Imports strengthened local teams again
After the Royals dismal effort in 79-80, the C.B.H.A., under president Cliff Gorman, were determined to make the team contenders again. Before the season began three import players and one mainland coach were announced. Forbes Kennedy was the bench coach and Bruce Campbell, Kent Lannon, and Steve Gallant the paid players.
Of the three, Campbell was the most promising having recently tried out for the Winnipeg Jets of the N.H.L. The Royals also had several former Stephenville Jets like Cal Dunville on the team after the Jets organization had decided to sit out the season for financial reasons. Finally, local players like veteran Terry Gillam and young Darren MacWhirter helped lift Corner Brook out of the cellar. In the evenly matched league the Royals finished the regular season in third place.
The Royals faced the second place St. John's Blue Caps in the opening round of the playoffs. Corner Brook had been a team of winning and losing streaks all year and luckily they were streaking in the former direction for the semi-finals. The Royals handled the Blue Caps surprisingly easily routing the boys from the capital city four games to one. Earlier, there had been questions in the media and among fans about whether the new imports were earning their money.
There was also renewed criticism about their lack of involvement in Minor hockey. One sports writer argued, as Orin Carver had in the early 60s, that with the money the imports were making they should be required to instruct the younger players in the city, but that this was not the case.# However, with the Royals' upset of the Blue Caps and their berth against the Grand Falls Cataracts in the Herder final, these questions basically disappeared. After splitting the first two games in Grand Falls it looked as if Corner Brook would capture its seventh Newfoundland championship.
The next three games at Humber Gardens sold out quickly. Tickets for the contests went on sale at 2 p.m. on April 1st and there had been dedicated fans waiting there since 9:30 in the morning. The Royals won the first, giving them a two games to one lead in the series, but the Cataracts stormed back in games four and five winning them both. Back in Grand Falls the Cats shutout the deflated Royals in the sixth game to take the trophy.
The 1980-81 season would prove to be the last time that Corner Brook fans would get to see the Royals for two seasons. By September 1981 it had been announced that the Royals would not be playing in the N.S.H.L. in the upcoming season. It was the first time in the history of the team that they were pulled out of competition. The reason was financial.
From the early 70s up to 1978 the N.S.H.L. had been, for all intents and purposes, an amateur league with local players as opposed to the import-driven teams of the 50s and 60s. In 1978 the Gander Flyers organization, looking for another Herder, requested that each team be allowed to carry six imported players. The N.A.H.A. allowed it and the expensive practice of paying mainland players began anew. In 79-80 the C.B.H.A. imported three players and in 80-81 they brought in four including coach Forbes Kennedy.
Their salaries, combined with slumping regular season attendance at Humber Gardens led to a debt well in excess of $100,000. In the 60s the Royals were often $5,000 in the red and they managed to stay in the league, but the debt load in 1981-82 proved to be insurmountable. The team was pulled from competition in order to raise funds for an eventual return to the league. Several of the Royals players did see N.S.H.L. action however as members of the returning Stephenville Jets.
Other former Royals played in the local Intermediate League. The Tall Boys Rangers, the team with the most Seniors, clinched first place in a regular season cut short because of problems with the ice-maker and they also secured the playoff championship once play resumed.
