Spunky Spits of ’76-77

By Randy Russon
June 9, 2024
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It did not take the Windsor Spitfires very long to qualify for their first playoff spot as members of the Ontario Hockey League. While, for example, it took the Soo Greyhounds four years after their 1972 OHL debut to make it to the playoffs, the Spitfires did it in just their second season.

After missing the playoffs as an OHL expansion team during the 1975-1976 season with just 28 points from a record of 12-50-4, the Spitfires ascended up the ladder of the Emms Division standings in 1976-1977.

Under the leadership of colourful coach and general manager Wayne Maxner — who was in his first full season at the helm after taking over midway through Windsor’s initial OHL campaign of ’75-76 — the Spitfires snagged the fifth and final playoff spot in the Emms Division in ’76-77 with 50 points from a record of 21-37-8. But Maxner and the Spitfires had a lot more still to give.

In the preliminary round of the Emms Division playoffs, the no. 5 seed Spitfires swept the no. 4 seed Kitchener Rangers in three straight games. Kitchener had finished 10 points ahead of Windsor in the regular season standings but the Rangers were no match for the gritty Spitfires come playoff time.

Up next were the powerhouse St. Catharines Fincups, who were coached by Bert Templeton. Led by 60 goal scorer Dale McCourt and 50 goal gunners Mike Keating and Ric Seiling, the Fincups had finished atop the Emms Division standings with a record of 50-11-5, good for 105 points — more than double the number of points that the Spitfires had managed.

Doing some of his best coaching against his nemesis Templeton, Maxner coaxed two wins out of his overachieving Spitfires before the Fincups prevailed to win the series four games to two. After the hard fought series, Templeton went on CKWW Radio in Windsor and remarked to play by play announcer Dave Quinn that “Max did a helluva job with that team. Just ask him, he will tell you.”

The Spitfires of that ’76-77 season were a patchwork production with Maxner in the dual role of coach and general manager of a Windsor team that, as previously noted, was in just its second year of OHL existence. But through some good coaching and some key trades, Maxner was able to get the Spitfires of ’76-77 to perform at an increasingly higher level as the season went on. Notable players acquired in trades by Maxner that season included forwards Ron Friest and Kenny Campbell (from the Niagara Falls Flyers) and John Wilson (by way of the Ottawa 67’s.)

Rough and tumble and racking up an astounding total of 2,284 penalty minutes in 66 regular season games, the Spitfires were, in the words of Maxner, “the toughest team in the league. There is not a team in the league that is as tough as we are. Not the Fincups and not the Greyhounds.” He certainly had a point.

Hard rock defenseman Peter Luksa led the Spitfires with 363 minutes in penalties and fearsome left winger Joey Gallant wasn’t far behind with 257. Then there was Brad (Motor City Smitty) Smith who led the Spitfires in scoring with 37 goals, 53 assists, 90 points while also piling up 154 minutes in penalties as a rugged right winger who had absolutely no fear.

Smith was one of several local Windsor area products on the ’76-77 edition of the Spitfires. Others included standout defenseman Joel Quenneville, forwards Ron Friest and Kenny Campbell and goalies Georges Gagnon and Bobby Parent.

I got to see a lot of the Spitfires that season. As a sports reporter for CKCY Radio in Sault Ste. Marie, I covered the Soo Greyhounds and always looked forward to when Maxner and the Spitfires were coming to town. I also made sure to hitch a ride to Windsor — my second hometown — with the Greyhounds on their team bus for road games against the Spitfires.

Part of my job at CKCY was to record post game interviews on a cassette recorder — and the always talkative Maxner and one Spitfire player in particular provided me with some colourful commentary that, almost 50 years later, remains etched in my memory bank.

Never having met a microphone that he didn’t like, Maxner once told me via cassette tape recorder after a particularly physical game in the Soo that not only were the Spitfires “the toughest team in the league” but that the Greyhounds, under second year coach Muzz MacPherson, were “not as tough as they were last year. You know, they may think they are tough but they are not as tough as us. Some of their players duck for cover whenever they see (Peter) Luksa or (Joey) Gallant or (John) Barrett come on the ice for us. There is a lot of a chicken shit over there on that Soo team.”

Meanwhile, I remember once interviewing the above mentioned Gallant after a brawl filled, early season game in the Soo — and the Spitfire enforcer told me that Greyhound tough guy Tim Coulis “should be looking over his shoulder the next time he comes to Windsor. Tim thinks he is a real tough guy but we’ll see about that when he comes to Windsor. If he wants to go with me or Luksa, it will be lights out for Tim.”

To be sure, Windsor Arena, home of the Spitfires, was not for the faint of heart. Indeed, some visiting teams and players were known to come up with a case of the “Windsor flu” on more than one occasion.

Windsor Arena was born long before the Spitfires became members of the OHL in 1975. As in, Windsor Arena was built way back in 1924. And the Spitfires were a power house Tier 2 junior team for a number of years before moving up to the OHL in 1975.

Nicknamed ‘The Barn’ or ‘The Madhouse on McDougall’, Windsor Arena could officially house about 4,400 spectators, including standing room. However, during the early days of the OHL Spitfires under the aforementioned Wayne Maxner, it was not uncommon for more than 5,000 fans to pack the cramped but cozy Windsor Arena. (Apparently the fire marshals were looking the other way.)

Adding to uniqueness of Windsor Arena were the narrow concourses and low ceilings that led to the dressing rooms and concession areas. Then there was the smaller ice surface, which was an asymmetrical 195 feet by 80 feet as opposed to the standard 200 X 85. If utilized properly by a coach like Maxner — and it was — Windsor Arena could be a major advantage for the home team and a nightmare for the visitors.