In 1981 led by Paul Stothart – Queen’s won the OUAA Championship and earned a berth the CIAU National Finals

This past weekend the Queen’s men’s hockey team advanced to the CIS University Cup National Finals in Halifax with a 4-3 overtime win over Toronto Metropolitan University, to capture the bronze medal for Ontario and earn a berth in the CIS championship tournament.

Forty-five years ago in March of 1981, with former Boston Bruin Fred O’Donnell as coach, Queen’s won the OUAA Ontario championship and made it to the CIAU Nationals in Calgary, losing in the semi-finals to Saskatchewan on a goal in the final minute. It was the Gaels first OUAA championship in 67 years.

It would be a long wait for the next one, it wasn’t until 2019 when the Brett Gibson led Gaels won the Queen’s Cup in front of a packed house at the Kingston Memorial Centre.

Gaels were led by high scoring Paul Stothart, named the top player in Canada that year. Stothart had a record setting season at Queen’s, 31 goals and 63 points in 22 games, amazing numbers at the university level. Sadly, Stothhart passed away in 2012. His son, Alex, played at Queen’s from 2015 to 2018.

Other key players on that ’81 Queen’s team included John MacIntyre and Ron Davidson. Stothart and MacIntyre were named All-Canadians. Kingston’s Steve Cherry was a freshman on the Gaels, and Ron Folk, who had played Jr B hockey and lacrosse in Kingston, also played for Queen’s.

Kingston’s Steve Arniel would not join the Gaels until the following season. Arniel had to sit out a year after transferring from Concordia. The previous season in 1979-80, Concordia went to the CIAU championship tournament. Arniel roomed with John Morrison at Concordia, the son of former Kingston Canadians Coach and GM Jim Morrison. Arniel’s defense partner at Concordia was Michel Blais – he played his junior hockey with the Kingston Canadians in the mid 70’s. There was a Kingston connection to Concordia in those years, Kim Elliott and Kevin Sands from Kingston also played there, along with Arniel and Morrison. Dan Coffey and Blair Shaw were on the JV teams.

I was just starting my sports career at CKWS-TV in March 1981, it was my first night on the job and Max Jackson sent me to Jock Harty Arena to cover the Queen’s – Western playoff game. Stothart had a goal and an assist to lead Queen’s to a 3-1 win over the Mustangs. Gaels would finish the series the following night and then beat York to win the provincial title. Post-game I nervously did a short interview with winning coach Fred O’Donnell and a got a quick clip from Stothart, before I raced back to the Queen Street studios.

Also on my first night at the CKWS TV sports desk on the 11 o’clock news, high scoring Charlie Simmer of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, part of the famed ‘Triple Crown’ line, suffered a badly broken leg in a game at Maple Leaf Gardens ending his 56-goal season. We had the video highlights.

But, it was the Gaels ‘Run of ’81’, that was the big story of the day in Kingston that spring. Hard to believe 45 years has gone by.