The Memorial Cup: A history . . . 1962

1962 MEMORIAL CUP
Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Hamilton Red Wings
at Hamilton (Forum), Guelph (Memorial Gardens) and Kitchener (Auditorium)

The Edmonton Oil Kings took seven games to finish off the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Abbott Cup final.
This was one close series; in fact, the seventh game, in Brandon on April 25, was tied 3-3 in the third period before the Oil Kings pulled out a 5-3 victory.
The Oil Kings then headed east to meet the Hamilton Red Wings -- coached by Eddie Bush and featuring Lowell MacDonald, Bob Wall, Earl Heiskala, Bryan Campbell, Ron Harris, Pit Martin, Paul Henderson, Wayne Rivers, captain Howie Menard and Jimmy Peters.
Edmonton was led by Glen Sather, captain Wayne Muloin, Roger Bourbonnais and Larry Hale.
Both teams were affiliated with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings.
The fighting began before the Oil Kings arrived in Toronto.
Originally scheduled to be played in Maple Leaf Gardens, the CAHA announced the first game would be played in Hamilton, with the next three in Guelph. A fifth game, if needed, would be played in Kitchener.
All this because of a hassle over television rights involving Hamilton and Toronto stations -- the first time in Memorial Cup history that TV had reared its head.
The Oil Kings, by now en route to Toronto, had picked up Brandon defenceman Bob Ash and forward Ted Taylor, along with forward Norm Beaudin from the Regina Pats.
None of the three played in the opener, won 5-2 by the Red Wings before 3,275 fans in the 3,800-seat Hamilton Forum.
MacDonald sparked the Red Wings with three goals, as they jumped out to 1-0 and 4-1 period leads. Heiskala and Wall also scored for Hamilton. Doug Fox and Phil Dutton scored for Edmonton.
Dutton later left the game, blood streaming from his face after being high-sticked by Harris. Dutton needed eight stitches to close a cut over one eye and also had a broken nose.
The Oil Kings were travel-weary and had trouble keeping up with the Red Wings from the outset. The Red Wings had also enjoyed two more days of rest than had the westerners.
Hamilton goaltender Buddy Blom stopped 27 shots, while Edmonton's Harrison Gray stopped 30.
Bush had welcomed Edmonton as "the scruffiest-looking team I've ever seen in a Memorial Cup final.
"They all need haircuts, their uniforms were dirty and full of holes and on top of that they came to the arena in windbreakers.”
Meanwhile, Edmonton manager Leo LeClerc fired back, choosing as his target the 3,800-seat Hamilton Forum: "This place looks like a converted factory chimney.”
LeClerc wanted to play all the games in Maple Leaf Gardens. As he said: "You don't play the Grey Cup in a cow pasture.”
No matter. It was off to Guelph.
Guelph hadn't seen a Memorial Cup game since 1952 so Memorial Gardens was given a real facelift prior to Game 2 on May 1.
Dutton was out with a broken nose; Beaudin took his place.
And Beaudin scored once, but it wasn't enough as the Red Wings posted a 4-2 victory before about 3,000 fans.
The Oil Kings, despite being outshot 40-18, were in the game until the last five minutes when MacDonald scored the game's final goal. It was his fourth goal of the series and came via the power play.
Edmonton's John Lesyshen scored the game's first goal, but John Gofton tied it before the period ended. Martin scored the only goal of the second period.
Beaudin tied it for Edmonton three minutes into the third period. But Hamilton won it with goals from Menard, at 3:34, and MacDonald, at 15:20.
A newly formed line featuring Butch Paul between Marc Dufour, a late addition from Brandon, and Beaudin sparked the Oil Kings to a 5-3 victory in front of 3,175 fans in Game 3 in Guelph.
Beaudin scored twice, with Dufour, Harold Fleming and Bourbonnais adding one each. Harris, Rivers and Martin scored for Hamilton.
The Red Wings scored the game's first two goals, but Edmonton tied it 2-2 before the second period ended.
Hamilton took a 3-2 lead early in the third, only to have Beaudin tie it. Beaudin scored the winner at 1:41 and Bourbonnais iced it with an empty-net goal at 18:52.
"Edmonton played much better and we were due for a letdown,” Bush said. "The whole team had it all at once and I hope they got it out of their system.”
Across the way, Brayshaw felt his club was finally back in gear.
“They played more like the club that won the western championship,” he said. "If we play that well again (in Game 4) this could be a long series yet.”
By now, people were speculating that attendance was down because the game was being televised in the Toronto-Hamilton-Guelph-Kitchener area by CHCH-TV of Hamilton.
On May 5, the Red Wings moved to within one game of the championship, winning 3-0 in Guelph as Blom posted the shutout.
Hamilton scored two power-play goals 36 seconds apart in the third period, at 9:45 and 10:21, to put this one away.
MacDonald had the game's first goal, at 4:38 of the second period. He got his second in the third, with Martin scoring the other.
Hamilton used Peters, Heiskala and Rivers to check Paul, Dufour and Beaudin and the strategy worked as Edmonton was kept off the board.
The series shifted to Kitchener for Game 5 and Brayshaw promised changes -- Beaudin would play with Vince Downey and Bourbonnais; Dufour moved onto a line with Sather and Paul; the third line would feature Fleming, Dutton and Gregg Pilling.
The Red Wings had all but given up on having one of their stars, Larry Ziliotto, in the lineup. He missed the first three games with a foot injury, then tried to play in Game 4. But he collapsed on the bench during the game and again in the dressing room after the game. So Bush was considering dressing Jack Wildfong. In the end, he dressed both and sat out defenceman Bob Hamilton.
By now, the CAHA had gotten around to announcing that Games 6 and 7, if needed, would also be played in Kitchener.
"We played well enough to win (Game 4) but we didn't score,” Brayshaw said. "If we play that way we should take (Game 5). The breaks have got to come our way some time soon.”
Brayshaw also took a shot at the officiating.
"We need men who have refereed this type of hockey before,” he said. "The man we have (Gord Kerr of Winnipeg) is from Manitoba and he just hasn't been handling hockey played this way. We would have been satisfied with an OHA man even before the series started.”
There were 7,071 fans in the Kitchener Arena as Hamilton posted a 7-4 victory to win the championship.
The crowd greeted every score, according to The Canadian Press, "with a barrage of programs and other debris, and on one occasion a bottle of green ink, causing numerous delays in the contest.”
In the end, everyone was left talking about fights among spectators and "a bitter fistic battle involving Hamilton coach Eddie Bush, Howie Young, a former defenceman with the Detroit Red Wings, and Detective Sergeant Charles Bignell of the Kitchener police department.”
The CP report continued: "Young was taken away by police. Bignell, bleeding about the face, was carried on a stretcher to the first aid room and later removed to hospital.”
The game took three hours 15 minutes to play which, at the time, was believed to be a record for a Memorial Cup game that ended in regulation time.
MacDonald and Rivers scored twice for Hamilton, with singles coming from Menard, Martin and Henderson. Dufour, Bourbonnais, Paul and Downey scored for Edmonton.
Henderson and MacDonald gave Hamilton a 2-0 first-period lead. Dufour, Bourbonnais and Paul gave Edmonton a 3-2 edge by 13:22 of the second, only to have Martin tie it before the period ended.
Menard, MacDonald and Rivers struck for consecutive goals when the third period opened, before Downey cut the deficit to 6-4 at 14:55. Rivers wrapped it up with an empty-netter at 19:38.
The Memorial Cup-winning goal was MacDonald's second of the game at 8:40 of the third period.
The gross gate of $16,402 was a record for a single hockey game in the Kitchener Arena.
And now Edmonton had lost in all six of its trips to the Memorial Cup final.

NEXT: 1963 (Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Niagara Falls Flyers)

Smith still in the mix

By GREGG DRINNAN

Daily News Sports Editor

Craig Bonner, the general manager of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, has admitted to being most impressed with Barry Smith.

Smith, it seems, is quite impressed with Kamloops and the Blazers.

“I think it’s a great spot,” Smith told Jeff Paterson of Vancouver radio station Team 1040, “with the ownership group that’s in there, with Craig Bonner, a young general manager who I think is a real up and comer . . . I think that is a great spot to start in the Western Hockey League or any major junior (league).

“They’re looking to get back to past glory where they’ve been before and I think it would be a real (good) spot to be.”

Yes, Smith told Paterson, a former radio voice of the Blazers, he is quite interested in becoming the Blazers’ next head coach.

“Yes I am. I am,” Smith said “At this point . . . I’d like to be a head coach. Obviously, at some point I’d like to get back to the National Hockey League, as a head coach.”

Smith spent the last five years on the staff of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. He and fellow assistant Mike Kelly were fired by the Canucks last week.

“From where I am at I’m going to have to go back to the American league or major junior, the Western league, and be a head coach and prove myself before I can move back up the ladder in that way,” Smith said. “So I am definitely interested there.”

The Blazers’ new ownership group fired Dean Clark, the general manager and head coach, on Nov. 7. He was replaced by interim head coach Greg Hawgood. Hawgood is expected to be an assistant coach under the new head coach.

Smith, a 47-year-old native of Stambaugh, Mich., lives in Whitefish, Mont. He and his wife, Carolyn, have three sons.

Smith has been coaching since 1992-93 when he was an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Erie Panthers. He was an assistant there for three seasons and was the team’s head coach in 1995-96. He had his only stint in junior hockey in 1996-97, as the head coach of the USHL’s Waterlook Blackhawks. He then spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Baton Rouge Kingfish before joining the Canucks’ organization.

With the Canucks, he worked as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, the IHL’s Kansas City Blades and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose before joining the big club.

Asked by Paterson if he felt an announcement out of Kamloops was imminent, Smith replied: “No, I don’t think so. I think they’ve got a little bit more of a process to go through.

“I think they want to be fairly thorough. Again, it’s hurry up and wait.”

Smith is spending the weekend waiting and fishing . . . in Alaska.

Bonner said Friday afternoon that Smith “is still in the mix.”

