On March 14, 1968, at home in St. James, the St. James Canadians corralled the Manitoba Junior Hockey League championship, and on March 26, in Selkirk, the Canadians captured the Turnbull Cup defeating the Central Manitoba Junior Hockey League champions Selkirk Steelers.
League notes
editDuring the summer of 1967, the MAHA agreed to allow three teams to enter the WCHL: the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Flin Flon Bombers from the MJHL, and the Ben Hatskin-owned Winnipeg Jets. Hatskin also owned three MJHL teams. Part of the agreement was the continuation of the MJHL; Hatskin sold his three teams to local interests, and the Winnipeg Warriors became the West Kildonan North Stars, the St. James Braves became the St. James Canadians, and the Winnipeg Rangers became the St. Boniface Saints. These three teams joined the Winnipeg Monarchs to form the new MJHL. The Selkirk Steelers however joined the Central Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
The league dropped the final three games of the regular season in order to accommodate Memorial Cup playoff elimination series within the province with the Central Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
Regular season
edit| League Standings | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnipeg Monarchs | 36 | 20 | 13 | 3 | 43 | 200 | 157 |
| St. Boniface Saints | 36 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 37 | 157 | 152 |
| West Kildonan North Stars | 35 | 17 | 18 | 0 | 34 | 151 | 189 |
| St. James Canadians | 37 | 14 | 21 | 2 | 30 | 155 | 165 |
Playoffs
editSemi-Finals
- Winnipeg lost to West Kildonan 4-games-to-1
- St. Boniface lost to St. James 4-games-to-1
Final
- West Kildonan lost to St. James 4-games-to-none
Turnbull Cup Championship
- St. James defeated Selkirk Steelers (CMJHL) 4-games-to-2
Western Memorial Cup Semi-Final
- St. James lost to Westfort Hurricanes (TBJHL) 4-games-to-2
Awards
edit| Trophy | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP | Jim Trosky | St. Boniface Saints |
| Top Goaltender | Alan Hanna | Winnipeg Monarchs |
| Rookie of the Year | Wayne Chernecki | West Kildonan North Stars |
| Hockey Ability & Sportsmanship Award | Andy Miles | Winnipeg Monarchs |
| Scoring Champion | Wayne Chernecki | West Kildonan North Stars |
| Most Goals | Wayne Chernecki | West Kildonan North Stars |
| Coach of the Year | Jim Walker | St. James Canadians |
All-Star Teams
edit| 1968 First All-Star Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goaltender | Alan Hanna | Winnipeg Monarchs | |||
| Defencemen | Jim Trosky | St. Boniface Saints | |||
| Al White | Winnipeg Monarchs | ||||
| Centreman | Wayne Chernecki | West Kildonan North Stars | |||
| Leftwinger (tie) | Andy Van Hellemond | St. James Canadians | |||
| Brian Howie | West Kildonan North Stars | ||||
| Rightwinger | Brian Stephenson | Winnipeg Monarchs | |||
| 1968 Second All-Star Team | |||||
| Goaltender | Allan Loewen | St. James Canadians | |||
| Defencemen | Ken Friesen | St. Boniface Saints | |||
| Jim Gair | West Kildonan North Stars | ||||
| Centreman | Chris Oddleifson | Winnipeg Monarchs | |||
| Wingers | Jim Malcolm | Winnipeg Monarchs | |||
| Andy Miles | Winnipeg Monarchs | ||||