The Midland Lacrosse Peewee Braves team that travelled all the way to the Canadian Championship in Burnaby, B.C., 20 years ago, already had much lobe proud of They had ended the season in first place in the Huronia Lacrosse League and were the first team from town to participate in the Canadian championship.
Those accomplishments were widely recognized by Midland residents, with the Free Press publishing a special souvenir page complete with photos of all 19 youthful players. Led by coaches Jack Scott and Brian Walser along with manager Gary Price, they had already won the annual Huntsville peewee tournament before heading West in late July 1982.
They carried on with that win-ning note upon arriving in British Columbia, going 5-0 heading into the championship game against LaSalle, Quebec. Despite a heroic effort, they went down to a 19-7 defeat, earning them the silver medal. Scoring for Midland were Chris Walser with three goals, John Gibson with two, and singles by Shawn Desjardins and Jesse Perrault.
“We played our game,” said manager Gary Price, “but the other team just out-hit us, outran us. and outplayed us. They were a little down, but we made the boys realize that they are the second-best team in Canada, and that’s nothing to be down about.”
Team Members: John Brophy, Jamie Peden, Shawn Desjardins, Steve Cleland, Shawn Price, Greg Scott, John Richardson, Chris Walser, David Merkley, Jesse Perrault, John Barnett, Toby Dusome, John Gibson, Robbie Bianco, Andrew Adam, Brad Wadge, Shane Nichols, Jason Perrault, Kurt Jeffrey. Coaches: Jack Scott, Brian Walser. Manager: Gary Price.
