| Buchans Miners | |
|---|---|
| City | Buchans, NL |
| League | Central West Senior Hockey League |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Home arena | TA Soper Memorial Stadium |
| Colours | Red, white |
| General manager | Gus Soper |
| Franchise history | |
| 1929–1947 | Buchans |
| 1948–1955 | Buchans All-Stars |
| 1956–1978 | Buchans Miners |
The Buchans Miners were a senior ice hockey team based in Buchans, Newfoundland and Labrador and were a member of the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League. The Miners were awarded the Herder Memorial Trophy seven times as all-Newfoundland senior hockey champions, including three consecutive championships from 1950 to 1952. The club folded in 1970 but came back for one season in the late seventies.
History
The Buchans Miners had its roots in picked teams from the local senior hockey league. Picked teams from Buchans began intertown play as early as 1929 after an ore shed was converted to a rink by the Buchans Mining Company.[1] In 1948, Buchans was the first Newfoundland senior hockey team to hire paid hockey players to improve their roster. These first imports were from Kirkland Lake, Ontario.[1]
The Miners won three straight Herder Championships from 1950 to 1952, again in 1954 and the final championship in 1963.
When the ASARCO Mining Company ended its support after the 1968–69 season, the Miners withdrew from the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League. The Miners reformed for one more season in 1977–78.
Seasons and records
Season-by-season results
| Herder Trophy champions‡ |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, DNQ = Did not qualify
NAHA, Sr. = Newfoundland Amateur Hockey Association senior division, NAHA, Sr. A = Newfoundland Amateur Hockey Association senior Section A, NSHL = Newfoundland Senior Hockey League (1962-1989) |}
| Season | League | Exhibition games | Division playoffs | Herder playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Finish | GP | W | L | GF | GA | Result | ||||||||
| 1935 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1935-36 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | lost to Corner Brook in Western Division finals | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1936-37 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Western Division champions | — | — | Lost to St. Bon's in Herder finals, 1-4 (TG) | |||||||||
| 1937-38 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | lost to Corner Brook in Western Division semifinals, 10-11(TG) | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1938-39 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Western Division champions | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1939-40 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Western Division champions | — | — | Lost to St. Bon's in Herder finals, 7-17(TG) | |||||||||
| 1940-41 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1941-42 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Herder playoffs were cancelled due to WWII | ||||||
| 1942-43 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Herder playoffs were cancelled due to WWII | ||||||
| 1943-44 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | lost to Corner Brook in Western Division finals, 0-4 | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1944-45 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1945-46 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1946-47 | NAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1947–48 | NAHA, Sr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | lost to St. Bon's in Herder finals, 3-6(TG) | |||||||||||
| 1948–49 | NAHA, Sr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||||||
| 1949–50 | NAHA, Sr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – – | – | – | won Herder vs. St. Bon's, 17-5(TG)‡ | |||||||||||
| 1950–51 | NAHA, Sr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | won Herder vs. St. Bon's, 12-6(TG)‡ | |||||||||||||
| 1951–52 | NAHA, Sr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | won Herder vs. St. Bon's, 12-3(TG)‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 1952–53 | NAHA, Sr. A | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – – | lost to Grand Falls All-Stars in Herder finals, 0-2 | ||||||||||||
| 1953–54 | NAHA, Sr. A | – | – | – | – | – | – – | – | – | – | – | – | won Herder vs. Grand Falls All-Stars, 2-1‡ | |||||||||||||
| 1954–55 | NAHA, Sr. A | – | – | – | – | – | – – | – | – | – | – | lost to Grand Falls All-Stars in Herder finals, 1-3 | ||||||||||||||
| 1955–56 | NAHA, Sr. A | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | lost to Grand Falls All-Stars in Herder finals, 0-3 | |||||||||||
| 1956–57 | NAHA, Sr. A | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||
| 1957–58 | NAHA, Sr. A | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||
| 1958–59 | NAHA, Sr. A | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||
| 1959–60 | NAHA, Sr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||||||
| 1960–61 | NAHA, Sr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||||||
| 1961–62 | NAHA, Sr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||||||
Note: There were no regular season games from 1947 through 1962. Teams played exhibition games, followed by division playoffs and the Herder playoffs.
| Season | League | Regular season | Herder playoffs | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | Finish | GF | GA | GP | W | L | GF | GA | Result | ||||||
| 1962–63 | NSHL | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 20 | 1st | 99 | 72 | won Herder vs. Corner Brook Royals, 4-2‡ | |||||||||
| 1963–64 | NSHL | lost to Corner Brook Royals in Herder finals, 2-4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1964–65 | NSHL | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1965–66 | NSHL | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1966–65 | NSHL | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1967–68 | NSHL | lost to Corner Brook Royals in Herder finals, | |||||||||||||||||
| 1968–69 | NSHL | lost to Gander Flyers in Herder finals, 0-4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1969–70 | NSHL | ||||||||||||||||||
Notes (1962-1970): Buchans was the winner of a 3-team playoff with Conception Bay and Grand Falls to decide first place as a result of a 3-way first place tie after the regular season[2]
Leaders
Captains
- Phil "Scotty" MacPhail
- Bill Scott
- Hugh Wadden
Head coaches
- Frank Bowman
- Hugh Wadden
Trophies and awards
Team awards
- Five all-Newfoundland senior hockey championships (Herder Memorial Trophy): 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1963
Individual awards
Honoured Members
Retired Numbers
NL Hockey Hall of Fame
The following people who were members of the Miners have been inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame.
Note: the year of induction into NLHHOF is noted
- Thomas Augustus (Gus) Soper (1995)
- William (Bill) Scott (1995)
- Hugh Wadden (1995)
- Frank Walker (1996)
- Mike Kelly (1999)
- James Hornell, Sr (2012)
References
Bibliography
- Abbott, Bill (2000). Herder Memorial Trophy: A History of Senior Hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador. Breakwater Books.
- Elliott, Jerry "Stats" (2010). Newfoundland and Labrador Senior Hockey: A Trip Down Memory Lane. Jerry Elliott.