History of the Team

The Petrolia Chiefs were founded in the 1960s as members of the Tri-County Intermediate League. In 1973, the Chiefs won their league, but lost the Intermediate C provincial final to a team from Bracebridge, Ontario 4-games-to-none. Also in 1973, they changed their name to the Petrolia Squires as their league became the Western Intermediate C Hockey League.

In 1976, the Western Intermediate C Hockey League merged with the Seaway Intermediate C Hockey League to create the Seaway-Western Intermediate C Hockey League. The Squires played one season with the league and then moved up to the Continental Senior A Hockey League. In that one season, the Squires won the 1977 league championship as well as the provincial championship by defeating the Bradford Comets 4-games-to-1.

In the Continental League, the Squires found strong competition, with early feuds with the Durham Huskies and the Lucan-Ilderton Jets. As well, the Continental League was in competition for the Allan Cup, the National championship. In their second season in the league, the Squires won the league championship. They went on to meet the OHA Senior A champion Thunder Bay Twins in the Ontario Hockey Association final. The Squires won the series 4-games-to-2 and also won the Eastern Canadian senior championship as well, earning them a berth into the 1979 Allan Cup final. In the National final, the Squires met the Steinbach Huskies. The Squires won game one 6-5 in overtime, then game two 7-3. The Huskies took game three 5-4, before the Squires came alive won the next two 6-1 and 7-1 to win their first national title. To top off this feat, the Squires were invited to play in the World Senior Hockey Championships. During the event, the Squires lost to HC Kladno of the CSSR 5-3 and then tied the Soviet Union powerhouse Khimik Voskresensk 3-3.

In 1980, the Squires were defeated in the league final by a new foe, the Cambridge Hornets. The Squires and Hornets would meet in five straight league championships. Three would be won by Cambridge, two would be won by Petrolia, but each would walk away with another Allan Cup. In 1980, the Continental Senior A Hockey League was renamed the OHA Senior A Hockey League, as the original folded in 1979.