Team Dorey made curling history winning the Canadian Masters Curling Championship in 2010 in St. John, New Brunswick. In doing so they became the first Guelph rink to ever win a national championship. To qualify for the nationals they had earlier won the Provincial title while representing the Guelph Country Club. Made up of skip Mike Dorey, vice-skip Brian Henderson, second Gary Houghton and lead Paul Knight they were incredibly tough to beat. That year at the Canadian championship they finished the round-robin with a 4-2 record, forcing them into a tiebreaker with Prince Edward Island. After a win there they were on the brink of elimination in the quarter-final against BC but scored two in the 8th and final end to win 6-5 and move on. They downed Eugene Hritzuk’s Saskatchewan rink (former Brier runner-up and World Seniors Champion) 9-0 in the semis setting up another dramatic game against Manitoba in the final. Down one coming home in the 8th end they scored twice to secure a 5-4 win and the championship.
Their team’s combined record in the Ontario and Canadian Masters championships between 2010 and 2012 was a stellar 46 wins and just 9 losses. “We were given the nickname “steamroller” by someone at the Ontario championships and that name stuck” said Dorey. “We had four very talented players at the top of their game that year and I have to say that Paul Knight was the glue that held our team together. Everyone had varied opinions of how things should be done but Paul kept us focused.”
Their consistent play paid off again in 2012 when they won the Ontario Masters championship to advance to the Canadian finals.
Inducted into the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame – Team category – on October 30, 2012
