The league’s opening game, however, left the Dixie fans with mixed feelings. The season opener was a match up at Dixie Arena between the Lakeshore Flashers and Dixie Rockets. It wasn’t altogether a shock that much of the game looked like hockey was interrupting a boxing match. The Dixie players spent most of their time in the penalty box.
The Rockets lost 6-4 to the Flashers. An indication of just how the game unfolded could be told by the fact that five of the winning team’s goals came while they had a man advantage.
Dixie did much better in their second game when they visited St. Mikes and came home with a 4-2 win. However, home ice wasn’t working for them and they dropped their second home game 5-3 to the Aurora Bears. They finally beat their home-ice jinx the next week by taking a 4-2 win over the Weston Dukes.
Both the Dixie Rockets and the Lakeshore Flashers slid down the standings as the season went on. The Flashers finished at the bottom of the heap while Dixie settled in the middle of the pack, but out of the playoffs.
All was quiet over the summer months of 1954 but toward the start of the hockey season the rumour mill was again buzzing. This time the rumours had the Flashers about to sign a major sponsorship and the Dixie Rockets in trouble and possibly ending their operation. By this time Jack Belleghem had left the Flashers and returned to coach in the TTHL. Flash Hollett continued at the helm of the Flashers.
On September 30 the South Peel Hockey Club announced that its members had voted unanimously to field a team in the Junior ‘B’ loop once again. They did, however, make it known that they wanted the OHA to delay the start of the season to December. The club only would say that they needed time to recruit players.
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