OTTAWA — Feel-good stories in hockey have had a good run lately, from David Ayres to Bobby Ryan.
Coincidentally, the Gee-Gees haven’t qualified for the national tournament since 2003-04 when they lost out to a Saint FX team whose captain was none other than Grandmaître. Why would players want to take a chance on a school overcoming a reputation issue, with a rookie coach and no players? Sometimes it took the extra mile.
“We found 25 kids that were ready to rock and do something special,” Grandmaître says. “It’s so much fun that a lot of those kids are still here, in their last year. We’re going to nationals, that is for sure. But we also have a chance to win the OUA championship that our school has never won.
Now 40, Grandmaître has watched his own family grow along with the team. He and his wife, Jani Lalonde, had one son when he was hired by the university. Today they have three boys — Louis, six years old, Edward, four, and Frederic, two.
uOttawaGeeGees USPORTSca HockeyScanner Solide! Jacques Martin a aidé👌🏻StPascal