Keystone Cup
SportIce hockey
Awarded forJunior B hockey champions of:
Location2019: Peguis First Nation
CountryCanada
History
First award1983 (1983)
Editions37
Most wins
Most recentThunder Bay Northern Hawks (2nd)
Websitekeystonecup.ca

The Keystone Cup is the Junior B ice hockey championship and trophy for Western Canada. From 1983 to 2017, the championship was the culmination of the champions of 12 hockey leagues in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwestern Ontario. In 2018, citing costs for travel and accommodations, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan withdrew from competition for the Keystone Cup, making it a championship between Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.

There is no national championship for Junior B hockey in Canada, but similar championships are held in Southern Ontario (Sutherland Cup), Ottawa District (Barkley Cup), Quebec (Coupe Dodge), and Atlantic Canada (Don Johnson Memorial Cup)—leaving five teams at the end of each year with a shared claim to being the best Junior B team in Canada.

History

The Keystone Cup was donated to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association by Keystone Sports from Selkirk, Manitoba. The inaugural tournament took place in 1983 in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, and was won by the Selkirk Fishermen of the Manitoba Junior B Hockey League.

The championship is determined through a round-robin of the winner of the Cyclone Taylor Cup in British Columbia, the winner of the Russ Barnes Trophy in Alberta, the winner of the Athol Murray Trophy in Saskatchewan, the Keystone Junior Hockey League, and the William Ryan Trophy in Northwestern Ontario. In previous years, the winner of the Keystone Junior B League would have had to go through the Manitoba Provincial Junior B Hockey Championship, but in 2004 their only competition, the Northwest Junior Hockey League, folded. The same thing happened in the William Ryan Trophy Championship for the Thunder Bay Junior B League, as their only competition, the North of Superior Junior B Hockey League, folded in 2004.

For the 2018 edition of the tournament in Thunder Bay, Ontario, teams from British Columbia and Alberta pulled out of the event. NEAJBHL President Ned Graling cited economic concerns while Kamloops Storm general manager Barry Dewar made claims about playing conditions and accommodations in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.[1] The Prairie Junior Hockey League followed British Columbia and Alberta and also withdrew from the 2018 Keystone Cup[2] bringing it to a cross-border clash between the Keystone Junior Hockey League and the Lakehead Junior Hockey League, won by the host Northern Hawks.[3] In mid-November 2019 the teams of the Prairie Junior Hockey League of Saskatchewan decided to send their provincial champion as their representative to the 2020 Keystone Cup.[4] However, the 2020 competition was cancelled as part of the effort to minimize the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

Keystone Cup 2019

In Peguis First Nation, Manitoba

Keystone Cup Round Robin
RankTeamLeagueW-L-TGFGA
1 Thunder Bay Northern Hawks LJHL 3-0-0 20 9
2 Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye LJHL 2-1-0 15 6
3 Peguis Juniors (Host) KJHL 1-2-0 11 12
4 Cross Lake Islanders KJHL 0-3-0 9 28

Round Robin

Round Robin
GameAwayScoreHomeScore
April 19, 2019
1Peguis9Cross Lake3
2Fighting Walleye3Northern Hawks4
April 19, 2019
3Peguis2Northern Hawks3
4Cross Lake2Fighting Walleye 6
April 20, 2019
5Cross Lake4Northern Hawks13
6Fighting Walleye6Peguis0

Championship Round

Championship Round
GameAwayScoreHomeScore
Bronze MedalCross Lake4Peguis2
Gold MedalFighting Walleye2Northern Hawks4

