Hockey in Western Canada
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EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General)Transcript
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in 1914 Senior hockey rings supreme in Saskatchewan's capital city The Regina Victoria's are a force to be reckoned with. Having won Canada's Allan Cup championship soon after the world is plunged into the first Great war, many hockey heroes trade their stick for a rifle to fight overseas, leaving an empty arena back home in 1917 a merry little band of hockey fans starts to lay the foundation for junior hockey and Saskatchewan. Little do they know. This small step leads to the birth of a Canadian hockey legend. By 1917 Saskatchewan's senior hockey is facing tough times, both on and off the ice. Sixteens begin the season, but two teens fold midway through hockey. Fans are few and far between. Game in and game out. Regina's Arena rink is filled with empty seats. Meet William Billy Bitchin, the secretary general of the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association. He is a man on a mission. He needs to find a way to bring excitement back to the sport of hockey. There's only one thing on his mind. June your hockey. He boards a train to Winnipeg toe watch the Saskatoon Pilgrim's compete in the Allan Cup when he returns, he'll put his junior hockey plan in motion. Meaty See Corbeau, manager of the Great West Motor Company in Regina and a huge hockey fan. On March 8th, 1917 he receives a message that changes his life forever. This news is especially disappointing to Corbo, since his brother Bert is a defenseman for the so called Flying Frenchman. The Canadiens are riding the transcontinental across the country to take on the Seattle Mets in the Stanley Cup final, and manager Kennedy simply wants to keep his squad in game shape during the long journey. But with no one available to play against them, the Canadian stop in Regina on March 14th 1917 is brief, and they would later lose the Stanley Cup to Seattle. It's a missed opportunity on all accounts. A week later, Billy Betsen arrives back in Regina with a youthful spring. In his step, he'll only talk about one thing. Junior hockey. Bitchin certainly isn't exaggerating. Within days of his return, an impromptu hockey final is organized at Regina's Arena rink between a local team called the Arenas and the Knox Church, T winners of the local Sunday school league. The first official Saskatchewan Junior Hockey Championship is set for March 22nd 1917. Still on an emotional high from the visit from his famed brother and the Flying Frenchman, Montreal Canadiens E C Corbeau is the first to jump on board this new junior hockey bandwagon. The rules of hockey for this game are different. There are seven players on each team, a goalie to defenseman, three forwards and what's called a rover. The rover doesn't have a set position and literally roves around the ice at will. The game is divided into 2 10 minute halfs in the first half. Knocks jumps to a to nothing start, the arenas trying to make a comeback. But Knox is able to maintain a two goal lead early in the second half, going 3 to 1. The Arenas battle back at the end of regulation. It's a 44 tie going into overtime. In the second overtime period, the arena score the game winner about 40 some miles west in Moose jaw. George Merry, manager of the Wanderers, is less than happy about hearing about the Corbeau Cup after the fact. Having already beaten the arenas a few weeks earlier, they should have been Corbeau Cup contenders. Their grievances heard loud and clear with Wanderers. Challenge would have to wait. With warm spring weather already hitting Regina, the arena rinks, natural ice is melting, and hockey season is at an abrupt end. The spring and summer months passed by with nary a word about hockey. Then, on September 28th 1917 secretary bitchin sounds. The junior hockey call The town of Rollo is the first answer. The call organizing their hockey club immediately after reading Veterans letter. Soon. Other communities like Weyburn, Ty Van Milestone and Moose Jaw join in. Even Regina's fame. Victoria Hockey Club can't resist because most of their senior players are fighting overseas. The vics for short have no choice but to enter the junior hockey fray. There is even talk of a mysterious new Regina team emerging from the shadows. Even William Martin, Saskatchewan's premier at the time, offers his seal of approval to Bension. Even with this outpouring of support, change is scary, and a few critical naysayers begin ruffling their feathers after being willing participants in the first hastily organized Corbeau Cup. The Sunday school teams want to be admitted into this new junior league but are turned down. One rule newspaper in the town of Yellow Grass offers an unpopular view that seems to hit a little too close to home. This bickering doesn't let up until a short letter signed by four veterans of the Great War appears in the Regina Morning leader. Surprise, Surprise! The petty arguments come to an abrupt end. Lost in all this petty squabbling is the announcement of a brand new junior team in Regina. The dramatic debut they may have hoped for has all the pomp and circumstance of a buried lead on Page 16 of the Morning Ledger For ah, hockey franchise that eventually becomes an historic Canadian treasure. It's Birth is uncharacteristically humble. Joining the Patricia's Victoria's and Ty Van Tigers is another Regina team calling themselves the Monarchs. Thes four form the Regina Division of the league. The Moose Jaw Division is comprised of three teams the Wanderers, Maple Leaves and the Moose. The towns of Rollo, Milestone and Weyburn form the SOO line division and newcomers woes Lian Limbs Dem form the North Division secretary Billy Bitchin, still feeling the effects of his public disagreements and in need of a vote of confidence from someone anyone releases the guidebook for the 1917 hockey season