North End Flyers mark 40th anniversary of Hardy Cup national championship

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This article was published 27/06/2023 (1146 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Four decades later, the North End Flyers remain proud of the work they did.

On April 19, 1983, Flyers captain Wayne McArthur took a victory lap at the Winnipeg Arena with the Hardy Cup, emblematic of intermediate A hockey supremacy in Canada, after consecutive seasons of near-misses in the national playdowns.

In 1981, the Winnipeggers rolled to the Canadian final only to be bested by the Charlottetown (P.E.I) Islanders.

A year later, the Flyers advanced to the western intermediate final before dropping the best-of-five west final in four games to the Quesnel (B.C.) Kangaroos.

That set the stage for a breakthrough in 1983 when the Flyers, guided by co-coaches Gordie Cole and Ray Boyko, stormed to the national title by sweeping the Timmins (Ont.) North Stars in a rugged best-of-seven series.

The final series wasn’t without drama.

In the second overtime period of Game 4, North End defenceman Kerry Lischka started a rush in his own zone, dumping the puck in after crossing the centre line. He then hustled after the puck, which was mishandled by Timmins goaltender Steve Kidd behind the net. Kidd fell and the puck rolled to Lischka, who sniped the sudden-death game and series winner into an open net.

The Flyers claimed a 7-6 decision.

Members of that team and other alumni from the six-year history of the club will meet to celebrate the championship season with a golf tournament at Kildonan Park Golf Course July 7 and barbecue to follow on July 8.

“When we came down to the last year that we won, we’ve made quite a few changes,” remembers Cole. “For us, (losing in 1981 and ’82) was kind of a big disappointment but we learned from it. We knew where we had some weaknesses and we built on that and fortunately, we had a lot of guys that wanted to play with us.”

Former NHL defenceman Larry Bolonchuk was a crucial addition to a squad that included veteran holdovers such as forwards Glenn Nash, Gord Homenick and Tom Zajac.

“We finally took out Timmins in four games and it was very good,” says Homenick. “But when you play that long with a bunch of guys and it’s the same group and you finally win a championship, it’s amazing. It’s really amazing.”

Bolonchuk earned MVP honours in the ’83 final.

“Bolonchuk was top notch,” said Cole. “Guys watched and they learned. They saw what a pro is doing and it rubs off, not necessarily to his capability, but guys weren’t coughing up the puck, they were eating it and getting the puck out of your own end and off the glass.”

The secret of the Flyers’ success was no mystery at all.

“There were no egos,” says Nash, who played on the 1981, ’82 and ’83 teams that combined to win three league, provincial and Manitoba-Saskatchewan titles, two western championships and one national crown. “We were there for one reason only and that was to support each other.”

“The feeling was unbelievable,” said Homenick.”We strived to be the best in Canada and we played against teams that had a lot of ex-NHLers on it and we ended up coming out on top.”

The 1983 Flyers had a deeper roster and were more battle-tested than previous editions.

“We knew what kind of grind it was going to be and you couldn’t roll two and a half lines,” says Cole. “We had to roll four lines when you’re playing five games in seven days.

“We were physical,” adds Homenick. “We hit anything that was standing, you know what I mean? You finished your check with everybody. The other teams were tired and rundown because they weren’t used to that kind of style of play.”

Flyers alumni wishing to participate in the reunion can contact Glenn Nash at 204-801-5433.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14