The following story and photo above appeared on the cover of the Peak on April 17, 1997, five days after the Allan Cup final was played at Powell River Recreation Complex on April 12. Powell River Regals Hockey Club, which was inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017, will be inducted into the Powell River Sports Hall of Fame later this spring.
Powell River Regals won their second Canadian championship in the team's history on Saturday, April 12, ruining Warroad Lakers' quest for a fourth straight Allan Cup title.
Spurred on by their fans chanting "Go, Regals, go," the green and gold squad overcame first-period jitters and recorded a decisive 7-3 victory over the team from Minnesota that represented Central Canada.
This time the TSN “turning point of the game” had to be Trent Kaese's short-handed goal in the third period just after Warroad had made the score 5-3. Tod English set up the right winger who broke in alone and deked the goalie. Powell River became stronger and stronger with great defence for the rest of the game.
Mike Hassman gave the fans an early cheering opportunity when he scored just 36 seconds into the game. Setting him up were Bob Moon and Trevor Forsythe. After that the Regals played a scrambly, tentative style of hockey and by the halfway mark of the first period they were trailing a determined Lakers' team 2-1. Regals outshot their opponents 15-7 but were behind on the scoreboard.
Regals dug down and tied the game late in the second period with Verne Kinely and Scott Mastrodonato setting up Tim Tisdale. Just over two minutes later, Rick McLaren scored his first of two goals, from Mark Bogoslowski and Hassman. His second was unassisted after he broke up a play just outside the Lakers blue line and blasted a shot past the goalie.
Regals fourth goal was another unassisted effort by Moon.
Fans were sure of a win when Erin Ginnell sent a pass to Mastrodonato and he sent it into an empty net with less than three minutes remaining.
Mastrodonato was chosen most valuable player of the tournament and was named to the all-star team. He was joined by teammate Chad Vizzuti, who was the tournament's top goaltender with an average of 2.0. McLaren was named to the all-star forward line along with Paul Andrea of Truro Bearcats, and Paul Hanson of Warroad, who had four goals and four assists in five games. Mike Ross of Warroad was the other blueliner on the all-star team.
In addition to the Allan Cup, the Regals won the Patton Cup as Western Canadian champions. Canadian Amateur Hockey Association director Bob James made both presentations.
Warroad looked like champions in the semi-final game on April 11, against Truro, Nova Scotia. The Eastern Canada representatives were shut out 3-0 by the powerful Lakers, who scored once in each period.
A 4-3 overtime win by Stony Plain Eagles over Powell River on April 10 only counted for the McKenzie Trophy, emblematic of the BC/Alberta championship. For Allan Cup records, the game officially ended in a tie.
Regals defeated Truro and Warroad in round-robin play on April 8 and 9, 1997, and with the tie on April 10 advanced directly to the final on April 12. Stony Plain was eliminated after the round-robin portion of the tournament. Regals' first national title came in 1970, when the hockey club won the Hardy Cup intermediate A championship.
