Concord Budmen
Year Honored: 2004
The Concord Budmen Hockey Club debuted at the Everett Arena in Concord, New Hampshire in the 1975-76 season as part of a newly formed New England Hockey League. The Budmen team was organized and nurtured by James Hayes and sponsored by his local Budweiser beer distributorship, New Hampshire Distributors, Inc.
The new league was formed on the heels of the defunct NEHL and featured teams from Berlin and Manchester as well as several Massachusetts teams. Jim Hayes Jr. along with Husky Poirier and Brendon Watson were just a few of the catalyst in the revival of the New England Hockey League and continuing the tremendous level of competition that New Hampshire hockey fans were accustomed to enjoying.
Many of the original Budmen players competed in the original and powerful NEHL that dominated amateur hockey in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Notable players donning the Budmen colors in that initial season included Ray Letourneau, Andre Prefontaine, Wayne Pecknold, Terry Flaman, Norm Hebert, Ron Dubriel, Mike Lussier, Camille Cassie, Steve Murphy, Jack LeClair, Roger Letourneau, Ray Champagne, Steve Arndt and Greg Wright.
This new squad balanced its roster of seasoned veterans with younger players and would dominate teams in its league and outside of its league in New Jersey, New York and Canada. First year coach, Burns Hovey and General Manager, Bob Tardiff, led the team to a 17-3-3 record in that initial season and followed it up with a 17-6 record the following year. Other members of the original Budmen team were Jim Hayes, Gregg Fournier, Joe Farrelly, Tom Painchaud, Tom Luckern, Cecil Luckern, , Steve Dudley, Duncan Matthews, and Louis Chabot.
The Budmen posted winning records in each of the next seven seasons including a 24 win mark in 1980-81 culminating with the NEHL championship title. The Budmen were anchored during those se years by coach, Ed Mullen and players, Jim Hayes, Gregg Fournier, Steve Arndt and Baine Donovan.
The Budmen Hockey Club ended its dominant reign after the 1992-93 season amassing an outstanding record in 16 years of competition with192 wins and 81 losses. The Budmen’s all time winning percentage stands at 67.1 %.