The Memorial Cup has been described as one of the toughest sporting trophies to win. In 1979 with 2:38 left in overtime at the CHL championship, Bob Attwell found the back of the Brandon Wheat Kings’ net and cemented one of the brightest moments in Petes history.
Attwell was selected in the fourth round by the Petes in 1976, following a season with the Jr. B Bramalea Blues.
“Roger Neilson was a big name, so I was excited that he drafted me. Peterborough always had the reputation of being a great hockey town so when I got drafted there I was more than excited.”
The right winger played on some of the Petes’ most talented teams, dressing alongside the likes of Mark Kirton, Keith Acton and Greg Millen. In 1978 during his sophomore year with the Petes, Attwell got his first bite of the national championship.
“We should have won it that year, we beat New Westminster twice in the preliminary rounds then they ended up beating us in the final game for the Memorial Cup.”
Nonetheless, the maroon and white fell short in a game they felt destined to win. The following year with an understanding of the expectations from head coach Gary Green, and a section of players from the previous season, the Petes were determined to arrive at a different outcome.
“Greener was smart, he was a great coach and he had us focused right from the start of the year. We knew we had a lot of the core guys who were coming back and we knew if we played well and if we were dedicated and did everything the right way we had a good shot at winning it.”
Doing things the right way is precisely what they did. The Petes for the consecutive season and third time in franchise history earned a spot at the Memorial Cup.
Peterborough’s journey to the finals however was unprecedented as they, the Brandon Wheat Kings and Trois-Rivieres Draveurs finished the round-robin at 2-2.
Without a semi-final game, the finalists were determined on goals ratio putting the Wheat Kings and Petes in a faceoff for the national title.
Forced into overtime, following a first-period goal exchange between Tim Trimper and Brian Propp, Attwell scored off a shot by Larry Murphy at 2:38 and carved his name into Petes history.
“It was wild, I do remember some of the things right after the goal was scored. We were all going crazy and guys were jumping on me. I remember Billy Gardner saying ‘Gunner — they all called me Gunner at that time — you’ve got to make sure I get the assist on this goal,’ which I thought was funnier than heck.
“Typical Gards joking around, and then I remember Greener coming up right after giving me the big hug commenting what a way to end your junior career. And he was right.”
Following his gold medal goal Attwell recalls meeting all the parents in celebration and the bus ride back to a fan-filled Memorial Centre. He describes the pivotal on-ice moment and those that followed afterwards as “an unbelievable memory that he will never forget.”
The formula to the 1979 team’s success is commonly agreed upon by this group even four years after their success: a team solely concerned with the collective rather than the individual.
“We were really close, not only on the ice but off the ice. We worked for each other, we knew what each other could do. We had each others’ backs.”
Attwell maintains the strong leadership of young coach Green, and the group’s tenacious attitude to reclaim what they believed to be rightfully theirs in 1978, was the combination needed for a championship; regardless of any superstar presence on the roster.
“Greener knew how to get the most out of everybody, probably everyone had said, we never had really any star players, although we had good ones like Larry Murphy and Keith Crowder and Tim Trimper. I think maybe having a taste of it the year before where we were close, gave us an extra desire to win it this year.”
Attwell celebrates his time dawning the maroon and white and is incredibly proud to label himself a Pete. He added a huge part of the team’s success was Peterborough’s warm acceptance of himself and his teammates, “I don’t think there could have been a better place to play junior hockey.”
Although Attwell will be immortalized in Petes history as producing the goal that put Peterborough on the national stage, he hopes to be remembered simply as a “team guy.”
He hopes to be recalled as, “the one who would put the team before himself, who would do anything for anybody.” A set of values instilled in Attwell and his teammates by coach Green that served as the backbone to the 1979 Petes success.
Want to hear more about Attwell’s teammate Chris Halyk? Click here to learn about Halyk and lessons in leadership courtesy of the maroon and white.