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

The Memorial Cup: A history . . . 1961

1961 MEMORIAL CUP
Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Toronto St. Michael's Majors
at Edmonton (Gardens)

Toronto St. Mike's, led by defencemen Terry O'Malley, the team captain, and Barry MacKenzie, two players who would become household names with Canada's national team, swept the Moncton Beavers -- 11-2, 6-2 and 11-2 -- in the East's best-of-five final.
That put St. Mike's into the final for the first time in 14 years. And it was on to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings in the Memorial Cup final.
Coached by Father David Bauer, the Toronto team featured the Draper twins, Bruce and Dave, along with the likes of Larry Keenan, Arnie Brown, Billy MacMillan, Terry Clancy, the son of longtime NHLer King Clancy, and goaltender Gerry Cheevers. During the regular season, Cheevers had spent eight games playing on left wing. He never scored a goal, but did pick up one assist.
The Oil Kings, of coach Buster Brayshaw, had won 16 of 19 playoff games against the Lethbridge Native Sons, Trail Smoke Eaters, Regina Pats and Winnipeg Rangers.
Edmonton added defenceman Ken Stephanson from Winnipeg and Brandon centre Bryan Hextall but Brayshaw said he would only use them in the event of trouble.
Don Chiz was particularly hot for Edmonton, having scored what was then a Canadian record 29 playoff goals. But, of late, he was bothered by a sore groin.
The series opened in Edmonton Gardens on April 25. Cheevers, a 20-year-old from St. Catharines, blocked 17 shots in posting a 4-0 shutout in front of 6,674 fans.
Bruce and Dave Draper, Keenan and Andre Champagne scored for St. Mike's, which scored twice in each of the second and third periods. Paul Sexsmith in the Edmonton goal stopped 24 shots.
"He's all they said he was,” Father Bauer said of Sexsmith. "I thought we should have been ahead 3-0 by the end of the first period but for him.”
Edmonton manager Leo LeClerc assured all who would listen that the Oil Kings "could not be that bad again.”
He was right. The next time out the Oil Kings scored one goal.
Toronto won the second game 4-1 in front of 6,112 fans on April 27.
Clancy scored twice as Toronto held period leads of 1-0 and 4-1. Tom Burgess scored Edmonton's goal at 13:25 of the third period, stopping Cheevers' shutout string at 113 minutes and 25 seconds. Cheevers stopped 31 shots, seven more than Sexsmith.
Hextall and Stephanson were both in the lineup for Edmonton, while regular forwards Owen Malley and Vince Downey were left out.
"I expect to win (Game 3) and with any sort of breaks at all we're going to make this a rough series yet,” stated Brayshaw, who added that forward Dave Richardson, a teammate of Stephanson's with the Rangers, would dress for Game 3.
St. Mike's was expected to have Sonny Osborne, one of its big guns in the playoffs, in the lineup. A University of Toronto student, he had been at home writing exams.
Still, Father Bauer wasn't expecting a sweep.
"No, no,” he said. "They're much too good a team for that.”
Brayshaw was upset that his big guns had been performing more like pop guns.
"Big guns who aren't doing anything aren't much good to you in a series like this,” he said.
Chiz scored 30 goals in 30 regular-season games and added 29 in 28 playoff games. Dennis Kassian had 29 regular-season goals, while Bobby Cox had 29 playoff assists. But they hadn't done much in Games 1 and 2.
On April 29, before 6,500 fans, St. Mike's pushed the Oil Kings to the edge with a 4-2 victory.
Osborne scored three goals and set up the fourth, by Keenan. Hextall and Chiz scored for Edmonton, which trailed 1-0 and 2-1 at the period breaks.
Cheever was brilliant again. This time he made 27 saves, five more than Sexsmith.
"It's hard to believe we could play like we have in the last two games and be three games down,” Brayshaw said. "They gave their best, but it wasn't enough.
"Win, lose or draw, I'm proud of every one of them.”
The Oil Kings prolonged the inevitable on May 1 when they scored a 5-4 victory before 4,864 fans.
Burgess, Richardson, Larry Lund, Bob Marik and Roger Bourbonnais scored for Edmonton. St. Mike's got goals from Clancy, Paul Conlin, Keenan and Bruce Draper.
The scoreless first-period was highlighted by a collision between Burgess and Cheevers after which the latter left the ice for repairs to his face.
He would return to make 27 stops. Sexsmith stopped 32 shots.
"We've certainly got our backs to the wall,” Brayshaw said, "but we looked a bit more like the old Oil Kings and if we carry on this way St. Mike's are in for a good series.”
Father Bauer credited the Oil Kings, saying: "From the coach out, they wanted to win more.”
The Oil Kings continued along the comeback trail on May 3 as they won 4-2 before 6,114 fans.
Kassian finally got untracked, scoring twice. Singles came from Chiz and Richardson. Bruce Draper and Champagne scored for St. Mike's.
Sexsmith, a 20-year-old out of Winnipeg, was superb in stopping 36 shots. Cheevers blocked 19 shots.
"We have no false illusions,” Brayshaw said. "We know it will take plenty of hard work but Sexsmith is our meal ticket. If he's hot, we just might force this series to seven games.”
Father Bauer, 36, praised Sexsmith, too: "You might say that Paul was great ... he handled everything we could throw at him.”
It ended on May 5 with St. Mike's scoring a 4-2 victory before 7,159 fans.
Jack Cole, Bruce Draper, Conlin and Champagne scored for the winners. Hextall and Lund replied for Edmonton.
Cole scored the only goal of the first period, at 2:47. Hextall tied the score at 9:44 of the second, before Draper, at 12:07, and Conlin, at 15:25, gave Toronto a 3-1 lead going into the third.
Champagne upped that to 4-1 at 13:15 before Lund cut it to 4-2 at 18:11.
Conlin's goal stood up as the Memorial Cup-winning score.
This was St. Mike's fifth Memorial Cup appearance. It now had won four championships, one more than the Toronto Marlboros, Oshawa Generals and Winnipeg Monarchs.
It was the fifth straight loss for Edmonton in the national final.
The east now held a 26-17 edge in Memorial Cup championships, including 14-5 since 1943 when the present best-of-seven format was adopted.

NEXT: 1962 (Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Hamilton Red Wings)

Thursday notes . . .

RW Juuso Puustinen, who spent the last two seasons with the Kamloops Blazers, will spend 2008-09 playing in Finland. Puustinen, who turned 20 on April 5, was selected by the Flames in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2006 draft but has yet to sign with Calgary. The deadline to sign 2006 draft picks is Sunday. . . . "We drafted him out of Europe," Flames GM Darryl Sutter told Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald. "We decided, between the two of us, that he'd play there again this year. Our feeling is that we should still have his rights. We're still waiting on that, but we think that's going to happen.”
---
In case you missed it, the QMJHL will open its 2008-09 season on Sept. 11 when the defending-champion Gatineau Olympiques play host to the Victoriaville Tigers. And, yes, the entire schedule is already available on the QMJHL website. . . .
---
The QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles have promoted assistant coach Mario Durocher, 44, to GM/head coach. Durocher, who spent the last two seasons on their staff, has head-coaching experience with QMJHL teams in Victoriaville, Sherbrooke, Lewiston and Acadie-Bathurst. He was Victoriaville’s head coach in 2002 when the Tigres lost 6-3 to the Kootenay Ice in the Memorial Cup final in Guelph. . . . Durocher replaces Pascal Vincent, who bolted for the Montreal Juniors (formerly the St. John’s Fog Devils) with a year left on his contract.
---
That would seem to be an interesting situation involving Wayne Fleming, who is under contract to the Calgary Flames but seems ticketed to the Dinamo team that will play out of Minsk in the new Continental Hockey League. In fact, Garth MacBeth reports that according to the team’s website, Fleming is scheduled to arrive in Minsk on Friday for contract talks “with club general director Vladimir Goncharov.” As well, a press conference has been scheduled for Monday at the offices of the Belarus Ice Hockey Association. Fleming is an assistant under head coach Glen Hanlon with the Belarussian national team. . . . Fleming also is expected to take part in Saturday’s opening of an arena in the Minski suburb of Bobruisk. The opening will feature an opening game that will include the likes of Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, as well as former NHLers Timo Blomqvist, Alexei Kasatonov, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Glenn Anderson, Cliff Ronning, Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov, Esa Tikkanen and Andrei Kovalenko. . . . Commenting on speculation that Fleming had accepted the head-coaching job with Dinamo Minsk, Calgary GM Darryl Sutter told the Calgary Herald: “I don’t know if there’s any validity to that.” Fleming, however, does have an out in his Flames contract. "We give him the same out as we give everybody else -- if they have a chance to move up, I'm not going to hold anybody back. If they feel it's a move up the ladder, then fine. We just put a deadline on it and see where it takes us." . . . At one time during the 2007-08 season, Fleming was one of the people the Kamloops Blazers’ ownership group had hoped might be interested in coaching their club. . . .
---
I have a feeling this Continental Hockey League is going to cause some big league headaches on this side of the pond before all is said and done.

The Memorial Cup: A history . . . 1960

1960 MEMORIAL CUP
Edmonton Oil Kings vs. St. Catharines Teepees
at St. Catharines (Garden City Arena) and Toronto (Maple Leaf Gardens)

