EXETER – When the Exeter Hawks won their fourth Ontario championship in 2002, captain Jeremy Geoffrey famously called teammates Jarrett Jeffrey and Berton Dykstra over to stand with him as he accepted the trophy.
When given the cup, Geoffrey passed it to the other two, who were in their last season of eligibility and a few minutes removed from their last game as Hawks players.
“We had a very good team coming in the following year, so I handed the trophy to them because I wanted to carry it the following year,” Geoffrey said in a recent interview.
“It ended up we never did win it the following year, which was upsetting. But (that title in 2002) was definitely something you’ll never forget.”
Indeed, the season is one Hawks fans of the era are unlikely to forget any time soon.
Led by Geoffrey’s 80 regular season points (30 goals and 50 assists in 40 games) and 60 points from Shipka native Jeff Finkbeiner, the Hawks were perhaps the class of the league that year.
They had a combined record of 46 wins, 10 losses, three ties and one overtime loss during the regular season and playoffs, making quick work of most of their playoff opponents.
The Hawks beat Parkhill four games to one in the first round and beat Lucan by the same margin in the second.
A third-round series against Thamesford went six games, but the all-Ontario final series against the Tavistock Braves ended in a four-game sweep.
Geoffrey clinched the Thamesford series with a goal in the final 30 seconds of Game 6, while Finkbeiner scored all three Exeter goals in Game 4 of the Ontario final series, clinching the title.
“There’s not a lot of words that can express how good it feels,” Geoffrey told the Times-Advocate last week. “You think about everything that you’ve done in your hockey career to bring you to this point ... You look at your family and everything they sacrificed to do to bring you to the ice rink.
“And then you look at the guys around you and what they’re celebrating, what you’re celebrating together. It’s like you’re a family and it just means a lot.”
The Hawks were primarily a local crew that year – by Geoffrey’s count 18 of the 25 signed players were drawn from communities close to Exeter.
Instrumental in gathering the team were local businessmen John Rasenberg and Gary MacLean, who served as general manager and president.
Geoffrey gives them plenty of credit for the team’s success, noting they would attend games and scout players while also running successful businesses.
“We owe them a lot,” Geoffrey said.
He also tipped his hat to trainer Jon Passmore, who has two Ontario titles under his belt and is back with the team this season.
“Obviously you know he’s doing a good job and the team really supports him and really likes him,” Geoffrey said.
Also cited was assistant coach Jason McBride, who captained the Hawks’ 1996 championship team and helped Geoffrey improve in that role in 2002.
“He just guided me in the right direction – what to say to the guys to get the best out of them,” Geoffrey said. “He was a very emotional guy and made me to be more emotional and to show my feelings to the guys to make sure we got the best of them.”
The 2001-02 Hawks will be celebrated Friday at the South Huron Recreation Centre with a ceremony before the current Hawks take on the Mt. Brydges Bulldogs.
The evening will have an Olympic theme, with artifacts and medals from past Canadian Olympic hockey teams on display and on loan from the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Exeter will be the collection’s last stop before being moved to British Columbia for the upcoming winter Olympics, according to Geoffrey.
Dashwood resident Darlene O’Rourke, who recently took part in the Olympic torch relay, will carry the torch onto the ice at Friday’s game, Geoffrey said.
The 2001-02 Hawks intends to wear Team Canada jerseys to complete the theme, and will retire later to The Ridge for an acoustic set from singer-songwriter Lance Bedard, who hails from Zurich.
All are invited to The Ridge, as well as the game. A group of 10 corporate sponsors has ensured admission to the game will be free.
Those interested in viewing the Olympic artifacts can do so at the SHRC from 7-10 p.m. The game is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m.
Geoffrey closed an interview last week by saying the Exeter-area community needs to support the Hawks.
“There’s not many junior teams out there that have been running for 50 years,” he said. “That’s something very special. We can’t afford to lose this junior hockey.
“I know obviously with the economy that it’s tougher to sponsor and stuff like that. But hockey is something that you always remember, and (playing) it was probably one of the best times of my life, junior especially.”
The 2001-02 Hawks are the fourth of five championship teams being celebrated this year by the franchise, which is in the midst of its 50th anniversary season.