Powell River Regals - The 1960s

The 1960s

In the 1961-62 season, guided by coach Andy McCallum, the Regals finally advanced up the play-off ladder into the Coy Cup finals for the first time. They lost that series to the powerhouse Twin City Macs from the Okanagan.

Regals made their second and third consecutive trips to the Coy Cup finals in the following two seasons but came up short in both series, falling on each occasion to the Kamloops Chiefs. Beset by insurmountable problems and without a league to play in, the Regals hung up their gear for the 1964-65 season.

The following year the Regals again reached the Coy Cup finals, emblematic of intermediate hockey supremacy in British Columbia. Playing in Quesnel against the Kangaroos, the Regals lost a bitterly fought series that had the Powell River fans glued to their radios. It was the first year of operation for CHQB 1280 AM and what a following they had. Walking down any street in town the game could be heard as radios were turned way up. Many people, who had been with the club for years, including Hap Parker, say that the series was the making of the Regal Club. Down to nine players due to injuries, the team fought for two and a half periods of overtime before bowing out to the Kangaroos.

The Regals became Coy Cup champions for the first of four times in 1966-67 as they beat the jinx and disposed of the Prince George Mohawks in two straight games. Their next opponents, the Lloydminster Borderkings, were a team that was to become very familiar to the Regals. Although the Borderkings prevented any further playoff action for the Green and Gold that season, they didn’t remove the satisfaction of being provincial champions.

Quesnel recaptured the Coy Cup the following season, stopping the Regals’ drive for a second-straight provincial title.

In 1968-69, a serious incident in a game against the Shmyr Flyers forced Andy McCallum to retire and Bob Crawford took up the coaching reins. Crawford led the Regals to their second Coy Cup title but the Lloydminster Borderkings once again put an end to further playoff hopes.