Leo LeClerc, the manager of the Edmonton Oil Kings, was concerned from the outset.
"You've got to be 25 per cent better than the opposition in order to win out here and we just haven't got it,” he said.
LeClerc's Oil Kings were preparing to meet the St. Catharines Teepees in the best-of-seven Memorial Cup final.
The series would open in St. Catharines and then shift to Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens.
"In order to win at the other end of the country you've got to have a powerhouse,” LeClerc continued. "I figure we have to be 25 per cent better, at least, and after watching that St. Catharines club in action I'm very doubtful.”
Was he blowing smoke? Only time would tell.
The Teepees, who were in last place in their league at Christmas and went on to finish fourth, had taken eight games to sideline the Brockville Canadians in the eastern final. The Oil Kings ousted the Flin Flon Bombers in six games and then took seven games to sideline the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Coached by Max Kaminsky, the Teepees featured the likes of goaltender Roger Crozier, captain Chico Maki, Vic Hadfield and Ray Cullen.
The Teepees got their name from their sponsor -- Thompson Products, a firm that manufactured automotive and aircraft parts.
The Oil Kings, of coach Harry Allen, were led by Ed Joyal, Cliff Pennington, Bruce MacGregor and Dunc McCallum, an addition from Brandon. Rookie Larry Lund, an 18-year-old sensation, wouldn't play due to a damaged knee.
Pennington, a pickup from Flin Flon, paid dividends in the opener on April 27. He got the winning goal at 11:40 of the third period as Edmonton won the first game, 5-3.
The hero, however, was Oil Kings' goaltender Russ Gillow. Cut for eight stitches over the left eye early in the game, Gillow returned to turn in a sparkling 35-save performance.
"This guy Gillow is the best goalkeeper the Teepees have faced all season,” offered Chicago Blackhawks coach Rudy Pilous, who owned and managed the Teepees.
The teams were tied 1-1 after one period, with Edmonton taking a 2-1 lead into the third.
MacGregor, with two, Joyal, and Bob Cox scored for Edmonton. St. Catharines got goals from Terry McGuire, Cullen and Maki.
The series moved to Toronto with the Teepees evening it up with a 6-2 victory in Maple Leaf Gardens on April 29.
The Oil Kings had to start goaltender Dale Gaume, who had hardly played in the last month, when Gillow experienced swelling around his left eye.
Defenceman Bill Speer scored twice for the Teepees, with singles coming from Duke Harris, Cullen, Bill Ives and Doug Robinson. Joyal had both Edmonton goals.
Gaume made 32 saves and was steady but the Teepees controlled the play. Crozier blocked 30 shots in front of 5,833 fans as his mates skated to period leads of 3-1 and 6-1.
"We played better in St. Catharines and lost,” offered Kaminsky after Game 2.
Two nights later, on May 1, there were 10,666 fans in Maple Leaf Gardens as the Teepees buried the Oil Kings, 9-1.
This was the largest crowd to see a Memorial Cup game since the Toronto St. Michael's Majors and Winnipeg Monarchs played a seven-game series in 1946.
"Too many things went wrong out there for us,” Allen said. "Our club has been up and down all year and I think we're at the bottom right now.
"But before this thing ends, St. Catharines will know they were in a series.”
The Teepees fired 54 shots at Gillow, scoring their first goal 42 seconds into the game and taking a 3-0 lead into the second period. They led 7-1 after two.
"I could hardly see out of my eye,” Gillow said. "Only two of those St. Catharines goals were good. The others were flukes.”
Cullen scored twice and set up two others, while Murray Hall also had two goals. Defenceman Pat Stapleton had a goal and two assists. Speer, Harris, Maki and John Brenneman also scored.
Left-winger Bobby Goebel, plagued by a groin injury in recent weeks, scored Edmonton's goal.
The Oil Kings roared back on May 3 to hammer the Teepees 9-3 before 2,344 fans in a game that featured plenty of rough play and fighting.
"When players try to maim other players there's something wrong with the management or the coach,” Allen said. "I can't believe Max Kaminsky would do that. It must have come from higher up.”
LeClerc said: "Junior players just don't play like that. They must be sent out. Our players have sticks, too, but we play hockey.”
The biggest concern to the Oil Kings was the condition of defenceman Wayne Muloin. He had been hit on the head by Maki's stick and needed five stitches to close the gash.
Game 5 was played on May 6 and for the third game in a row the winning team scored nine goals. This time it was the Teepees and they won 9-6 in front of 4,014 fans.
Gillow stopped 47 shots, while Crozier made 21 saves and that tells the tale.
Stapleton and Cullen had two goals each for the winners, with singles from Robinson, Ives, Carlo Longarini, Chico Maki and Hall. Maki also had four assists. Pennington scored twice for the Oil Kings, who got one each from MacGregor, Goebel, Don Chiz and Cox.
"They outhustled us,” Allen said. "But Sunday will be another game.”
It was that but the outcome was the same as the Teepees won the Memorial Cup.
St. Catharines won 7-3 in a game that featured brilliant goaltending by Gillow and Crozier.
The Teepees led 2-0 after the first period, on goals by Cullen and Ives, and took a 3-0 lead into the third after McGuire had the second period's lone goal.
Cox got Edmonton on the board only to have Robinson reply for St. Catharines at 7:12. Joyal cut the deficit to 4-2 but that was as close as the Oil Kings would get.
Maki, Harris and Robinson scored in a span of less than three minutes before Pennington ended the scoring at 17:37.
Robinson's first goal, at 7:12 of the third, stood up as the Memorial Cup-winning score.
The Teepees now were a perfect 2-for-2 in Memorial Cup appearances. They had beaten the Oil Kings in five games in their only other appearance, that in 1954.

NEXT: 1961 (Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Toronto St. Michael's Majors)

Bourdon killed

From tsn.ca . . .

Vancouver Canucks defenceman Luc Bourdon has been killed in a motorcycle accident in northern New Brunswick. He was 21. Bourdon, a promising young defenceman who played his junior hockey with the Moncton Wildcats, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and Val d'Or Foreurs of the QMJHL, split his first pro season in 2007-08 between Vancouver and the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose.

Bonner hunting for coach

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Four down.
One, maybe two, to go.
Craig Bonner, the general manager of the Kamloops Blazers, is in charge of
the hockey side of the only WHL team presently without a head coach.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, Bonner had interviewed four candidates for
the position.
“I’m going to talk to one more for sure . . . maybe two,” Bonner said. “I’d
like to think in the next couple of weeks, three weeks at the most, we’ll
have a guy in place.
“I’m looking forward to moving on with the coaching.”
One of the candidates with whom Bonner has spoken is Barry Smith, a veteran
coach who was fired last week by the Vancouver Canucks. A 47-year-old native
of Stambaugh, Mich., Smith had been an assistant coach with the NHL team for
five years.
“His name has come up,” Bonner said. “He’s an interesting guy. . . . He has
great references.”
Bonner said he has been most impressed with the first four candidates to go
through the interview process.
“There are good candidates and I’m comfortable that we’re going to have a
good guy in place,” he said. “Most guys share the same message and say the
things we want to hear and we want done. It’s just a matter of figuring out
which guy is going to do everything that they are saying.
“I’m comfortable with the guys so far.”
The Blazers went into last season with Dean Clark as their general manager
and head coach. He was dismissed Nov. 7 and former defenceman Greg Hawgood
stepped in as interim head coach. The Blazers finished 27-41-2-2 and were
swept from the first round of the playoffs by the Tri-City Americans.
Overall, Kamloops lost 18 of its last 19 games.
Hawgood is expected to remain on the staff as an assistant coach.
While Bonner has been looking for a head coach, he also has been reshaping
other parts of the hockey operation.
Late Tuesday, he announced that Doris Rubel and her daugher, Karen, will
serve as the team’s billet co-ordinators, replacing Sherlane and Wally
Reutlinger, who had been put in place by Clark.
Doris Rubel was the billet co-ordinator when Bonner played and coached with
the Blazers.
“I was excited to get Doris back and that was nothing against (the
Reutlingers),” Bonner said. “I worked with (Doris) . . . and I’m comfortable
with her.”
Bonner said it was “the same” with Gord Loiselle, the director of player
personnel who was fired last week. Loiselle had been hired by Clark last
summer.
“I like Gord,” Bonner said. “It’s just that he’s not my guy.”
It’s expected that Matt Recchi eventually will fill that spot.
“He’s up there,” Bonner said of Recchi. “I trust him and I know he’s going
to work his (butt) off.”
Bonner hasn’t spoken with Recchi, who scouts for the Pittsburgh Penguins,
and isn’t expected to until after the NHL draft, which goes June 20-21 in
Ottawa.
As for the Blazers’ scouting staff, Bonner said he has contacted all of them
either personally or by e-mail. He has asked all of them to “put some
thought into whether you want to remain with the team.”
“Obviously,” he added, “that is going to be up to the new head (scout). . .
. But no one has called me and said ‘I’m out.’ “

p p p

If you tried to access the Blazers’ website yesterday, chances are you got
this message: “This website is currently being updated, please check back
later, thanks.”
It turns out that hackers got into the website, so the Blazers shut it down.
“It was hacked and our people behind the scenes are working on restoring it
as soon as possible,” Kirk Fraser, the Blazers’ media man, explained.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

Celebrating The Chiefs

At its meeting Tuesday, Spokane City Council and Mayor Mary Verner proclaimed May 25-31 as Spokane Chiefs Hockey Appreciation Week.
(It's worth noting that Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr lost the bet so will wear a Chiefs' jersey at that city's council meeting on June 9.)
Anyway . . . here's the Spokane proclamation:
WHEREAS, The City of Spokane is home to the Spokane Chiefs Major Junior Hockey League team; and
WHEREAS, the Spokane Chiefs Hockey Team is comprised of a unique group of individuals whose hard work, dedication, passion, teamwork and character exemplify the spirit and heart of the city they represent; and
WHEREAS, the Chiefs players visit local pediatric wards during the season spreading goodwill as a part of giving back to the community; and
WHEREAS, with Head Coach Bill Peters at the helm, the Chiefs set a franchise record by winning 50 games and amassing 107 points at the end of the regular season, and beat the fourth-ranked Tri City Americans, the fifth-ranked Vancouver Giants and the
10th ranked Lethbridge Hurricanes in winning the Western Hockey League Championship and
advancing to the Memorial Cup; and
WHEREAS, thanks to an unbeaten 4-0 record in the Memorial Cup Tournament, the Spokane Chiefs are the 2008 Memorial Cup Champions!; and
WHEREAS, it is right to acknowledge the cause for excitement that has infused our city and the positive impact to our region because of the accomplishments of this dynamic ice hockey team:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mary B. Verner, Mayor of the City of Spokane, on behalf of the citizens of Spokane do hereby proclaim the week of May 25 through May 31, 2008, as

SPOKANE CHIEFS HOCKEY APPRECIATION WEEK

and encourage citizens to join me in congratulating the very best Major Junior Hockey League team by showing their appreciation and continuing their support of our local sports professionals.

I, Mary B. Verner, Mayor of Spokane, do hereunto set my hand and
cause the seal of the City of Spokane to be affixed this 27th day of May in 2008.

