MacIntyre brought great instincts to game of hockey

The Write Call - He has been described by coaches and teammates as the smartest and most effective defenseman to play for Sackville teams in recent memory. But Don MacIntyre brushes off such accolades, saying he could never skate or shoot very well and was forced to rely on instincts and talent in other parts of his game to attain a level of success.

"My coach in junior hockey - Roly McLenaghan - once said he could make a helluva hockey player out of me if I could ever find second gear," he says jokingly.

But any shortcomings he may have had did little to dampen his spirit or effectiveness as he performed with a series of championship clubs from bantam to senior. And he took his knowledge and transferred it to younger players to rack up even more championships.

Don will be remembered playing at Allison Gardens as the type of defenseman who had great instincts, who could sense where the puck was going and who move it quickly up to his forwards for an assault on the opposition. He could also play the man with skill and never got caught up in the rough stuff.

Don was fortunate to have been born in Campbellton at the time that former NHLer Buddy Hellyer was hired to play for the senior Tigers and organize and coach minor hockey in the city.

During his early years, Don performed with bantam, midget and juvenile teams in Campbellton, winning a number of provincial titles. He played under coach Jim MacIntyre, his brother and a one-time strong Mount Allison Mountie forward. As a matter of fact, Don had five brothers who all played the game at one level or another. He later had another brother Allie as his coach in senior hockey.

An all-round athlete, Don played basketball, baseball and football - under popular coach Don Grant - before graduation from Campbellton High in 1965.

Then it was off to NB Teachers College in Fredericton where he hooked up with the strong Junior Red Wings under coach McLenaghan. They played in the Southern N.B. League and one of the players on an opposing team was Sackville's own Vince Estabrooks.

After his two-year stretch with the junior team that featured future NHLer Neil Nicholson, Scott Harvey and Gord Wheaton, Don moved on to UNB to line up for the next three years with the Red Devils. He captained the team for two of those years that featured a hot goalie in Keith Lelievre.

"The Moncton Alpines were looking to strengthen up for a playoff run at the senior level my last year in university so I got the call along with four or five other varsity players," he said during a recent discussion.

"We were fortunate to go on to win the championship of that strong league and featured players like future pro Ron Anderson, Greg McCullough and Phil Doiron, along with the colorful playing coach Don (The Bear) Larin."

With a bachelor of physical education in hand, Don was immediately summoned to Sackville in 1970 and spent the ensuing 31 years in the classroom and the sports arenas of Sackville High and later Tantramar Regional High School.

While he and his Titan hockey teams gained widespread recognition during his 20-year coaching career, only a few remember that he was the founding coach of the Titan football team, handling it for three years prior to the arrival of Bruce McMillan and Chris Porter.

The Titans captured four provincial high school hockey championships during his tenure as coach. Asked to select some of the more outstanding performers, he reluctantly suggested that Shawn Myers was probably his finest goalie, Steven Bowes the top defenseman and then mentioned people like Dean Acton, Brian Trites, Colin Wheaton, Kevin Read, Mark Phinney, Eric Sloan and Peter Hazlehurst as among his leading lights.

"I was able to coach all those years only due to the total support of my wife, Sharon," he told your columnist. "She had her highland dancing and I had hockey and we supported each other."

The MacIntyres have two children - Stephen, an engineer in Vancouver and Heather, a teacher in Calgary.

A highlight of Don's local hockey career came during the 1970-71 season when the local Combines waltzed to the Maritime Intermediate Championship. Organized by Ken Beal and coached by Ed Reiger, the team featured the power line of Gerry Bartlett, Rod Smith and Davis Richardson, along with Gordie O'Neal, Phil Locke, Alan Smith and was bolstered along the playoff trail by goalie Bliss Richard and Fred Veniot and Pete Pineault. The defense was made up of Richard Noiles, Dave Latta, Paul Whitmee and MacIntyre.

"It was rather unique," he says, "that one year I was a member of the senior champions in Moncton and the very next year was with the intermediate winners."

Asked what kind of a coach he considered himself to be, MacIntyre said he placed the emphasis on discipline and team play rather than the individual player.

"Hard work comes ahead of skill and will win out nearly every time," he says. "Certainly dedication and hard work go a long way but it takes that something special commitment to take a step to the next level."

One of Don's poudest moments came in 1988 when not only he, here in Sackville, but brother Jim in Campbellton and brother Murph in Arnprior, Ont., received the Olympic coach national award.

These days sees Don on the ice three mornings a week during the winter months and on the curling ice at least three times a week. He whacks around on the golf course during the summer. Both he and Sharon enjoy travelling and seldom miss an oppurtunity to take a whirl around the dance floor.

In spite of some earlier health problems, he is still pretty fit and, like all good athletes, has been able to adapt his lifestyle to become adept at his continuing athletic endeavors.