Buffalo-Glencoe Tondas (Hockey Club, 1973-1975)

Buffalo-Glencoe Tondas (Hockey Club, 1973-1975)

From hockeydb.com:

The Buffalo Tondas were a junior hockey team which played in the Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League from 1973 to 1974. The team was owned by two Buffalo-area surgeons, Dr. Dudley E. Turecki and Dr. Syde A. Taheri, who would also own the planned sports complex in North Tonawanda where the Tondas were scheduled to play. The ice rink at the complex was not expected to be finished until December,so the Tondas began play at the Hyde Park Ice Pavillion in Niagara Falls NY.

However by late November, it became evident that the new rink would not be completed in time. The Tondas lease in Niagara Falls only ran through December 1, so the Tondas received permission from the league to transfer to Glencoe, Ontario, with the expectation that they would play in the North Tonawanda Sports Complex the following season.

In 1974-75, the Tondas opened their schedule on the road, losing to Guelph 6-4 in Guelph. A day later it was reported in the press that the Tondas had been expelled from the U.S. Amateur Hockey Association because their roster was comprised entirely of Canadian players. Although the team had also played their first season with a Canadian-only roster, the USAHA had taken notice due to a complaintfrom the competing NY-Penn Junior Hockey League which also had a team in Buffalo. The team would not be allowed to play in its newly completed rink.

The SOJHL initially defied the USAHA and voted to continue with their planned schedule, however the OHA also voted to support the USAHA decision, and declared that any team which played the Tondas - or which played another team that was suspended for playing the Tondas - would be suspended from the OHA."

On October 18, the Tondas were expelled from the SOJHL, and their players were made available to other SOJHL teams via a draft. The team finished with an 0-3 record, and disbanded before ever playing a game in their home rink.

"For the team to pay for itself, we need to average 1,000 persons per home game. I don't think that'll be any problem. I think Buffalo is one of the greatest hockey areas in the U.S. and that's why I'm happy to be living here." - Willie Marshall, Courier Express, September 27, 1973.