Mary B. Verner
Mayor

The Memorial Cup: A history . . . 1959

1959 MEMORIAL CUP
Winnipeg Braves vs. Peterborough TPT Petes
at Winnipeg (Arena) and Brandon (Wheat City Arena)

Scotty Bowman, who would go on to an amazingly successful career as a National Hockey League coach (and sometimes general manager) with the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, was back in the Memorial Cup final in the spring of 1959.
It was Bowman's third straight appearance in the national junior final.
He was an assistant coach with the Ottawa Canadiens when they lost to the Flin Flon Bombers in 1957. That year, the final was played in the west.
And he was back as an assistant coach with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens in 1958 when, playing the series in Hull and Ottawa, they beat the Regina Pats.
This time around, the final would be played in the west and Bowman, 26, was the head coach of the Peterborough TPT Petes, so named because of a major sponsor -- Toronto-Peterborough Transport.
The Petes were in their third season in Peterborough, having moved over from Kitchener. They finished seventh in a seven-team league their first season there, then moved up to fifth the following season under coach Teeder Kennedy. They finished second under Bowman.
The game of hockey was slowly changing, witness the fact that Peterborough defenceman Barclay Plager set a club record with 252 penalty minutes. People were starting to pay attention to that kind of stuff. Plager's record, by the way, would last until 1972-73 when it was broken by Bob Neely.
The Petes were captained by Bill Mahoney, who would later take a turn at coaching the Minnesota North Stars in 1982-83. Unfortunately, a broken ankle suffered against Hull-Ottawa -- in an eastern final that featured two Montreal Canadiens' farm clubs -- kept him out of this Memorial Cup final.
Wayne Connelly, a 19-year-old right winger, was Peterborough's leading scorer, with 36 goals and 90 points. He went into the Memorial Cup with 15 goals and 31 points in 26 playoff games. With Mahoney gone, Connelly played alongside centre Larry Babcock and left-winger George Montague.
Gary Darling, with 15 goals in 26 playoff games, centred Wayne Boddy and Freddy Dart, with Pat Casey, Tom Clark and Bob Rivard the other forwards. With Mahoney injured, Darling also served as captain.
The roster also included goaltender Denis Dejordy, who was added from the St. Catharines Teepees when Jacques Caron went down with a hip injury against Hull-Ottawa. On defence, the Petes had Plager, Tom Thurlby, Jim Roberts, Larry Kish and Chuck Hamilton, a converted forward.
The OHA final would last eight games that year. It featured Peterborough and the St. Michael's Majors from the Irish Catholic school in Toronto. St. Mike's posted two victories and three ties in the first five games and needed just one more tie to wrap it up. But the Petes wouldn't let that happen -- they won the last three games and the series.
Hull-Ottawa was a force again, and it advanced to the eastern final by swatting aside the Quebec Baronets, 8-1 and 6-0.
The eastern Canadian final lasted seven games, with Peterborough winning four, losing two and tying one. The Baby Habs won the first two (5-2 and 4-1), Game 3 ended in a 2-2 tie, and Peterborough won the next four games (5-2, 6-2, 2-1 and 2-1).
Out of the west rode the Winnipeg Braves.
They were managed by Bill Addison, later the genial long-time commissioner of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, and coached by Bill Allum. Allum was a longtime minor pro defenceman, who had done time in the American Hockey League cities of Buffalo, Philadelphia, Cleveland and St. Louis. He had also had a couple of cups of coffee in the NHL with the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers.
Allum replaced the legendary Harry Neil as the Braves' coach during the 1957-58 season. That was the Braves' first season after Neil had put the organization together. Unfortunately, Neil died one day in November, shortly after a practice session.
Winnipeg featured Laurie Langrell, its leading scorer with 42 goals (including one six-goal game) and 63 points. Ernie Wakely was the goaltender and he was supported by the likes of Rene Brunel, Ted Green (an addition from the St. Boniface Canadiens), Doug Monro, Lew Mueller, Howie Hughes (another pickup from St. Boniface who would start the series as Connelly's shadow), Al LeBlanc, Gary Bergman, Bobby Leiter, and captain Wayne Larkin (who would die at the age of 29 on Sept. 10, 1968, after suffering a heart attack at the New York Rangers’ training camp in Kitchener). They also added right-winger Don Atamanchuk from the Transcona Rangers.
When the Memorial Cup opened, Allum had Leiter between Langrell and LeBlanc, the latter from Campbellton, N.B.; Hughes between Larkin and Atamanchuk; and, Brunel with Pat Angers and Al Baty. First-year player Ken King was the extra forward.
It's also worth noting that Braves fans, and there were lots of them, were able to follow their boys through play-by-play man (Cactus) Jack Wells on Winnipeg radio station CKY.
After bouncing St. Boniface in the MJHL final, the Braves ousted the Fort William Canadiens in five games, winning the opener (9-4), losing the second game (3-1) and then taking three in a row (4-3, 5-1 and 3-1).
At the same time, Flin Flon was sweeping the Edmonton Oil Kings -- 6-3, 8-3, 10-1 and 11-6.
The western final for the Abbott Cup lasted six games. The Braves fell behind by two games, losing 5-1 and 7-4, before roaring back to win four in a row -- 5-2, 6-4, 5-1 and 3-0. Wakely shone in that last game, stopping 37 shots before 9,018 fans, believed to be the largest crowd to witness a junior game in western Canada.
The Braves promptly added three players from St. Boniface to their roster -- left-winger Jerry Kruk, goaltender Paul Sexsmith and centre Johnny Rodger.
The Braves were the first MJHL team to win the west since St. Boniface did it in the spring of 1953. (Remember that Flin Flon played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.)
"It's got to be hustle, hustle, hustle if we're going to win,” Allum said. "I don't know anything about this Peterborough team, but they must be pretty good to beat Hull-Ottawa. But we've got a pretty good team, too.”
The keys for Winnipeg as the series opened: 1. The Braves were counting on Hughes to stifle Connelly, just like he did to Flin Flon ace Cliff Pennington; and, 2. Wakely, the 157-pound goaltender, had to be at the top of his game.
The series was to open in Winnipeg on April 24.
At a practice on April 23, Bowman commented on the ice in the Winnipeg Arena.
"It's the best ice we've been on,” he said. Which is somewhat ironical considering the Winnipeg Arena would later become known for its poor ice.
Only 6,239 fans showed up for Game 1, thanks to a heavy, wet snowfall that plugged city streets. Those who couldn't make it missed a hard-hitting, fast-skating game which the Petes won, 5-4.
Peterborough trailed 1-0 after one period but scored four straight second-period goals and took a 4-3 lead into the third.
Boddy made it 5-3 at 1:06, before Langrell scored the game's last goal at 12:27.
Bergman had the only goal of the first period. Babcock, Thurlby, Rivard and Babcock again sent the Petes out front in the second, but Langrell and LeBlanc cut the deficit by two in the last 1:07 of the second period.
The Petes took seven of the 11 penalties handed out, with Plager getting four -- three minors and a misconduct, the latter for joining in a fight between Larkin and Darling.
The Braves tied the series on April 26, posting a 5-2 victory before 9,171 fans.
"Braves showed some of the speed up front that won them the western title as they beat the Petes to the puck while their defence and goalie Ernie Wakely left little to be desired,” reported The Canadian Press.
Langrell scored twice for the second straight game, while Winnipeg got singles from Leiter, Brunel and Angers. Tom Clark and Thurly replied for the Petes.
Leiter and Brunel gave the Braves a 2-0 first-period lead, before Clark and Langrell traded second-period goals. Angers and Langrell upped Winnipeg's lead to 5-1 before Thurlby closed out the scoring late in the third.
"All our forwards have got to check harder and we've got to start shooting better,” Bowman said. "We've been missing too many opportunities.”
Bowman also admitted the Petes were going to have to stop the Braves' ‘L' line -- Leiter, Langrell and LeBlanc had six goals and eight assists between them -- but, he said, "I'm not going to send any particular line against them.”
"Mahoney could have done the job,” Bowman said of his injured captain. "We really miss him.”
As for Connelly not having scored yet, Bowman said: "He's a streaker. He goes hot and cold. At one stage, he went nine games without scoring and then hit five in a row.”
The Braves went up two games to one on April 28, blowing a 2-0 lead before prevailing 5-2 before 7,939 fans.
Langrell had his third straight two-goal game, while Larkin also scored twice. LeBlanc got the Braves' other goal. Rivard and Boddy scored for the Petes.
Langrell and Larkin scored in the first period and the teams played a scoreless middle frame. Rivard, at 1:16, and Boddy, at 7:54, tied it in the third period, only to have Larkin get what turned into the winner just 15 seconds later. LeBlanc followed with a goal at 9:44 and Langrell wrapped it up at 17:12.
After the game, Ron Campbell wrote in the Regina Leader-Post: "For a Canadian final, the action left much to be desired and if it is any indication of things to come (both clubs are two of the weakest overall to have reached the final in the last decade -- an opinion shared by the experts) the National League will have trouble filling their ranks in the next few years. Without senior hockey the NHL could be in for plenty of grief.”
The Braves took a commanding 3-1 series lead on April 29, winning 5-3 before 8,375 fans.
"What can a guy do?” asked Bowman. "We play our best game of the series and a couple of bad breaks cost us a chance of drawing even.
"The winner was a really tough break. Our boy (Rivard) made a great play and had three of their men trapped. Then on a dubious call (Bowman felt a tripping penalty should have been handed out by referee Len Corriveau of Quebec) the puck bounces right on to the stick of their winger.”
The Braves trailed 2-0 after one period as Roberts and Rivard scored for the Petes. Larkin and Leiter tied it in the second, only to have Montague put Peterborough out front again at 14:11.
Leiter tied it at 7:40 of the third period, Baty got the winner at 15:12 and Larkin iced it at 18:19.
"We'll wrap it up on Friday,” Allum said, referring to Game 5 which would be played on May 1 in Brandon. "They had us on the run in the early stages but the fellows never quit trying and it paid off. You can't let up against them -- they proved it tonight.”
Toe Blake, head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, offered this analysis: "The Petes seemed to back into their own end too often in the final period. Their defence has a bad habit of dropping down on almost every shot and with the wide ice surface here they have trouble recovering.”
Bowman, meanwhile, was upset with Corriveau's work, saying he "called only the glaring trips, never the hooking or boarding.”
But Bowman had cooled off by the next day.
"I guess it wouldn't do any good any way to protest,” he said. "It wouldn't make that much difference to have a change in the referee; my boys will just have to work harder.
"Maybe my outburst will wake (Corriveau) up.”
The Braves wrapped it up on May 1 in the Wheat City Arena, getting three goals from Baty in a 6-2 victory.
Bowman, however, wasn't around for the end.
"The rugged game almost got out of hand in the third period,” reported The Canadian Press, “when coach Scotty Bowman of the Petes was first given a bench penalty for slapping a stick on the boards, then ejected from the rink for pulling out his wallet and appearing to offer money to referee Len Corriveau of Quebec City.”
Atamanchuk, Brunel and Larkin also scored for the Braves, with Darling and Boddy replying for the Petes, who didn't get one goal from Connelly during the entire series.
In giving Winnipeg its first Memorial Cup since the Monarchs won in 1946, the Braves blew a 2-0 lead in the first period before scoring the game's final four goals.
Baty scored at 3:53 and 4:08 of the first period. But the Petes tied it when Darling (7:28) and Boddy (17:09) counted.
Atamanchuk got what proved to be the winner at 3:08 of the second period, with Larkin and Green earning assists. Baty, Larkin and Brunel put it away with third-period goals.
It was the west's 18th Memorial Cup triumph, against 23 for the east.

