AMONG the benefits of supplying this weekly contribution to the readers over the past 25 years is continuing to learn more on the storied hockey history, here in the Lakehead.
One such nugget was gaining further knowledge on the 1951-52 Fort William Hurricanes, who climbed through the ranks to win the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League championship, 70 years ago.
During that campaign, the Herks finished third in the four-team standings, yet were only a mere five points out of share of top spot, behind the front-running Port Arthur West End Bruins and one shy of the second-seeded Port Arthur Flyers while finishing ahead of the fourth place Fort William Columbus Canadiens.
In what was expected to be tightly-contested semifinal series with the Flyers, the Hurricanes rode the stalwart goaltending of Dave Gatherum to register a three-game sweep and earn them a place in the final versus the vaunted West End Bruins.
After dusting the Flyers 9-2 in the opener, it got much tougher from there.
In fact, the final two match-ups were decided by just one goal, including a game-winner provided by Norm Berglund in the finale, which came at 18:38 of the third period.
Gatherum and Berglund were not the only solid contributors on that Hurricanes squad, as they boasted the likes of Larry Cahan on defence, who went on to a very productive NHL career.
Up front, their leading scorer was Alex (Moe) Irving, himself going on to be an established icon in local hockey circles for many years.
He, along with Frank Richardson and Doug Graham, served as captains of the club that year.
While Irving led the team in scoring, they also had plenty of offensive firepower from Don Poile, who sat second in offensive production and like Cahan, went on to a successful run in the pro ranks.
Their coach was Louis Passador, someone else that made tremendous inroads in the game.
In his time, Passador was a scout for the Detroit Red Wings and is said to have played a pivotal role in them signing the legendary Alex Delvecchio.
As a trusted bird-dog, he went on to serve as a head scout with NHL clubs for many years, including lengthy stints with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues, as well as a term with NHL Central Scouting.
Taking on the defending league title holders from Port Arthur in the final, Fort William came out strong and took the opening two match-ups in the best-of-seven affair with a pair of 4-3 victories.
After the Bruins answered with a 7-5 triumph in Game 3, the Hurricanes took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with a 4-1 decision in an action-packed next meeting, that featured a stormy melee, late in the proceedings.
With their backs against the wall, the reigning champs proved they would not go down without a battle, as they trounced the Herks 7-3 in Game 5 on home ice.
That set the stage for a thrilling finale that was played in front of a record-setting crowd of 5,696 that were jammed to the rafters inside the confines of the Fort William Gardens.
In that contest, Poile potted a pair, while Irving and Norm Franchi supplied singles, to counter markers from the Bruins’ Buddy Kohler, Bruce Lea and Nick Hill, to give the Hurricanes a 4-3 triumph and their first TBJHL crown since 1943.
This result toppled a run that saw Port Arthur (Bruins & Flyers) win it all on seven of the previous eight occasions.
Fort William Columbus Club also won in that span, back in 1947, a year before the fabled West End Bruins went on to capture the Memorial Cup.
Next week: Part II on the 1951-52 Fort William Hurricanes junior side and their quest for more than just a local title.