seasons.
Palmerston would get off to a hot start to begin the regular season, winning their first seven games. The 81's would continue to play good hockey throughout the regular season, finishing off with a 14âÂÂ4âÂÂ2 record, earning 30 points, and fourth in the WOAA North Division.
Palmerston opened the playoffs against the Durham Thundercats, with the winner advancing to the "AA" quarter-finals. The 81's opened the series with a 9âÂÂ2 victory, followed by a 6âÂÂ2 win the second game to take a 2âÂÂ0 series lead. The third game would be determined in overtime, as the scored was tied 4âÂÂ4 after three periods of play, and it would be Palmerston earning the victory to take the 3âÂÂ0 series lead. The fourth game would once again be tied 4âÂÂ4 after regulation time, and the 81's would earn the series sweep, by scoring in the extra period and advance to the "AA" quarter-finals.
In the "AA" quarter-finals, the 81's faced off against the Saugeen Shores Winterhawks, where Saugeen Shores would take an early series lead by defeating Palmerston 5âÂÂ3 in the series opener, followed by a 7âÂÂ6 Winterhawks victory in the second game. Saugeen Shores would continue their winning ways in the third game, defeating the 81's 6âÂÂ4 to take a 3âÂÂ0 series lead. Palmerston would fight off elimination in the fourth game, defeating the Winterhawks 8âÂÂ5, however, Saugeen Shores would end the 81's season in the fifth game with a 4âÂÂ2 victory over Palmerston.
Palmerston would struggle during the 2009âÂÂ10 season, as they finished with a record of 8âÂÂ9âÂÂ3, earning 19 points, and a seventh-place finish in the North Division standings.
In the playoffs, the 81's faced off against the Shelburne Muskies in a best of five qualifying round. The Muskies easily defeated the 81's by a 6âÂÂ3 score in the series opener, followed by a 5âÂÂ2 Shelburne win in the second game. Palmerston kept the third game close, however, Shelburne completed the three-game sweep with a 4âÂÂ3 win, sending Palmerston to the "A" playoffs.
In the "A" quarter-finals, the 81's would face the Lucknow Lancers. Lucknow took the first game, winning a wild one by a score of 8âÂÂ6. The Lancers then took the second game by a 7âÂÂ3 score, followed by a 7âÂÂ4 Lucknow win in the third game as the Lancers took a 3âÂÂ0 series lead. Lucknow completed the sweep in the fourth game, blowing out Palmerston 9âÂÂ3 to end the 81's season.
After a very disappointing 2009âÂÂ10 season, the 81's improved a little bit during the season, as the club went 13âÂÂ12âÂÂ1 to finish above the .500 mark, earning 27 points, and finishing in fifth place in the North Division standings. In the summer of 2011, the team announced they were merging with the Drayton Icemen and expanding their territory with it. They are now called the Mapleton-Minto 81's.
The 81's were able to maintain their 5th place spot in the North Division following the merger with Drayton, finishing the 24-game schedule with a record of 11âÂÂ10âÂÂ3.
They faced off against the Durham Thundercats in a North Division quarterfinal series, falling in 5 games.
The 81's started off their season with promise, defeating the defending champion Saugeen Shores Winterhawks in the Winterhawks home opener. The 81's were unable to sustain the success, and struggled to a record of 7âÂÂ15âÂÂ2. They finished 7th in the North Division, ahead of only the last-place Lucknow Lancers.
After falling to the 2nd-seed Winterhawks in the first round of the "AA" playoffs, the 81's withdrew from the "A" championship playoffs.
After a strong regular season, the 81's reached their first league final since 2002 by sweeping the Elora Rocks in four games in the North Division final.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T= Tie, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
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