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Two veteran goaltenders head the group of seven players, six builders and four teams entering the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame at the 2009 induction dinner to be held at Canad Inns Polo Park, Winnipeg, October 3. Ed Belfour played 963 regular season NHL games for Chicago, San Jose, Dallas where he won a Stanley Cup and Toronto. Ken Wregget was in the nets for 575 NHL games with Toronto, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Calgary and Detroit plus a final season with the Manitoba Moose. Wregget was on a Cup winner in Pittsburgh. Belfour was born in Carman, Man. while Wregget, like a number of former big league goalkeepers, hails from Brandon. Also being inducted is rugged defenseman Paul Baxter, who saw action in 472 NHL and 290 WHA games. He had a total of 2526 penalty minutes in the two leagues. Two former Winnipeg Jets are members of the class of 2009. Bill Lesuk, a two-way player, was valuable as a shut-down forward on the Jets Avco Cup winning teams of 1976, 1978 and 1979. Ray Neufeld, who was born in St. Boniface, played junior for the Flin Flon Bombers and suited up for 595 NHL games including four seasons with the Jets. A solid minor leaguer, Murray Wilkie played all over North America, but logged a lot of time playing junior with the Brandon Wheat Kings, senior with St. Boniface Mohawks, intermediate with Minnedosa and Neepawa, pro with the Western Hockey League Winnipeg Warriors and Brandon Regals and oldtimers for a great many teams. Bruno Zarrillo scored 119 goals in two seasons for the River East Royals of the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League and then played 16 seasons in Europe where he was a top scorer and a member of Team Italy in several World and Olympic championships. Six builders were named to the Hall, all with impressive credentials. Fred Creighton was a minor league defenseman for 12 years and then coached professional hockey for 19 years including six in the NHL. Murray Williamson grew up playing hockey in Winnipeg, attended the University of Minnesota on a hockey scholarship, and went on to coach two US Olympic and several US national teams. Greg Lacomy played junior for the Winnipeg Monarchs and was a member of a NCAA national champion Denver University squad. He coached at a variety of levels in Manitoba from the Mustangs tournament team to several years with the University of Manitoba Bisons. It would be difficult to find a better candidate than Jill Mathez to be the first woman to be inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. A first-class player who was named MVP of the Winnipeg Women's Hockey League, Mathez had success coaching midget, senior and college hockey at the University of Winnipeg. Two builders will be inducted posthumously. Paddy Ginnell coached junior hockey for 14 years and while at the helm of the Flin Flon Bombers earned WHL coach of the year honours three times. Heavy Evason was involved in junior hockey across Canada for 20 years as a coach, manager and scout and also coached in England. Entering the Hall in the team category will be the Canadian national team that was made up of players from across Canada, but was based in Winnipeg in the 1965-1970 time period and the 1952-53 St. Boniface Canadiens that won the Western Canada junior championship. Canadiens were defeated in the Memorial Cup final by Barrie Flyers. The Hall of Fame selection committee also recognized the grassroots of Manitoba hockey by selecting for induction two intermediate teams from 1956-57. Pine Falls Paper Kings won the provincial intermediate AA championship and then the Edmonton Journal Trophy emblematic of Western Canada intermediate AA supremacy. Poplar Point Memorials had powerful teams for a decade in the intermediate B division. However, the 1956-57 edition of the club challenged and defeated Winkler, the Manitoba intermediate A champs.
