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Victoria Maple Leafs

The Victoria Maple Leafs were a minor professional ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) that played three seasons in Victoria, British Columbia, beginning in 1964. They were the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The previous season the team had played as the Denver Invaders, with the best regular season record in the WHL, and from 1959 to 1963 the team had played as the Spokane Comets. In 1967 they became the Phoenix Roadrunners.

Victoria Maple Leafs
CityVictoria, British Columbia
LeagueWestern Hockey League
Operated1964-67
Home arenaVictoria Memorial Arena
ColoursBlue and white
Owner(s)Maple Leaf Gardens Limited
AffiliateToronto Maple Leafs

History edit

Victoria had had a baseball team named the Maple Leafs in 1915.[1] The Victoria Cougars entered the WHL as an expansion team for the 1949-50 season, but in 1961 they moved to Los Angeles to become the Blades.

In 1964 it was announced that the Denver Invaders of the WHL would be relocated to Victoria after Denver had failed to reach a 2,000 season ticket target before the June 19 deadline the league had imposed.[2][3][4][5][6] The team, which was owned by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, had lost a reported $150,000 in their first season.[7] The team became known as the Victoria Maple Leafs for the following season.[8]

The team logo was a stylized blue maple leaf, with the words "Victoria Maple Leafs" on it. They played in the Victoria Memorial Arena which opened in 1949 and sat 5033 spectators.[9] Andy Stephen called the games for local radio station CKDA. Fans of the team were well known for chanting the parent-team's cheer, "Go Leafs Go!"

In June 1967, Maple Leaf Gardens Limited sold the team for $500,000 to a group from Phoenix[2][10][11][12] which relocated it to become the Roadrunners,[13][14][15] where they played until the WHL's demise in 1974. In Phoenix, the franchise won the last two WHL championships in 1973 and 1974. The Roadrunners then competed in the World Hockey Association in 1974-75 using essentially the same team from the previous year.

1964-65 season edit

The Maple Leafs finished the 1964-65 season with a 32-36-2 W-L-T record in fourth place in the six-team league, making the WHL playoffs. Milan Marcetta led the team in scoring with 34 goals and 46 assists, and Larry Keenan scored 35 goals. Victoria sported four 30-goal scorers. Journeyman goaltender Al Millar played 63 games and future NHL goaltender Gary Smith also played in seven. The Leafs beat the Seattle Totems in a seven-game semi-final, but lost to the Portland Buckaroos in five games for the championship.

Millar played 10 playoff games in goal, with Jean-Guy Morissette playing the other two.

1965-66 season edit

In the 1965-66 season, the Maple Leafs defeated the San Francisco Seals in a seven-game semi-final, to set up a rematch of the previous year's final. They beat the regular season champion Buckaroos in seven games to capture their only Lester Patrick Cup in Victoria and the first for the franchise going back to Denver and Spokane.

They finished the regular season in second place, with a 40-28-4 record under coach Frank Mario. Milan Marcetta repeated as team scoring leader with 28 goals and 54 assists. Bob Barlow scored 42 goals and added 39 assists, Lou Jankowski scored 32 and Andy Hebenton added 31. Marcetta got 7 goals and 13 assists to win the playoff scoring title and Barlow scored another 10 goals and 9 assists tying Portland's Art Jones for second place in playoff scoring.

Barlow earned a place on the WHL First All-Star team.

Journeyman Al Millar started 51 games as goaltender before being sent to the Tulsa Oilers of the CPHL and John Henderson played in 24. With Millar gone, Henderson started all 14 playoff games.

1966-67 season edit

In their last season in the WHL, the Maple Leafs finished out of the playoffs with a fifth-place 30-34-8 W-L-T record. Buck Houle was the general manager and Frank Mario was the coach. Milan Marcetta continued as the team's top goal and point scorer with 40 goals and 35 assists. Bruce Carmichael added 30 goals. Gary Smith started 17 games for Victoria in the net. Al Smith had started the season with Toronto but arrived in time to play 55 games for Victoria. Al Smith went on to play in the NHL with Toronto and five other teams over nine seasons, as well as the New England Whalers of the WHA.

Marcetta's output in Victoria earned him a trip to Toronto to play three playoff games for the 1967 Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs[16] where his name is engraved on the Stanley Cup.

Season-by-season record edit

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
1964-65 70 32 36 2 66 246 242 926 4th Lost final (Portland Buckaroos)
1965-66 72 40 28 4 84 260 243 735 2nd Won Lester Patrick Cup
1966-67 72 30 34 8 68 224 232 613 5th Did not qualify
Totals 214 102 98 14 218 730 717 2274

References edit

  1. ^ The beginning of baseball in Victoria 1849-1921
  2. ^ a b Stott, Jon C (2008). Ice Warriors: The Pacific Coast/Western Hockey League 1948-1974. Heritage House Publishing. ISBN 9781927051047.
  3. ^ "Invaders pulled out of Denver by Smythe". The Register-Guard. 1964-06-26.
  4. ^ "Denver loses club". The Spokesman-Review. 1964-06-26.
  5. ^ "Denver's Invaders Become Retreaters". The Globe and Mail. 1964-06-26.
  6. ^ "Invader Hockey club to quit Denver". Redlands Daily Facts. 1964-06-26.
  7. ^ Dunnell, Milt (1964-06-30). "Leafs' Denver loses estimated at $150,000". Toronto Daily Star.
  8. ^ "Sports Briefs: Palmer Will Appear In Canadian Open". The Globe and Mail. 1964-07-18. p. 21.
  9. ^ The Cities of the WHL October 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Cox, Damien; Stellick, Gord (2009). '67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and the End of an Empire. John Wiley & Sons. p. 31. ISBN 9780470739273.
  11. ^ "Phoenix club charges Leafs broke contract". The Globe and Mail. 1968-05-22.
  12. ^ Beddoes, Dick (1967-09-08). "Hockey lawsuits out of style". The Globe and Mail.
  13. ^ "Victoria team to Phoenix". Montreal Gazette. 1967-05-17.
  14. ^ "Minor pro leagues may soon merge". The Globe and Mail. 1967-06-06.
  15. ^ . Times Colonist. 2005-11-29. Archived from the original on 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  16. ^ Legends of Hockey - Milan Marcetta
  • HockeyDB.com