| Heroes of the Past |
| The following is a list of players who performed for Corner Brook in provincial senior hockey competition since play for the Herder Memorial Trophy began in 1935. 1976-77 Royals: (Herder Champions, defeated St. John's Blue Caps in six games) Frank (Danky) Dorrington (Coach), Ernie Hynes, Alex Blanchard, Terry Gillam, Ted McComb, Rick Boone, Joe Lundrigan, Jim Guy, Bill Perry, Paul Althouse, Jim Roche, Alex King, Dave Kennedy, Alvin Park, Brent Griffin, Mark Roberts, Bram Pike 1977-78 Royals: (Eliminated by Labrador City in the quarter-finals) Frank (Danky) Dorrington (Coach), Terry Pennell, Kevin Neville, Brent Griffin, Craig Bugden, Danny Doyle, Ernie Hynes, Terry Gillam, Alex Blanchard, Alex King, Jimmy Guy, Alvin Park, Paul Althouse, Bill Perry, Ralph (Shack) Dunne 1978-79 Royals: (Defeated by Gander in the semi-finals) Hector Caines (Coach), Joe Lundrigan, Terry Pennell, Kev Neville, Brent Griffin, Terry Colbourne, Mike Anderson, Terry Billard, Terry Gillam, Alex King, Gordie Caines, Alvin Park, Jim Guy, Jimmy Roche, Billy McKinnon, Don Gushue, Bernie Staples, Ralph (Shack) Dunne, Otto Sparkes, John Bugden |
The Intermediate League All-Stars also had an exhibition match against Les Anciens Canadiens (the Montreal Canadien Oldtimers) in early February. The 1,300 spectators who were on hand got their money's worth as Hab legends like Maurice (Rocket) Richard and his younger brother Henri (the Pocket Rocket) tied the home team in a fun-filled contest. In the Junior League the S.W.G.C. Warriors, Dairy Queen Braziers, West Side Celtics, and Midget All-Stars fought it out with the Celtics finishing first in the regular season and the Warriors coming alive once again in the playoffs to win the finals.
Corner Brook Midget and Bantam teams had excellent seasons as well.
The Bantam all-stars won a Maritime hockey tournament in New Brunswick and qualified for the Purolator Cup tournament, the height of Eastern Canadian Bantam competition, by beating an Avalon team at Botwood. Many argued that they were the "strongest Bantam team ever to come out of Newfoundland." In the subsequent Purolator Cup playdowns in Charlottetown, P.E.I. they came second, losing in the final game to the New Brunswick Bantam all-stars.
The Midgets won the provincial Air Canada Cup tournament, qualifying for the national competition in Victoria, British Columbia, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals. Nevertheless, Howie Meeker rated the Corner Brook boys as one of the best Midget squads in all of Canada. Unfortunately, neither of the teams won their provincial "A" division championships. The Bantams lost to St. John's in the final game, and the Midgets, made up of the players who did not make the first team as that group was in B.C. at the time, did not reach the finals. The PeeWees island wide supremacy also ended. They were not competitive in their division "A" tournament.
Corner Brook Minor hockey had another excellent season in 1982-83. Locally, there were several successful fundraisers such as the Minor hockey Walk-A-Thon which raised over $3,000, and the boys even got a chance to be coached by an ex-N.H.L. player. After playing for the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues, Doug Grant had returned to the city and was helping with the Minor program. At the provincial level the PeeWees turned things around and won their "A" tournament and both the Bantams and Midgets lost in the final game to earn second place finishes.
The latter team was made up of second-string players because the Midget all-stars had, once again, earned a spot in the national Air Canada Cup Tournament in Sainte-Foy, Quebec. They had one win and two losses after their first three games but victories against Ottawa West and Saint John, New Brunswick gave the Midgets a three and two record going into the quarter-final playoffs. They lost that match against Thunder Bay in overtime but at three wins and three losses it was their best ever finish in national competition.
The Royals sat out again in 82-83. It proved to be the Stephenville Jets year. They won their first Herder. Imports like Juan Strickland and Bruce Campbell, who had got their start in the N.S.H.L. with the Royals, led the way and local players like Cal and Gary Dunville had a great season as well. Royals veteran Terry Gillam also played on the Jets, winning his second Herder Trophy. In exhibition hockey, the Junior Royals actually tied the soon to be champion Jets as well as splitting a series with another Jets team from New Waterford, Nova Scotia. That was the extent of their victories however. They did not even make the provincial Veitch playoffs.
The local Junior League was made up of three Corner Brook entries and two squads from out of town; the College Warriors, Frank's Celtics, Dairy Queen Hawks, Port Aux Basques Centennials, and Deer Lake Red Wings. In the closely contested regular season the Hawks garnered first place overall and dropped the Celtics to win the Junior championship.
Initially, it was feared that Intermediate hockey would fold because of lack of player interest and generally low fan turnouts, the traditional problems which plagued the local leagues, but by Christmas the league was back once more. The Rangers, Combines, and West Side Merchants were the only three teams in the league and the South Shore team won both regular season and playoff titles.
