This is the second of a series commemorating the Gopher Gulch Golden Bears, 1967-68 Copeau Valley Hockey League Champions.
The top four defencemen on the Golden Bears were collectively known as The Hounds, a nod to the fact that three of them had at one time or another attended Notre Dame College at Wilcox. As a group, they were formidable; as individuals each achieved a certain notoriety of his own.
Stan "The Man" Warner wore the "C", and such were his leadership abilities that he took over duties of playing coach after the tragedy that befell the original bench boss. Warner was the only Notre Dame alumni to have been invited to attend the College by Pere Murray. (The other two had been sent there by their parents for disciplinary reasons.) Warner was solid and reputed to be the strongest man in the CVHL. His slap shot was said to be NHL calibre and team policy forbid him to attempt it in practice or warmups. Fortunately for opposing teams, he was slow to anger, a quality somewhat lacking in several of his teammates.
Metro "Mugs" Palawski was one of the local lads who returned to farm in the summer and play some shinny in the winter. He played the game passionately, and his fiery temper and sadistic streak made him one of the more feared players in the league. Opponents were reluctant to go near the crease or the corners when he was on the ice, and often just dumped the puck in the zone and went to the bench for a line change. Mugs was one of the players suspended for the unfortunate incident in Muttgart in mid season.
Harvey "Mister" Dauncey had attended school in The Gulch up until Grade 10, then went to Notre Dame, then on to the University of Saskatchewan where he received his Bachelor of Education degree. He played some Husky hockey but left the team in his Senior year following a misunderstanding with some fans in Winnipeg. Big Harv returned to teach grade five in Gopher Gulch Elementary School, and was widely respected in the school and by the community. He stood 6'2" and weighed in at 215 pounds which meant that he had no discipline problems either in the classroom or on the ice.
The fourth member of the Hounds was Vladimir Putin. Seriously. No, not the one you're thinking of. Vladdy was one of the Putin boys from out by the Pei Wei Lakes. Nicknamed "Big Poots", he was the only one of the big four defencemen not to go to Notre Dame; in fact he dropped out of school on his sixteenth birthday during his third year in grade eight. Big Poots was noted for his coke bottle bottom glasses and his sheer size. He stood less than six feet tall but his weight was something greater than the 250 lbs the locker room scale went up to. It seemed to happen once a game that Big Poots would flatten an opposing player attempting to cross the blue line or smear someone in the corners. Inevitably the visiting trainer would be called onto the ice.
Other players saw some action on defence, but the four Hounds dominated. In that magical season a tremor would pass through the visiting bench when the Bears fans roared' "RELEASE THE HOUNDS!"