MARCH 23, 2017 25
The Picton Gazette
Old Picton-Wellington rivalry rekindled to stoke support for hospital County Cup Grudge Match raises over $2,700 for auxiliary JASON PARKS STAFF WRITER
Sadly, this corner can only remember glimmers of the old Picton-Wellington hockey wars. By the time your humble scribe can recall cutting his teeth on a local frozen bathtub, the old Picton Arena had succumbed to a Boxing Day blaze in late 1983. Shortly afterward, an era of co-operation (or at least ceasefire) between the Picton and District and Wellington and District Minor Hockey Associations started and, by the end of the decade, a minor hockey amalgamation started to put to bed a lengthy laundry list of on-ice slights, scores to be settled and high-tension tournament contests to be avenged. Ask young minor hockey players what they know about local hockey history and the Picton-Wellington rivalry and it's likely to lead to a quizzical looks and shrugged shoulders. But that long-forgotten rivalry gained another layer Saturday night as players that once proudly wore the blue and white of Picton or the white, red and black of Wellington gathered at Essroc Arena Saturday night in a grudge match contest for what was described as the County Cup. The brainchild of Wellington's Tim Lloyd and Picton native Steve McConnell, the game was less about evening old scores and more about reunions and good times-at least on the surface. “We had guys show up from
KICKING THEM OUT Wellington’s Dan Davies is foiled by the acrobatic netminding of Picton’s Steve McConnell during County Cup play at Essroc Arena Saturday evening. The charity grudge match raised over $2,700 for the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. (Jason Parks/Gazette staff)
Hamilton, Stoney Creek and North Bay and some of them we haven't seen in 20 years,” Lloyd reported Over 150 fans were in attendance to cheer on their favourite players and all told, over $2,700 was raised for the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. On the ice, Picton probably showed better than the 12-6 final score would indicate. Midway through the second period, nice goals by Picton's Billy Stacey and Jim Young had the contest at 4-4 and it appeared to be anyone's hockey game. But a flurry of Wellington goals late in the second stanza including markers from Tony McQuaid and Brandon Wana-
maker helped the hosts to an 84 score through two frames. Some nice netminding in the Wellington cage kept Picton at bay and Tim Lloyd finished of a pretty passing play between
himself, brother Andy Lloyd and Wanamaker to finish the scoring in the final seconds. In the victors dressing room after a hard fought contest, the yelps were long and the refresh-
ments cold. “Out-played and outclassed,” was how Wellington skipper Chris Weir described the vanquished opponents who would certainly be licking their
wounds long after they traversed Loyalist (loser) Parkway and retreated to the safety of their meagre hovels. “Our defence was just OK but our goaltending trio of Steve Purtelle, Jim Keene and Rick Marshall was way too much for them,” Weir stated. Across the Essroc playing surface and inside the Picton dressing room the mood was much more sombre. When alerted to the winning coach's comments, friend of the press and Picton bench boss Robert Quaiff spoke of an honest type of hockey his side had demonstrated-or at least tried to before Wellington got deep into their dirty-tricks playbook. “I thought we had a little more reverence for the game by not driving so hard to the net,” Quaiff said. A smarting warrior piped up and noted that a return match inside the confines of Picton's home rink would have a much different outcome should the Wellington club dare to leave their tiny village and offer a rematch-perhaps some time in the distant future lest the Picton side could work in a practice or two to hone long-forgotten skills.
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The Picton Gazette JUST LIKE OLD TIMES Picton’s Evan Young and Wellington’s Louis Miller battle along the boards during Wellington’s 12-6 County Cup win Saturday evening at Essroc Arena. (Jason Parks/Gazette staff)