NEXT: 1960 (Edmonton Oil Kings vs. St. Catharines Teepees)

Society closer to allocating funds in community

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers Sports Society has moved closer to establishing a
legacy fund from the sale of its WHL franchise.
The society's membership, at an extra-ordinary general meeting attended by
about 20 of its 250-plus members at the Coast Canadian Inn on Tuesday, voted
to change its constitution to reflect that it no longer owns and operates
the Blazers.
One of the purposes of the society now is "to oversee the management and
administration of the Kamloops Blazers Sports Society Legacy Fund . . . to
support the development of amateur sport and other community initiatives
withing the Kamloops region through the provision of funds and services."
Another purpose is "to ensure that the Legacy Fund principal is maintained,
save and except in the event of (the society repurchasing the franchise),
and that the allocation process ensures a minimum of 75 per cent of annual
disbursed funds and services is directed to amateur sport."
Society treasurer Dennis Coates reported Jan. 28 that net proceeds from the
sale of the franchise were $6,133,249. The sale to River City Hockey, Inc.,
which now is the Kamloops Blazers Hockey Club, Inc., was completed in late
October.
The society holds an option on the franchise should the owners want to move
the team or sell it to another party that would want to move it. The option
calls for the society to pay the previous purchase price minus 10 per cent,
or about $5.8 million.
For that reason, the society's board will maintain the fund at that level.
In the meantime, the sale is "pretty much complete," society president
Murray Owen said. "We're just paying off the final bills."
For the last while, the society's directors, under the guidance of executive
director Bob Smillie, have worked to establish the legacy fund.
"I'm really pleased that we have built something that has a true purpose for
the comminity," Owen said. "We're still tidying up the allocation process
prior to the first approval of applications."
The next step for the board is to select an investment firm. Owen said six
proposals have been received to date and candidates soon will be
interviewed.
"Then," Owen said, "we will take the next step and invest the money," which
in the interim is in short-term investments.
Ultimately, the society will change its fiscal year, so that it ends on Dec.
31 as opposed to May 31. That done, Owen said, the hope is that the first
allocations will be made early in 2009.
"From what I've seen, there will be quite a number (of applications)," Owen
said, adding that the society already has heard from "half-a-dozen"
organizations, including the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association and the
Kamloops Track and Field Club.
"This is not going to be an easy thing," Owen said. "We want this legacy
fund to provide serious help for projects that will be lasting."
During the meeting, Smillie made it clear that the society's legacy fund
doesn't have any connection with the Kamloops Blazers Sports Foundation,
which also provides grants to local organizations. But, Smillie pointed out,
the society's constitution has been amended in such a way as to accommodate
a merger "if it does happen."
Prior to the meeting, Owen said: "We would welcome them but it is entirely
their decision."
JUST NOTES: The society has added accountant Norm Daley to its board. He
replaces Don Moores. . . . Members approved a $250 fee for anyone wishing to
join the society. There also is an annual $10 membership fee. As of last
night, 73 members had paid their 2008 fee. . . . The society's annual
general meeting will be held in October.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

Blazers sticking to deadline on shares

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
When the Kamloops Blazers Sports Society agreed to sell its WHL franchise to
River City Hockey, Inc., last summer, part of the deal involved the purchase
of shares in the society.
River City Hockey -- now the Kamloops Blazers Hockey Club, Inc. -- said it
would be willing to purchase the shares for the original cost ($1,000) plus
five per cent simple interest from the date the shares were purchased.
Letters dated Nov. 30 and including that offer were sent to shareholders,
who were told they had until Jan. 8 to respond.
"We had everybody respond but 34," Frank Quinn of the Kamloops law firm
Bilkey Quinn, which handled the purchase of shares on behalf of the Blazers,
said Tuesday. "Everybody who responded, responded yes . . . and we paid out
$352,000."
Bernie Deys, who purchased Share Certificate No. 115 on Sept. 25, 1984, is
one of the 34 who didn't respond. Deys winters in the Phoenix area and this
time chose not to have his mail forwarded, deciding, instead, to get
statements, bills and other important information via the Internet.
It was, he said, an attempt to go "paperless." And, besides, he was tired of
all the junk mail that was being forwarded.
When Deys returned to Kamloops in mid-April, he found the offer to purchase
his share for $2,145.48. However, the Jan. 8 deadline had passed.
After talking to people, including society executive director Bob Smillie
and Quinn, both of whom he said told him the deadline had passed and nothing
could be done, Deys wrote a letter to Blazers majority owner Tom Gaglardi.
In the letter, Deys explained his predicament and added:
"As a retired businessman in this community, supporting the Blazers over the
years, having been a season-ticket holder since Day 1 until present, I would
ask that you at least return the original $1,000 to me. Had I been in
Kamloops I would have exercised the option as suggested by the Club."
During the first week in May, Deys said he heard from Angie Mercuri, the
Blazers' office manager.
"She said, 'Unfortunately, you missed the deadline and there's nothing we
can do . . .,' " Deys recalled.
Quinn reiterated that stance yesterday.
"We had 206 people potentially who we had to make an offer to to purchase
shares," he explained. "We gave them five weeks to say yes or no to the
purchase.
"The reason we had to set a time limit is because we had to raise whatever
necessary money to complete that part of the deal. It's a lot of money. Some
of those people were paid almost $3,000."
Quinn said he later heard from two of the 34 who hadn't responded. He said
both people told him pretty much the same thing -- they had been away and
found the offer to purchase when they returned home.
"We've gone back to them," Quinn stated, "and said, 'We have to stick by the
date because otherwise we could find ourselves in a position where if we
indulge you we've got 32 other people we would have to indulge, which would
mean potentially as much as $70,000 or $80,000.'
"We felt we had acted reasonably in doing that. We thought about it quite a
bit. We thought it would probably upset those two individuals but that's
what we thought was a reasonable position."
Yes, Deys is upset.
"I've been a strong supporter of the Blazers all the way through, having
season tickets for all these years and a share," Deys said, "and all of a
sudden you get . . . something . . . saying, 'Screw you.'
"That's the kind of royal treatment you get after being there for so many
years?"
Shortly after hearing from Mercuri, Deys said, he received another letter
from the Blazers. This one included a season-ticket renewal form and included
an invoice for $922 to cover his two tickets.
"I was there from Day 1," Deys said. "It's not the money part, it's how you
deal with people.
"They are looking for more season-ticket holders and, I can tell you right
now, I'm not going to have any more season tickets."

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

More Tuesday notes . . .

The Saskatoon Blades have announced the signings of their first three picks in the WHL’s 2008 bantam draft. Defenceman Duncan Siemens, forward Brent Benson and defenceman Dalton Thrower have all signed player contracts. Siemens, from Sherwood Park, Alta., was the third overall pick in the draft, while Benson, from Dwight McMillan country (Weyburn, Sask.), was the sixth overall selection. Dalton, from Squamish, B.C., was taken 30th overall. . . .
————————
Doris Rubel and her daughter, Kerry, are back with the Kamloops Blazers as the WHL team’s billet co-ordinators.
General manager Craig Bonner made the announcement Tuesday night.
“We are very excited to have them back looking after our billeting,” Bonner said in a release. “They have been a big part of our success over almost 30 years with the Blazers and Junior Oilers . . . so it means a lot to have them back with the organization.”
Doris has been recognized by the Blazers, as a Blazers Legend (builder), and by the WHL, with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Rubels will replace Sherlane and Wally Reutlinger, who had been put in place by former GM/head coach Dean Clark.

Some Tuesday notes . . .

The move has begun. The Seattle Thunderbirds announced Tuesday that they have officially moved their offices to Kent, Wash. They are in temporary facilities until the Kent Event Center is completed, but are well on their way to moving to the new digs. . . .

---

The MacBETH REPORT: Lots of movement in Europe and our man, Garth MacBeth, as usual, is on top of it. . . . F Lauris Darzins (Kelowna) signs with Moscow-based HK MVD Balashikha (Continental Hockey League). He had 17 goals and 17 assists in 32 games for HK Gomel in Belarus this season. . . . Mike Sirant, who played five games with the Calgary Wranglers in 1978-79, has been fired as head coach of the Danish national team. . . . G Rastislav Stana (Moose Jaw/Calgary) has signed with Severstal Cherepovets (Continental Hockey League). He was with Linköping (Sweden Elitserien) last year, posting a 2.76 GAA and a save percentage of .901 in 40 games. . . . F Blake Evans (Spokane/Tri-City/Regina) signs with Vålerenga (Norway Elitserien). He had 16 goals and 33 assists in 36 games with Milan Vipers (Italy Serie A) this season.

F Marian Havel (Vancouver/Swift Current) signs with MHK Dolny Kubin (Slovakia 1.liga). He had 23 goals and 13 assists in 22 games with Garges (France Division 1). . . . F Ryan Gaucher (Saskatoon) signs with Kassel (Germany DEL). He had 11 goals and 32 assists in 38 games for SönderjyskE (Denmark Elitserien). . . . G Jody Lehman (Moose Jaw/Brandon) re-signs with Sheffield Steelers (UK Elite Ice Hockey League). He had a 2.45 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 58 games. . . . D Robby Sandrock (Spokane/Swift Current/Medicine Hat/Kelowna) signs with EC VSV Villach (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had nine goals and 18 assists in 54 games for Wolfsburg (Germany DEL).

F Jade Galbraith (Saskatoon) signs with Nottingham Panthers (UK Elite Ice Hockey League). He had 17 goals and 22 assists in 44 games for EHC Munchen (Germany 2.Bundesliga). . . . Former Portland assistant coach Julius Supler has signed as head coach of Dinamo Riga (Continental Hockey League). . . . G Dusan Salficky (Tri-City) signs with Usti nad Lebem (Czech 1.Liga). He had a 2.49 GAA in 46 games with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Superliga). . . . Wayne Fleming has signed as head coach of Dynamo Minsk (Continental Hockey League). He was an assistant with the Calgary Flames who, as you can see from this story in the Calgary Herald, seem to be in disagreement over whether Fleming has signed.

