St. Catharines Teepees

The St. Catharines Teepees were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1947 to 1962. The team was based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

St. Catharines Teepees
CitySt. Catharines, Ontario
LeagueOntario Hockey Association
Operated1947 (1947)-62
Home arenaGarden City Arena
Franchise history
1943-47St. Catharines Falcons
1947-62St. Catharines Teepees
1962-76St. Catharines Black Hawks
1976-82Niagara Falls Flyers
1982-02North Bay Centennials
2002-presentSaginaw Spirit
Championships
Playoff championships1954 & 1960 Memorial Cup Champions

History

edit

The St. Catharines Teepees were born in 1947 when local businessman George Stauffer, president and GM of Thompson Products Ltd., purchased the St. Catharines Falcons team for $2500 from Rudy Pilous and named the team after the company's initials.

During the fifteen years the Teepees played, they developed into a powerhouse in the OHA. St. Catharines finished in first place five years in a six-year span, and won the league championship twice. The team also produced five league leading scorers and three MVPs in the same period. The Teepees won the Memorial Cup in both 1954 and 1960.

In 1961-62 the Teepees, no longer owned by Thompson Products, were in financial trouble and the Chicago Black Hawks came to their rescue. In 1962–63, the Teepees became the St. Catharines Black Hawks and would remain so until the team moved to Niagara Falls for the 1976–77 season.

1954 Memorial Cup

edit

St. Catharines, still coached by Rudy Pilous, won the right to play for the Cup by defeating the Toronto Marlboros in seven games for the OHA championship, and the Quebec Frontenacs to win the Richardson Trophy as eastern Canadian representatives. The Teepees won the Memorial Cup in 1954 played at Maple Leaf Gardens. They defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings 4 games to 0 with one tie game, in a best-of-seven series.

Game 1 St. Catharines 8 vs. Edmonton 2
Game 2 St. Catharines 5 vs. Edmonton 3
Game 3 St. Catharines 4 vs. Edmonton 1
Game 4 St. Catharines 3 vs. Edmonton 3
Game 5 St. Catharines 6 vs. Edmonton 2

1960 Memorial Cup

edit

St. Catharines was now coached by Max Kaminsky and Rudy Pilous was the team manager for the 1960 Memorial Cup rematch versus the Edmonton Oil Kings. On the road to the Cup, the Teepees defeated the Toronto St. Michael's Majors for the OHA championship, and the Brockville Canadiens to win the Richardson Trophy as eastern Canadian representatives. The series against Brockville was decided in the 8th game after each team had won three games each with a tie game.

The 1960 Memorial Cup opened up at the Garden City Arena with remaining games played at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Teepees defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings for the second time in the Memorial Cup, 4 games to 2 in a best-of-seven series.

Game 1 St. Catharines 3 vs. Edmonton 5
Game 2 St. Catharines 6 vs. Edmonton 2
Game 3 St. Catharines 9 vs. Edmonton 1
Game 4 St. Catharines 3 vs. Edmonton 9
Game 5 St. Catharines 9 vs. Edmonton 6
Game 6 St. Catharines 7 vs. Edmonton 3

Championships

edit

The St. Catharines Teepees are one of a few clubs to win multiple Memorial Cup championships. In total the Teepees won the Memorial Cup, the George Richardson Memorial Trophy, the J. Ross Robertson Cup and the Hamilton Spectator Trophy twice each.

Memorial Cup
  • 1954 Champions vs. Edmonton Oil Kings
  • 1960 Champions vs. Edmonton Oil Kings
George Richardson Memorial Trophy
  • 1954 Champions vs. Quebec Frontenacs
  • 1960 Champions vs. Brockville Canadiens
J. Ross Robertson Cup[1]
  • 1952 Lost to Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters
  • 1954 OHA Champions vs. Toronto Marlboros
  • 1955 Lost to Toronto Marlboros
  • 1957 Lost to Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters
  • 1960 OHA Champions vs. St. Michael's Majors
Hamilton Spectator Trophy
  • 1957-1958 70 points (32 wins, 6 ties)
  • 1958-1959 83 points (40 wins, 3 ties)

Players

edit

There have been 54 Teepees alumni play in the NHL. Four of those would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. St. Catharines also had three MVPs and five scoring champions with a six-year span.

Award winners

edit

Red Tilson Trophy
(Most Outstanding Player)

  • 1953-54 - Brian Cullen
  • 1954-55 - Hank Ciesla
  • 1958-59 - Stan Mikita

Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy
(Scoring Champion)

  • 1953-54 - Brian Cullen
  • 1954-55 - Hank Ciesla
  • 1957-58 - John McKenzie
  • 1958-59 - Stan Mikita
  • 1959-60 - Chico Maki

Hall of Famers

edit

Rudy Pilous

NHL alumni

edit

Yearly results

edit
Regular Season
Season Games Won Lost Tied Points Pct % Goals
For
Goals
Against
Standing
1947-48 36 19 17 0 38 0.528 137 155 6th OHA
1948-49 48 25 20 3 53 0.552 191 198 4th OHA
1949-50 48 27 17 4 58 0.604 269 211 3rd OHA
1950-51 54 23 24 7 53 0.491 200 192 6th OHA
1951-52 54 30 23 1 61 0.565 249 229 5th OHA
1952-53 56 31 20 5 67 0.598 219 234 4th OHA
1953-54 59 42 15 2 86 0.729 308 211 1st OHA
1954-55 49 32 15 2 66 0.673 260 176 1st OHA
1955-56 48 28 17 3 59 0.615 219 197 1st OHA
1956-57 52 25 25 2 52 0.500 184 193 3rd OHA
1957-58 52 32 14 6 70 0.673 246 174 1st OHA
1958-59 54 40 11 3 84 0.769 257 175 1st OHA
1959-60 48 25 19 4 54 0.562 209 191 2nd OHA
1960-61 48 18 24 6 42 0.438 167 204 5th OHA
1961-62 50 19 23 8 46 0.460 194 206 3rd OHA
Playoffs
Complete results prior to 1960 are currently unavailable.
  • 1960-61 Lost to St. Michael's Majors 8 points to 4 in quarter-finals.
  • 1961-62 Lost to Hamilton Red Wings 9 points to 3 in OHA semi-finals.

Arena

edit

The St. Catharines Teepees played in the Garden City Arena in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario from 1947 to 1962, as did their predecessors the Falcons.[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ Annual Report: Constitution, Regulations and Rules of Competition. Cambridge, Ontario: Ontario Hockey Association. 2006. p. W-13.
  2. ^ Garden City Arena - OHL Arena & Travel Guide