Henri-André Laperrière (June 12, 1925March 8, 2015) was a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman. He was a member of the Ottawa RCAF Flyers team that won the gold medal in

ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, was the sixth Ice hockey at the Olympic Games, Olympic Championship, also served as the 15th World Ice Hockey Championships, World Championships and the 26th ...

. As a member of the RCAF Flyers, Laperrière was inducted into the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, and into the

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Cana ...

in 2008.

Playing career

Henri-André Laperrière was born in Montreal on June 12, 1925, the son of a local

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

operator. Laperrière played

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

for the Verdun Terriers in the 1944–45 season. He played for the

Montreal Carabins The Montréal Carabins () are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the Université de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Teams play at the CEPSUM Stadium and at Winter Stadium (Montreal), l'aréna du CEPSUM, located at the Uni ...

men's ice hockey team while attending the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

from 1945 to 1950. In advance of

, he was recruited by

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; ) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction included senior ice hockey leagues and the Allan Cup, ...

vice-president

Norman Dawe Robert Norman Dawe (October 18, 1898January 4, 1948) was a Canadian sports executive. He originated as an Official (ice hockey), ice hockey referee for minor ice hockey games in Verdun, Quebec, before becoming involved in the administrative asp ...

, to play for the Ottawa RCAF Flyers team which represented Canada. Laperrière was instated as a private in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

. He played in eight matches and scored one goal at the Olympics. During the final eight seconds of the last game against Sweden, he replaced the

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

Murray Dowey who received a penalty. The RCAF Flyers won the game by a 3–1 score, and won the Olympic gold medal in ice hockey. After the Olympics, Laperrière declined an offer from the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

to play professionally. He remained in university and won Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union hockey championships in 1949 and 1950.

Later life and honours

Laperrière retired from playing hockey in 1950. He later worked as a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

, served as member of the city council for Outremont from 1970 to 1982, and was a president of the Outremont Hockey Association for five years. As a member of the 1948 Ottawa RCAF Flyers, Laperrière was inducted into the

Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, and into the

in 2008. In 2001, the Canadian Forces selected the 1948 Ottawa RCAF Flyers team as Canada's greatest military athletes of the 20th century. Laperrière died in Montreal on March 8, 2015.

References

External links

*
Henri-André Laperrière's profile at database Olympics

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laperriere, Henri-Andre 1925 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Canadian municipal councillors Canadian ice hockey players Ice hockey people from Montreal Ice hockey players at the 1948 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Quebec municipal councillors