Glen Hanlon, in addition to his head-coaching position at Jokerit Helsinki next season, has been named the new head coach for the Belarus national team, replacing former Victoria Cougars F Curt Fraser. This is not a new position for Hanlon, as he was Belarus head coach for three years before giving way to Fraser for the past two. Wayne Fleming will be one of his assistant coaches with the national team, in addition to his head coaching duties at Dynamo Minsk. Also on the Belarus staff as an assistant is former Los Angeles and Buffalo F Vladimir Tsyplakov. Both Hanlon and Tsyplakov were with Belarus as assistant coaches at the World Championships earlier this month. . . . D Kevin Seibel (Prince George/Swift Current/Vancouver) signs with HC Appiano in Italy Serie A. He played the past three seasons at UBC.

The Memorial Cup: A history . . . 1958

1958 MEMORIAL CUP
Regina Pats vs. Hull-Ottawa Canadiens
at Ottawa (Auditorium) and Hull (Arena)

Regina, a junior hockey powerhouse in the early part of the century, hadn't won a Memorial Cup since 1930.
Hull-Ottawa -- or Ottawa-Hull -- had never won a national junior title, neither as separate entities nor as a combination. The Canadiens, however, had been to the final the previous spring when they had lost in seven games to the Flin Flon Bombers.
And in 1958 it was the Regina Pats and the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens, both of whom were affiliated with the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, in the best-of-seven Memorial Cup final.
Three members of Hull-Ottawa's front office would go on to become prominent NHL executives -- Lou Passador, later a long-time scout, was on the Canadiens' executive; Sam Pollock was the manager/coach; and, Scotty Bowman was Pollock's assistant.
The Canadiens were loaded with talent, from goaltender Bruce Gamble, who was picked up from the OHA's Guelph Biltmores, to captain Ralph Backstrom and beyond. Also on the roster: Terry Gray, Claude Richard (a younger brother of Maurice and Henri Richard), Bobby Rousseau, Gilles Tremblay and J.C. Tremblay.
Hull-Ottawa also picked up Wally Chevrier from Guelph to replace defenceman Claude Ruel who had lost an eye. Ruel and John Longarini served as the alternate captains.
The Canadiens, who weren't able to find a league in which to play, spent the winter playing exhibition games against senior teams, minor pro teams and some OHA teams.
Their season, then, really was the playoffs.
The eastern playoffs got under way with the Cape Breton All-Stars needing five games to sideline the Buckingham Beavers from a best-of-five series. Cape Breton won the opener 2-1, then lost twice (3-2 and 5-2), before winning 8-2 and 2-1.
Cape Breton then lost to Hull-Ottawa, 18-3 and 12-2, and the rest of the series was cancelled.
The Canadiens then ran up against the Toronto Marlboros of coach Turk Broda and general manager Stafford Smythe. The best-of-seven series went five games, the Marlies winning the third game, 3-1. The other scores: 8-3, 6-0, 4-3 and 9-0. The Baby Habs suffered a major blow in the last game against the Marlies when starry defenceman Andre Tardif suffered a broken arm.
The Pats, however, were no slouches themselves.
Coached by Frank Mario, they were led by the high-scoring line of Billy Hicke, Red Berenson and Joe Lunghamer. Mario used Gord Wilkie with Gary Butler and Jerry Kolb, and had Bill Kelly playing with Billy LeCaine and Max Geisthardt. Also in the lineup: Terry Harper, Aut Erickson, Jerry Serviss (added from the Estevan Bruins), John Palenstein, Dave Balon (he was picked up from the Prince Albert Mintos), goaltender Ken Walters, Emile Gilles (added from Flin Flon), and brothers Bill and Ken Saunders (the former from the Winnipeg Monarchs, the latter from the St. Boniface Canadiens).
Regina met the Edmonton Oil Kings in one western semifinal, winning the best-of-seven series in straight games -- 6-2, 9-7, 3-1 and 2-0. St. Boniface dumped the Fort William Canadians in five games in the other semifinal, losing the middle game 11-3 and winning the others, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 and 10-7.
The Pats then took six games to oust St. Boniface, playing the first three games in Winnipeg and the last three in Regina. Regina went up three games to one -- winning 7-5, losing 8-3, then winning 8-4 and 8-0 -- before St. Boniface forced a sixth game with a 5-2 victory. Regina wrapped it up on April 16 with a 4-0 victory.
The best-of-seven national final would be played in its entirety in the east, with Ottawa and Hull sharing the games.
"The Canadiens may have a little more scoring punch this year but they're weaker defensively compared to last year's team,” well-know sportscaster Tom Foley said before the final started.
With Tardif gone for the series, Pollock was experimenting with Backstrom and Gilles Tremblay on defence.
"The Habs are a free-wheeling bunch,” said Mario. "We're going to have to skate and check like mad if we hope to keep them in tow. Backstrom is the key man. That boy can skate and skate and skate, for three and four minutes at a stretch. But there is going to be tremendous pressure on him. He's their ace and he's expected to produce.”
Mario, though, seemed more concerned with transportation in the nation's capital.
"All the cabbies think they're on the Indianapolis Speedway,” he said. "The guy that took us to the rink this morning slowed down to 60 when he went through a school zone. To make matters worse, it always seems that I get stuck with the death seat (next to the driver). A cabby comforted me today by noting that 80 per cent of all persons killed in auto accidents are seated in the one I was cringing in. When I get in a cab now, I brace myself, shut my eyes and hope for the best.”
The series opened in Ottawa before 4,500 fans on April 25. The Pats won 4-3 behind Ken Walters' goaltending and three goals from Hicke.
"All the boys played a tremendous game out there tonight,” Mario said. "Walters and Hicke were outstanding but so were all the others. They checked and skated hard all the way. It was a fine team effort. I'm really proud of the boys.”
The teams played through a scoreless first period, with Regina getting two goals from Hicke to take a a 2-1 lead into the third. Hicke and Harper upped that to 4-1 before Gray and Billy Carter cut it to 4-3. Backstrom had the Canadiens' other goal.
"The performance by Walters was phenomenal, completely over-shadowing the work of his more publicized rival, Bruce Gamble, at the other end of the rink,” reported the Regina Leader-Post. "Time and again, the lean little goaler came up with spectacular saves to frustrate the efforts of a classy pack of enemy snipers. Walters kicked out 31 shots, while Gamble blocked 19.”
Prior to the game, the Pats were informed the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association had turned down their appeal pertaining to Gamble. The Pats wanted the CAHA to reconsider its decision allowing Gamble to move from Guelph to the Canadiens. The Baby Habs needed a goaltender after their regular puckstopper -- Claude Cyr -- was lost for the season due to illness.
With the Pats up 4-1, according to The Leader-Post, "many of the fanatically partisan cash customers experienced a change of heart and changed their chant from ‘go Habs go' to ‘go Pats go.' But they switched their allegiance once again when the Habs came through with a stirring finish that kept the outcome in doubt until the final whistle.”
The fans proved to be something else. At one point, someone tossed a bathroom plunger at Walters. And one other time a giant firecracker exploded on the ice in front of the Regina goaltender while play was in progress.
"When I heard that explosion in our end, I turned around to see if Kenny was all right,” Harper said later. "For a moment, I thought, ‘Good heavens, somebody just shot our goalie.' “
The Baby Habs evened things up, posting a 4-2 victory before 4,052 fans in Hull on April 27.
"Man, but we were dead out there,” Mario said. "The last thing I told the boys before they took to the ice was that they were going to have to hustle right from the opening faceoff. So what happens? Canadiens rap in four in a row before my boys realize they're in a hockey game. You can't spot any team four goals. It was awful.”
The Pats found themselves down 4-0 before the game was 12 minutes old on goals by Carter (1:35), Gilles Tremblay (2:34), Backstrom (5:39) and Carter again (11:13). Regina's goals came from Berenson, late in the first period, and Hicke, with seven seconds left in the third.
The Pats were outshot, 35-16.
"Sure, we came to life a bit for the last two and a half periods,” continued Mario. "But I can't get that first 10 minutes out of my mind.”
The Pats lost Serviss when he broke a bone in his right hand in the second period. Gilles would be inserted for Game 3.
The Leader-Post's Hank Johnson noted that Pollock was in a "better frame of mind after the game, taking the padlock off his dressing room door.”
"We should have kept pouring the coal to them but we let up badly,” Pollock said.
With Game 3 set for Ottawa on April 29, Mario made some changes.
Bill Saunders was inserted (in place of Serviss as Mario chose not to use Gilles) and centred Balon and Hicke, with Berenson moving between Butler and Kolb, and Wilkie between LeCaine and Geisthardt.
The moves didn't help, however, as the Canadiens won 6-2 before 5,500 fans.
Once again, a slow start hurt Regina.
The Canadiens jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead on goals by Carter (2:28), Backstrom (12:12) and Carter again (12:22). Gilles Tremblay set up both of Carter's goals. Backstrom made it 4-0 early in the second period before Balon and Saunders narrowed the gap to 4-2. But Richard and Backstrom scored before the second period was out and the teams then played a scoreless third.
Backstrom and Carter now had five goals each in the three games.
"They just kept slaughtering us in that first period,” Mario said. "I thought we were going to be all right in this one, but our defence lets up and it's 3-0 before we know we're in a hockey game.”
Mario went into his juggling act again prior to Game 4, which was played on May 2 in Ottawa. He said he planned to move Hicke from right wing to the left side with Saunders at centre and Lunghamer on right wing. Hicke had four of Regina's eight goals but three of them came in Game 1.
"I think Billy will go better on the left wing because the Canadiens are ganging up on him on the right side and giving him a rough time,” Mario explained.
He ended up putting Saunders with Hicke and Kolb, using Berenson, Balon and Lunghamer together, and using LeCaine, Wilkie, Geisthardt and Butler on the other line. Kelly would sit out as Mario added Gilles to his defensive corps.
Neither team was able to skate on April 30 -- wrestling and bingo had the ice halls booked -- so the Pats' new combinations worked out together on May 1.
The Pats won that fourth game 4-3 in overtime before 3,500 fans in Ottawa.
"I was breathing easier when we came out of the first period with only a one-goal deficit,” Mario said.
Saunders scored the winner off a pass from Hicke at 2:13 of overtime. Balon, LeCaine and Lunghamer also scored for Regina. Bob Boucher, Rousseau and Carter counted for the Baby Habs, who led 2-1 after one period. The teams were tied 2-2 after two.
Lunghamer gave Regina a 3-2 lead just 39 seconds into the third period. But Carter forced overtime when he scored with only 55 seconds left in the third period.
Saunders, whose NHL rights belonged to the Toronto Maple Leafs, came in for special praise.
"That boy has come along much better than I expected,” Mario said.
Walters continued to be sharp, especially in two one-on-one confrontations with Backstrom. The Pats were outshot, 42-26.
Carter tied the game from a wild scramble.
"Palenstein and I had the shot covered but the puck deflected off a skate and we looked on helplessly as it trickled into the net just beyond reach of my foot,” Walters said.
The winner came as J.C. Tremblay was about to be penalized for grabbing Hicke from behind. Hicke was able to swipe the puck toward Gamble and before the goaltender could get to it, Saunders swooped in and scored.
"It's a shame they couldn't play some of these games in Toronto,” said Maple Leafs coach Billy Reay. "A terrific game like that would pack the Gardens.”
Hull-Ottawa moved up three games to two with a 6-3 victory in Hull before 3,984 fans on May 4.
This time, the Baby Habs won it with three goals within a minute and 27 seconds late in the second period, two of them coming with the man advantage.
The teams were tied 2-2 after the first period, Lunghamer and Balon scoring for Regina around Montreal goals by Carter and Backstrom. It was the first time in the series that Regina had scored first.
Erickson put Regina out front 3-2 at 11:06 of the second period. And then the Canadiens exploded. Richard scored at 17:01, Gray at 18:17 and Gray again at 18:28.
Carter scored the only goal of the third period, an empty-netter with 15 seconds left to play.
Gray saw extra ice time after Boucher, Hull-Ottawa's leading point scorer during the season, was hit with a misconduct penalty, and it paid off with two goals.
Mario thought the game swung on two plays -- Hicke fired wide on a second-period breakaway and Balon hit a post with five minutes left in the third.
"We're starting to come along,” Mario said. "We should have won the game but we handed them their first three goals. All of them were outright gifts. The puck just wouldn't bounce the right way for us.”
The sixth game was no contest. Played before 4,800 fans in Ottawa on May 6, the Canadiens won it 6-1 to clinch the national title.
"I really thought we had a good chance to take it all,” Mario said. "But we got a little careless in the first period again and then couldn't come back. Two of the first three Canadiens goals were scored with the player having his back to our net.”
The Baby Habs got off to another fast start, going up 2-0 and leading 3-1 after the first period. They put it away with three third-period goals.
Gilles Tremblay, John Annable, Richard, Boucher, Gray and Jacques Begin scored for the Canadiens. Hicke had Regina's goal, his fifth of the series.
Annable's goal, his first of the series, at 18:05 of the first period -- he knocked in his own rebound -- stood up as the winner.
The game may well have turned in its early moments. Hicke broke in alone on Gamble, who came up with a superb stop. The Baby Habs went right back down the ice and Tremblay scored. The Canadiens poured it on from there.
"I'm very proud of every one of you,” Frank Selke, managing director of the Montreal Canadiens, told the Pats. "If this series had been played in the west, there isn't much doubt in my mind that the final outcome would have been different. I know how tough it is for a young man to have to play so far from home.”
It was Pollock's second Memorial Cup title. He also coached the Montreal Royals to the 1949 title.

