Trojan Triumph

FTLComm - Tisdale - Wednesday, may 1, 2002

The Tisdale AAA midget Trojan won the Air Canada Cup in Bathurst NewBrunswich making them Canada's champion midget team. Tuesday afternoon Tisdale welcomed their heros home. At one the RECPlex arena was empty posters and banners in place as a crowd began to gather for what has to be one of the most important all out happenings in this community of 3,500 people in a very long time. After all Tisdale takes its sports to heart and cherishes the victories and the defeats of its hockey and all the other great sports in the community but winning a national championship is a truly big event.

At the bottom of this page is a brief history of the Trojans and to be Canada's best is a major accomplishment. But Tuesday afternoon was a time for the people of Tisdale, people of all ages to share in the glory and joy of such a remarkable victory and to mark a historical event. For indeed few communities in a country can claim a national championship in any sport and those present knew that they were their at a unique

and special moment in their towns march through time. But Tisdale was not the only town sharing this achievement as players from Kelvington, Bjorkdale, Mistatim, Melfort, Birch Hills, Melville, Swift Current, Esterhazy and many others had members on this outstanding hockey team. To bring the homecoming to them CTV, CJVR and a host of other media people

Below is a QuickTime VR made of the stands ten minutes before the team arrived shortly after 2:00

were on hand to document and capture this incredible event. The event was broadcast live on CJVR who had sent their play by play announcer to Bathurst with the team and he was the master of ceramonies for the afternoon. The celebration banquet is at 7:00 Saturday evening.

Tisdale Trojans AAA Midget Hockey By: Loran Forer Franchise was awarded to this small North East Saskatchewan community of 3500 people in 1988-89 season. In their initial year, they recorded a 6 — 22 — 8 record and a respectable 8th place finish in the very competitive Saskatchewan AAA Midget league. The team struggled over the following years until 1994-95 season when the Trojans finished 1st in the Saskatchewan League with a 24 — 10 — 2 record. They lost the Western Air Canada Regional Championship to Thunder Bay Kings. In 1996 — 97 the Trojans returned to AAA Midget prominence, winning the league championship and representing Saskatchewan in the Western Regionals. The again lost to Thunder Bay in a close final. Thunder Bay went on to win the Air Canada Cup Championship that year. Since then, the Trojans have represented Tisdale and North East Saskatchewan providing a competitive, high calibre brand of AAA Midge hockey. They are perennial championship contenders and are deserving of their reputation across AAA Midget League. This year, the Trojans again won the Saskatchewan AAA league for the 3rd tine in the past eight years. They defected Beardy’s Blackhawks, Saskatoon Blazers and Swift Current Legionnaires in the final to advance to the Western Regionals. At that tournament, Tisdale defeated Winnipeg in the final to represent the Western Region at the Air Canada Cup. Over the years, the Trojans have built their teams with a nucleus of players from Tisdale and North Eastern Saskatchewan. With their growth success and strong academic combination, potential players are coming from the East side of the province of Saskatchewan. The community is fully behind the team and are proud of their rich history only after fourteen years of existence.