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

PART 2: Righting the Ship

It's a well-known fact that you can't win a Queen's Cup in November, and the Warriors had utilized the season's opening weeks to learn just who they were. After a 3-3 start, the Warriors went into the nearly-month-long exam and holiday break with an 8-4 record, and looking more comfortable with each passing day.

But the Warriors were still far from a contender, and it would become clear very soon if Waterloo was for real – they'd start the second half against some of the province's best at the prestigious Guelph exhibition tournament, before resuming their regular season on the road against the rival Western Mustangs. But these were student-athletes from the University of Waterloo; they were used to passing tough tests.

When the Warriors won the Guelph tournament and then knocked off the Mustangs in London, they started to earn attention from around the CIAU. But more importantly, they started to believe in themselves.

Chris Kraemer, Forward

Guelph was a love-hate tournament. If memory serves me correct, Coach didn't give us a lot of really strict instructions about curfew on New Year's eve or anything, so the New Year's day games were always a bit of an adventure. Sometimes you think there's a bit of lady luck riding with you. 

Don McKee, Head Coach

It was always a regroup before you came back. We had to take our mental preparation as serious as we were going to take it a week from now. There's no need to come in here just relaxed. I think that was the value of this team; they worked through the phases in order to get where they were.

Sheldon Gilchrist, Forward

We beat Guelph in the final. It was a good stepping stone, and a good way to get back at it after exams, and after Christmas. Maybe it was just another reminder that, you know what? We're not a bad team.

Peter Brearley, Forward

At about that time, we started to believe more than we did at the start. You win some big games in a tournament like that, and it's like, wow, we could really do something here. We're reading the paper, and, you know, Western's ranked number two, and Calgary's ranked number one, or UQTR. And we're saying, "We can beat these teams." So I think that was the point of the year we just believed.

Joe Harris, Goaltender

I do remember beating Western (in the first regular season game in January). I don't remember what the score was, but any time you could get a win in London, it was big.  

Jeff Goldie, Forward

It was a big confidence-builder. It was always a tough place to play, that barn in Western. To go in there and beat them, it kind of opened their eyes and opened our eyes to the kind of potential we could have.

Steve Smith, Forward

It's funny, I loved playing against Western, because they were a team I really hated. And I always enjoyed playing teams I hated. I had some pretty major knee surgery a couple years ago down in London, and I had to go in for my annual checkup, just a couple weeks ago. I drove past the rink, and I get a smile on my face every time I drive by there because I think of that year, and the rivalry that we had. They had a few guys that had played for the Knights, and the two teams I played for in junior (Kitchener and Windsor) both hated the Knights. So London is an easy place to hate, whether it's the London Knights or the Western Mustangs. Once we beat them the first time, we knew we were a better team that year.

Mark Cardiff, Defenceman

It wasn't necessarily a rivalry we had with them. Any time we went in there, we just didn't think we were going to beat them. And we didn't, the first two years (of my career). They were stacked. They had everything going for them, and we had no confidence to believe we were ever going to beat Western.

For me, it was a relief, or a confirmation to us that we were as good as we thought we were by that time in the season. It was a mountain we wanted to get over.

John Wynne, Defenceman

I don't remember winning a lot in Western. Any time you're playing Guelph and Western, in a span of a week or so, those are the games you're going to find out what you're made of.

We still didn't know we were going to go on that roll. But when you're looking at the schedule, you kind of say, "if we could win this Western-Guelph series coming up, then we're playing some teams we have a good chance of beating." Then, you're starting to look at 4, 5, 6, maybe 7 wins in a row.

The wins in Guelph and London weren't the only big victories for the Warriors in January; perhaps their biggest triumph came rumbling down highway 6 from the Bruce Peninsula. Defenceman Brian Henry had graduated in 1995 and was back at his family home in Owen Sound, trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. When the future Ontario Provincial Police officer realized he could head back to school and pick up a Legal Studies option with a few additional classes, the Warriors regained one of the most feared defenders in Canadian University hockey.       

Brian Henry, Defenceman

I actually did a little bit of recruiting for the school at the time. I'd finished my four-year degree, and so the first half of the year, Don McKee had me on the phones, just recruiting guys in their last year of junior.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, to be honest. And I just needed a couple courses to pick up a Legal Studies option on my Arts degree. So I thought I'll come back and play the second half of the year, and get a few courses and get my Legal Studies option. It just sort of seemed to fit, because I wasn't really sure I was ready to do anything else. I knew they had a good team, and it was more just an opportunity that was there.

John Wynne, Defenceman

Brian was just a freight train. He was the closest thing to Scott Stevens I had ever played with at any level. I went on to play pro and everything, and he was in a class by himself as far as bodychecking goes. It was nice to have him in the lineup.

Mark Cardiff, Defenceman

Oh, hammerin' Hank. I would describe him as probably the most determined, the most wreckless, the most feared defence partner I've ever played with. I was hoping he was coming back. We didn't know for sure. And when he told us he was, I knew who he was going to be playing with, and it was going to be me. I had the most fun with him as my defence partner. We just worked so well together, and we understood each other.

Joe Harris, Goaltender

That was the year we got Brian Henry back for the second semester. Brian was an excellent defenceman. Getting a guy like that pack was key to our defensive corps.

Mark Cardiff, Defenceman

As a player, I loved playing with him. And as a guy, I don't think there was a better guy I ever played with, as a human being.

He just added a piece that put us over the top. We were good, but he just solidified everything we needed on the back end. He just fit. He was the missing piece that just made it all work together.

Continue to Part 3 >>