Throwback Thursday – Ridge Meadows Flames

In 1972, the North Shore Winter Club applied to the West Coast Junior Hockey League, the predecessor of the Pacific Junior Hockey League, to start a a team of their own. They were denied entry into the league, and joined the North Island League for the season instead. 

The NSWC team won the North Island and Island titles that year, but ended up falling in the Junior B West Coast Champions series.

The following year, their application to the WCJHL was successful, as the league expanded, adding four teams, including the team that became the North Shore Flames.

The team won their first league and provincial title in the 1982-83 season, taking the league championship and the Cyclone Taylor Cup. They would go on to take two more league titles and compete in the provincial tournament during their tenure on the North Shore.

Before the 1986-87 season, Ray and Sue Stonehouse became the owners of the team and a few years later, the North Shore Flames became the Ridge Meadows Flames when they moved east in 1993.

The Flames continued their success in their new home, culminating in a Keystone Cup win in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1998. They added a few league titles and Provincial/Western tournament visits to their record.

Following the 2004-05 season, the Stonehouses decided to sell the team to a new ownership group, and Ray and Sue moved on to the PJHL office.

When the PJHL split into divisions following the 2007-08 season, the Flames were placed in the Harold Brittain Conference, where they remain to this day.

Since the split, the Flames have made it to the playoffs 11 of the 12 years and won the regular season Brittain conference title twice.

Their flaming horse logo mirrored the NHL team of the same namesake, the Calgary Flames, who took on a similar logo in the 2010s.

   

The Flames have recently added a worded logo, featuring the red and yellow colour scheme.

Notable NHL players who came out of the Flames organization include: Mackenzie Skapski, Brad Hunt, Brandon Yip, Kellan Tochkin, and Jordan Hollett.