SPORTS FLASHBACK 2014: Habs greats delight Steinbach

The score didn’t matter, when Montreal Canadiens legends played a pick-up game of sorts against a crew of local hockey greats last Thursday at T.G. Smith Centre, as a fall fundraiser for the Steinbach Pistons.

What mattered was everything that came with it.

It was special to watch the mystique of one of hockey’s most storied franchises up close. Of course, there was seeing the players that became immortalized on television screens across the country, legends like prolific scorers Steve Shutt and Stephane Richard, or tough guy Sergio Momesso.

The Habs didn’t skate as fast as they once have, but the sheer skill and hockey sense is still there.

Once you retire, that’s always something you miss; going on the road and playing hockey, remarked Guy Carbonneau, who was also the Habs’ bench boss from 2006-09.

“It gives us a chance to go places we’ve never been before and find Habs fans.”

Speaking of “rouge, blanc et bleu” supporters, the contingent of Montreal fans in southeastern Manitoba is among its highest in La Broquerie, where the minor hockey program borrows the historic Habs namesake.

Some of La Broquerie’s youth were on the ice in the second intermission, playing against the former NHL stars. At one point, Montreal’s Gilbert Delorme picked a fight he would not win, as four children clobbered him with punches.

New childhood memories were made for the youngest set, while older individuals were reliving them from their own childhood.

Local all-star goalie Neal Stoesz, a Canadiens fan himself, said it was a dream come true to stop the shots of players he once cheered for.

He said his household was a-buzz leading up to the match.

“My youngest boy is seven and he was just in his glory. He just kept talking about it. He was calling me the legend,” he said, laughing, “instead of saying we’re playing against the legends, but I feel like a legend, too.”

This night was also about reunions. Pistons head coach and GM Paul Dyck was reacquainted with a former teammate, Gilbert Delorme, for the first time in some 17 years.

Dyck’s first year of professional hockey in 1991-92, with the IHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, was Delorme’s final year. They were defence partners for a season before Delorme became an assistant coach on that team.

Dyck figured his former teammate had no clue he was now in Steinbach, and his hunch was correct. Delorme was unaware, until he read the game program.

“He came over and we gave each other a big hug,” recalled Dyck.

“We spent three years together and I was a younger guy. He took me under his wing, had Thanksgiving dinner with him and his family,”

Dale Krentz, one of only two players from Steinbach to play in the NHL, was also a teammate of Delorme’s. The duo suited up in Detroit.

“He was a really funny guy in the dressing room,” said Krentz. “He was a workhorse, working out every day.”

It’s connections like that that will be remembered by the individuals involved more than what the scoreboard said.

In case you’re wondering, the score was 14-11 for Les Habitants.