Hall of Fame Members

Andre ‘Tinou’ St. Laurent

Attended the Parochial School systems where he started playing ice hockey at the age of 7 as a goaltender. Tinou then played junior hockey for the Richmond Flyers of Windsor, PQ, where he was a major factor in their winning the Eastern Township Cup and were Provincial Finalist in 1963.

In the 1964, Tinou played for the Junior “A” Thetford Mines Blackhawks, a farm team of the Montreal Canadiens.

In 1965, Tinou came to Manchester where he played for the Manchester Blackhawks from 1965 to 1970, and the Manchester Monarchs from 1970 to 1975.

His teams won several New England Hockey League championships and Tinou was named “Goalie of the Year” on three occasions.

Throughout his playing career he has participated in numerous hockey games in support of various local charities.

For ten years from 1965 to 1975, Tinou devoted a great amount of time in support of the Manchester Youth Regional Hockey Association teams as a goalie coach.

Tinou coached the Manchester Generals a Junior “A” team, and in 1993 until 1997 he was the Goalie Coach for the Memorial High School hockey team.

Andre ‘Pref’ Prefontaine

Whenever the conversation ’round the table in Manchester turns to the New England Hockey League of the ’60s and ’70s, the one name that always arises is “Pref” – Andre Prefontaine. To the locals, who back then filled the JFK Coliseum to root for the Manchester Blackhawks, “Pref” was a hero. He was a goal scorer, an aggressive forward with defense on his mind, always a needle in the necks of the opposition.

Originally from St. Hyacinthe in Quebec, his French-speaking family moved to Cornwall, Ontario when “Pref” was 5. For the next six years, he attended a school where only English was spoken. Then in 1950, just as Pref was entering the 7th grade, his father was killed in a railroad accident, forcing his mother to move Pref and his three siblings back to St. Hyacinthe. By then, he had a difficult time speaking French. His then-hockey coach, Father Romeo, made an offer: he would help “Pref” sharpen his French skills if “Pref” would play hockey. They agreed. There was one more catch, though. “Pref” would have to help his classmates improve their English by conversing with them during the day. “Pref” later entered Academy Girouard (high school) where he played on the same line with later-to-be Montreal Canadiens star, Bobby Rosseau. The goaltender that year was Dennis DeJordy, who later became a Chicago Blackhawk.

In the early 1960s, when a new league started locally, “Pref” signed on to play with the St. Hyacinthe Police Department team. In 1965, when he was 27, the team came to New Hampshire to play against the Manchester Blackhawks. In that game, he scored a few goals and afterwards was approached by Blackhawks owner, Claude Vaillancourt, who urged “Pref” to come to the States. His first full season in town was 1966-67.

Some Memorable Moments:

November 20, 1967: At the JFK, “Pref” agreed to switch teams for the evening, joining the shorthanded Merrimack Valley Chiefs. He scored 4 goals and an assist.

April 5, 1969: In game seven of the NEHL championship series, “Pref” scored 5 goals as the Blackhawks defeated arch-rival Concord Eastern Olympics for the title.

September 9, 1969: Al Dupont, then-Blackhawks owner, announced that “Pref” had been traded to the Nashua Maple Leafs.

January 13, 1971: “Pref” is selected for the NEHL All-Star team.

In 1970, the Blackhawks folded but quickly reappeared with a new name: Monarchs. “Pref”, after brief stints with both the Nashua Leafs and Lowell Chiefs, also came back to town and played for the Monarchs until the franchise folded in 1974. He later played a season with the Tri-City Coachmen then three seasons with the Concord Budmen.

In 1978, the old Blackhawks team, out of sight since 1970, was resurrected. And guess who was involved? For seven wonderful seasons, “Pref” was a player and the coach. For three of those years, he was team owner. The Blackhawks finally drew the curtain after the 1985-86 season ended. The memories, though, are still alive.

Al Corriveau was a founder of the Manchester Youth Hockey League and was instrumental in the building of the two local ice arenas. He served as president of the Junior Hockey League and Queen City Hockey, Inc. Al was an owner of the Manchester Blackhawks and the Manchester Monarchs of the New England Hockey League. He was also a sponsor of men’s Senior “A” Hockey League teams.

Al was one of the original “movers and shakers” of ice hockey in Manchester. He founded the Manchester Youth Hockey League, the genesis of what became the one of the largest and most respected youth hockey programs in the country, Manchester Youth Regional Hockey Association (MYRHA).

As a pioneer in developing youth hockey, he gathered coaches, organized teams, got ice time and scheduled practices and games. Al provided order by breaking down the players into age groups and insisting that every player, no matter his/her abilities get equal ice time. His system was first line against first line, second line against second line, etc. As the program got underway smoothly, some people objected to the equal ice time for all players, Al never gave in to the pressure of creating just winners, he ran his program the right way from day one. Al always insisted on equal ice time for all kids, period!

The results of his method can be seen by hockey players from the Manchester Youth System that have excelled in the sport of ice hockey at the high school and collegiate levels through professional play.

