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Ref Memories

    The Kenton Cougars Senior Hockey team was formed in 1972. They played in the North Central Hockey League for some 30 plus seasons. The team was composed of players mainly from Kenton and Lenore in the beginning.  Later players came to Kenton from Oak Lake, Virden, Reston, Oak River, Brandon and Hamiota to form a team.

    The best description of the Kenton Cougars hockey club was that it was a social group who just happened to play hockey in the winter and fastball in the summer.

    In the 1974-75 season, the Kenton Cougars defeated the McAuley Tigers to win the league Championship. Although they played in other final series, this would be the only time they would win the league championship trophy.

    Where the Kenton Cougars really shone the most was in the Intermediate Provincial Hockey Championships of Manitoba. The Cougars won a total of 9 Provincial Championships, a number surpassed by no other town that had a senior hockey team and that record, this stands today!

When Craig Whyte came back to Kenton from college and took over Whtye's lumber and Insurance, he put a stamp on the  Kenton Cougars hockey and ball team. The hockey team was formed. Craig played with the Cougars, coached them, managed them, and lived the Cougars and does so until this very day although the hockey team folded a few years ago. The Kenton Cougar hockey team, really brought the community together with the great fan support they had. Fans followed the team through thick and thin.

    As I mentioned earlier, all the Provincial Championships they won, all 9 of them were special, including a 3 year run of winning their division. The Cougars enjoyed playing someone other than league teams, travelling by bus to other towns and had a huge following from the locals who also had a bus trip or two over the years. What happened on the bus, stayed in the bus, except when, do you remember when?

    The bus trips and the playoff series they played in against these other teams just seemed to bring out the best in the team. Perhaps travelling together was a huge part of that.

    There were 4 gentlemen from Kenton who would travel by car to follow the Cougar Provincial run in the playoffs each spring. The thing was they would leave in the early afternoon to go to an 8 or 8.30 start for a game whether it was in Holland, Elgin or Glenboro or any other town you could think of. I guess they just did not want to be late and get the best seat in the rink, except the rink was probably not open that early in the day. Can you name the Fab 4 from Kenton? 

Next week, I will talk about the Kenton Cougars a little bit more and throw out some names you may remember! Until then, happy trails!