Cambridge Winter Hawks

The Cambridge Winter Hawks are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. They previously played in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team left the GOJHL, the OHA, the OHF, and (by default) Hockey Canada in the spring of 2017 in what was claimed to be in protest of the refusal of the OHA to allow the GOJHL Junior A status. Team co-owner Joe Machado created the Junior Canadian Hockey League with the hope of competing at the Junior A level.

History
Created in 1982, the team was made to replace the last Cambridge team that was bought out by the Guelph Platers and moved out of town. Their first season was in the OHA Junior "A" League. The Winter Hawks have been a charter member of the Midwestern "B" since 1983, and are currently the 2006 Sutherland Cup Champions, defeating the Niagara Falls Canucks; they also repeated as 2007 Sutherland Cup champions.

The Winter Hawks have applied but were denied to move up to the Junior A Ontario Junior Hockey League for the 2013-14 season.

In 2017 the Cambridge Winter Hawks announced they were parting ways with OHA (but not Hockey Canada) and emphasized that they would no longer be of the GOJHL. Options being explored included finding a Junior A league, creating their own Jr. A league, but are not considering joining an outlaw league (i.e. GMHL).

Based on a June 2, 2017 issued joint release made by the Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada the organization may be working on a league tentatively named the Junior Canadian Hockey League. And based on this statement the new league will not be sanctioned by Hockey Canada or the OHF as the OHA has the regional jurisdiction over Junior Hockey Teams in all regions of Ontario, except in the NOHA, Hockey Eastern Ontario and Hockey Northwestern Ontario. On June 5th, the general manager, director of hockey operations, head coach, assistant coach and associate coach resigned. Former head coach Dan Fitzgerald stated he found out about the team's intentions from a text message received from the media that follows the GOJHL.

Playoffs
OJHL Years
 * 1983 Lost Quarter-final
 * North York Rangers defeated Cambridge Winterhawks 4-games-to-none

Sutherland Cup championships

 * 2000: Cambridge Winter Hawks defeated St. Catharines Falcons 4-games-to-none
 * 2006: Cambridge Winter Hawks defeated Niagara Falls Canucks 4-games-to-1
 * 2007: Cambridge Winter Hawks defeated Strathroy Rockets 4-games-to-none
 * 2013: London Nationals defeated Cambridge Winter Hawks 4-games-to-3

Notable alumni

 * Tim Brent
 * John Cullen
 * Todd Harvey
 * Jody Hull
 * Bryan Little
 * Kirk Maltby
 * Marty Turco
 * Scott Walker