Smithers Juniors Beat Vanderhoof to Retain Mutual Life Trophy
March 25, 1954
Smithers Juniors retained possession of the Mutual Life hockey Cup in a two-game, total-goal series played here against Vanderhoof challengers last Wednesday and Thursday. They took a firm hold of the trophy Wednesday, wining 9 to 2, and won the second game 3 to 1 the following night. Crowding the end of the season, ice conditions were not the best and Thursday night, after a warm day, the ice made good play impossible. However, both local and visiting teams went all out to put on a display for the spectators.
In an accompanying exhibition, Smithers and Vanderhoof Peewees divided honors, the locals winning 4 to 3 on Wednesday and losing 6 to 4 Thursday. Accompanying the teams here from Vanderhoof were Cecil Steele and Ernie Philpott.
It is regretted that, despite request for scoring records to be kept, no details of the opening games are available.
In the final game of the Junior series Delage opened the scoring for the locals on an assist from Irving for the only goal of the first period. The second session was scoreless, with a number of good saves by both goalies. Oulton scored for Smithers after 13 minutes of play in the third on a lone effort. With 4 minutes to go in the game Jimmy Silver tallied the visitors’ lone goal on a close-in shot. With Vanderhoof pressing hard to tie, Irving took a pass from Delage to end the scoring with 10 seconds to go.
Taking a 4-2 lead in the first period, the Vanderhoof Peewees held the locals to one goal in each of the remaining stanzas and two more of their own in the final for a 6-4 win. The visitors opened the scoring early in the 1st, Finnie taking a pass from Evans to beat Stacey. Bill Arnold scored the equalizer from Norm McFarland 2 minutes later then tallied a lone effort to put the locals in the lead momentarily. Finnie tied the count again unassisted, then Evans scored two for Vanderhoof to give them a 4-2 margin.
Arnold and Evans continued a scoring duel in the 2nd and 3rd periods, the former scoring the only goal of the middle frame. In the final Evans scored two more for the winners and Arnold got his fourth of the night to end the scoring.
SMITHERS JUNIORS – Goal, Don McFarland; defense, Tom Robinson, Bill Kilpatrick, Garry Stacey; forwards, D. Huntington, Bob Irving, Jack Bovill, Art Buchanan, Art Delage, Don Herman, Dave Oulton; spares, Norm McFarland, Ian MacDonald, Ray Banta.
SMITHERS PEEWEES – Goal, T. Stacey; defense, Doug Stacey, G. Young, Laurie Moore, Jimmy Eby, Brian Collison; forwards, N. McFarland, Bill Arnold, Dick Specht, Joe Watson, Hector Moore, Don McFarland, George Wilson.
VANDERHOOF – goal, J. Swanson; defense, D. Smith, R. Smith; forwards, G. Evans, L. Smith, J. Palmer, D. Finnie, B. Lee.