Cruisers won in Lake Placid

By C. Scott Holland

LAKE PLACID, NY — In the spring of 1985, a Leamington area senior hockey team travelled to Lake Placid to play in the Can-Am tournament.

That by itself, was a thrill, but not only did they compete in the Open A division, the Leamington Shoreline Cruisers displayed their high level of talent and brought home the gold medal.

The team was comprised mostly of former Leamington Flyers players with a mix of wiley veterans with some good hockey background. Even today, the majority of them have earned the right to be called hockey legends in this region.

The squad played three contests to reach the championship game.

In the opener, they faced a New York City Army club and defeated them 5-1, which gave them an indication that they were going to be a tough team to beat.

In the second contest, they were pitted against a team from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and skated to a 3-3 draw.

Their third game was against the host city Lake Placid, and the Cruisers hung on for a 3-2 victory that propelled them into the finals and a re-match with Dartmouth.

It was an exciting, close contest but the Cruisers prevailed 5-4.

The 1985 Shoreline Cruisers hockey team that went to Lake Placid. Back row: trainer Gary Baker, Roger Lamb, Dale Towle, Bill Hewett, Walt Jakob, Tom Howe, Bob Clifford, Dennis Martin and coach Pete Knight. Front row: Mark Matheson, Mark Johnston, Dan Siddall, Paul Anthony, Tim Oliphant, Bill Howe and Jamie Stickney.