Historical Moment: Titan win their first President Cup in 1999

As we’ve said before in this space, the 1998-99 Acadie-Bathurst Titan team was a Cinderella dream come to life in the northern regions of New Brunswick. It had all the pieces of a wonderful story: A mining town gets their first Canadian Hockey League team, which then makes Bathurst the home of the CHL’s smallest market team in the country. Not a bad feat for the ‘small but mighty’ sentiment.

Then, hockey players from The Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario, Austria and Slovakia make their way to Bathurst, meet their new billet families. Players listen to the crunch of the ice when they skate-out onto its still surface of the K.C. Irving Regional Centre for the first time. They’re met with the roar of the fans and sold-out crowds as they build their way toward the top of the QMJHL standings.

The final pieces of the puzzle started to come together following the Christmas Trade period – where you saw names like Bouchard, Benoit, Abid and Luongo join the ranks – and the team hit its stride. By the time the regular season wrapped-up, your Titan sat in fourth place overall throughout the league and second in the Maritimes. But, playoffs are a different beast entirely and when the Titan arrived, they came to win. Bathurst went 16-5 in playoffs and went on to win the President Cup in game five against the Hull Olympiques on the road. The Titan won the game and their first President Cup in franchise history with a 3-2 win. Like we said, it had all the makings of a story book year.