The Intermediate League was the only local league above the Minor level in 1983-84. There was not enough interest among the Juniors to operate their league but the Juvenile All-Stars did play in the Intermediate League against the Stage Door Rangers and Team Molson (formerly known as the West Side Merchants). However, the season and playoffs were never completed. In mid-March the C.B.H.A. cancelled the remainder of the regular season because the three teams had not paid their full registration fees.
In provincial Minor hockey the Midgets lost their "A" tournament in the finals and the Bantams and PeeWees did not reach the final game in their tournaments. The only Minor team to win a competition were the Juveniles. They went on to play in the Atlantic Juvenile Tournament in Fredericton but they failed to make the playoffs.
The Royals returned in 83-84. After sitting out the previous two seasons because of a substantial debt brought on by the new import craze of the late 1970s the team came back with just as many, or more, imports than it ever had. Throughout the season the Royals had at least six imports on the team. In fact, the Jets, Capitals-Shamrocks, and Port aux Basques Mariners, the other three N.S.H.L. teams, all complained that the Royals had more than six paid players on their team. C.B.H.A. president Cliff Gorman called the protest, "a load of horse manure" arguing that the team was within its six import limit at all times. None of the teams ever defaulted against the Royals but the situation contributed to some hot tempers.
The defending champion Jets always had a rivalry with Corner Brook but the import situation, and the possibility of being dethroned, led to several unfortunate incidents. On one occasion in Humber Gardens, "a half dozen Jets players stormed into the stands chasing hecklers as the scene turned violent at the buzzer." Despite all of these disputes on and off the ice the season continued surprisingly without a hitch. The Jets finished in first place and the Royals edged the St. John's Capitals-Shamrocks for second place.
In the semi-finals the Royals faced the combined capital city team and easily eliminated them three games to one. Having swept the Mariners the Jets made up the other half of the Herder finalists.
The Royals lost the first two games in Stephenville Gardens and the third in Corner Brook and trailed by a nearly insurmountable three games to none. Determined not to be swept, the Royals barely got past the Jets in Humber Gardens in game four, but Stephenville came back in game five and finished off the series. They took their second Herder Memorial Trophy in as many years and went on to play for the Allan Cup. The Royals, on the other hand, after going all out to ice a competitive team, were left to deal with the financial repercussions and wait for the next season.
Between the 1970-71 and 1983-84 seasons, Corner Brook hockey on all levels went through a rough period. The Minor leagues suffered early because Humber Gardens could not provide enough ice time for its large numbers. With the completion of the Kinsmen Arena however, the kids had their own ice surface and by the late 70s and early 80s the extra practice it allowed was paying off with numerous provincial "A" championships and excellent showings at the national level. Both the local Intermediate and Junior, and the N.S.H.L. seemed to come full circle.
The Junior and Intermediate Leagues, the latter a mix between the defunct local Commercial and Senior divisions, never on a sure footing for very long in the city, achieved approximately a decade of stability, but by 1983-84 interest in the Junior League had waned and the poor overall attendance at Intermediate games made its future uncertain as well. After Dorrington's retirement in 1975 the Royals embarked on a generally import-free period of competition.
They captured their sixth Herder Trophy in 1976-77 with an all local team, but were usually in a fight to make the playoffs. In the late 1970s importing, spurred on by the Gander Flyers, began in earnest once more and the financial drain which accompanied the use of paid players forced the C.B.H.A., labouring under a heavy debt, to withdraw the Royals from the N.S.H.L. in 1981-82 and 1982-83.
However, the team returned to action in 1983-84 with an even greater number of imports and the hopes that they would not only win the provincial championship but also be the first Newfoundland team to be truly competitive in the national Allan Cup playoffs.
The history of hockey in Corner Brook, researched by Neil White for the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame covering the period from
the 1920s up to 1990.
The series of articles was first published in The Western Star from December
2000 to May, 2001.
To buy a reprint of this page as it appeared in The Western Star email [email protected]
