1954 MEMORIAL CUP
Edmonton Oil Kings vs. St. Catharines Teepees
at Toronto (Maple Leaf Gardens)
When the Edmonton Oil Kings journeyed east for the best-of-seven Memorial Cup final they didn't leave anything to chance -- they even took their own water with them.
"We've got four gallons here now and six more are on their way from Edmonton,” coach Ken McAuley said. "The players claimed they suffered cramps in out-ot-town games from drinking other water and they didn't want to take any chances. I don't know if there's anything to it but if they want Edmonton water they can have it.”
While the Oil Kings were sequestered in a Toronto motel, the Quebec Frontenacs and St. Catharines Teepees struggled to declare a winner in a bitterly contested eastern final.
Prior to 1947, the St. Catharines junior team was known as the Falcons. But, in 1947, the team acquired its nickname -- Teepees -- from its sponsor, Thomson Products, a local firm that produced automotive and aircraft parts.
The Teepees would become one of the most recognizable nicknames in junior hockey. The organization hung on to the nickname through 1963, after which it changed to the Black Hawks and later Fincups.
Barry Cullen's three goals led St. Catharines to a 9-1 victory before 11,912 fans in Quebec City on May 5 as the Teepees took a 3-2 edge in the series. St. Catharines wrapped it up two nights later in Toronto, winning 4-2 before 6,669 fans at Maple Leaf Gardens.
"They're going to be really tough to beat,” McAuley said after watching the clinching game.
The Teepees, of coach Rudy Pilous, went into the best-of-seven final having already played 91 games in their season. They were also in their first Memorial Cup final since being born 12 years earlier. The Oil Kings, with an amazing 61 victories in 65 games, hadn't played in 16 days.
Game 1, played on May 9 before 4,790 fans, wasn't much. Jack Armstrong scored three times as the Teepees rolled to an 8-2 victory over the rusty Oilers.
The Canadian Press reported: "Teepees, clicking on every turn after winning the eastern junior title Friday night, put on the pressure from the opening and handed the Oil Kings their worst defeat of the season.”
Don McLean and Hughie Barlow added two goals each while Brian Cullen scored once. Edmonton's goals came from future NHLers Norm Ullman and Jerry Melnyk.
"We expect a lot of opposition yet,” Pilous said. "They're a good bunch of boys and they handle the puck well. And they should improve.”
The Oil Kings played better on May 11 but it still wasn't enough as they lost 5-3.
CP reported that the game was played before "3,680 fans, one of the smallest crowds in years to see a Memorial Cup playoff.”
After a scoreless first period, Edmonton took a 2-0 lead in the second on goals by John Bucyk and Ullman. McLean put St. Catharines on the board at 17:03.
St. Catharines then struck for four third-period goals, Barlow scoring twice and Barry Cullen and Hank Ciesla adding one each.
Edmonton's Ray Kinasewich, playing on a line with Bucyk and Ullman, ended the scoring at 14:19 of the third.
Edmonton goaltender Al Jacobson, who blocked 43 shots in Game 1, stopped 24 shots. The Teepees' Marv Edwards kicked out 25 shots, 11 more than he had been asked to stop in the opener.
There were only 3,030 fans in the stands on May 13 as St. Catharines took a stranglehold on the series with a 4-1 victory over what CP called a "ragged-looking band” of Oil Kings.
Brian Cullen led the winners with three goals and set up the other by Barlow, a 20-year-old centre who played with the Cullen brothers on his wings.
Kinasewich scored the game's first goal, at 14:20 of the second period, but the Oil Kings fell behind shortly thereafter and were never in it after that.
"My club will win Saturday night -- we'll win it in four straight,” Pilous said. "(The Oil Kings) just don't play in the same kind of a league. That club couldn't win 60 games in a season in the Ontario Hockey Association.”
McAuley fired back: "What do you expect? We went 16 days without a game before we started this series. The boys are making mental mistakes which could be cured, but they've been off the ice so long you can't talk them into it. The only way the east wins this thing is by stalling the west.”
Pilous was wrong. His boys didn't get their sweep as the teams played to a 3-3 tie -- they played one 10-minute overtime period -- on May 15. Kinasewich, Bucyk and Chuck Holmes scored for Edmonton. Barlow, with two, and Cec Hoekstra scored for the Teepees.
St. Catharines wrapped it up the next day, however, posting a 6-2 victory before 2,848 fans.
Brian Cullen led the winners with two goals and two assists in his last junior game. Barlow, Ciesla, Barry Cullen and Wimpy Roberts added one each. Ullman and Bucyk replied for the westerners.
Ciesla's goal, at 9:38 of the first period, gave St. Catharines a 3-0 lead and stood up as the Memorial Cup-winning score.
"It's been a good series,” Pilous said. "But I honestly believe we have the better hockey team.”
It marked the sixth straight season in which an eastern team had won the Memorial Cup.