The Fort Frances Muskies’ 1989 provincial boys’ hockey championship season will be relived this Saturday.
The team is being inducted into the Fort Frances Sports Hall of Fame.
The Muskies captured OFSAA gold at the then Memorial Arena, defeating the St. Jerome Lions of Kitchener 5-3 before a standing-room only crowd.
Head coach Terry Ogden says winning on home ice made it even more special.
“I remember the crowd and the excitement. It was a big build-up to win at home,” says Ogden.
“There’s a lot of pressure to win at home. Before the game, we walked around the top of the rink just so the players could witness the full arena and know what was going to happen. There aren’t many times they locked the doors to keep people out. We reached fire capacity. They locked the doors, and people couldn’t get in. It was an exciting time.”
Wayne Strachan was the game’s MVP, scoring twice and assisting on two others.
The win capped a very successful run for the Muskies boys’ hockey program in the 1980s.
NorWOSSA’s most dominant team of the era reached the all-Ontarios in eight of ten seasons, reaching the final game five times, winning two gold and three silver medals.
The ’89 team rolled unbeaten through NorWOSSA and NWOSSA play and reached the OFSAA tournament final without a loss, giving up just nine goals in 6 games, while scoring 34, along the way.
“Our captain that year, Billy Tucker, led the team all year long,” says Ogden.
“Wayne Strachan and Gibby Tucker smashed the current scoring records that year. I think they were beaten, maybe later on, but they were the big goal scorers. Then there was a line with Brett Watt, Jay Albright and Geoff McEachren who started a lot of games. They set a pace that was hard to keep up to.”
Ogden says in 44 games, the Muskies lost a mere four games, half to the International Falls Broncos in exhibition play.
Several players would go on to have success at other levels.
Netminders Chris Medicine and Neil Cooper went to play junior and university hockey, with Cooper earning a Centennial Cup championship with the former Thunder Bay Flyers.
Strachan also suited up for the Flyers before earning a scholarship to Lake Superior State, where he was on two NCAA championship teams.
Gib Tucker and Shane Bliss were others who played junior hockey.
Ogden says the induction into the Hall of Fame is a great honour, but it will also be a great reunion.
“It’s a great chance for these guys to see their buddies, people they haven’t seen for quite a bit.”
Members of the 1988-89 Muskies boys’ hockey team
Chris Medicine, Gib Tucker, Marcel Horton, Bill Tucker, Shane Bliss, Dean Wilson, Neil Coooper, Wayne Strachan, Manny Rego, Ken Pocock, Geoff MacEachran, Tim Lindberg, Mark Wilkins, Brett Watt, Chris Spence, Murray McLeod, Jay Albright, Chris Erb, Terry Ogden (head coach), Glen Edwards (assistant coach), Ken Christianson (assistant coach), Barney Mahar (manager)
