SportsLife issue 6 2016 | Page 24

BU CELEBRATES ITS HOCKEY HISTORY By Will Streilein, Photos by Milana Paddock Hockey hasn’t been played on the Brandon University Campus in 14 years. Minus some grey facial hair sticking out from the helmets on the ice you would have never known that during the first weekend of November. Some 300 alumni gathered back on campus for a weekend celebration to honour both the Bobcats and College Caps teams. The Caps program began in 1909 and ran at the school until 2002, when it ended under the Bobcat name. “It was a huge honour,” said Craig Anderson, one of the many stars on the team “Being recognized by the G reat save The Banner Raising at the Healthy Living Centre 24 / sportslife university on such a great history of the hockey program that was part of Brandon for a long period of time.” Everything kicked off on Friday night as the Alumni gathered at Brandon University’s Healthy Living Centre to enjoy the volleyball home opener between the Bobcats and the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack. It was the first opportunity for many to gather and re-connect with old acquaintances. Tom Marsh was one of the former Bobcats stars to take in the weekend. It was his first time back in the Wheat City since claiming the 1982-83 GPAC championship and being named a GPAC first team-all star. “I got a call from a couple of buddies of mine and I got to get out here and see everyone,” said Marsh who admitted that it took a little bit of convincing to join the festivities, “But I made the right choice. It was a lot of fun and a lot of great stories were told.” On Saturday, the focus turned to the ice at the Sportsplex for not one but two alumni games. The 50-plus game took to the ice first. Marsh was joined by the likes of Pete Gerlinger (All-Canadian and 1993 BU Sports Wall of Fame inductee), Randy Kalynuk (teacher at Virden Junior High), and Rod Winkler (who played 9 seasons of pro hockey in Europe following the 81