1980–81 WHL season

1980–81 CHL season
1980–81 CHL season
League	Canadian Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	35
OHL
QMJHL
WHL
Memorial Cup
Finals champions	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) (3rd title)
Runners-up	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

1980–81 WHL season
1980–81 WHL season
League	Western Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	13
Regular season
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy	Victoria Cougars (2)
Season MVP	Steve Tsujiura (Medicine Hat Tigers)
Top scorer	Brian Varga (Regina Pats)
Playoffs
Finals champions	Victoria Cougars (1)
Runners-up	Calgary Wranglers
WHL seasons
	← 1979–80 1981–82 →

The 1980–81 WHL season was the 15th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), featuring thirteen teams and a 72-game regular season. The Victoria Cougars won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for topping the regular season standings—setting a league record with 60 wins—and the President's Cup as league champions, defeating the Calgary Wranglers in the playoff finals.^[1]

The season was the first for both the Spokane Flyers, who reactivated the dormant Great Falls Americans franchise, and the expansion Winnipeg Warriors.

Team changes

The Great Falls Americans are reactivated and relocated to Spokane, Washington, becoming the Spokane Flyers.
The Winnipeg Warriors join the WHL as an expansion team.

Regular season

Final standings

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Regina Pats	72	49	21	2	100	423	315
x Calgary Wranglers	72	46	24	2	94	368	295
x Medicine Hat Tigers	72	40	29	3	83	358	302
x Lethbridge Broncos	72	37	33	2	76	339	332
x Billings Bighorns	72	30	40	2	62	336	334
x Brandon Wheat Kings	72	29	40	3	61	342	352
Winnipeg Warriors	72	28	43	1	57	298	345
Saskatoon Blades	72	22	47	3	47	297	427

West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Victoria Cougars	72	60	11	1	121	462	217
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	56	15	1	113	443	266
x Seattle Breakers	72	26	46	0	52	318	393
x Spokane Flyers	72	17	54	1	35	288	488
New Westminster Bruins	72	17	54	1	35	306	512

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Brian Varga	Regina Pats	68	64	96	160	187
Jock Callander	Regina Pats	72	67	86	153	37
Barry Pederson	Victoria Cougars	55	65	82	147	65
Steve Tsujiura	Medicine Hat Tigers	72	55	84	139	60
Jim Benning	Portland Winter Hawks	72	28	111	139	61
Gary Yaremchuk	Portland Winter Hawks	72	56	79	135	121
Dave Michayluk	Regina Pats	72	62	71	133	39
Dave Chartier	Brandon Wheat Kings	69	64	60	124	295
Mark Sochatsky	Spokane Flyers	70	40	79	119	279
Brian Shaw	Portland Winter Hawks	72	53	65	118	176

1981 WHL Playoffs

First round

Regina defeated Brandon 4 games to 1
Calgary defeated Billings 4 games to 1
Lethbridge defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 1
Spokane defeated New Westminster in 4th place tiebreaker game

Division semi-finals

Regina earned a bye
Calgary defeated Lethbridge 3 games to 1
Victoria defeated Spokane 4 games to 0
Portland defeated Seattle 4 games to 1

Division finals

Calgary defeated Regina 4 games to 2
Victoria defeated Portland 4 games to 0

WHL Championship

Victoria defeated Calgary 4 games to 3

All-Star game

On January 20, the WHL All-Stars defeated the Victoria Cougars 8–3 at Victoria, British Columbia before a crowd of 3,520.

WHL awards

Most Valuable Player: Steve Tsujiura, Medicine Hat Tigers

Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Brian Varga, Regina Pats

Most Sportsmanlike Player: Steve Tsujiura, Medicine Hat Tigers

Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Jim Benning, Portland Winter Hawks

Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Dave Michayluk, Regina Pats

Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Grant Fuhr, Victoria Cougars

Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Ken Hodge, Portland Winter Hawks

Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Victoria Cougars

All-Star Teams

	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Grant Fuhr	Victoria Cougars	Kelly Hrudey	Medicine Hat Tigers
Defense	Jim Benning	Portland Winter Hawks	Len Dawes	Victoria Cougars
Defense	Garth Butcher	Regina Pats	Gary Nylund	Portland Winter Hawks
Center	Barry Pederson	Victoria Cougars	Steve Tsujiura	Medicine Hat Tigers
Left Wing	Ken Solheim	Medicine Hat Tigers	Torrie Robertson	Victoria Cougars
Right Wing	Mike Moller	Lethbridge Broncos	Dave Michayluk	Regina Pats

References

^ Dheensaw, Cleve (September 20, 2015). "Mystery of the missing VIctoria Cougars champion banner". The Times-Colonist. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2024.

2005–06 WHL Guide

Preceded by 1979–80 WHL season	WHL seasons	Succeeded by 1981–82 WHL season

[1] Dheensaw, Cleve (September 20, 2015). "Mystery of the missing VIctoria Cougars champion banner". The Times-Colonist. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2024.

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