More than the ice was frozen over at the Cornwall Curling Club on Saturday, as the Leafs soundly defeated the Canadiens to win the coveted Stanley Cup, only the second time in eight months that the Cup was in Cornwall (click for previous Cup appearance), and the first time that the playoffs between these two Original Six teams were held at our Club, thanks to the assistance of our great sponsors Countryview Golf Course. Those of us who won the Friday night trivia know, of course, that the last time the Leafs beat the Habs for the Cup was 1967, so this was truly an historic occasion, as evidenced by the great joy shown by the winning team in the official photo:
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As well, some of the players took the opportunity to hoist the cup in the air themselves:
The surprising victory by the Leafs became obvious by the third round of the playoffs, on Saturday morning, when the Leafs came from behind to tie two games, taking three in the last period to tie one, and a big five in the final frame to tie another. The carnage against the Habs continued for the rest of the day, with the Leafs taking 300 points, and the Habs only 189 over the two day playoff series.
As well as the on-ice activities, both teams participated in off-ice hockey/golf themed sports, including hitting a puck into a golf hole with a putter, putting a golf ball into the hole using a hockey stick, and using a mini-stick to hit a target with a poker chip. Both teams appeared to be very experienced in the sport of golf, and the off-ice activities resulted in a dead heat.
The awards night was held following the final games, with Bob Fowler filling in for Ron MacLean, who apparently had something else to do. All the Leafs got fabulous prizes, and sponsor Countryview even had a prize for each of the Habs!
Additional awards included a one-night “season pass” to the Cornwall Curling Club, won by former Hab fan Ray Biagé, who was seen wearing Leafs colours all weekend, and a big Panasonic LCD TV, won by Julie Mitchell (bartender Carol Sweetapple’s daughter, who lives in Halifax). There were also prizes throughout the day during the reverse draw for the pass, and door prizes after the main awards were given out.
The lavish awards dinner was catered by student chefs from the Culinary Institute of Canada, and included barbecued pork, baked potatoes, salad, coleslaw, rolls, and Two Bite Brownies for dessert.
Click to view a photo album of Saturday’s activities.
Thanks to the event organizers, including Rob and his new bride, Sherri, Karen, Carl, and Kris from our great sponsors Countryview Golf, trivia master Angus, MC Bob, anthem singer Debby, off-ice games coordinators including Jamie, the kitchen and cleanup crews, the Culinary cooks, the sixteen teams who took part, Manager Bev, bartenders Carol and Al, icemaker Lance, ice crew including Jeff, and everyone else who helped make our Leafs vs Habs closing bonspiel at great success!
The Cornwall Curling Club season wraps up with the Juniors pizza and skating party on Sunday, our Annual General Meeting and Awards night, May 11 at the Club beginning at 6 pm, and our annual golf tourney, June 9 at Countryview (now open for the season – book your tee-times at CountryviewGolf.com). Contact Carl or Karen at Countryview to sign up for the golf tourney. And curling is not over yet – don’t forget, the world’s best curlers are in Summerside starting Tuesday night for the Players’ Championship – don’t miss it!