The 2001-02 Navy Vets had a terrific season. The team combined size and talent to excel in scoring, defence, and toughness.
They won 25 games and had 52 points to finish in 1st place in the West Division during the regular season by 10 points over rival Norwich Merchants. They beat New Hamburg Firebirds in 6 games in the West Division Semi-Finals and then knocked off Norwich in 5 games to win the West Division title. They then upset the East Division champ Chippawa Riverhawks, who had an identical season record as the Vets, in 6 games to win the Niagara District Junior C Hockey League championships and move on to the OHA Semi-Finals against the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League champion Essex. The series was hard fought with the Navy Vets finally succumbing in 4 games.
The team captured the enthusiasm of the city during their late season heroics with fan support building in numbers and noise with each playoff victory to a peak in the 2 games at Southwood Arena for the OHA SF that saw over 2000 fans at each game.
The Navy Vets were led up front by the trio of Jeremy Demarest, Chad Paton, and Matt Carey. Demarest won the West Division scoring title with 62 points and a division-high 40 assists. Demarest also was named Most Sportsmanlike in the West Division. Forward Taylor Winkler was among the league leaders in hits.
The blueline was anchored by Chris Corriveau, Scott Roode, and Sean McLaren.
The goaltending tandem of Mike Matika & Matt Richardson provided stellar goaltending all season finishing 2nd in the West Division in Goals Against.
The team was led by West Division Coach of the Year Scott Brooks.
