MIDDLETON - When the buzzer went at 9 p.m. on Dec. 26, Middleton District Arena fans had seen three fun and fast-paced hockey games in an annual event that pays homage to the sport at the local high school.
It was the Boxing Day MRHS Grad Hockey Tournament and the oldest participant was Middleton’s Mister Hockey Al Peppard who at the age of 90 coached the team dubbed the Ancients in a 9-3 drubbing of the current 2017-2018 Monarchs.
Also unique to the three-game tournament was the fact Jim Johnson who coaches the current MRHS team played for the Ancients against his own Monarchs crew in the final contest.
It was all for fun, said organizer Albert Johnson.
“The purpose of the tournament is basically to show pride in the school, show pride in the sports teams at MRHS, especially the hockey teams of course,” Albert Johnson said while the Ancients and the current MRHS Monarchs tangled in a game that saw the old guys throw the puck around and the younger squad chase it.
That’s not to say that the young Monarchs didn’t have their moments with some stick-handling moves the length of the ice and some super saves in nets. But experience paid off for the Ancients and lessons were learned by the young guys.
“Tonight here we’re playing a game where the Ancients, those grads before 1993, are humming along with a 6-1 lead here,” said Albert Johnson as the contest unfolded on the other side of the boards where he was standing. He gets a little dig in against his longtime friend. “This is the Albert Peppard-coached grads, and if anybody knows Al Peppard they know he has to play to win. Instead of taking it easy on the young guys he keeps getting them to pour it on.”
Confusing?
It gets confusing if you don’t know the players.
Albert Johnson was in the unenviable position of being organizer of the tournament, the manager of the current MRHS team, and father of Jim Johnson who coaches the current Monarchs but was playing against them as an Ancient.
Peppard and Johnson are longtime good friends, both teachers and both originally from Truro. Peppard became principal of MRHS in 1967 and both men were coaches of the Monarch boys at various time.
Later, Albert Johnson put it on paper as he described the final game.
“In Game 3, a 9-3 win for the Ancient Grads over the 2017-18 Monarch Boys, their present coach Jim Johnson, displaying many of the skills he developed years ago under the tutelage of Papa (Albert) Johnson, showed his charges how to do it with a hat trick,” he said.
“Tim Cole added a brace, with additional goals from Big Joe Robicheau, (one of the finest goalies ever produced in Middleton), Earle Meilke and Luther Jensen from the points, James Medicraft, and Big Matt Hazelwood with a one-timer an illegal slapshot that he got all his weight behind was called back by the officials.
The line of Ned Brooks, Brandon Smith, and Matt Fudge-Howard took care of the scoring for the current Monarchs.
Game Two
“Tyler Murphy proved to be a chip off the old block in winning two games in the nets for the Yellow and Ancient Grads,” said Albert Johnson in reference to the final game and the second game of the day when the 1994 through 2016 Red Team faced off against the Yellow Team of the same era.
He described that contest as wide open and freewheeling as the teams exchanged 20 goals all told with the Yellow Team taking it 11-9.
“Former Monarch captain Calvin Gough led Yellow to victory with a hat trick and assist, with three points from Monarchs’ assistant coach Chris Llewellyn and Zack Moody, and two each from Robert Bruce, Tyler Wotton, and Emerson Coulter,” said Albert Johnson.
“Maddie Reeves was superb in nets for the Reds as a pick-up from the Grad Girls.”
Leading the Reds was Ryan Thibault with a hat trick, with two points apiece from Chris England, Matt Smith, Ryan Shields, Trevor McCulloch, and Grad Girls call ups Natasha Wotton and Bailey St George.
The Opener
The opening game pitted the current MRHS girls against the grad girls. Current Monarchs’ manager Tammy Belanger said the contest was a great experience for her younger crew and a lot of fun.
Despite losing 6-2, Belanger was proud of their work on the ice.
“The girls played really well,” she said. “Not too bad of a score seeing as they (grad team) have university players playing against a very junior team. We were really happy.”
Albert Johnson was happy too.
“A nice appreciative crowd braved the roads and frigid temperatures for the annual match-ups,” he said.
The kicker was after the final game when the Ancients posed for a team photo that included Jim Johnson and Chris Llewellyn. When the 2017-18 boys posed for their shot a moment later, Johnson and Llewellyn were called over to pose in that photo as well.
The final twist? In that 2017-18 Monarchs photo are Jim Johnson’s sons - Chris on left defense and Cory on right defense.
