List of Memorial Cup champions
Cup Champion Score Runner-up Additional participants Host location ( s )
1972 Cornwall Royals ( QMJHL ) 2-1 Peterborough Petes ( OHA ) Edmonton Oil Kings ( WCHL ) Ottawa
1973 Toronto Marlboros ( OHA ) 9-1 Quebec Remparts ( QMJHL ) Medicine Hat Tigers ( WCHL ) Montreal
1974 Regina Pats ( WCHL ) 7-4 Quebec Remparts ( QMJHL ) St. Catharines Black Hawks ( OHA ) Calgary
1975 Toronto Marlboros ( OHA ) 7-3 New Westminster Bruins ( WCHL ) Sherbrooke Castors ( QMJHL ) Kitchener
1976 Hamilton Fincups ( OHA ) 5-2 New Westminster Bruins ( WCHL ) Quebec Remparts ( QMJHL ) Montreal
1977 New Westminster Bruins ( WCHL ) 6-5 Ottawa 67 's ( OHA ) Sherbrooke Castors ( QMJHL ) Vancouver
1978 New Westminster Bruins ( WHL ) 7-4 Peterborough Petes ( OHA ) Trois-Rivières Draveurs ( QMJHL ) Sudbury and Sault Ste . Marie
1979 Peterborough Petes ( OHA ) 2-1 ( OT ) Brandon Wheat Kings ( WHL ) Trois-Rivières Draveurs ( QMJHL ) Sherbrooke , Trois-Rivières and Verdun
1980 Cornwall Royals ( QMJHL ) 3-2 ( OT ) Peterborough Petes ( OHA ) Regina Pats ( WHL ) Brandon and Regina
1981 Cornwall Royals ( QMJHL ) 5-2 Kitchener Rangers ( OHL ) Victoria Cougars ( WHL ) Windsor
1982 Kitchener Rangers ( OHL ) 7-4 Sherbrooke Castors ( QMJHL ) Portland Winter Hawks ( WHL ) Hull
Champions and challengers -- 1972 to 1982
In 1970 , the CAHA divided the Junior A ranks into two levels , creating a Major–Junior tier that consisted of three leagues : the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League ( QMJHL ) , the Ontario Hockey Association ( OHA , now the OHL ) and the Western Canada Hockey League ( WCHL , now WHL ) . It was decided that the Memorial Cup would be the championship trophy of the Major Junior leagues , while the Manitoba Centennial Trophy was created as the Junior A championship . [ 2 ] The CAHA decided that beginning in 1972 , the Memorial Cup would be determined via a double round-robin tournament ( four games each ) between the champion of the three leagues , featuring a single game championship involving the top two finishers in the tournament . [ 13 ] The creation of the WHL 's Portland Winter Hawks in 1976 opened the competition up to non-Canadian teams for the first time , and in 1982 , the Winter Hawks became the first American team in Memorial Cup history to compete for the trophy . [ 14 ]
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) champion. Each year the champions from three CHL member leagues - the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), along with a host team - compete in the MasterCard Memorial Cup Tournament. The QMJHL's Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are the defending champions. Known originally as the OHA Memorial Cup, it was donated in 1919 by the Ontario Hockey Association in honour of the soldiers who died fighting for Canada in World War I. In 2010, the trophy was rededicated to honour all soldiers who died for Canada in any conflict. From its donation in 1919 until 1971, the Memorial Cup was awarded via a series of playoffs to the junior hockey champion of Canada. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association moved to the current tournament format in 1972 when it divided Junior A hockey into two tiers, naming the Memorial Cup as the championship of the Major Junior rank. Sixty teams across the CHL's three member leagues are eligible to compete for the Memorial Cup, representing nine provinces and four American states. The Western Hockey League has won the title 19 times since the adoption of the three league tournament format in 1972. The Ontario Hockey League has 17 titles, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has 12. Since the creation of the Memorial Cup, the Toronto Marlboros have won the most titles with seven. Among currently active teams, the Oshawa Generals lead with five titles, the latest one in 2015, while the Regina Pats follow with four.