Pats to honour ’74 Memorial Cup-winning squad as part of Fan Appreciation Night

By: Cami Kepke – Western Hockey League

Regina, Sask.- Memorial Cup memories and stories of, arguably, the best Regina Pats team in history pour from Ed Staniowski as if they had just happened.

“Where’s the last 50 years gone? It’s like yesterday that the team was together when we won that championship,” Staniowski said.

Members of the 1974 Memorial Cup winning squad and fans will have a chance to re-live the experience as the team reunites as part of Regina’s Fan Appreciation Night on Friday, March 22.

For Staniowski, the Pats goaltender at the time, the true bond that put the renowned group on the path to junior hockey greatness was actually forged overseas when team President and General Manager Del Wilson and Head Coach Bob Turner packed the team up and took them to Stockholm, Sweden to compete in the 1974 Ahearne Cup.

“Different language, different food, we were forced to come together as a team- and we were playing against the best players in Europe at the time,” Staniowski recalled. “The Red Army team, for example, we played against them. We’re talking about that same team that he has played in ’72 with Tretiak and Kharlamov. All the big names and big guns and we got thrashed by every every team that we played over there, but it brought our team together.”

Despite not winning a single game in Scandinavia, the Pats posted a 26-6-4 record in league play after coming home and steamrolled through the playoffs to face the Quebec Remparts in the Memorial Cup final.

The game took place in a packed Stampede Corral in Calgary, where Regina had swept the Centennials in the WHL Championship just weeks earlier.

Along with the players’ families who made the trek west, Calgary fans took the Pats under their wing in the West vs. East final- though things sure looked like a lock for the Remparts after the first period.

“We were down 3-1,” Staniowski said. “Being the goaltender for the Pats, I was not pleased with my play, quite frankly.”

Staniowski emphasized that the Pats did not have a captain that year, instead recognizing four alternates in hopes of generating a shared spirit of responsibility and leadership.

“We did have a couple of guys who could stand up in the dressing room and speak for all of us, and Dennis (Sobchuk) did,” Staniowski added. “He stood up and he told Bobby (Turner) ‘We’re gonna win this game, and I’m gonna score three goals.’ Bob looked around the room and left. There was nothing else that needed to be said and we went out. Dennis got his three goals and we won the game.

“5,000-6,000 people in the building. I’m sure they’re hanging from the rafters. We just had tremendous support and momentum built in the third period and we took the lead and the clock was winding down. I can remember being in that and watching the play going on. In your mind, you’re trying to focus on the play, but it just might happen and the excitement builds and before you know it, that final buzzer goes and the rest becomes a blur.”

Now 68 years old, Staniowski expects the stories told this weekend will come with laughter and tears.

It’s been two years since famed NHL tough guy and Hockey Hall-of-Famer Clark Gillies passed away after a battle with cancer, and 10 since the group mourned the loss of alternate captain Rick Uhrich.

Bob Turner died in 2005.

The reunion is a chance to share the tall tales of victory and the smaller, cherished memories that came along the way.

Standing at about 5-foot-9 at the time, Staniowski remembers training with Gillies at Moose Jaw’s famed Pyles Gym in hopes of adding some weight to catch the eye of NHL scouts.

“Clark was a big man, big lad when he played for the Pats and spent a lot of time in the gym,” Staniowski, who went on to play parts of 10 seasons in the NHL, noted. “Dave Pyles used to put Clark and I in the ring together.  You can imagine me at 170 pounds fighting Clark at 220, slugging it out in the gym with boxing gloves. That’s what we did. And I don’t think it toughened Clark up at all.”

While no Pats team has captured junior hockey’s ultimate prize since 1974, Staniowski had another impactful experience with the Memorial Cup.

The Moose Jaw, Sask. product followed up his on-ice stint with a nearly 30-year career in the Canadian Forces, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel and even serving in Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, the regiment the Pats are named for.

The Memorial Cup itself was established to honour the memory of those who died in service in World War I and has since been dedicated to all soldiers who died fighting for Canada in any conflict.

In 2017, Staniowski was invited to accompany the Memorial Cup to Vimy Ridge in France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle.

While the lead-up to the ceremony had its gaffs- the shipping company tasked with sending the Memorial Cup to Staniowski in Germany sent the trophy to the wrong town- the experience remains a highlight of his military service.

It’s one of many stories sure to be shared at the Pats’ Fan Appreciation Game against Brandon on Friday at 7:00 p.m. CST.

“We will honor those that aren’t with us anymore and we have everybody but two players who are still with us attending this weekend, which is fantastic,” Regina Pats CEO Gord Pritchard said. “We have a bunch of different gifts and prizes that we’re going to that we’re going to give out to season ticket holders and fans in attendance on Friday night… There’s a nice tribute video to our fans that will play at the end of the game and before the game starts we will have our annual team awards.”

Members of the 1974 Memorial Cup-winning team will also participate in a free hot stove at the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 23 at 1:00 p.m.