The 4 Ontario Hockey League Players to Score 80 Goals in a Season

In the history of the Ontario Hockey League, there have been just four players to top the 80 goal plateau in a single season. The most recent player to come even close was John Tavares when he scored 72 in 2006-07 with the Oshawa Generals. The last time an OHL player scored 80 or more in a single season was 1985-86.

Ernie Godden of the Windsor Spitfires holds the OHL record for most goals in a single season with 87. The record was set over three decades ago when Godden scored those 87 over 68 games in 1980-81. It was Ernie’s third and last year with the Spitfires. He totalled 153 points that season, good for second in the league to Sault Ste. Marie’s John Goodwin who had 166. Interestingly, Ernie also led the Spitfires in penalty minutes in 1980-81 with 185.

Godden was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, 55^th overall. He played five games with Toronto in 1981-82, which would prove to be his only NHL action. Ernie played a year in the Central Hockey League with the Cincinnati Tigers and two more with the St. Catherines Saints of the American Hockey League before calling it quits.

In the same season as Godden’s record performance, Tony Tanti of the Oshawa Generals finished second in goal scoring with 81 in 67 games. It was Tanti’s rookie season in the OHL and first of three years with the Oshawa Generals. His 150 points that season placed him fourth in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy.

Tony was taken by the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round of the 1981 NHL draft, 12^th overall. Tanti played a total of 697 NHL games between 1982-83 and 1991-92 with the Black Hawks, Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. He scored 287 goals over his NHL career, including three 40+ goal seasons with Vancouver.

Ray Sheppard equaled Tony Tanti’s mark in 1985-86 with 81 goals in 63 games with the Cornwall Royals. It was third of three seasons Sheppard spent in the OHL. He totalled 142 points to win the Eddie Powers Trophy.

After his rookie season, he was already a prospect of the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres took him in the third round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, 60^th overall. Ray went on to an 817 game NHL career that spanned from 1987-88 to 1999-00. He scored a total of 357 goals while playing with the Sabres, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes. In 1993-94 with Detroit, Sheppard scored 52 goals.

It was Peter Lee’s record for Ernie Godden to beat in 1980-81. Lee scored 81 in 1975-76, playing 66 games with the Ottawa 67’s. His 161 points that season were second to the 170 contributed by Mike Kaszycki of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Peter played with Ottawa from 1971-72 to 1975-76.

Lee was a twelfth overall pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 1976. However, he played his entire 431 game NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring 114 goals between 1977-78 and 1982-83. Peter moved on to a career in Germany after his NHL days were done.