NEXT: 1959 (Winnipeg Braves vs. Peterborough TPT Petes)

The Memorial Cup: A history . . . 1957

1957 MEMORIAL CUP
Flin Flon Bombers vs. Ottawa Canadiens
at Flin Flon (Community Arena) and Regina (Exhibition Stadium)

The junior hockey world was amazed -- the Flin Flon Bombers would represent the west in the Memorial Cup final.
The Bombers, for heaven's sake, had never before won their league championship. This 1956-57 season, however, was unlike any that had come before it.
Coached by Bobby Kirk, the Bombers roared through the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with a 64-9-2 record, winning 43 of 55 regular-season games. They ousted the Humboldt Indians and Fort William Canadians from best-of-seven series in straight games and took six games to sideline the Edmonton Oil Kings and then the Prince Albert Mintos.
The Bombers, it was safe to say, owned the northern Manitoba mining town of 12,000 people.
The secret, according to Kirk, was "balance.”
"I have three lines and any one can come up with a goal,” said Kirk, noting that his team had eight players with at least 25 goals each.
Kirk, who replaced Alex Shibicky, was wrapping up his third season with the Bombers and had put three Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League titles under his belt in that time.
Included on the roster were centre Ted Hampson (the team captain, he was the SJHL's scoring champ with 118 points, including 48), Mel Pearson, Pat Ginnell (a 19-goal scorer in the playoffs, he had played for the Port Arthur North Stars the previous season and would later coach the Bombers) and Barry Beatty. Hampson, Pearson (another future Bombers coach), centre Ron Hutchinson and defencemen George Konik, Mike Kardash, Duane Rupp and Lyle Willey all came out of Flin Flon's minor hockey ranks. Goaltender George Wood, a native of Hartney, Man., had come over from the Lethbridge Native Sons, with whom he had spent the 1955-56 season.
Only Ginnell, Beatty (St. Boniface Canadiens) and Wood had been brought in for this season by the Bombers. The rest of the boys were homebrews, the product of an amazing minor hockey system.
For the Memorial Cup, the Bombers added centre Orland Kurtenbach from Prince Albert and two players from Port Arthur -- goaltender Lynn Davis and defenceman Jean Gauthier.
The series was scheduled to open in Flin Flon. If the first two games were split, a third would be played in Flin Flon, with the balance in Regina's Exhibition Stadium.
The rink in Flin Flon, which had been built in 1936 to house the senior Bombers, had had artificial ice since 1950. It seated 1,141 although an extra 200 seats were added for the Memorial Cup games by knocking out one end.
Flin Flon was in a furor when the Ottawa Canadiens, of coach Sam Pollock, didn't show up on time. The first game, scheduled for April 25, was postponed to April 26.
Ottawa showed up in Winnipeg on Monday, April 22, but chose to wait until April 24 to fly into Flin Flon. By that time the weather had closed in and its flight was grounded. The Canadiens boarded a train and rode the rails into the northern hinterlands.
Gordon Juckes of Melville, Sask., was the CAHA official in charge of the series. He said he would recommend to the CAHA that the Ottawa club be "severely disciplined” for causing the first postponement in the history of the Canadian final.
Flin Flon citizens are up in arms over criticism leveled at the town and its facilities by Ottawa officials who do not recognize, apparently, any part of Canada west of Ottawa,” said Bombers president Jimmy Wardle. "We feel that the nationally known, warm-hearted hospitality and a fine hockey club make up for the lack of a Chateau Laurier and what they amusingly call an ‘ice palace' in Ottawa.”
The arena manager in Flin Flon was none other than Robert (Pinkie) Davie, who had played in the 1932 Memorial Cup final with the Winnipeg Monarchs, who lost out to the Sudbury Cub Wolves. Davie, for one, was thrilled that the Ottawa boys weren't too happy about having to journey to Flin Flon.
"I hear those Ottawa characters are squawking,” Davie said. "That's great. I like to hear people squawk because it shows they are worrying about something.”
Upon arrival, the Canadiens were housed in the dormitories -- bunkhouses -- that usually were living quarters for miners.
On the ice, Ottawa was sparked by future NHLers Ralph Backstrom and Murray Balfour, the latter having played with the Regina Pats the previous two seasons and who was making his third straight appearance in the Memorial Cup final. Claude Ruel, a future coach of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, was on the Ottawa defence.
The Bombers won the opener 3-1 in front of more than 2,000 fans who packed into every available corner of the rink.
Konik, the SJHL's most valuable player, scored twice for the Bombers, with Hampson adding the other.
Backstrom opened the scoring at 4:49 of the second period, only to have Hampson tie it at 11:19 and Konik put the Bombers out front at 15:48. Konik wrapped it up with an empty-net goal at 19:45 of the third.
Wood was particularly outstanding, stopping 23 shots, including three clean breakaways.
"Ottawa's a good club and there are still a few more games to be played in this series, so why should I gloat?” Kirk said.
He was right about one thing. There were a few more games to be played.
Ottawa won Game 2 on April 28, scoring a 4-3 victory thanks to two goals in the final 33 seconds of the third period. A packed house of slightly more than 2,000 fans couldn't believe it.
Ginnell scored the game's first goal at 8:09 of the first period, only to have Bill Carter tie it before the period ended. Ginnell then scored the only goal of the second period, at 1:29.
Willey upped Flin Flon's lead to 3-1 at 3:06 of the third period and as play progressed the Bombers seemed on their way to victory.
But Mike Legace scored for Ottawa at 15:59 and then set up Carter for the tying goal at 19:27. Seconds earlier, the Bombers were guilty of icing the puck. Pollock pulled goaltender Claude Dufour with the faceoff in Flin Flon's zone. The puck was dropped. There was a mad scramble. Carter corralled the loose puck and fired it past Wood.
The Canadiens won the ensuing faceoff and moved the puck into Flin Flon territory. The loose puck slid toward Wood and he tried to beat Backstrom to it. But the Ottawa centre got there first and backhanded home the winner at 19:36.
"That was a break,” said Scotty Bowman, Pollock's assistant, of the icing call that preceded Ottawa's third goal.
Kirk agreed: "I sent out George Konik, who got the faceoff every time during the past season. He couldn't get the big one.”
Kirk also announced that he would keep Gauthier in the lineup (the defenceman was a standout in the first two games) and that Kurtenbach would see his first action in Game 3. Kurtenbach would play in place of Beatty who suffered a back injury in the second game.
Although he didn't announce it, Kirk would also sit out Wood and give Davis his first start in goal in Game 3 which, because the first two games were split, would also be played in Flin Flon.
Ottawa made it two out of three in Flin Flon with a 5-2 victory on April 29 as Balfour erupted for three goals.
"Well,” Pollock said, "Balfour came through tonight. Those were his first goals of the playoffs and they couldn't have come at a better time.
"His first one in the third was the turning point. It gave my boys a big lift. It also shows that we can come from behind in the worst places in the world.”
Ottawa scored three goals on breakaways and added two others when the Bombers got caught with just one skater back.
Both teams complained about soft ice when the game was over.
"That soft ice wasn't for us,” Kirk said. "It definitely had a lot to do with the outcome.”
It was the second time in a year that Balfour had come up big against the Bombers. The previous year, while with Regina, he had scored four times in a 9-6 Pats' victory in Game 7 of their western semifinal series.
Legace and Claude Richard, a brother of NHL star Maurice Richard and star-to-be Henri Richard, scored Ottawa's other goals. Konik and Hutchinson replied for Flin Flon.
The Bombers actually led 2-0 in the first period before Richard, in the first, and Balfour, at 1:25 of the third, tied it. Legace then got the winner at 6:12, with Balfour wrapping it up with goals at 14:48 and 15:58.
The teams then headed for Regina and the rest of the series.
Game 4 was played May 1 with the Bombers scoring a 3-1 victory to tie the series 2-2 in front of 5,118 fans.
Wood was credited with just 11 saves but one of them, a late second-period stop on Carter who broke in alone, was credited with sparking the Flin Flon boys to victory. Ottawa was leading 1-0 on a goal by Carter at 15:36 of the second period.
"That was the turning point,” Kirk said. "It was a key save. It kept us alive. That lifted my boys.”
Pollock agreed: "If we could have got another goal, then we would have won. It would have taken the heart right out of the Bombers for good.”
Flin Flon's big line -- Hampson between Pearson and Ginnell -- scored all three Bombers' goals, each skater getting one. Ginnell tied the score at 6:43 of the third, with Pearson putting the Bombers out front at 11:26. Hampson, who set up the other two goals, got the insurance marker into an empty net.
After Ottawa took those two in Flin Flon,” said New York Rangers general manager Muzz Patrick, "I thought, without seeing the teams, that it was the same old story ... too much balance by the eastern team. I changed my mind (May 1). This western club can win it.”
The Bombers took a 3-2 lead on May 3 with a 3-2 victory in front of 4,913 fans. Pollock wasn't around for the end of this one.
Ernie Fedoruk, writing in the Regina Leader-Post, explained: "The Bombers scored twice in the third period to settle the issue. Even so, the vociferous Mr. Pollock took the play away from the players. Sam, madder than ever, questioned the ancestry of the referees following the second period and wound up as a spectator.
"Assistant Ottawa coach Scotty Bowman took over after Pollock was ejected. Bowman managed to last the third period but he, too, took after the officials, Curly Brault and Dutch Van Deelan, as soon as the final buzzer sounded.”
Kurtenbach, Ginnell and Beatty scored for Flin Flon. Dick Damouchel got Ottawa's lone goal.
Dufour was outstanding in the Ottawa goal, turning aside 27 shots, while Wood stopped 17.
Ottawa had a new face in its lineup. Centre Gerry Wilson, originally from Winnipeg, had missed seven weeks while recuperating from a knee injury. (Wilson's career would be plagued by knee problems and he would eventually become a well-known Winnipeg doctor. His son, Carey, would later play in the NHL.)
It was thought that Pollock was getting Wilson some game experience because he thought he might lose Legace and Gilles Tremblay, both of whom were scheduled to return home to write university exams. In the end, Legace returned to Laval University while Tremblay stayed to finish the series.
Backstrom, 19, was the star of Game 6. He scored twice as Ottawa won 4-2 on May 6 in front of 4,949 fans.
Jean Marc Picard and Dumouchel, the latter into an empty net, also scored for Ottawa. Kurtenbach set up both Regina goals, by Ginnell and Konik.
And now the series was tied 3-3.
"It's too bad,” said Pollock, "that they can't divide the Memorial Cup. It's a shame. These two clubs out there both deserve it.”
One of the greatest Memorial Cup finals in history ended on May 8 in front of about 4,500 fans, the smallest turnout for any of the games in Regina. It ended with Flin Flon on top 3-2 thanks to Hampson's winning goal at 10:30 of the third period.
Hampson's linemates, Ginnell and Pearson, scored the game's first two goals. Ginnell beat Dufour at 17:23 of the first period and Pearson struck at 18:14 as the Bombers outshot Ottawa 13-2 in the opening period.
Legace, who had flown back to Regina but didn't arrive at the rink until after the first period, scored for Ottawa at 19:43 of the second period.
Hampson upped Flin Flon's lead to 3-1 at 10:30 of the third -- with rookie Bobby Rousseau in the penalty box -- before Legace scored at 19:59.
"It's the greatest thrill of my life,” Kirk said. ""We won the cup because an inspired, determined hockey club fought when the chips were down and never gave up.”
It was Flin Flon's 88th game of the season -- the Bombers won 72 of them.
It was the first time since 1948 (Port Arthur West End Bruins) that a western team had won the Memorial Cup and it left the east with a 22-17 edge overall.
And this victory really put Flin Flon on the map.
The mining community had never before been home to a national champion -- team or individual. The closest the community had come to national glory had been in the spring of 1938 when the senior Bombers got into a western semifinal series for the Allan Cup only to be ousted by the eventual champion Trail Smoke Eaters.
The junior Bombers began play in 1949 and had won six Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League titles. But, until the spring of '57, the Bombers had never gotten any further than that along the Memorial Cup trail.
The town's history went back as far as 1929 and there had always been hockey played there. The game started to take off there in 1935 when a Flin Flon team entered the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League.
Players from the south were enticed north to work in the mines and play hockey. It worked, too, and by 1957 Flin Flon had seen the likes of Sid Abel, Jimmy Skinner and Bobby Simpson wear its colors.

