Young Canada Week in the 1980s brought an end to an 18-year drought for Goderich Peewees

Goderich Lions paraded with the Reg McGee Trophy after winning the B Championship in 1980.

The 75th Goderich Lions Young Canada Week hockey tournament will open on Friday, March 13, 2026, and will feature three age groups – U13, U15 and U18 in both Rep B and LL divisions.

There will be special activities on the Monday to mark the anniversary of the beloved hockey tournament.

As part of the lead-up to the tournament, Goderich Lions are highlighting the eras of the tournament’s history. This month the focus is the 1980s.

The tournament in the 1980s saw an end to an 18-year drought for the Goderich Lions Peewees in the Rep B division.

The local team defeated Tillsonburg 2-1, to win the Reg McGee championship trophy. Robbie Gibbons scored both Goderich goals in that game.

To reach the finals the team had victories over Mooretown, Port Elgin and Kincardine.

The team also won the East-West trophy game 6-1, over St. Lambert, Quebec, with Todd Jeffrey, son of local NHLer Larry Jeffrey, racking up four points.

Throughout the tournament, goaltender Rob Dunn and captain Trevor Erb played strong roles in the team’s success.

Other team members were Scott Stokes, Mike Collins, Peter Conlon, Shaun Rahbek, Grant Garrow, Jeff Scott, Robin Moore, Trevor Martin, Todd Graham, Ken Huff and Brent Williamson.

The team was coached by Richard Madge and Bob Dick, and Bill Rahbek was the team’s manager.

That year Seaforth won the ‘C’ division, with future NHLer Dave McIlwain leading the way.

Sixty-two teams played in five divisions over the eight-day event with some 1,300 players involved.

In 1981, the Goderich Lions team won the consolation trophy in the ‘B’ division and again won the East-West match-up with St. Lambert.

The team’s leading scorer was Scott Garrow who went on to play NCAA hockey with Western Michigan and later coached at Western Michigan, Princeton and Cornell.

In 1982, Stratford won the ‘A’ championship led by Tim Taylor who later played on a Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings team.

In 1983, three generations of the local Whetstone family took part in the opening ceremonies.

Founder Nip Whetstone dropped the puck with his grandson Bill taking the draw for the Goderich Lions and his son Vic, who had played in the tournament, and had also taken part in the ceremony.

That same year, Lion Ken Alcock, uncle of present-day YCW Lion Chair Mike Alcock, was honoured for his long-time commitment to the tournament during which time he held virtually all the positions on the tournament executive.

In 1984, the Goderich Lions team won the ‘A’ championship. After being eliminated in their own ‘B’ division, the team was asked to fill an open spot in the ‘A’ division, and they wound up defeating London Stoneybrook 4-3 to win the ‘A’ title.

Jeff Boyce scored the overtime winning goal in that game.

In 1985, girls once again appeared on tournament rosters after a 30-year absence, which was something to celebrate.

Sadly, that year was also the year that saw the death of two tournament stalwarts in Guy Emerson and Goderich Minor Hockey Association President and past chair of YCW Paul Rivers.

In 1986, YCW was hit by a huge winter storm on opening weekend, which necessitated unusual Sunday games to make up the schedule.

In 1987, the tournament honoured the loss of founder Nip Whetstone, and the Goderich Lions team won three-straight games to reach the ‘B’ final, which they unfortunately lost to Dresden.

The Young Canada Week Daily News chose an all-star team for each division and in the ‘B’ division, two Goderich players – goalie Chuck MacLennan and team captain Andrew McLarty – were chosen.

The tournament in 1989 saw the celebration of the tournament’s 40th anniversary with Goderich’s former NHL players Larry Jeffrey and Garry Doak taking part in the opening ceremonies, as well as in an old-timer’s game to mark the day.

As we continue to take a stroll down memory lane of Young Canada Week’s legacy in Goderich, we can’t help but be excited for the tournament in 2026, which will mark 75 years of this beloved hockey tournament.

Next month, we’ll look at YCW in the 1990s.