Sarnia Sting, Dave McQueen played for Kilrea and says that Kilrea had his players over to his house at Christmas but when you were in his 'dog house' it was often tough to get out. Except for a brief retirement for the 1994–95 season, Kilrea coached the 67's until the end of the 2008–09 season, and was also the General Manager of the club. He won the Memorial Cup, emblematic of Canada's major junior championship, twice with the 67's (1984 and 1999) and is the winningest coach in junior hockey history – a task completed on January 17, 1997 with his 742nd win. On February 2, 2007, Brian Kilrea coached his 2000th game as head coach of the 67's. Kilrea also won the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHL Coach of the Year in 1980–81, 1981–82, 1995–96, 1996–97 and 2002–03. Kilrea was also honoured with the Bill Long Award in 1994, for distinguished service to the OHL. In 2003, Brian Kilrea was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders category. The Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award, given annually to the top coach in the Canadian Hockey League, was renamed in his honour shortly after his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Kilrea won the award in 1996–97 when it was known as the CHL Coach of the Year Award. In twenty-nine seasons with the 67's he has only had six losing seasons – an extraordinary task in junior hockey, which due to age restrictions has a high turnover rate of players. On September 3, 2008, Kilrea announced that 2008–09 would be his final season as coach of the 67's, though he plans to continue serving as general manager of the club. On March 15, 2009, Ottawa beat the Kingston Frontenacs 5–3 to give Kilrea a win in his final regular season game, giving him 1,193 wins all-time. Kilera returned behind the bench on October 17, 2014 for the Ottawa 67's to celebrate his 80th birthday. He became the oldest coach in hockey history, winning career game number 1,194 by a score of 6-3 against the Mississauga Steelheads. Kilrea served as a recurring assistant coach to Don Cherry in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Personal life Kilrea is a nephew of former NHL players Wally, Ken, and Hec Kilrea. Since 1976, Kilrea has co-owned a restaurant with Nick Bouris called Chances R in Ottawa's west end.