Blazers dominate 90’s with three Memorial Cups in four years
By Will MacLaren
Many CHL franchises would be ecstatic to win just one Memorial Cup. To have three in the trophy case is a feat reserved for only the most historically successful clubs. But three in four years? That’s an accomplishment that, in the realm of junior hockey since the CHL was founded 50 years ago, feel like an impossibility.
Then there’s the Kamloops Blazers, who spent most of the first half of the 1990’s specializing in one thing; making the impossible, possible. Also, winning. They did a lot of that, too.
It’s not like winning all of a sudden became second nature in Kamloops around the time the final decade of the 20th century began. From 1981, when the franchise was reborn as the Junior Oilers after transferring from New Westminster, BC, to 1990, the organization earned five WHL Final appearances and three league titles. Starting in 1982-83, the franchise rattled off a streak of 14 straight campaigns above .500. But a Memorial Cup Championship remained frustratingly out of the team’s grasp.
During the 1991-92 season, that would all change. Led by Head Coach Tom Renney, this edition of the Blazers featured 40-goal scorers Zac Boyer, Shayne Green and Craig Lyons and a stifling defence led by future Hockey Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer and NHL mainstays Darryl Sydor and David Wilkie. Backed by WHL Goaltender of the Year Corey Hirsch, the Blazers went 12-5, outlasting the Saskatoon Blades in a seven-game final to reach their fourth Memorial Cup appearance in nine seasons. As dramatic as that championship round would be, the Blazers saved their most frantic finish for last. Facing the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the tournament final, Boyer’s breakaway goal with 14 seconds remaining in the third period capped off a 5-4 Blazers triumph and the start of a dynastic run.
After falling in the WHL Semi-Finals in 1993, the Blazers were back for more in ’94. A rookie on that 1992 squad, Darcy Tucker was now the centerpiece of an attack that finished atop the WHL offensively, defensively and in the regular season standings. While Tucker led the way with 140 points, his teammates Rod Stevens and Jarrett Deuling also crossed surpassed the 100 mark. And while Niedermayer had moved on to the pro ranks where he would continue to win basically everything, players such as Nolan Baumgartner, Scott Ferguson and Aaron Keller were there to carry the load on the back end. In nets, Hirsch had given way to Steve Passmore and Rod Branch. There was also a rookie winger named Jarome Iginla who would first appear on hockey fan’s radar that season and remain there for the next couple of decades. In a case of history repeating, the Blazers again ousted the Blades in a winner-take-all Game 7 to clinch WHL title number five. It was off to Laval for the Memorial Cup. After punching a ticket to the final during round robin play, the Blazers held off a hard charging host club. Trailing 4-1 in the third, two quick goals by the Laval Titan put the game, and the title, in jeopardy. For all the star power on the Blazers, it was an empty netter from depth forward Bob Maudie that clinched Kamloops second title in three years.
The following season, the Blazers had their ticket to May in hand before the puck even dropped on the season. Ironically, with Kamloops hosting the Memorial Cup, the 1994-95 edition was arguably the most dominating of them all. Tucker returned to put together a 64-goal regular season. Joined up front by the likes of Hnat Domenichelli, Shane Doan and Tyson Nash, the Blazers over five goals per game in the regular season. The still-airtight defense of Baumgartner Keller and Brad Lukowich worked in tandem with returning netminder Branch to post league-leading defensive numbers. The postseason was a quicker ordeal as well. Instead of the usual seven-game battle with Saskatoon, Kamloops clinched their sixth league title with a six-game victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. The last box to check was a Memorial Cup in front of a rabid hometown crowd. Coach Hay and his club would not disappoint. Another 3-0 round robin sent the Blazers to Championship Sunday and this time, there would be no third period theatre. A seven-goal outburst in the middle frame spearheaded an 8-2 Blazers win over the OHL Champion Detroit Jr. Red Wings to bring the organization three Memorial Cups in a four-year span. For Tucker, Nash and current Calgary Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska, who were on the roster for all three titles, this provided the exclamation mark on three of the most successful junior hockey careers of all time.
Since the Memorial Cup moved to a four team format in 1983, only three clubs have earned a trifecta of CHL Championships; The London Knights, the Windsor Spitfires and the Blazers. But none but the boys from Kamloops can boast of winning those titles in a four-year span. It’s a stretch of greatness – or, you might say, a blaze of glory – that may never be seen again.