Albert ‘Barney’ LaRoche

Albert “Barney” LaRoche was born in Berlin, New Hampshire, on July 10, 1916. Also known as the “Rocket,” he played 22 years for the various town teams, and in 1937, they became known as the Berlin Maroons. He won six team scoring titles as the Maroons won five (senior) New England AHA titles, in 1941, ’48, ’49, ’51 and again in ’54. They won their first of three (senior) National AHA Championships in 1953-54 over Housatonic, Conn. He finished his playing career in 1956.

Barney coached Notre Dame (Rams) High School for 13 seasons and during that time, their record was 161-79-17. During his tenure, the Rams never lost a single game to another New Hampshire high school. He won an unprecedented 13 NHIAA championships while outscoring their opponents 83-11. The Rams played in two New England championships, finishing as runner-up to Hamden, Conn., in 1954 before returning the favor to Hamden in 1957.

Barney also went on to coach the Maroons four seasons, beginning in 1964-65, ’65-66, ’66-67 and again in 1970-71. During those four years, Berlin’s record was 61-37-7. The Maroons won their second National AHA Championship in 1966-67 over Muskegon, Mich. Of note, the Maroons also won their third and final AHA championship the following season, besting Walpole Mass,, although LaRoche was not coaching.

Albert ‘Albie’ Brodeur

• Graduate of Notre Dame High School in Berlin in 1954.
• Member of three state champion high school teams.
• Co-captain of the 1954 Notre Dame team that represented the state of New Hampshire at the New England Tournament in Providence, Rhode Island.
• Member of the 1954 All New England Tournament Team.
• Graduate of the University of New Hampshire in 1959.
• Broke a 21-year scoring record at UNH in just 50 games.
• Co-captain and recipient of the Roger LeClerc
• Memorial Award in 1959.
• Played for the Berlin Maroons from 1960 to 1972.
• Coached Notre Dame High School from 1962 to 1964.
• Won a state championship with Notre Dame in1962.
• Coached Berlin High School from 1966 to 1999.
• Won state championships with Berlin High School in 1974 and 1975.
• Finished coaching career with a 323-175-12 record.
• Inducted into the New Hampshire Coaches Hall of Fame in 1989.
• Inducted into the UNH 100 Club Hall of Fame in 1991.

Albert ‘Al’ Adams

Albert Adams is a hockey legend in his hometown of Berlin, New Hampshire. A co-captain of the Berlin High School team in 1944 before he left to join the US Marine Corps, Adams returned to Berlin to play amateur hockey after playing for three years on the defensive corps at UNH. Adams played three seasons for the Berlin Maroons, including the 1953-54 season when the Maroons won the AHA National Championship. He moved on to coach the team and serve as General Manager from 1955 to 1962, leading the Maroons to two more AHA National Championships. At a cost of much personal financial sacrifice, Al kept amateur hockey in Berlin at the highest possible level in the United States Amateur Hockey Association during his term, In 1963, he was named Mr. Sportsman of the Year by the Athletic Booster Club of Berlin.

His parents named him Cecil Bernard, but everyone else everywhere else called him “Bud.”

First schooled in Portland Maine, “Bud” Luckern later became a student at Portsmouth (NH) High School. He often told the story of PHS’s first and only hockey game back then which was a fight-filled affair and led to the season promptly being cancelled. “Bud” later began working high-rise construction throughout New England. In 1960, he arrived in the Capital City area, first living in Suncook, then later planting his roots in Concord. Once Everett Arena opened in 1965, it became “Bud’s” second home.

In the mid 1960s, “Bud” began coaching in the Concord Youth Hockey house league. In the winter of 1967-68, he and “Tarzan” Healy jointly began working with the first Mite travel team.
Later, “Bud” became Head Coach at Bishop Brady High School, serving two hitches over 13 years. His tenures were: 1974-75 through 1980-81; and 1985-86 through 1990-91. Craig Lawrence served as “Bud’s” Assistant Coach for all 13 years. In addition, during “Bud’s” second tenure, his middle son Tom served as an Assistant Coach.

Although Bishop Brady, year after year, had the lowest student enrollment in Division I, “Bud” was always able to get the most out of the few players who formed his teams. For that ability, he was widely known and acclaimed. Bishop Brady went to two State finals, losing in 1979 to cross-town rival Concord, 6-1; and the following year losing to Manchester Central by that identical score. Bishop Brady also played in two division semi-finals, and two quarterfinals.

“Bud’s” overall Bishop Brady record is 181 wins, 120 losses and 1 tie.

“Bud” Luckern – Class of 2007

Please welcome Cecil Luckern, accepting for his late father.

A stalwart with the Manchester Tam -0-Shanters, the late Donald Williamson Sr. is perhaps better known for his accomplishments following his playing career than for the accolades he earned on the ice. When the Manchester Youth Hockey program was in its early stages in the 1970’s, Williamson was instrumental in gathering support for the effort. Because ice time in the area was so scarce, he and his partner Paul Leonard established the Souhegan Skating Center in Merrimack, New Hampshire, a facility that provided year round availability to the sport. At the same time, Williamson provided guidance by offering instructions at his hockey school and coaching several successful Bantam “A” teams.