Team of destiny to mark 50 years; Native Sons reminisce about 1975 Winter Games

By Lethbridge Herald on February 7, 2025.

Dennis Hatt holds up a team photo of the 1975 Canada Winter Games winning Lethbridge Y’s Men’s Native Sons. Herald photo by Al Beeber

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

They weren’t among the top seeds but in 1975 at the Canada Winter Games, the Lethbridge Y’s Men’s Native Sons made history in front of a huge local audience.

And 50 years after the team won the gold medal at the then-Canada Games Sportsplex, the team is reuniting to celebrate their achievement.

Surviving members of the team will be getting together on Feb. 22 at Luigi’s Steakhouse on Mayor Magrath Drive South to share stories and celebrate the medal they weren’t expected to win.

Among those who will be attending are team executive member Richard Blasco and fellow 92-year-old, coach Howie Yanosik.

Blasco and Native Sons defenceman Dennis Hatt, now 70, recently shared memories of the road to gold at the office of Ken Moriyama, who was also a team executive.

Up to 15 players are expected to be at the reunion, including the likes of Joe Meli, who Hatt has tapped to be master of ceremonies. At least one of the team members has died and efforts have been unsuccessful to locate Gary Clark.

The reason Feb. 22 was chosen for the reunion is it’s almost 50 years to the date the Junior B team won gold on Feb. 23, 1975, said Hatt.

The age limit for the tournament was 20. The team had a couple of 15-year-olds in goalie Clark and Gord Gejdos – both properties of the Lethbridge Broncos – while Greg Kveder was 16, Hatt said.

Hatt was the oldest player on the team.

When the Canada Winter Games opened, the Native Sons were pegged as fourth or fifth seed, Blasco and Hatt recalled.

They had won the right to represent Alberta after succeeding in their efforts to host the provincial tournament at the Sportsplex. Both men recalled fondly how they managed to secure an overtime win against Lloydminster in the provincial semi-final after their opponent had led 2-1 in the dying minutes.

But a delay-of-game penalty after Lloydminster iced the puck turned the tide, with the Native Sons getting the equalizer before the final buzzer, recalled Blasco. Reg Osmond then scored the overtime winner to propel the host team to the final against Fairview, who they defeated 11-4.

“We blew them out,” Hatt said.

In the Canada Games, the Native Sons were in a division with Manitoba, Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Quebec. They lost only one divisional game, 4-3 to Quebec, in a contest that had to be played at Henderson Arena due to a snowstorm that prevented travel to the Kainai Nation.

In the semi-final, the upstart locals played heavy favourite Ontario, beating them 2-1 on Meli’s winning goal.

Blasco recalled how Stan Maxwell was looking after the Ontario team and he was introduced to their manager. That manager told Blasco he hoped his team wouldn’t run the score on the locals.

Players knew beforehand they were the underdogs, Blasco said.

But “you never know what happens on the ice.”

In the championship game, buoyed by the figure skating gold medal won earlier that day by brother and sister duo Cori-Jo and Bill Petrunik, the Native Sons capped their improbable run by beating Nova Scotia 6-3 in front of 6,500 boisterous fans.

“They had set the crowd for us,” Hatt said of the Petruniks.

Hatt remembers the team being picked up by their bus at their dormitory in LCI and seeing signs all along Mayor Magrath Drive urging them on.

After the win, the team all heartily sang Farewell, Nova Scotia, Hatt said.

“We killed it, literally we killed it. It was terrible,” Hatt laughed.

“We felt pretty good,” he said of the win. He remembers looking up at the huge crowd during the pre-game skate and spotting a neighbourhood kid among the sea of faces – Joey Shackleford, who along with Hatt and his wife volunteers at a city food bank.

According to Blasco, the Native Sons knew they were the Games underdog. In fact, they weren’t expected to represent Alberta with the Edmonton Mercurys being considered the provincial favourite.

The team had the opportunity to bring in other players but Blasco and Hatt said the organization didn’t want to upset the team chemistry that had taken the Native Sons so far in that remarkable season.

In fact, Yanosik had to drop two players which they remember being a tough decision for the coach.

“He had to make that decision and that was hard,” said Hatt.

While a few players hailed from other areas, most were locals, the two said.

The team played its regular season games in the Central Alberta Hockey League and after the Games were finished they had to find the enthusiasm to continue hitting the ice and they capped the long 1974-75 season by beating Lloydminster in seven games to claim the league title.

Blasco recalled how the Y’s Men stepped up to help the team financially and were the major sponsor. Hatt added that when he played, nobody had to pay out of pocket to be on the team.

“We were well looked after,” said Hatt. “We had our own team bus, the Pickle, an old school bus that was converted and painted green and that’s why it was called the Pickle,” said Hatt. The bus was driven by general manager Hans De Groot.

Blasco recalled how pro scouts would want players with straight As so the team emphasized education and a few eventually did earn subsidized educations at various universities.

It was important, Blasco recalled, for the team to host the Games’ qualifying tournament and it found a sponsor, so its bid included a subsidy for the other teams to help cover expenses while in Lethbridge.

“One thing about this team is I can tell you that there were never any fights, there were never any arguments,” said Hatt. “We got along. The chemistry, if anybody asks me what the most important thing was on this team, why we won, it’s because we had chemistry and we were team. And I think Howie, by not going out and picking up two extra players, realized what the chemistry would be in that dressing room.”