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1995-96 Individual Stats |  Game-by-Game results

PART 5: Crowning Achievement

With their playoff sweep of the Windsor Lancers, the Warriors headed to the four-team OUA championship tournament – but they didn't have to travel very far. The Waterloo Rec Centre was the site of the OUA final four, so while the Warriors wouldn't be in their home rink, they would be in their home town – with legions of black and gold behind them.

Waterloo defeated Laurentian in the OUA semi-final, securing their spot in the Ontario final – and the CIAU University Cup tournament. The victory set up a Queen's Cup showdown with the UQTR Patriotes, who had a matching 21-5 record of their own. The final was supposed to be a barn-burner between two of the nation's top teams, with the chance to win a century-old championship trophy. But the Patriotes made huge waves before the puck was even dropped; they were looking past Waterloo and to the national championship tournament.

Jeff Goldie, Forward

There was a guy named Marc Beaucage, I think, who was the leading scorer in Canada that year. They sat out him and a couple other top-end guys. They figured they'd made nationals, they got through. So they didn't want to risk something happening.

Sheldon Gilchrist, Forward

I think they sat…I want to say 5 guys, maybe? I think we just used it as motivation, and we kind of thought they were scared to play us, you know what I mean? In my own opinion, I don't think it was right. But they did what they thought they had to do. We used that as motivation.

Steve Smith, Forward

I remember we heard about it before the game. Not that we cared too much, but we kind of worked it like it was a slap in the face. Not that it was, like, who cares who they put on the ice – they're on the other team, so were going to go out and play against them hard. But we maybe played against them a little harder than even we would have.

Jeff Goldie, Forward

For us, we just wanted to win the Queen's Cup. It meant a great deal to us. No Waterloo team had done that since 1970-something. You're on your home soil, and you want to do it in your own back yard.

Mark Cardiff, Defenceman

I was disappointed. I wanted to play their best team. I wanted to kick their ass just to get us ready to keep going. I didn't want any let-ups. I hated the fact that there were excuses being made of it. Like, "you only beat them because of this." No, we would have kicked their ass anyway. It wasn't even close. They were scared, and they played scared; they wanted nothing to do with the way we were playing.

Joe Harris, Goaltender

We dominated the game. It was complete domination. I don't recall there being any real anger towards them or anything. It was just, "well, that's kind of stupid. Let's go out and win a trophy."

Chris Kraemer, Forward

I think they could have iced whoever they wanted, and we still would have beat them. It was one of the games I think we really executed well as a team, and I don't think there was a moment of doubt from when we got in the ice that things were going go right for us that day.

Ryan Pyette, Sports Reporter, Imprint

So they played UQTR, and I think it was a Sunday afternoon. At the time, I lived on Hickory street, right across from where Morty's is now, in a little white house. I was the only one in the house that had a car, I had a crappy old Nissan Pulsar.

It was early March, and we had like, a giant snowstorm. I couldn't get my car out of the driveway, so I decided to start walking. I got to Laurier, and it was so brutal out, I thought, nah, I'll turn back. I didn't have a deadline, of course. If I worked like I work now, with the (London) Free Press, I'd have found a way there.

So I went back home, and I had someone to phone me updates. I don't know why, it's not like I had Twitter and I was tweeting them out. I just wanted to know what was happening, and they won. And I was like, "Damnit, I should have been there!"

Brian Henry, Defenceman

They were a team of 20 of the same hockey players. Every time I played UQTR, they were always an extremely disciplined, fast hockey team. Winning was phenomenal. I felt pretty fortunate, you know? It wasn't my intent when I graduated, to come back and play. Obviously, you don't want to come back and hurt them at all. So I'm glad I could come back and contribute. It was really rewarding.

The Warriors rolled past UQTR with a 5-1 win to claim their first Queen's Cup title in 22 years. Now, with some new hardware in hand, the Warriors could turn their attention towards adding to the trophy case with a University Cup national championship. But despite losing just once in nearly four months, Waterloo still wasn't respected by the CIAU championship's seeding committee.

Mike Chambers, Forward

I recall winning the Queen's cup, and still going into the National Championships ranked fourth (out of four teams). Not sure how we were ranked below (UQTR) after we just beat them.

Mark Cardiff, Defenceman

What pissed us off the most is that we went into the Nationals ranked fourth. I remember thinking, when UQTR lost their first game of the nationals (to Acadia in the CIAU semifinals), that was sort of karma getting back at them.

Sheldon Gilchrist, Forward

That's just more fuel for the fire. Whoever sets the rankings felt that, by sitting those guys, it was not the outcome it would have been (in the Queen's Cup).

Peter Brearley, Forward

I don't know if it was a chip on the shoulder, but we just beat a team we weren't supposed to beat (in UQTR), we're going in as an underdog, but we all still were buying in. I think Calgary was ranked number one the majority of the year. We had nothing to lose. Just lay it out on the line. Eliminate mistakes, and let the ball roll.

Chris Kraemer, Forward

In that game against Calgary, I think we had a big night from our fourth line. They potted a couple goals, and when you get some scoring from secondary or tertiary units, it always worked out well. I think it was a bit of a stunner for Calgary.

Steve Smith, Forward

It was a good game for sure, and they were a good club. At times, they had a lot of pressure on us. Joe Harris played really well, and he kept the puck out of the net. Then we got some timely scoring.

Don McKee, Head Coach

We were the underdog. Who starred again? The same guy that starred in Colgate in the beginning, Joe Harris. He was outstanding. Goldie scored in that game, Chambers scored in that game – Jr. B hockey players scored against a Jr. A goalie from Calgary.

Mark Cardiff, Defenceman

We weren't afraid of anyone. There was something magical happening. And we beat them convincingly. It was 5-2. When you're down to four teams, beating a team 5-2 that was ranked higher than you for the entire year, that's a thumping at that level.

Continue to Part 6 >>