Former Acadie-Bathurst Titan owner Lo-Guy Morrissette dies at 79

Lo-Guy Morrissette, the former owner of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, died Saturday at the age of 79after a short illness.

Morrissette acquired the Laval Titan team alongside his brothers in the 1980s and became the sole owner in 1994.

He moved the franchise to Bathurst in 1998 and theteam won the President's Cup, now namedthe Gilles-Courteau Trophy, as playoff championin its inaugural season in 1998-99.

"He's the reason the Titans ended up in Bathurst and it's been quite a journey," said Daryll Stothart, a member of the current Acadie-Bathurst ownership group. "He was a great addition to sports here."

Stothart said it was known in the community that Morrissette's health was decliningbut his death did come as a surprise.

"It's sad it ends this way, but unfortunately that's life."

Stothart said Morrissette'sname will be remembered by most in the city of Bathurst.

"When you're in business, it doesn't always go everybody's way, but I think Lo-Guy put a lot back into Bathurst and so that's why we still have the team here 25 years later."

Morrissettealso actedas the team's general manager for several years.

'A man of convictions and ideas'

"Lo-Guy Morrissette was a significant figure in the history of our League," QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini said in a news release Monday. "He contributed to its growth and expansion. He was a man of convictions and ideas, who did not hesitate to make things happen."

Morrissette became known as a leader with a knack for trades.

After arriving in Bathurst, the team obtained RobertoLuongo from the Val-d'OrForeurs andMathieu Benot, Ramzi Abid and Marc Bouchard from the Chicoutimi Saguenens,additions that created a buzz abouthockey in northern New Brunswick.

A decline in attendance prompted Morrissette to consider moving the team to Newfoundland, which never happened.

He sold the team in 2013 to a group of investors in northern New Brunswick who promised to keep the team in the region.

Morrissette remained active in the hockey scene and went on to own teams in the North American Hockey League.

He retired in 2015.