Their members range from a leather-lunged police officer to a part-time media relations worker tied to the team through blood and looming marriage. Three of them even drove 20 hours to witness their hometown favourites’ shining moment.
There are fans, and then there are the fans who populate Whiskey Corner, the ultra-devoted group of Wellington Dukes’ supporters from which a portion made the 2,200 trek by plane and vehicle here to watch their team capture their first ever Dudley Hewitt Cup Central Canada Junior “A” hockey championship this past week.
Whiskey Corner, also known as “The Fifth Line,” was born approximately 25 years ago when the newer version of the Wellington and District Community Centre, nicknamed the Duke Dome, was built after the original arena burned to the ground.
“We named it Whiskey Corner because, well, we drank whiskey there back then,” laughed Tom Lavender, who is considered the founding father of the fan section that has gained notoriety throughout the Ontario Provincial Junior “A” Hockey League as being the most vocally imposing group on the circuit.
“But we’ve got to the point where we’ve got some of our grandchildren down in that area, so there’s no more drinking these days,” long-time Whiskey Corner member Bryan Hobson quickly noted.
The standing room only section, which fits approximately 100 spectators, comes complete with floor mats and name tags reserving certain spots, described Paul Lavender, another Corner participant with lengthy tenure.
“It’s a very exclusive membership,” chuckled Paul, although he didn’t detail the qualifications necessary to reside in Whiskey Corner. “Win or lose, though, we’re there to greet (the Dukes).”
It wasn’t difficult to locate the travelling edition of Whiskey Corner during the Dudley Hewitt Cup. They were the ones standing en masse, regaling their team with the chant of “Dukes! Dukes! Dukes!” at the top of their lungs at the start and end of every period, and holding their own in terms of high-decibel cheering even when outnumbered.
First-year Duke Jeff Caron said he was told about Whiskey Corner by his billets when he arrived from New Brunswick to play this season. Even with the advanced notice, though, he had no idea what he was about to experience.
“At first, I thought they were just crazy,” recalled Caron with a grin. “But they’re really great. The team feeds off the energy they give us.
“They’re the most hated fans in the league, but they’re also the most rowdy,” he added. “They’re the greatest. They’re at every game supporting us, no matter what the score is.”
One of the most energetic members of the puck-loving crowd is Fred Armitage, a Belleville OPP officer by trade and the team’s alcohol and drug prevention co-ordinator, who converts from lawman to human loudspeaker come game time.
Armitage’s distinctive hollers of “You’re BRU-tal!” directed at referees and opposing players this past week could be heard frequently throughout the Ice for Kids Arena, along with his customized noisemaker consisting of an empty maple syrup can with three pennies inside.
But even he acknowledged there are limitations to how far Whiskey Corner will go in making their presence known.
“There’s no swearing,” Armitage emphasized, before adding devilishly, “We’re just there to get in the heads of the other team’s players, and we serve as quality control in regards to the officials, too.
“It’s a great group, because everyone there knows each other so well. And we don’t need anybody on a microphone telling us to be noisy,” he added, in a good-natured poke at the plentiful persuasions on the P.A. system for the Thunder fans to pump up the volume.
The team’s unofficial travelling information director Lesley Konieczny, who is engaged to assistant coach Tod Lavender and whose brother Mike plays forward for the Dukes, put it in the simplest terms.
“The spirit of the game is in Whiskey Corner,” she summarized proudly.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
