March 23, 1997

Nuggets 14 carat Canadians

500 glitterati fete Yukon Hockey heroes as their moment of destiny ticks toward 2 p.m. today

By ANDREW MATTE
Ottawa Sun    YOU COULDN'T help but wonder if last night's big bash was held to keep members of the Dawson City Nuggets up late.
   The party at the Westin Hotel, attended by about 500 people, was the final extravaganza before the Nuggets square off with the Ottawa Senators Alumni team today in the long-awaited rematch of the infamous contest in 1905.
   Just like the first games held 92 years ago, members of the Dawson City Nuggets figured their talents were worthy of a game with professional hockey players.
   They lost two games in 1905 against the then Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Silver Seven, in part, some believe, because they didn't arrive from their arduous 23-day trek until the night before.
   At last night's party, which had a Klondike theme including a costumed miner who helped christen the bash, just about everybody theorized about the outcome of this afternoon's match.
   Nuggets team leader Pat Hogan heard the rumor that game organizers from Ottawa schemed when they organized the biggest party for the night before the big game, but insisted his team's desire to win would offset any sleep deprivation.
   "We've never felt better," Hogan said, adding his signature to a pile of souvenir posters and jerseys in the hotel ballroom.
   "It's been tried before, that's for sure. We'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see what really happens," he said.
   Nuggets assistant coach David Millar conceded the 23-day trek by snowshoe, snowmobile, dogsled, rail and boat had taken its toll on his team.
   "Most of the guys are just whipped. It's been a long haul so they're pretty tired," Millar said. "We were out on the ice for a practice yesterday and it was a little scary."
   The steady list of activities held for the Nuggets since their Thursday night arrival have also contributed toward making the skaters weary, he added.
   The team visited the Corel Centre to see the 1997 version of the Ottawa Senators play the Florida Panthers on Thursday. On Friday the Nuggets and their fans overwhelmed the staff at Moe's Newport Restaurant in Westboro when they arrived for a meal.
   They were later shuffled to a yacht club for cocktails.
   Both the work of the Ottawa organizers and the warm welcome by a cheering crowd at the train station Thursday night have been overwhelming, Millar said.
   "Everybody's been really nice to us. We're having a great time -- it's been non-stop," Millar said.
   Last night's Klondike Blowout was more of the same -- there was a band, a land stake game where participants won prizes. There was even a replica trough filled with water containing prizes and real gold.
   The real Stanley Cup was also on hand, courtesy of the Hall of Fame in Toronto, so fans could have their picture snapped with the trophy in exchange for a $5 donation to Ottawa's Heart Institute.
   And, of course, there was a dance performance from Diamond Gertie and her Can-Can girls.
   But for members of the Senators Alumni team, both the game and the trek to Ottawa from the Yukon by the Nuggets helped many team members gain an appreciation for the country.
   "It's more than just hockey," said Jean Payette, who played for Toronto Maple Leaf farm teams and then the Quebec Nordiques of the now defunct World Hockey Association.
   "I've been to Vancouver and Winnipeg but I always flew. You see these guys travelling to all these great places. It kind of makes you want to jump in the car and take your vacation out there," Payette said.
   But the rugged terrain of Canada's north will be the view from the plane for the returning Nuggets members and their fans.
   After a game in Kingston on Tuesday, they return home.
   Brad Timpson, a fan of the Nuggets since hearing about the rematch last month, hopes today's Nuggets appearance in Ottawa isn't the last.
   "It would be great to see this kind of thing every year," he said.
   "It's great for learning about the history of both hockey and Canada."

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