Remember when the Maroons won the Cup?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2014 (4374 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In case you didn’t know, the 2014 Canadian senior AAA men’s hockey championship is being played this week in Dundas, Ont.

Six teams are competing for the Allan Cup with the South East Prairie Thunder, based in Steinbach, representing Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The present tournament format includes a host team and regional winners. To get out of our province, the Thunder didn’t have to beat anyone but they swept Saskatchewan’s Shellbrook Elks three straight to make it to Dundas.

Only 19 teams were registered as senior AAA this season across Canada, with Kenora Thistles the only team from Northwestern Ontario.

This spring marks the 50th anniversary of the Winnipeg Maroons winning the Canadian championship played under a much tougher system. At the time, the goal of every senior team in Western Canada was first to earn the right to represent its province and then go on to win the West and play in the Allan Cup final against the Eastern champions.

To capture the Western title in 1964, Winnipeg had to win two interprovincial best-of -seven series. Maroons beat the Thunder Bay champion Port Arthur Bearcats four straight, but needed five games to eliminate Saskatoon Quakers.

Having all the players available for road games was a problem as most had full-time jobs. After Maroons beat Quakers two straight at the Winnipeg Arena, the series moved to the Wheat Province. Maroons chartered a plane to get to and from Saskatoon for a Wednesday night game they won and then took a train back home on Thursday evening for the final two games.

The situation improved for the Allan Cup final as Maroons hosted the Eastern champion Woodstock Athletics at Winnipeg Arena. The series lasted just four games with the hometown team winning 5-0, 7-1, 5-0 and 5-3. The domination on the scoreboard doesn’t tell the complete story, as Winnipeg Free Press sports reporter Don Blanchard raved about the play of Winnipeg goalie Don Collins in every game. Veteran Bill Johnson led the defence and 12 players scored goals. Al Johnson had four and Ross Parke three.

No Manitoba team had won the Canadian senior title since the Winnipegs in 1931. The Maroons had been chasing the Allan Cup for 11 seasons. In 1961, they lost the final to Galt Terriers after winning three interprovincial series in the West. Windsor Bulldogs defeated Winnipeg in the 1963 final. Both championships went five games and were played in the East.
Collins, along with Murray Couch, Lou Joyal, Tom Marshall and former player turned coach Gordie Simpson were original Maroons. A combination of veteran local players — that included Sheldon Bloomer, Chuck Lumsden and Jimmy MacKenzie — and experienced pros from our province such as Elliott Chorley, Aggie Kukulowicz and Danny Summers made up the 1964 lineup. Star players Reg Abbott and Fred Dunsmore missed the playoff run due to injuries.

This year’s Allan Cup final will be a single game that will be shown on TSN2 on April 19 at 2 p.m.

Prairie Thunder is aiming for the same result as 2012 when the team won the trophy that has been in play since 1909.

Memories of Sport appears every second week in the Canstar Community News weeklies. Kent Morgan can be contacted at 204-489-6641 or email: sportsmemories@canstarnews.com