Powell River Regals - The 1990s

The 1990s

The BC Amateur Hockey Association adopted a four-team tournament format for the 1989-90 season to determine the Coy Cup champion. After downing Quesnel during the round-robin portion of the tournament, the Regals suffered a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Kangaroos in overtime of the semi-final game.

1990-91 marked the first occasion in which the Regals played for the AAA Savage Cup provincial title. Not having a league to play in was the main reason for the step up. The most talented team in many years breezed through the round-robin, received a bye to the final, and were able to rest and watch the host Whitehorse Canadians fall to Abbotsford in the semi-final. Full of confidence, the Regals got into early penalty trouble in the championship game, fell behind, and were never able to recover.

Regals joined the Royal City Hockey league in 1991-92 and would again play for the Coy Cup. With just 16 players on the score sheet, the green and gold fought their way to a 4-3 semi-final victory over Sicamous and set-up a final match-up with the host Penticton Silver Bullets. Despite a heroic goaltending performance by Tyler Findlater, two timely second period goals by Verne Kinley and a third period marker by Russ Simmons, Penticton put an end to the Regals Cup quest for another year with an empty-net goal late in the third.

The 23-year drought would finally end in 1992-93. The acquisition of high-scoring defenseman Jim Smith was a big boost to the team’s offense. After taking both the league and playoff titles in the RCHL, the Regals hosted the Coy Cup tournament and received the bye to the final after round-robin wins over Sicamous and Fort St. John, and a tie with the New Westminster Beavers. The Beavers would make their way to the final as well and face the Regals for the ninth time that season. The game would end the same way as the first seven matches, a Regal victory. Many members of the championship team had been around for the many disappointing outcomes during the previous years and it was a great relief to them to finally be able to sip from the coveted Coy Cup.

The team once again moved up to the AAA level in 1993-94 and dominated the RCHL losing just two games all year and was considered the favorite to win the four-team Savage Cup tournament held in Prince George. As it turned out they were the first team ousted after losses to the host club and similar outcomes against Quesnel and the eventual champions from Penticton. Important additions that year were Scott Mastrodonato and Trevor Forsythe who combined with Vanderkemp and Smith to form a solid core on defence for many years.

The RCHL became the West Coast Senior Hockey League in 1994-95 but the new name was the only change. The Regals once again finished atop the standings just ahead of vastly improving New Westminster. In April of 1995 the Regals hosted the Savage Cup tournament and earned the bye to the final with wins over Prince George, Bellingham and Quesnel. The Kangaroos fought their way to the final and the two old foes put on a thrilling show with the Regals coming out with a 5-4 double overtime victory on a goal by Jim Smith. The following weekend the Regals travelled to Stony Plain, Alberta, to play for a national championship for the first time in 25 years. After losing the first game to the defending champions from Warroad, Minnesota, Regals defeated Truro, Nova Scotia 6-1 before being eliminated from further action by the host team after a 5-3 loss. Shortly after the end of the season, the club submitted a successful bid to host the 1997 Allan Cup tournament.

Regals defended their Savage Cup title in 1995-96 with a three games to one series win over the Prince George Lumber Kings. The Kings earned a split of the first two games in Powell River making the win even more impressive as the remainder of the series would be played in the northern BC city. After taking Game 3, Regals trailed by two goals after 40 minutes of game four until Mark Bogoslowski scored twice in the third to complete his hat-trick and lead his team to victory. Next on the agenda was Stony Plain in the BC/Alberta finals. All games in the best-of-five series were to be held in the town just outside of Edmonton. The home team would only need three of them to secure the win and move on to the Allan Cup, edging the Regals by scores of 7-5, 5-3 and 4-2.

After two years of planning and preparation, the Allan Cup tournament took place in Powell River from April 8 to 12, 1997. Regional champions from Stony Plain (West), Truro, Nova Scotia (East) and Warroad, Minnesota (Central) joined the host Regals to battle for the Canadian Senior AAA title. Regals downed Truro and Warroad, then skated to a 3-3 tie with Stony Plain to finish atop the round-robin and secure a birth in the final. Third-place finisher and three-time defending Allan Cup champion Warroad upset second place Truro in the semi-final and joined the Regals in the championship game. Trailing 2-1, Regals scored two late second period goals and never looked back. Bob Moon scored the eventual winner early in the third followed by Rick McLaren’s insurance marker, the second of the game for the team’s rookie of the year. Warroad answered once more but tournament MVP Scott Mastrodonato’s goal into an empty net sealed a 7-3 victory for the home team in front of a packed recreation complex arena.

The 1997-98 season once again resulted in Stony Plain representing Alberta and the Regals doing the same for British Columbia. The best-of-five series was played in Powell River with the Regals winning games 1, 2 and 4 backed by strong goaltending from Chad Vizzutti. The team would travel right across the country to Nova Scotia to attempt to defend their title. Competition was stiff and the Regals finished the round-robin in fourth and would advance no further after losses to Truro and London, Ontario, and a win over Ile des Chenes, Manitoba.

Stony Plain hosted the 1999 Allan Cup tournament and finished first after edging the Regals by a goal in the final game of the round-robin. Regals got past Lloydminster in the semi-final and advanced to the final where they played their fifth game in five days. The well-rested host team took advantage of the weary Regals with three early goals and eventually built a 5-0 lead. Rick McLaren finally got the Regals on the board in the second with a short-handed goal, building momentum for his team. Regals would get as close as 5-3 and dominated the third period but time ran out and the home team hoisted the Allan Cup.