Anyone alive, who watches
hockey, will instantly know
who Ron MacLean is. If you are a
fan of Rogers Hometown Hockey,
then Tara Slone also has one of those
most recognizable faces in the game.
So, when this pair decides to visit
your city for the weekend, why not
track them down and ask them a few
questions.
“I wish I was 30 years old again,”
Ron MacLean jokes when he thinks
of the weekend commitment he and
Slone embarked on three years ago.
As he did in Cornwall, sometimes
he arrives for Friday events not
associated to HTH and then returns
to Toronto to anchor HNIC and
Coach’s Corner with Don Cherry
on Saturday night. Then, it’s up
early Sunday morning; head back
to the weekend venue in a town,
city, or remote outpost and co-host
the telecast of the Sunday evening
Rogers Sportsnet Hometown Hockey
network game.
With Cornwall City Council
voting to discontinue funding
for Big Ben, the community will be
losing its only official local venue for
downhill skiing and snowboarding.
For Christian Cousineau, the
loss of the ski hill will mark the
end of a personal era. “I’ve been
snowboarding since I was 16,” he
says, “and that’s about 29 years.”
Cousineau, born and raised in
Cornwall, learned to snowboard at
Big Ben, and so have his children.
Maxim, 8, and Sophie, 6, have each
been hitting the slopes with their
father since they were 18 months old.
Cousineau, who is also an
instructor at the hill, is a competitive
snowboarder who does slope style
and bank slalom competitions for
fun. As an instructor, he has seen
thousands of Cornwall and area kids
learn the fundamentals of skiing and
boarding at Big Ben. “The facilities
are used lots,” he says.
Six local young athletes attended the
RBC Training Ground event held at
Queen’s University in Kingston on March
24th 2018. RBC Training Ground is a
national program created in partnership
with RBC, CBC, and the Canadian
Olympic Committee with the purpose
of identifying and supporting the next
generation of high performance athletes
in Canada.
These six young female
athletes tested their power, their speed,
their strength, and their endurance in
front of top coaches and sports officials
in Canada.
It was truly a wonderful experience to see my
daughter compete with other athletes
with similar goals.
James Blanchard has been deeply
involved in athletics for most of
his life. He began playing lacrosse
when he was five years old and
continued to play up until his last
year of eligibility, age twenty-one.
Blanchard played his minor
lacrosse with the Cornwall Minor
Lacrosse Association under the
same three coaches throughout; Rick
Fillion, Jack Ruest and his father
Perry Blanchard. His junior career
was split between two teams; the
Junior B Cornwall Celtics and the
Junior B Akwesasne Indians.
“Growing up, I recall taking
weekend road trips with my father and
some buddies a few times a summer
to go check out lacrosse games in the
Toronto Area. Watching these games
allowed me to learn a vast majority
of my lacrosse knowledge I have
today,” says Blanchard.
new light is shining on Cornwall’s
athletic heritage, and it has never
looked better.
The Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame
is putting the finishing touches on
a major renovation with includes
new exhibits, new lights, and a new
presence in the Civic Complex.
“The time was right to refresh our
exhibits and shine the light on some
incredible achievements by Cornwall
athletes that date from today back
to the 1800s,” says Thom Racine,
president of the Cornwall Sports Hall
of Fame Board of Directors.
The major change is the
By Bob Peters development of a Wall of Heroes that
profiles 48 different athletes from
several different sports. Each athlete
is featured with a poster that includes
a photo and a brief description of their
accomplishments. The posters line
the main concourse at the Complex
and include past and present stars
such as Tony Luis, Jenna Flannigan,
Christina Julien, and Moe “The Toe”
Racine.
Dean McIntyre has been
the trainer and equipment
manager with the Cornwall Colts
since Ian MacInnis has been at
the helm of the club. He figures
that’s about twelve years or so.
Every one of those years has been
a labour of love, as McIntyre is a
volunteer. “I like helping out,” he
says. McIntyre is a modest man.
Ten years retired from a highlevel
management position in
animal disease research, McIntyre
brings a wealth of knowledge and
experience to his position with the
Colts. His credentials include a
position with Jeff Carter and the
Akwesasne Wolves (from ’97
to 99 and his first real hockey
“job”) and a stint with the Ontario
Hockey Academy.
McIntyre has seen a lot of action
during his time with the Colts.
Some of his fondest memories
with the franchise include the time
his son spent with the team. “That
was the time when Matt Verdone
and Jesse Winchester played,” he
says. “They were a great group of
kids.”
“I like working with youth. It
keeps me connected to the younger
generation,” he says. “I can give
the kids advice about their hockey
careers. My son has been through
it.” Dean McIntyre’s son, Jeffery,
played for the Colts and is now a
professional firefighter.
Ellery Maloney, recently spoke
with Sports Energy News to
remember his friend Pete Piquette.
Piquette was a local hockey
goaltender in the 1940’s and 50’s
who saw great success in his
hockey career, landing him a spot in
the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame.
Maloney says he’s known Pete and
his wife Betty for most of his life.
“We both played hockey, we were
both goaltenders on separate teams.
We’ve been such close friends since
our early teens,” says Maloney.
“We were in each other’s wedding
parties as well.”
Pete Piquette was an exceptional
good goaltender and he started his
junior hockey with the Cornwall
Community Sports Club. Piquette
was soon called to play with the
Oshawa Generals Jr. A team in the
OHA, (Currently OHL). Maloney
recalls one of the highlights of
Piquette’s time with the Generals
was his encounter with George
Armstrong, an All-Star player with
the Toronto Maple Leafs.
