1971 - BRANTFORD ENDS 66 YEAR DROUGHT 


In 1904 the Brantford Lacrosse Club won its third straight CLA Senior
title.  Since then their success at the highest level of the game had
been minimal.  In 1971 all that changed.  Though the old Brantford squad
imported several eastern stars, the majority of their players were
local.  The '71 Warriors had no local players, unless one counted those
from the Six Nations Reserve.  Regardless of where the players came
from, Brantford Warriors became the newest Canadian champion.

Their chief hurdle would be the club from Peterborough.  The Lakers put
together an impressive 29-3 record to finish on top of the standings.
John Davis scored 197 points, surpassing Bill Isaacs record.  Davis also
set a new high for assists, 123.  He and Gaylord Powless were both over
100, the only two players in ever accomplish that in OLA play.  Cy
Coombes produced his third 100 point season.  That made him only the
third player in league history to have three.  Bill Isaacs had done it
earlier.  Meanwhile Davis had four in four seasons!

Brantford was not without offence.  Though they finished a distant
second with a 21-9 record, the Warriors led the league with a record
setting 613 goals - the best offence in OLA history!  In one game they
defeated Aurora 41-5.  Paul Suggate, Brian Wilson and Ron MacNeil gave
Gaylord Powless plenty of support.  Suggate finished third in the
circuit with 73 goals, one behind Davis.  Brooklin's Larry Lloyd led
with 80.

There was no love lost between the frontrunners.  In a mid summer game
Peterborough defeated Brantford 18-17 in overtime.  The affair was so
violent that the Lakers were fined $500.  The Warriors' fines totalled
$1700, plus coach Morley Kells was suspended five games!  The teams met
a couple of night's later in Peterborough.  Brantford showed up with
only six players and were beaten 12-7.

The Warriors swept Brampton to reach the league final.  They were
shortly joined by the defending champions.  Peterborough needed five
games to get by the Redmen.  After opening with a 15-8 win, they
narrowly prevailed in Brooklin 11-10.  Surprisingly they lost the next
contest 14-13.  After a 13-6 victory, the Lakers closed out the series
with a tight 11-9 triumph.

Pat Baker started the championship series by shutting out the Warriors
for the first half of Game One.  Peterborough doubled Brantford 16-8.
Larry Ferguson scored three times but John Davis had the most memorable
goal.  He was awarded a penalty shot.  That decision incensed Morley
Kells so much that he refused to allow Buff McCready to stay in his
goal.  Thus Davis scored into an empty net.  Back home the Brantford
offence found itself.  They drove Baker from the game with 16 goals in
two periods.  They went on to win 22-12.  Rick Dudley bulged the twine
four times, plus Gaylord Powless and Bill Coghill scored hattricks.
Peterborough coach Bob Allan complained that Brantford was using a zone
defence.  The zone defence had been outlawed after the '67 Mann Cup.
Over 3,000 fans saw Peterborough win Game Three 14-12.  The Lakers
scored twice in the final two minutes to break the deadlock.  The star
of the night was Pat Baker.  He made 50 saves as the Warriors outshot
the Lakers 62-38.  Yet Baker could not slow down the Brantford offence
the next match.  The Warriors struck for four goals in the first five
minutes.  Meanwhile the Petes hit four post in the opening period.  Bill
Coghill beat Baker four times as Brantford won 14-7.  With the series
knotted 2-2 Joe Todd returned from injury for the fifth contest.  He
scored four goals and had two assists for the Lakers.  The game was tied
10-10 when Zeny Lipinski scored a shorthanded goal for the Warriors.
That sparked them to a 19-13 victory.  Rick Dudley had four markers on
the night.  That loss cost Peterborough home advantage.  The next game
they would lose the championship.  Game Six was more of a defensive
battle.  It was tied 6-6 early in the third period when Brantford broke
away.  They went on to win 13-8 as Ron MacNeil counted three goals.  The
unsung hero of this series was Bob Smith.  He successfully shadowed John
Davis the entire six games.

The Warriors next swept New Westminster to win the Mann Cup.  Buff
McCready held the Salmonbelly snipers to 35 goals.  The Brantford
offence scored 54.  McCready also helped on ten goals.  That tied him
with Ron MacNeil for top series playmaker.  Gaylord Powless, Brian
Wilson and Paul Parnell each scored eight goals.  In a losing cause
Parnell was the top point man with sixteen.  42 year old Ted Howe had
four goals and five assists.  Howe's Senior career dated back to 1950.
It had taken him over two decades but he was finally a Canadian
champion.

Just when fans of competitive lacrosse thought it was safe to return to
junior arenas, the Green Gaels returned to prominence.  Coached by Bob
Hanna, the '71 edition finished with the best record in the OLA. "Here
we go again," the fans must have feared.  Fortunately Etobicoke upset
Oshawa in the semi final.  Unwittingly they opened the door for a new
dynasty to unlease its reign of terror on the league.  Peterborough
knocked off the giant killers in six games.  Ben Floyd had stepped in to
replace Don Barrie as coach for the last eight games plus playoffs and
he never stopped winning.  With fifteen regular season and playoff
losses, the Petes hardly seemed like a throw back to the Oshawa sides.
Yet over the next four seasons they would only lose twelve league games!

Before the dynasty could get rolling, the Petes had to become part of
lacrosse history, in a losing cause.  The '71 Minto Final was the
greatest ever played!  Four games went to overtime, including the
dramatic seventh game finale.  Richmond Roadrunners came away with a
13-11 victory.  Pick up goaltender Ted Gernaey was named series MVP.
Gernaey was one of many pick ups on the Richmond squad.  Due to the
OLA's recent dominance of junior lacrosse, Peterborough was not allowed
to add any players.  They would face this disadvantage over the
following four years, yet would overcome it every time.  They were
unlucky not to win the '71 final as well.  John Grant led the Petes with
28 points.  Other top performers were: J.J. Johnston(12 goals) Jim
Wasson(11 goals) Jan Magee(9 goals) and Gord Floyd(16 points).