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Leafs Opening Ceremonies
2018-10-16
Opening Ceremonies
The Valley Maple Leafs of the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League will be holding a special ceremony prior to their home opener Friday evening at Hants Exhibition Arena against the expansion Eskasoni Jr. Eagles. The Leafs are 3-2-0 going into the game while the Eagles while winning only 1 of 6 games to date have proven their ability to play with the stronger teams such as the Leafs, Jr. Miners and Liverpool who they actually defeated in overtime back in late September. The Leafs are coming off a game in which they were humbled 11-1 by the surprising Port Hawkesbury Strait Pirates but the Leafs did have an excruciating 6.5 hour bus trip to the Strait travelling at 40 km/h which had Leafs Management fuming as they arrived at the rink just as the Strait Pirates were concluding their pre-game warm-up.
As for the ceremony, the Leafs will be honouring two members of the 1963-64 Windsor Maple Leafs Senior Hockey Team in Chook Smith and Frank Barteaux. The Leafs team inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in 1990 has been described as the strongest Maritime team to ever represent the maritimes in Allan Cup Play. Jacques Allard led the league in scoring that season with 183 points but Allard even with his prolific scoring that season was only in on 183 of the 486 goals scored by the team which finished the regular season with a 58-9-3 record. When they began play in the 59-60 season, the Leafs over the next five seasons accumulated a win-loss total of 236-130-97-9 for a .570 winning percentage The Leafs are delighted that Chook and Frank are taking the time to take part in this very special opening ceremony that will also include former Nova Scotia Premier Gerry Reagan. Reagan who was born and brought up in Windsor before politics took him to Halifax and then Ottawa was a famed promoter of the Windsor Sports scene while living in Windsor and even broadcasted some hockey games on 1450 CFAB when it first came on the air in the late 1940-early 50’s.
The Leafs encourage all local hockey fans to come out Friday evening and relive some wonderful hockey memories from that 63-64 hockey season in Windsor while watching this year’s version of the Valley Maple Leafs. it all begins at 7:30 p.m.