Fernie Ghostriders


The Fernie Ghostriders are a junior 'B' ice hockey team based in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Eddie Mountain Division of the Kootenay Conference of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. The Ghostriders play their home games at the Fernie Memorial Arena in Fernie, British Columbia. Barb Anderson is the team's president; Jeff Wagner is the general manager and coach. They are currently captained by Mitch Titus.
The Ghostriders joined the KIJHL in 2004 as an expansion team, after they played junior 'A' in the RMJHL from 1991–99; the AWHL from 1999-2003; and the NAHL in 2003-04. In its RMJHL history, the team has won one division playoff title as a member of the Kootenay Division from 1991-1996. In its AWHL history, the Ghostriders have won the Bourne Cup once, in 1999. In its KIJHL history, the team has won the KIJHL Championship twice, in 2007 and 2008. They won two division playoff titles as a member of the Eddie Mountain Division from 2004-2007, one playoff title as a member of the Eastern Division of the Neil Murdoch Conference from 2007-2008 and four consecutive playoff titles as a member of the Eddie Mountain Division from 2008-2012; one conference playoff title as a member of the Kootenay Conference from 2007-2012.
The Ghostriders takes its name from the Ghost Rider, an iconic shadow that appears on Mount Hosmer and is visible from the city. Mount Hosmer appears on the team's current and past logo.

Team history

1991–1999: RMJHL

The Ghostriders began in 1991 as one of the charter members of the Southern Division of the now defunct Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League. The Ghostriders missed the 1993 season but came back with a vengeance, capturing the Southern Division in 1994. In 1996, after not qualifying to make the playoffs the year prior, the Ghostriders dramatically improved, making it to the Finals, but only to lose to the history-rich Prince George Spruce Kings, four-games-to-one. The following year, looking for vengeance after losing the RMJHL Championship the year before, the Ghostriders once again made it to the Finals, this time being swept four-games-to-none to the regular season lead-leading Cranbrook Colts. In 1998, after making it to the Finals two years in-a-row, they got beat four-games-to-one, in the Semifinals, by the same team who beat them for the championship the previous year, the Cranbrook Colts. The next year the Ghostriders made it the last-ever RMJHL Finals, losing to the league lead-leading Kimberley Dynamiters four-games-to-two.

1999–2003: AWHL

When the RMJHL folded in 1999 the Ghostriders moved to the America West Hockey League, winning the championship in 2000, and made an appearance in the Gold Cup National Championship. The Ghostriders were US Junior National Gold Cup Bronze Medal Winners in 2002

2003–2004: NAHL

They played in the North American Hockey League for one season before their move down, but their franchise rights were sold to a Kalamazoo, Michigan based group.

2004–2008: KIJHL - Immediate success

In 2004 the Ghostriders moved down to the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, opting to be a large fish in the junior 'B' pond rather than a small fish in the junior 'A' pond. The Ghostriders immediately made a mark on the KIJHL, finishing third overall in 2006 and winning their division. The Ghostriders won the 2007 championship in come-from-behind fashion on home ice against the Nelson Leafs, but did not fare as well in the 2007 Cyclone Taylor Cup, losing all of their games. The following year they won the championship again, this time on the road in Kamloops against the Kamloops Storm and also winning bronze in the 2008 Cyclone Taylor Cup against the Victoria Cougars, the 2008 Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy Champions.

2008–2014: Success continues

In 2009 with the Ghostriders looking for a three-peat, the Fernie-based squad made it to the semifinals of the KIJHL, only to lose to the Nelson Leafs in the best of five series. The next year they made it all the way to the Kootenay Conference Final, but only to lose to the Nelson Leafs four-games-to-one in the best of seven series. In 2011 the Ghostriders once again made it to the Conference Final, but they lost four-games-to-two against the Castlegar Rebels. Looking for redemption after the Ghostriders lost to the Rebels in the third round of the playoffs, they hosted the 2011 Cyclone Taylor Cup, the BC junior 'B' provincial championships making it to the gold medal game, in front of a sold-out crowd at the Fernie Memorial Arena, only to lose to the VIJHL Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy Champions, the Peninsula Panthers, the same score the Ghostriders beat the Victoria Cougars for bronze in the 2008 Cyclone Taylor Cup, 5-3. The following year after winning the division playoff title and advancing to the third round of the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year, the Ghostriders lost in the Conference Final once again, this time losing to the regular season lead-leading and 2012 KIJHL Champions, the Beaver Valley Nitehawks, four-games-to-one. In 2013, the Golden Rockets ended the Ghostriders streak of seven consecutive playoff division titles, where they prevailed over the Ghostriders, four-games-to-two, in the Division Finals.

2014–present

After a disappointing early exit from the 2013-14 playoffs, the Ghostriders brought Craig Mohr back to Fernie as head coach and general manager, the club's coach for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. The Ghostriders finished the 2014-15 regular season at the top of the Eddie Mountain division and second overall in the league, before defeating the Golden Rockets in the first round of playoffs. The division finals saw the Ghostriders pitched against the Kimberley Dynamiters, where an exciting series culminated in Kimberley taking the division playoff title in six games. The Dynamiters progressed to eventually win the 2014-15 KIJHL Championship and placed second in the Cyclone Taylor Cup. The 2015-16 Ghostriders roster featured a younger side than in past years, with a strong local contingent and Cole Keebler as captain. After battling a plague of injuries throughout the regular season, the Ghostriders faced the defending league champion Dynamiters in the first round of playoffs and were defeated in five games. 2016-17 was another strong season for the club winning 26 games good enough for 2nd place in the Division, but the team would fall to the Dynamiters in 6 games in the first round. 2017-18 was a struggling year for the team both on and off the ice. In October 17, 2017 a tragic ammonia leak that took the lives of 3 Fernie Memorial Arena staff members would also force the Ghostriders out of their home rink. Luckily for the club, Sparwood Arena accommodated the remainder of their season and playoffs. The team was only able to win 15 games, their worst record since their arrival to the KIJHL. The club would part ways with Craig Mohr following this season and hire Jeff Wagner the team's new Head Coach/GM. 2018-19 saw the team return to form finishing 2nd in the Division and 5th in the League. This was followed up by a 2nd in Division and 3rd in the League finish in 2019-2020.

Fernie Memorial Arena disaster

On Tuesday, October 17, 2017 there was an ammonia leak at the Fernie Memorial Arena which killed three workers during the Ghostriders regular season. Because of this tragedy, the City of Fernie declared a state-of-emergency and people had to evacuate the area for days. The 'Riders were relocated because of this to the Elk Valley Leisure Centre in Sparwood, British Columbia during the 2017-18 KIJHL season for the unforeseeable future, until the City of Fernie decided what to do. The City of Fernie decided to replace ammonia for a synthetic refrigerant prior to the 2018-19 KIJHL season and will operate back to the Fernie Memorial Arena.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Records as of March 3, 2017.

Playoffs

Notes
  1. The RMJHL playoffs had three playoff rounds.
  2. The final 1998-99 RMJHL playoffs had two playoff rounds.

    [Cyclone Taylor Cup]

Notes
  1. The Ghostriders hosted the 2011 Cyclone Taylor Cup, in Fernie, British Columbia, at the Fernie Memorial Arena.

    Alumni

Bourne Cup
Gold Cup championship
KIJHL Championship
Coach of the Year
Most Sportsmanlike
Most Valuable Player
Rookie of the Year
Top Defenceman
Top Goaltender
Top Scorer