FIVE STRAIGHT OCAA TITLES FOR HUMBER HOCKEY
During the 1980s, men's hockey became one of the premier sports in the OCAA, and the Humber Hawks began to build a dynasty. During that decade, the Hawks won six provincial titles, including five straight from 1985-90.
HOCKEY HAWKS SHATTER GEORGIAN GRIZZLIES OCAA DREAMS
March 15, 1990
By Kevin Paterson
Move over Montreal Canadiens! There’s a new hockey dynasty being built right here at Humber.For the fifth straight year, Humber College’s Hockey Hawks were crowned provincial champions. They defeated the Georgian Grizzlies 4-3 last Saturday to take the best-of-five series 3-1.
Like the semifinals against Sheridan, Humber was forced to come from behind, losing the opening game in Barrie 8-5.
Humber evened the series at one last Wednesday at Westwood Arena. With a strong defensive effort and some timely goalkeeping from Mike Noonan, the Hawks flew to victory.
Even though the Hawks rebounded well after the first game loss, Georgian remained the favourite because of Humber’s 0 for three records on Georgian ice.
But that all changed in dramatic fashion.
Faced with a 2-0 deficit after two periods, Humber stormed out in the third, scoring five straight goals to win the third game of the series. The loss obviously affected Georgian's confidence and it showed in the clinching game.
Humber charged out to a 3-1 lead after the first period. The Hawks opened the scoring at 4:26 in the first on a questionable goal.
Defencemen Paul Stafford apparently beat goaltender Alan Servant with a low drive to the stick side. But from afar, it looked as if the shot hit the post.
Despite a heated protest from the Georgian bench, referee Ralph Sparks ruled that the puck did indeed enter the net.
Stafford made it 2-0 on a powerplay when his point shot from the blueline fluttered over Servant’s shoulder.
Bob Emmel dropped the third for Humber with a beautiful, individual effort, backhanding a shot behind Servant with a Grizzlies defencemen all over him.
That spelt the end for Servant. Georgian Coach, Robin Laking, pulled him in favour of Don Dunford. The goalie change seemed to light Georgian’s fire as captain Gord Davey notched his first of two before the period ended.
The second and third periods were rough ones with Sparkes missing clear calls on Georgian, who were attempting to goad Humber into retaliatory penalties.
Hawks Coach Dana Shutt praised his team for their ability not to retaliate.
“The guys did a super job of not taking foolish penalties,” the elated Coach said. “Georgian pounded the shit out of us, but we kept our cool, and I give them credit for that.”
Shutt also admitted this win was the sweetest championship of all.
“This was a great playoff because we trailed Sheridan by two, and we were down a game to Georgian,” he explained. “It’s not an easy task to comeback from those deficits in this league, especially with our injury problem. We beat a damn good team out there.”
Rick Hay closed out the scoring for Humber in the second, while Davey and John Witzke tallied for Georgian in the third.
The Grizzlies came close to tying the score late in the third, but thanks to Noonan and a couple of goal posts, Humber hung on to the lead.
The Hawks now have a few days off before they play host to the national championships, running from March 20-24. Humber will meet Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) for a best-of-three series.
Shutt said he didn't want to think about the nationals yet.
This is the first time a two-team final has been held. Previously six teams qualified for a round-robin format.
“I want to savour this win,” he said. “We’ll get around to preparing for the nationals in a couple of days.”
