The Innisfail Eagles have a long history of playing hockey in this town.
Over the last eight years or so Mike Bennett has spent numerous hours trying to find every bit of information on the Eagles. He has compiled what he likes to call his Bible of the Innisfail Eagles history. This week I would like to share some of the history with my readers.
Mike has been able to find newspaper articles dating back to the winter of 1944 – 45 when a senior men’s hockey team from Innisfail played in at least two games that winter.
From ’44 to 1950 the Senior team played games here and there on outdoor rinks and ponds around Central Alberta.
The 1950 – 51 season saw major changes to Innisfail and the Senior team. Lundgren Hoffos Motors along with Case IH donated enough money to the team to have the team name themselves the Eagles after Abe the Eagle. Abe is an iconic figure in American history and is the figurehead for Case IH. On January 25, 1951 the Innisfail social club approved the building of the War Memorial Arena.
After missing playoffs by two points in the 1950 – 51 season the Eagles took a season off. The team started up again in ’52 under the name of the Aces.
The Aces had a big year in the ’53 – ’54 season. The team played their first home game ever inside the new War Memorial arena (building cost was $150,000).
Ted Kemp scored the Aces’ first goal in the arena with assists going to Floyd McMullen and Al Hansen.
This season was also the first known documentation of Innisfail playing in the Hi-way 2-11 League. The team played the following season out of this league as well.
The Chinook Hockey League formed over the summer of 1955.
The league’s depute season had eight teams join the league. They included the Red Deer Burnt Lakers, Stettler Imperials, Trochu Arenas, Innisfail Aces, Didsbury Ramblers, Crossfield, Carstairs Colts and Red Deer Monarchs.
In 1957 the Innisfail senior team changed their name to the Oilers and joined the Central Alberta Hockey League.
Lee Bishop is noted as being the organizer of the Oilers that year.
The Oilers returned to the Chinook League in 1958 and have remained with the league ever since. First evidence of a coach and manager: Stan Dorohoy was listed as the coach while Vince Tedishini was the team’s manager.
In 1960 the Innisfail Senior team finally brought back the name of the Eagles.
In the 1962-63 season, the Eagles won their first Chinook Hockey League Championship. The team’s head coach was Lloyd Casebeer and the team’s manager was Lionel Maher. Innisfail player Larry Tronner was the league’s top scorer with 30 goals and 34 assists.
In the 1971-72 season, the Eagles won their second C.H.L Championship under coach Ken Severtson. Severtson remained with the team as a coach and then later as the manager for the most of the 70s.
The Eagles won back-to-back championships in 1980 and 1981 under John Waugh and Jim Shanahan.
The Lacombe Merchants won the Championship in ’82. The Eagles then battled back in ’83 to take their title back. This was Waugh’s last season as head coach.
Al Ladd ran the bench as a player/coach in 1983/84 and won the Eagles’ seventh C.H.L Championship. Rob Hamil took the scoring title with 39 goals and 35 assists.
In the fall of 1991 the Innisfail Eagles finally stepped into their current home of the Innisfail Twin Arena. In the 1992-93 season the Eagles brought their first championship home to the new Innisfail Arena.
Innisfail player Wes Makofka wins his first of two C.H.L scoring titles. Makofka wins second title in the 1993-94 season. Jeff Denham made it three years straight for Innisfail players to win scoring titles. In 1995 Mike Bennett makes his debute as the Innisfail Eagles general manager.
Mike Bennett continued to operate the Innisfail Eagles until 2008. In his 13 seasons as general manager, the Eagles came in second numerous times in both the C.H.L and in provincial championships. So many times did Bennett and his team come so close to capturing gold and yet they could just not quite surpass the stronger Northern Eagles of Stony Plain.
Bennett retired at the end of the 2008 season but remains today as the sponsorship guru and assistant G.M.
I love history; to me history is what a community and families build on.
Without history you have no foundation. Foundations are strong with the Eagles - we see that in what happens when tragedy strikes to one of our own.
The Innisfail Eagles Alumni game in support of the Waugh/Allan family will be held this Friday, Feb. 18 at the Innisfail Twin Arena. The night is set to begin at 6 p.m. with beef on a bun being supplied by Darwin Ross and Sungold Meats. At 7 p.m. the kids of Innisfail Minor Hockey will show off their skills in the skills competition. At 8 p.m. the Alumni will dust off their hockey gear and entertain the crowd with how slowly hockey can be played.
Dont forget to mark this special event on your calendar as all proceeds from this event will be going to the Waugh/Allan family.
