November 23rd is hockey night in RR

Ken Johnston

As Canadians far and wide enjoy having their national hockey game back on t.v. every Saturday, Rainy River and its neighbours will soon have NHL hockey right here at the Rainy River Arena.
The puck will drop on November 23, 2005 between the NHL Oldtimers and the Rainy River All Stars. It has been about two decades since the NHL oldtimers visited the community but many people still remember how exciting that visit was and are looking forward to this year’s event.
As of Monday there had been five NHL oldtimers guaranteed to be at the game. Bryan Trottier of New York Islander’s fame, Gilbert Perreault of Buffalo Sabres fame, Dale Hawerchuk of Winnipeg Jets fame, Dave Semenko of Edmonton Oilers fame and Morris Lukowich of Winnipeg Jets fame. Two more NHL’ers will be named very soon. They will also be joined by four local youth hockey players, who are yet to be named.
Trottier
Bryan Trottier played 18 years in the NHL, the most famous years being the early 1980s when he lead the New York Islanders to four Stanley Cups.
He won the Calder Trophy (Top Rookie), The Art Ross Trophy (Top Scorer), Hart Trophy (MVP) and at the time of his retirement was the league’s 6th all time scorer.
He also played with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990 for two seasons that saw the team win two consecutive Stanley Cups.
Trottier was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997.
Perreault
Gilbert Perreault played his entire 17 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. His line mates, Richard Martin and Rene Robert and him became known throughout the leagues as The French Connection. They helped take the team to the playoffs in only their third year of existence (1973). Two years later they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals where they lost in six games to the defending Philadelphia Flyers.
In 1981 he was named Sabres Captain, a position he held until 1986-87 when he retired.
On April 3, 1982 he became the 16th player to register 1,000 points and

four years later he would record his 500th goal. When he retired he had 512 goals and 1,326 pts.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.
Hawerchuk
Dale Hawerchuk was called Mr. Winnipeg Jet as he dazzled fans in and around Winnipeg fore years.
Some called him a “Mini-Gretzky” because of his amazing skills on ice.
At age 18 he took the Jets by storm, breaking many team records. He was the youngest player to ever record 100 pts. in a season finishing with 103 pts. His efforts earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy (Top Rookie).
He reached the 100 pt. mark for five consecutive seasons, including a career high of 53 goals and 130 pts. in 84-85.
In 1990 he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres where he led in scoring three times over five seasons.
In 1995 he signed with the St. Louis Blues recording 41 pts. in 66 games before a trade to Philadelphia. He retired in 96-97.
He was the 23rd player to reach the 500 goal plateau in 95-96 and the 31st player to reach the 1,000 pts. mark in 90. His career totals included 518 goals, 891 assists and 1,409 pts., placing him 10th on the NHL career pts. list.
Semenko
His first NHL game was also first game in history of Edmonton Oilers NHL franchise and Wayne Gretzky’s first NHL game. He was well known for his role as an enforcer on the ice and often protected Wayne Gretzky while he was shattering the record books.
He played on the first Edmonton Oilers team in 1979-80. He retired in 1987-88.
Lukowich
He played with the Winnipeg Jets from 1979 to 1984-85 seasons. In 82-83 he notched up 92 pts in 77 games. He retired in 87 in Los Angeles.
Playing for the Rainy River All Stars will be Vaughn Murray (RR), Guy Crackel (Wpg), Kirk Wood (RR), Danny Armstrong, Sr. (RR), Ted Heyens (Stratton), Mark Clifford (goalie) (RR), Mickey Gustafson(Pinewood), Jim Chorney (RR), Dennis Ewald (RR), Roy Tom (Big Grassy), Scott Mosbeck (Emo), Justin Wagner (goalie) (RR), Dave Armstrong (RR), Terry Gill (Morson), Brian Barron(Baudette), Barry Marmus (Kenora) and Stewart McNally (RR). Managing will be Glen Armstrong (RR) and possibly Gary Armstrong, Sr. (RR). Each of these players paid $150 to play on the team.
Rainy River Recreation Director Monique Gall said the event is being run by the RR Rec. Board and the RR Chamber of Commerce. The evening will begin with a dinner with the stars at the Rainy River Community Centre. There are only 220 dinner package tickets available at $40 each. They include the dinner, the game and a mix and mingle/autograph session after the game.
Another 360 game/mingle ticket packages are available at $25 each.
Tickets are available at Susan’s, RR Post Office, True Value, RR Community Centre and KGB Sports.
Gall said they hope to break even on the event but if they do make money the proceeds will be split between the organizations to be used for various projects.
Plans are also being firmed up for an adults only mix and mingle at the legion after the arena events are done.
Tickets are going fast so people are encouraged to pick theirs up before they are all gone.