Two-Time WOAA Champion Team Reunites
One of the most heralded groups of local hockey players in recent memory gathered over the weekend to mark a special milestone.
The 1989/1990 Western Ontario Athletic Association (WOAA) Senior ‘A’ Champion Brussels Crusaders marked the 25th anniversary of their championship on Saturday night with a special reunion and dinner at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre.
This is, more or less, the same team that was crowned kings of the province for the 1987/1988 season, taking home two championships in the span of three years.
Brian TenPas, captain of the team, organized the reunion, saying that it should be something that the members of the team do a little more often with Head Coach Gary Dauphin as the focal point of the reunion.
TenPas says that organizers went to great measures to collect items from that magical run, including photos, newspaper articles, jerseys, trophies and jackets.
Many of the pieces of memorabilia were compiled in a book that was presented to Dauphin in thanks for his years of coaching hockey and, according to TenPas, “inspiring youth” in the community.
In an e-mail to The Citizen, TenPas said that many memories were exchanged at the event. In terms of attendance, the event was a huge success with over 95 per cent of the team’s members and coaches able to return to Brussels to mark the anniversary. (The April 25 event was the 25th anniversary, to the day, that the Crusaders were congratulated by the community in the April 25 issue of The Citizen.)
TenPas says that the reunion has reminded all of the team’s members just how nice it is to get together on a regular basis. It has inspired an annual golf tournament that the team will hold, beginning next year. The tournament will take place every year with a new player hosting each year to “keep the group tight for many, many years to come.”
The Crusaders took home the 1989/1990 ‘A’ Division championship beating Kincardine.
The team would go on to play against Drayton in the tournament’s grand championship in a best-of-five series.
The Crusaders wrapped up the series on the road in Harriston with a 6-1 victory in the fourth game of the series, giving Brussels a three-games-to-one series victory and grand championship title.