Linda Leach Bryant (second from right) was proud to be at the Raiders game Monday night with her son and two new friends Natasha Nachbaur (on her left) and Judy Anderson (on her right). (submitted photo/ Rob Bryant)

By Nigel Maxwell

Raiders family

Daughter of Ches Leach witnesses team’s second WHL championship

May 14, 2019 | 5:00 PM

A woman with ties to one of the founding fathers of the Prince Albert Raiders, was among the thousands in attendance Monday night at the Art Hauser Centre for Game 7 of the Western Hockey League final.

Linda Leach-Bryant, 73, is the daughter of the late Ches Leach, who passed away in February 1995. Leach-Bryant fought back tears as she described for paNOW the feeling of seeing the team hoist the championship trophy.

“Oh it was fantastic, it really was,” she said.

Leach-Bryant has lived in Saskatoon since 1974 but said she has bled green all her life. She recalled there were moments during the game Monday night when she was not sure if she would make it out of the arena.

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“My son’s friend was with us and he said to me ‘Mrs. Bryant are you breathing again?’ And I looked at Doug and said ‘What do you mean?’ and he said ‘Well you stopped breathing halfway through the third period,'” she said.

Leach-Bryant said she could remember the last time the team was in the Memorial Cup and how excited her father was, adding the team was all he talked about.

She recalled a story when her father was taken to hospital on the same day as a Raiders game.

“So the next day the doctor comes in and wants to know how his pain is and the first thing dad says is ‘Did you listen to that game last night? wasn’t that a hell of a game?’ The man’s dying and he is more worried about what the Raiders are doing,” Leach-Bryant said with a laugh.

Leach-Bryant’s opportunity to see both Games 6 and 7 is a story in itself. Her son had posted on the Raider Talk Facebook page requesting a ticket for Ches Leach’s daughter.

Rob Bryant was hoping his mother would get to see a Raiders game on Mother’s Day. (Submitted photo/ Rob Bryant)

In a sort of fairy tale ending, Judy Anderson answered the call, as a friend she had planned to take to Game 6 had cancelled at the last minute.

“People were posting they would pay anything for a ticket and I said [to my friend], ‘No it’s got to be a good story, I want it to be the right person to go,'” she said.

As it turned out, Anderson also had extra tickets to Game 7, and Leach-Bryant joined again with her son. Anderson said the whole night was simply unforgettable.

“It was just so neat meeting them and we got pictures with them and it was just neat to hear the stories about her dad,” Anderson said.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell