The 1966-67 season promised to be a big one for Seattle's Totems in many ways. It had been 8 years since the Totems last won a championship (1959), and after a disappointing 1965-66 season, the franchise made some big changes. Star center, Bill MacFarland, hung up the skates to go behind the bench as the Totems' head coach replacing the outgoing Bobby Kromm. In addition, the organization acquired a number of solid players to help lead the team to the promise land. Goaltender Jim Armstrong was picked up from the Toledo Blades of the International Hockey League; right winger Chuck Holmes, who won two WHL championships while with the Edmonton Flyers, was acquired from the Portland Buckaroos; a quartet of defencemen - Bob Lemieux (Muskegon, IHL), Jean Gauthier (Quebec, AHL), Pat Quinn (Houston, CHL) and Noel Picard (Houston) - were added to the roster. Finally, right winger Howie Hughes was dealt to Seattle by Vancouver - a move that would come to haunt the Canucks.
In addition to the personnel changes, the Totems made a change in uniforms. No longer were they wearing the blue, red and white. The new look was now kelly green and white, and the new logo had a Coast Salish design.

Thanks in large part to the modern space-age Seattle Center Coliseum, the Totems - Next to University of Washington football and horse racing at Long Acres Racetrack - were one of the biggest draws in town. Add to that the rumblings of National Hockey League expansion that were going on at the time, the team's future was looking quite bright. The season was full of promise.

Unfortunately, the team didn't exactly jump out of the starting gate. In fact, the slow start the Totems had almost prompted rookie coach MacFarland to quit. Fortunately for Seattle hockey fans, he persevered and the Totems made their way up the standings, overtook the Vancouver Canucks for second place late in the season by winning 12 of their last 13 games and finished the season with a record of 39-26-7 - just four points behind the first-place Portland Buckaroos.
In the playoff semi-finals, the Totems took on the California Seals in a best of seven series. The first two games were played in Seattle, and the Totes - led by the solid goaltending of Jim McLeod - won both by scores of 3-1 and 4-0. The next three games of the series were played at the Oakland Arena. The Seals won the third game 2-1 which compelled coach MacFarland to berate a few of his players publicly. The team responded two nights later with a 3-2 victory, but in game 5 penalties hurt the lads in kelly green and the Seals won 4-3. The teams returned to Seattle, and the Totems finally put the Seals and the series away in a 4-1 victory.
The stage was now set for the WHL Lester Patrick Cup Finals between the Totems and the Vancouver Canucks, who made it to the final by upsetting season-champion Portland 4 games to nothing. The first two games were played at the Forum in Vancouver. In front of a crowd of 4,675, the Totems picked up where they left off and took the first game 3-2. In game 2, the Canucks got off to a 3-1 lead with goals by Larry Cahan, Barry Watson and WHL Rookie-of-the-Year, Ron Boehm. But the Totems fought back, and in a span of 16 seconds they tied the game with goals by Larry Hale and Noel Picard. Picard then put the Totems ahead for good in the third with a blast from the point, and the Totems won the game 4-3 much to the chagrin of a sold-out Vancouver Forum crowd.

The series then shifted down to Seattle and once again the Totems had to battle back from behind - three times! Led by Larry Lund's 2 goals and an assist, the Totes won 4-3. The next evening, In front of a Coliseum crowd of 8,367, it appeared as if the Canucks might steal game 4. After taking a 1-0 lead, the Canucks played a tight-checking game and held onto their lead for most of the game. But in the third period, reality set in. WHL superstar, Guyle Fielder, laid down a beautiful pass to rookie Jim Paterson who fired the puck into the twine and tied the game for the Totems. Then at 16:49 Howie Hughes made the Canucks regret that they ever let him go. With Lund and Canuck Ken Block jostling in front of the Vancouver net, Hughes got a hold of the puck and fired it along the ice, right through a small opening between goalie Al Smith and the goal post. Bedlam ensued in the Coliseum. 3 minutes and 39 seconds later, Hughes did it again by scoring an open-net goal to lead the Totems to a 3-1 victory, a 4-0 series win and the Lester Patrick Cup.

"I don't know how it went in, I just shot it, man."- Howie Hughes describes cup winning goal. Photo by Roy Scully, Seattle Times