2019 Roll of Champions

    Champions

    Keystone Cup Champions
    YearChampionsRunners-UpConsolation ChampionsHost City
    Pre-Keystone Cup Era
    1978 Quesnel Millionaires Saskatoon Quakers --
    1979
    1980 Transcona Railers Selkirk Fishermen Notre Dame Hounds Winnipeg, MB
    1981 Transcona Railers Northwest Americans Hudson Bay Saints Winnipeg, MB
    1982 Saskatoon Quakers Hudson Bay Saints Transcona Railers Hudson Bay, SK
    Keystone Cup Era
    1983 Selkirk Fishermen Saskatoon Wesleys Thunder Bay Hornets Portage la Prairie, MB
    1984 Portage la Prairie Terriers Selkirk Fishermen Thunder Bay Hornets Schreiber, ON
    1985 Vermilion Tigers North Winnipeg Satelites Winnipeg, MB
    1986 Vermilion Tigers Prince Albert North Stars Nipawin, SK
    1987 Calgary Bruins Vermilion Tigers Vermilion, AB
    1988 Warman Valley Crusaders Columbia Valley Rockies North Winnipeg Satelites Saskatoon, SK
    1989 Columbia Valley Rockies Kinistino Tigers Stony Plain Flyers Gimli, MB
    1990 Columbia Valley Rockies Calgary Bruins Kinistino Tigers Invermere, BC
    1991 Kinistino Tigers Lloydminster Bandits Stony Plain Flyers Stony Plain, AB
    1992 Kinistino Tigers Saskatoon Chiefs Selkirk Fishermen Kinistino, SK
    1993 Lloydminster Bandits Kinistino Tigers Selkirk Fishermen Selkirk, MB
    1994 Kinistino Tigers Selkirk Fishermen Fort William Hurricanes Thunder Bay, ON
    1995 Lloydminster Bandits Regina Capitals Fort William Hurricanes Lloydminster, SK
    1996 Assiniboia Southern Rebels St. Albert Merchants Ridge Meadows Flames Sicamous, BC
    1997 Grenfell Storm St. Malo Warriors Saskatoon Royals Grenfell, SK
    1998 Ridge Meadows Flames Lloydminster Bandits Hearst Elans Winnipeg, MB
    1999 Fort William Hurricanes Edmonton Royals Campbell River Storm Thunder Bay, ON
    2000 Edmonton River Kings Airdrie Thunder Abbotsford Pilots Airdrie, AB
    2001 Assiniboia Southern Rebels Ridge Meadows Flames Beaver Valley Nitehawks Maple Ridge, BC
    2002 Sicamous Eagles Spruce Grove Regals Assiniboia Southern Rebels Assiniboia, SK
    2003 Assiniboia Southern Rebels Spruce Grove Regals Richmond Sockeyes Portage la Prairie, MB
    2004 Regina Capitals Richmond Sockeyes Red Deer Vipers Schreiber, ON
    2005 Osoyoos Storm Saskatoon Royals Medicine Hat Cubs Medicine Hat, AB
    2006 Red Deer Vipers Campbell River Storm Delta Ice Hawks Campbell River, BC
    2007 Saskatoon Royals Fort Qu'Appelle Fort Knox Winnipeg Saints Fort Qu'Appelle, SK
    2008 Sherwood Park Knights Norway House North Stars Grandview Steelers Selkirk, MB
    2009 Richmond Sockeyes Thunder Bay Wolverines Saskatoon Royals Thunder Bay, ON
    2010 Revelstoke Grizzlies Tri-Town Thunder Kamloops Storm Kamloops, BC
    2011 Blackfalds Wranglers Sherwood Park Knights Pilot Butte Storm Sherwood Park, AB
    2012 Abbotsford Pilots Thunder Bay Northern Hawks Whitecourt Wolverines Saskatoon, SK
    2013 Richmond Sockeyes Saskatoon Royals Okotoks Bisons St. Malo, MB
    2014 Beaver Valley Nitehawks Abbotsford Pilots Blackfalds Wranglers Abbotsford, BC
    2015 Campbell River Storm North Edmonton Red Wings Saskatoon Quakers Cold Lake, AB
    2016 100 Mile House Wranglers Saskatoon Quakers North Peace Navigators Regina, SK
    2017 Wainwright Bisons Beaver Valley Nitehawks Regina Capitals Arborg, MB
    2018 Thunder Bay Northern Hawks Peguis Juniors Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye Thunder Bay, ON
    2019 Thunder Bay Northern Hawks Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye Cross Lake Islanders Peguis, MB
    2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Canada Thunder Bay, ON
    2021 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    2022 Competition not scheduled -
    Central Canada Cup Cup Era
    YearChampionsRunners-UpChampionship Game ScoreHost City
    2023 OCN Storm Schrieber Falcons 6-3 Thunder Bay, ON

    Most Top 3 Finishes by Province (since 1999)

    Keystone Cup medal count by Province
    RegionGoldSilverBronzeTotal
    British Columbia95721
    Alberta56617
    Saskatchewan45514
    Ontario3317
    Manitoba0224

    References

    1. ↑ "Storm, B.C. and Alberta junior B teams, pull out of Keystone Cup". Kamloops This Week. 2017-06-16.
    2. ↑ "Capitals dedicate PJHL championship to Broncos". Regina Leader-Post. 2018-04-16.
    3. ↑ "Northern Hawks capture Keystone Cup". TBNewswatch. 2018-04-22.
    4. ↑ "Keystone Cup - Powered By esportsdesk.com". www.keystonecup.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
    5. ↑ "Keystone Cup cancelled because of coronavirus threat". TBNewsWatch.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
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