A legendary junior B hockey team reunited to again celebrate their Sutherland Cup title.
The 1985-86 Stratford Cullitons lost just one playoff game on the way to an Ontario title.
“It was just like walking into the dressing room 40 years ago,” said Gary Wray, a Stratford resident and co-organizer.
“The jokes were flying, guys hugging each other, and it was really cool to see the smiles on guys’ faces after some being apart for four decades.”
The team included seven future NHL draft picks and nine players who played NCAA Division 1 hockey.
They lost just three regular-season games and had a 29-game win streak.
Head coach Dennis Flanagan Jr. and trainer Diego Vitello joined 14 players for the festivities, which included a round of golf, a tour of the Allman Arena and a team barbeque at Don McArthur’s home.
“Walt Morris flew in from Manitoba, Nelson Emmerson from Los Angeles, Matt Merten and Shawn Heaphy from Massachusetts, Mike Pierce from Florida and Pat Murray from Indiana.
“Guys came from all over North America, and we had a hell of a weekend.”
Also present for the festivities was the Sutherland Cup, loaned to Wray by the Cambridge Redhawks, the 2026 Ontario champions.
Wray said much of the conversation centred around how dominant the team was during the regular season and into the playoffs. The only real competition came from the St. Thomas Stars in a Sutherland Cup semi-final series, even though it ended up being a four-game sweep.
“We had one-goal games with them, and truthfully, we could have lost a couple of games in that series. That set us up for the final against Streetsville. They thought they would bully us and fight their way to the championship. Teams all of a sudden got the playoff flu and didn’t want to play them.”
Wray said Stratford’s power play was running at an 80 or 90 per cent scoring rate, something unheard of at any level of hockey.
“The more penalties they took, the bigger we racked up the scores.”
And score they did as the Cullitons found the back of the net 31 times and only gave up 12 goals over the last three games. The score of the opening game is not available on any hockey database.
Wray said Streetsville coach Rick Terasuk told the press during the series he could not control his team.
“He said they wouldn’t listen to him. They suspended some guys, and one player was serving a six or eight-game suspension for kicking. They were just lunatics and they ran into the wrong team at the wrong time. We all agreed the championship was the St. Thomas series.”
He added he doesn’t plan on waiting another 40 years to get the special group of guys together again.
“You never know what’s coming down the pipe health-wise. This definitely lit a fire and what we will probably do is pick a place to meet up and play some golf for a few days.”
Wray, who was traded to St. Thomas the following season and won a second straight Sutherland Cup, said the Stars are also holding a 40-year reunion in 2027.