victoria, maple, leafs, were, minor, professional, hockey, team, western, hockey, league, that, played, three, seasons, victoria, british, columbia, beginning, 1964, they, were, farm, team, toronto, maple, leafs, previous, season, team, played, denver, invader. The Victoria Maple Leafs were a minor professional ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League WHL that played three seasons in Victoria British Columbia beginning in 1964 They were the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs The previous season the team had played as the Denver Invaders with the best regular season record in the WHL and from 1959 to 1963 the team had played as the Spokane Comets In 1967 they became the Phoenix Roadrunners Victoria Maple LeafsCityVictoria British ColumbiaLeagueWestern Hockey LeagueOperated1964 67Home arenaVictoria Memorial ArenaColoursBlue and whiteOwner s Maple Leaf Gardens LimitedAffiliateToronto Maple Leafs Contents 1 History 2 1964 65 season 3 1965 66 season 4 1966 67 season 5 Season by season record 6 ReferencesHistory editVictoria had had a baseball team named the Maple Leafs in 1915 1 The Victoria Cougars entered the WHL as an expansion team for the 1949 50 season but in 1961 they moved to Los Angeles to become the Blades In 1964 it was announced that the Denver Invaders of the WHL would be relocated to Victoria after Denver had failed to reach a 2 000 season ticket target before the June 19 deadline the league had imposed 2 3 4 5 6 The team which was owned by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League had lost a reported 150 000 in their first season 7 The team became known as the Victoria Maple Leafs for the following season 8 The team logo was a stylized blue maple leaf with the words Victoria Maple Leafs on it They played in the Victoria Memorial Arena which opened in 1949 and sat 5033 spectators 9 Andy Stephen called the games for local radio station CKDA Fans of the team were well known for chanting the parent team s cheer Go Leafs Go In June 1967 Maple Leaf Gardens Limited sold the team for 500 000 to a group from Phoenix 2 10 11 12 which relocated it to become the Roadrunners 13 14 15 where they played until the WHL s demise in 1974 In Phoenix the franchise won the last two WHL championships in 1973 and 1974 The Roadrunners then competed in the World Hockey Association in 1974 75 using essentially the same team from the previous year 1964 65 season editThe Maple Leafs finished the 1964 65 season with a 32 36 2 W L T record in fourth place in the six team league making the WHL playoffs Milan Marcetta led the team in scoring with 34 goals and 46 assists and Larry Keenan scored 35 goals Victoria sported four 30 goal scorers Journeyman goaltender Al Millar played 63 games and future NHL goaltender Gary Smith also played in seven The Leafs beat the Seattle Totems in a seven game semi final but lost to the Portland Buckaroos in five games for the championship Millar played 10 playoff games in goal with Jean Guy Morissette playing the other two 1965 66 season editIn the 1965 66 season the Maple Leafs defeated the San Francisco Seals in a seven game semi final to set up a rematch of the previous year s final They beat the regular season champion Buckaroos in seven games to capture their only Lester Patrick Cup in Victoria and the first for the franchise going back to Denver and Spokane They finished the regular season in second place with a 40 28 4 record under coach Frank Mario Milan Marcetta repeated as team scoring leader with 28 goals and 54 assists Bob Barlow scored 42 goals and added 39 assists Lou Jankowski scored 32 and Andy Hebenton added 31 Marcetta got 7 goals and 13 assists to win the playoff scoring title and Barlow scored another 10 goals and 9 assists tying Portland s Art Jones for second place in playoff scoring Barlow earned a place on the WHL First All Star team Journeyman Al Millar started 51 games as goaltender before being sent to the Tulsa Oilers of the CPHL and John Henderson played in 24 With Millar gone Henderson started all 14 playoff games 1966 67 season editIn their last season in the WHL the Maple Leafs finished out of the playoffs with a fifth place 30 34 8 W L T record Buck Houle was the general manager and Frank Mario was the coach Milan Marcetta continued as the team s top goal and point scorer with 40 goals and 35 assists Bruce Carmichael added 30 goals Gary Smith started 17 games for Victoria in the net Al Smith had started the season with Toronto but arrived in time to play 55 games for Victoria Al Smith went on to play in the NHL with Toronto and five other teams over nine seasons as well as the New England Whalers of the WHA Marcetta s output in Victoria earned him a trip to Toronto to play three playoff games for the 1967 Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs 16 where his name is engraved on the Stanley Cup Season by season record editNote GP Games played W Wins L Losses T Ties Pts Points GF Goals for GA Goals against PIM Penalties in minutes Season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs1964 65 70 32 36 2 66 246 242 926 4th Lost final Portland Buckaroos 1965 66 72 40 28 4 84 260 243 735 2nd Won Lester Patrick Cup1966 67 72 30 34 8 68 224 232 613 5th Did not qualifyTotals 214 102 98 14 218 730 717 2274References edit The beginning of baseball in Victoria 1849 1921 a b Stott Jon C 2008 Ice Warriors The Pacific Coast Western Hockey League 1948 1974 Heritage House Publishing ISBN 9781927051047 Invaders pulled out of Denver by Smythe The Register Guard 1964 06 26 Denver loses club The Spokesman Review 1964 06 26 Denver s Invaders Become Retreaters The Globe and Mail 1964 06 26 Invader Hockey club to quit Denver Redlands Daily Facts 1964 06 26 Dunnell Milt 1964 06 30 Leafs Denver loses estimated at 150 000 Toronto Daily Star Sports Briefs Palmer Will Appear In Canadian Open The Globe and Mail 1964 07 18 p 21 The Cities of the WHL Archived October 22 2009 at the Wayback Machine Cox Damien Stellick Gord 2009 67 The Maple Leafs Their Sensational Victory and the End of an Empire John Wiley amp Sons p 31 ISBN 9780470739273 Phoenix club charges Leafs broke contract The Globe and Mail 1968 05 22 Beddoes Dick 1967 09 08 Hockey lawsuits out of style The Globe and Mail Victoria team to Phoenix Montreal Gazette 1967 05 17 Minor pro leagues may soon merge The Globe and Mail 1967 06 06 At home in the desert Times Colonist 2005 11 29 Archived from the original on 2016 01 27 Retrieved 2014 02 16 Legends of Hockey Milan Marcetta HockeyDB com The Unofficial Old Western Hockey League Homepage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Victoria Maple Leafs amp oldid 1183491740, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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