Totems' Opponents
The Denver Spurs played out of the Denver Coliseum, which was also known as the Stockyards. It had a seating capacity of 9,200 and an ice surface of 200x85. The Spurs wore orange, black and white. The team had stars such as Larry Mavety, Curt Bennett, Roger Lafreniere and Milan Marcetta. Denver won the Lester Patrick Cup in 1972 and shortly thereafter, left the W.H.L. to join the World Hockey Association. |
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The Edmonton Flyers were a powerhouse of the Western Hockey League. The Flyers, who wore blue and gold, won three WHL championships: 1953, 1955 and 1962. And no wonder. The club had many great players who went on to successful careers in the NHL such as Al Arbour, Johnny Bucyk, Norm Ullman, Bronco Horvath, Keith Allen, Bud Poile and Glenn Hall. The Flyers played in the 6,800-seat Edmonton Gardens which held a 215x85' ice surface. |
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The Phoenix Roadrunners played in the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It had a capacity of 11,500; however, its ice surface was larger than a regulation rink at 228x90 feet. Roadrunners' colours were turquoise and copper. Star players on the Roadrunners: Andre Hinse, Murray Heatley, Sandy Hucul, Tom Polanic and Bob Barlow. The Roadrunners won the Lester Patrick Cup in 1974. |
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The Buckaroos were one of the great teams of the W.H.L., and they made their presence known by winning the Lester Patrick Cup in their inaugural season in 1961. The Buckaroos won the cup two more times in 1965 and 1971. Players such as Connie Madigan and Rick Foley gave the team toughness, while superstars like Art Jones, the Schmautz brothers, Dave Kelly, Pat Stapleton, Dallas Smith and Mike Donaldson supplied the offence and defence for the red and black. The Bucks played in the Memorial Coliseum aka the Glass Palace. It sat 10,500 for hockey and had an ice surface of 185x85. A nice video tribute to the Portland Buckaroos. |
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The Salt Lake City Golden Eagles made their debut in 1969. They played out of the Salt Lake County Civic Auditorium, or as it was affectionately known - the Salt Palace. The palace sat 11,000 and had a regulation ice surface of 200x85. Originally the Eagles' colours were blue, gold and red. They switched to green, gold and white when they became a farm club for Charlie O. Finley's California Golden Seals. Guyle Fielder was coaxed out of retirement to play for the Eagles for a couple of seasons. After the demise of the W.H.L. the Eagles joined the Central League where they won three Adams Cup championships. And when the C.H.L. folded in the early 80's, the Eagles moved on to the International Hockey League. They won two Turner Cups while playing in the 'I'. Cool home movie footage of the Golden Eagles, 1972. |
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The San Diego Gulls entered the league in the 1966-67 season. They played out of the 13,600-seat International Sports Arena which had a regulation ice surface of 200x85 feet. The Gulls' colours were royal blue, orange and white. The Gulls had many W.H.L. superstars in their lineup including goaltenders Jack McCartan and Ken Broderick, wingers Bob Courcy and Willie O'Ree and defenceman John Miszuk. |
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The San Francisco Seals entered the Western League in the 1961-62 season. They played out of the 11,000 seat Cow Palace, but in their last season the Seals moved to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena. Black, gold and white were the team colors. In only their second year the Seals captured the Lester Patrick Cup championship, and repeated the feat in 1963-64. The Seals had stars such as Ray Cyr, Gerry Odrowski, Len Haley, Forbes Kennedy and Wayne Connelly. The WHL Seals eventually gave way to the NHL expansion club of the same name in 1967-68. The Bay Area Radio Museum has posted for your listening pleasure overtime of game 7 of the 1962-63 WHL championship between the Seals and Totems. |
 
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Another one of the great WHL clubs, the Canucks were the Totems' nemesis until they left the league to join the NHL in 1970-71. The Canucks originally played out of the Vancouver Exhibition Forum on the corner of Renfrew and East Hastings. The Forum had a seating capacity of 5,080, but with NHL expansion on the horizon, the Canucks moved into the 16,000 seat Pacific Coliseum just a few blocks north of the Forum. Over the years, the Canucks had many outstanding teams including players such as Orland Kurtenbach, Phil Maloney, Andy Bathgate, Bryan Hextall, Larry Popein, Gilles Villemure, Marcel Pelletier, Billy McNeill, Tony Esposito and Gump Worsley just to name a few. The Canucks won four Lester Patrick Cup championships: 1958, 1960, 1969 and 1970.
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DENVER SPURS
EDMONTON FLYERS
SAN DIEGO GULLS
