In Honour of former Plater Steve Chiasson
One of the most recognisable names in Guelph hockey history is possibly going to become history:
GuelphMercury.com – News – Biltmore closes doors while financing sought.
Of Trades And The Number Eighteen
In most cases a team that wins a championship has to make some changes to strengthen their roster. To win a Canadian championship the 1971-72 Guelph CMC’s made quite a few changes, all for the betterment of their chances to and eventually win the Centennial Cup.
The original roster to start the ’71-’72 season saw the likes of Dave Reid, Craig Lohsen, Harold Horner, Dwight Dunlop and Gerry Sawchuk in the lineup. Reid, Lohsen, Horner, Dunlop and Sawchuk were released to make room for some key pieces to the puzzle. Before I go any further it is worth mentioning that goaltender Gerry Sawchuk is the son of Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Terry Sawchuk.
In December of that season goaltender Ted Lenssen was acquired from the London Knights along with forward Bruce Herridge and defenseman Mike Zettle from Kitchener. Mike Zettle owns a little peice of Guelph hockey history but I’ll save that for another day. Just before the signing deadline the CMC’s also obtained defenseman Gary Sittler from London. Gary is the brother of former Maple Leaf captain Darryl Sittler. Adding Zettle and Sittler allowed Dennis Neilly to move from defence to the wing giving the club a big, tough forward for the opposition to contend with.
The biggest move of the season came via; a trade with Brantford. The CMC’s shipped forwards Brian Duench and Paul Molson to the Majors for forward Paul Fendley. Acquiring Fendley gave the CMC’s even more strength at centre as well as a player with proven scoring punch and the ability to kill penalties as well. Upon arrival in Guelph, Fendley was given the number 18 that was worn by Paul Molson.
We all know what that number means in Guelph and how it finally became the only retired number in Guelph hockey history. Along with this little bit of history comes a photo of the last player to wear number 18 before Paul Fendley. Molson went on to finish the season with the Majors and when Brantford moved the franchise to Niagara Falls the following season the Paul Molson trail goes cold after his stint with the Flyers.
An OHL Final Series Like No Other
When Peterborough was awarded hosting rights to the 1996 Memorial Cup the Pete’s had an automatic spot in the tournament as hosts. When the Storm beat Belleville in five games to advance to the final, they too had an automatic berth in the tourney. All that was left to be decided was who would go to the Memorial Cup as league champions and who would be the Ontario representative.
The Storm had home ice advantage in the OHL final by winning the Hamilton Spectator Trophy for being the regular season champions. After going through the first two rounds undefeated at home with five victories and only one loss in four on the road, it was pretty safe to say that home ice advantage would be the key to winning the Robertson Cup. What made this a final series like no other was the fact that neither the Storm nor Pete’s could win a game on home ice.
Fast forwarding to the third with Guelph holding a 7-6 lead when Dwayne Hay took a high sticking penalty and the Pete’s score on the power play to tie the game. Guelph had a chance to win the game late in the third and early in overtime as Jason MacMillan took a penalty but the Guelph power play couldn’t score on Zac Bierk.
Peterborough scored the eventual winner as Mike Martone went in on a breakaway and beat Storm net minder Dan Cloutier. The Gardens emptied rather quickly but those of us who stuck around to watch the cup presentation were able to see former Storm forward, Eric Landry, skate around the ice with the cup hoisted above his head. I will never forget walking down the corridor leading to the front entrance/exit and following a group of young Guelph fans chanting to Peterborough fans, “We’re number two, we’re number two.”
Here is a video clip of the tying and winning goals from game seven.
Local Kid Makes Good
From todays “Saxon On The Storm” blog by Tony Saxon:
http://guelphmercury.blogs.com/storm/2010/03/storm-vs-erie.html
As well as the Storm has been playing, so have the Otters. They’re 7-3 in their last 10 games.
And how great is it to see Guelph’s Mike Cazzola turning into one of the better two-way players in the league? Cazzola has 34 goals and 44 assists and is a plus 21 — best on the team.
All this from a kid that was a 13th round pick, 241st overall.
For the record, Guelph’s pick later that round was Dylon McMahon, who had 35 points in 40 games for the tier II Coburg Cougars this season.
Here is an older photo of a promising Mike Cazzola from my collection of hockey stuff.
2005-06 Guelph Bantam AAA's
There were a few other familiar faces that played on the 2005-06 Bantam AAA’s. I will post some more over time.
