Check their website for videos and team photos of every year
By
Mark Schadenberg
With
the Norwich Merchants Junior C hockey club celebrating its 50th year
this 2017-18 season, I was asked by the club’s celebration committee member
Wayne Chalkley to write about the great rivalry between the Merchants and the
Woodstock Navy Vets.
I
was sports editor of the Woodstock Sentinel-Review between 1992-98.
Oxford
County has other junior hockey clubs – past and present – such as the
Tillsonburg Mavericks and Titans, Ingersoll Marlands, Tavistock Braves,
Thamesford Trojans, and Woodstock Warriors and Renegades to name a few.
The
Highway 59 rivalry has always represented a true battle – Merchants versus the
Navy Vets.
You
can read about the history of both clubs on their respective websites.
The
Norwich team website includes videos compiled by Dave Jull who was one of the
sports reporters at the Sentinel-Review in the 1990’s. The 50 years of
reminiscing also includes the breakdown of different eras or chapters, a look
at the team’s hall of fame, a remarkable gallery of 49 team photos, a list of
alumni info, and naturally extra details on the club’s OHA title year of 1986.
The Merchants won the Schmalz Cup for Ontario Junior C supremacy in 1986 by
beating Bradford, but also won the provincial Junior D title in 1970.
Be
sure to follow their website page all season as there are several events
planned to mark 50 years of junior hockey in Norwich.
Here
I present my submission to the Norwich Gazette:
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Sporting
competitions are known for their great intense rivalries and the ‘Battle Of
Highway 59’ in junior hockey is certainly a great example.
Congratulations
to the Norwich Merchants on their celebrations of 50 years as a hockey
franchise. Over the years their club has been comprised of many dedicated
coaches, executive members and players, and it would be my guess that the
team’s rivalry with the Woodstock Navy Vets would top the list of the Merchants
formidable foes over the half century.
No
matter which direction you take to Norwich from Woodstock, you can’t avoid
Highway 59. You could drive south along County Road 14 but eventually you will
catch up to Highway 59 before entering the village of Norwich. Your GPS might
start you on 59 but then continue south at Holbrook. You could also drive
through Burgessville and enjoy the meandering of 59 for the entire trek.
The
point to be made here is no matter if it was the regular season or a pivotal
playoff matchup the Merchants and Navy Vets always seemed destined to meet in
key games and the rivalry grew.
I
was sports editor of the Woodstock Sentinel-Review from 1992 – 98, and a local
hockey fan previous to that time, and also after that tenure.
The
rivalry was seemingly strengthened by the dedicated hockey people involved such
as Norwich’s Tom Wright, Randy Nobbs, Bob Rachar and others. The main characters
in Woodstock in the 1990s would likely have been coach Dave Bogart and GM John
Jensen. By the way, Oxford County is the overall winner with countless
dedicated and determined hockey people owning thoughts about winning and skill
development, and thus in the process creating fine hard-working young men.
Norwich
and Woodstock are two teams who were annually vying to be the best in what was then
called the Niagara Junior C West Division. There were other clubs that had
their moments to shine – Paris Mounties, Simcoe Storm (Blades, Chargers and Jets) and New Hamburg Spirit (Hahns or
Firebirds) – in that era, but it always seemed that if the Merchants were to
win a league championship and advance to the OHA playdowns their playoff
bracket would take them through Woodstock.
Rivalries
are healthy for many reasons, including fan interest as it was a short drive to
the Norwich rink from Woodstock, and the condensed crowded atmosphere of the
aging Perry Street Arena (It closed in 1996 to be replaced by Southwood Arena
at the community complex) seemed to enhance the clash as the action in both
rinks was in small areas.
Without
pointing out too many names, the Merchants versus Navy Vets meetings also
included the idea that some players wore both jerseys over the years as they
would start out in junior hockey with the red-and-white of Norwich and later
switch allegiances to navy blue – or vice versa.
The
quotable quotes in the Sentinel-Review from both sides would only add more
lumber and heat to the embers.
When
the Perrydome closed in 1996, I wrote a special edition section to commemorate the
building. The stories were historic and covered more topics than hockey, but
the Navy Vets were in the spotlight and their on-going rivalry of Highway 59
was certainly an important part of that focus.
Part
of the fierce ‘Battle of Highway 59’ would be the fact that the Navy Vets lost
in the OHA finals in 1984 to Penetang, but just 2 short years later Norwich
would earn an Ontario title in 1986. Jealousy and bragging rights sway
back-and-forth and are therefore certainly integral in nurturing a rivalry.
The
Norwich Merchants are a hockey tradition in Oxford County.
The
place to be on Saturday, Sept 16 is the Nor-Del Community Centre as it will be
the home opener for the Norwich Merchants and their opponent will be the Navy
Vets at 7:30. The festivities begin at 4 p.m. with fan zone activities.
LINKS:
www.norwichjrcmerchants.com
www.norwichjrcmerchants.com
FACEBOOK:
Norwich Jr C Merchants
Norwich Jr C Merchants
^^^^^
Mark Schadenberg, Sales
Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist
(SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
Independently Owned & Operated, Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . .
Destination
useful information about FDS Broker Services
ReplyDelete