NEXT: 1958 (Regina Pats vs. Hull-Ottawa Canadiens)

All Hail The Chiefs!

There was a time when the guy with the rainbow-coloured hair was at every major sporting event. Not only that . . . he always seemed to have one of the best seats in the house. . . . So whatever became of him? . . . Well, let's just say he has a seat, not sure if it's one of the best, in the big house. . . . In the day's good read, Jerry Crowe of the Los Angeles Times visits with the rainbow guy right here . . .
————————
Thoughts and notes and other things . . .
1. The Spokane Chiefs were the best team at the Memorial Cup in Kitchener so it was only fitting that they won the whole thing. And now it will be interesting to see how many teams come out next season attempting to play the Chiefs’ system where they so often outman the opposition in the scrap for the puck. . . . Defensively, the Chiefs completely took Kitchener’s top line, including CHL player-of-the-year Justin Azevedo, out of two games. That line didn’t do anything in Spokane’s 2-1 victory in the round-robin and was pretty much invisible again Sunday. . . . Spokane C Tyler Johnson may be as defensively sound as any 17-year-old in the CHL. It seems that he is always on the right side of the puck. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski, who wasn’t selected in the WHL bantam draft and was listed by the Chiefs in December 2005, was a fitting choice as MVP. He stopped 143 of 150 shots in the tournament, going 4-0 with a .953 save percentage. . . . The Chiefs finished their season by winning their last nine games — Game 7 against the Tri-City Americans, a four-game sweep of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL final and all four games in the Memorial Cup. . . . In those nine games, Tokarski and the Chiefs’ defence allowed 11 goals. . . . Counting exhibition games, the Chiefs played 103 games this season. That included 72 regular-season and 25 post-season assignments. . . . The Chiefs will be at the Spokane Arena on Monday at noon. Fans are invited to show up and share in the championship celebration. . . .
———
2. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again now and I’ll say it again a year from now. It’s time for the major junior leagues to clean up their act in terms of long hair and facial hair in the playoffs. This is showcase-time for major junior hockey, so why do so many players have to look like bush-leaguers?
———
3. As for the broken Memorial Cup, well, the same thing has happened to the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup, and on more than one occasion. For example, legend has it that some players off the 1989 Saskatchewan Roughriders took the Grey Cup into a strip joint and it got broken there. Which is why in some photos it has a large green bow around it. . . . As for the Memorial Cup, Mike Boyle, the Chiefs’ radio voice, reports: “The bolt holding the Cup portion to the trophy had been stripped and it came apart when Chris Bruton went to hand it to Trevor Glass. Fortunately, the CHL fixed it after the ceremony and the Cup enjoyed a wild night out in Kitchener with the Chiefs.” . . . Keep in mind that the trophy the Chiefs received isn't the original Memorial Cup. That baby is safely ensconced in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. . . .
———
4. If (when?) the Portland Winter Hawks are sold, the first move by new owners should be to bring back the face of the franchise, Dean (Scooter) Vrooman. The biggest mistake made by the Winter Hawks’ ownership group, and goodness knows there have been one or two of them, was allowing Scooter to scoot. . . .
———
5. Kirk Fraser is preparing for his 10th season as the radio voice of the Kamloops Blazers, who are heard at 610 on the AM dial (CHNL). Fraser is heading into the second season of a two-year deal with Radio NL. This summer, he also is doing some reporting work for Shaw Cable. . . .
———
6. Recently, I have been spending some time listening to Major League Baseball games on XM radio. And it only has reaffirmed something I discovered a long, long time ago — nothing in the entire world of sports is better than baseball on radio. . . .
———
7. Klarc Wilson, the 10th overall selection in the WHL’s 2008 bantam draft, set up the winning goal as the Brandon Wheat Kings wrapped up a weekend prospects’ camp with a scrimmage. Or, should that be Klarc Nosliw?
———
8. If you are making a list of candidates for the Kamloops Blazers’ vacant head-coaching position, you can stroke off Eric Thurston’s name. He apparently has told the U of Alberta that he will be staying with the Golden Bears. . . . Thurston will have to replace two of his top players, both of whom will play in Germany next season. Sniper Dylan Stanley signed with Rosenheim and defenceman Harlan Anderson with Heilbronn. Both are former WHLer players. . . .
———
9. Attention Moose Jaw: You’re on the clock. . . . The WHL’s annual meeting is just over two weeks away and the commissioner awaits a decision — refurbish the Civic Centre, build a new facility or say goodbye to your Warriors?
———
10. If you are keeping track, only Steve Gainey is left from the Kamloops Blazers’ coaching staff that was assembled by Dean Clark. Gone are Clark (GM/head coach), Andrew Milne (assistant coach) and Larry Robinson (goaltenders), while Shayne Zulyniak (assistant GM/assistant coach) has been moved into the sales and marketing department. Gainey was brought on board by Clark as a part-time assistant coach.