Cupar Canucks

The Cupar Canucks are a Senior level team from Cupar, Saskatchewan. The team is based out of the Cupar Memorial Rink.

History
Hockey in Cupar began with the first recorded meeting on December 28, 1906, and on January 1, 1907, the first practice was held on a 44’ x 100’ open air rink.

Senior teams at this time consisted of seven players on the ice at one time, with no substitutions. If a player was hurt, the opposition dropped a player and the game continued.

In January, 1907, the Kirkella Branch Hockey League was formed with teams from Fort Qu’Appelle, Balcarres, Lipton, Strasbourg and Cupar forming the West Division. In that first season, Cupar won the west division final, but lost the McDonald Trophy to Esterhazy, the eastern division champions in the league finals. It is noted that also during the 1907 season, the Cupar team travelled by train and played exhibition games against teams from Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and Regina.

In September, 1910, discussion began on a new enclosed arena. The four thousand dollars needed to build this rink was financed by T.J. Shore, and work began. On Christmas Day, 1911, the rink was opened.

The war years (1914-1918) wreaked havoc on the Senior Clubs, and to help keep the club going, many younger players were part of the team. It was during this time that Eddie and Aubrey Shore started to make their mark.

By 1920, hockey had evolved to six man game, with one or two substitutions allowed. For the 1920- 1921 season, Cupar played in the North Qu’Appelle League which consisted of teams from Abernethy, Lipton and Cupar.

In March, 1922, Cupar defeated Moose Jaw to become Southern Provincial Champions, but eventually lost the Henderson Cup to Melville for the Provincial Championship. In 1926, again Cupar was a member of the Kirkella Branch Hockey League. Cupar lost to Lipton in the league final.

In the 30’s and 40’s, there was greater emphasis placed on Minor Hockey. In 1930, Bert Hillborn formed a junior team. Inspite of this, Cupar managed to ice a Senior team every year playing exhibition games against teams from Balcarres, Dysart, Lipton, Markinch, Quinton, Southey and the Souix Indians from Fort Qu’Appelle.

In 1954, with the efforts of Bill Findlay, a new skating and curling rink was built. It was this year the Senior Club known then as the Cubs, joined the Last Mountain Hockey League. The first game in the new rink was played in January, 1955 against Govan.

The Right Angle Hockey League was formed in the fall of 1962. Cupar joined the R.A.H.L. the following season (1963) and was a member until 1985, when the league folded. In the 1985-86 season, Cupar was accepted into the Highway Hockey League and continues to play in the league today.

In 1990, the “Cuplex”, the present day arena was opened becoming the new home of the current senior team, the Cupar Canucks. The first game in the Cuplex was played on December 21, 1990 against Southey.

In 2001, the Senior team hosted a Cubs/Canucks reunion. Over 250 current and ex players including Eddie Shore Jr. attended the event with the highlight of the evening being the renaming of the Cupar Sports Grounds "Shore Recreation Park".

January 31, 2006 marked the one hundredth anniversary of Senior Hockey in Cupar. The organization celebrated this historic moment on January 6, 2007, by wearing 1920 replica uniforms in a league game against the team's arch rival, the Southey Marlins. A pre-game ceremony took place where local and provincial dignitaries addressed the crowd. Ninety seven year old Brock Turner of Cupar dropped the ceremonial puck. After the game a social and an auction of the game worn jersey's was enjoyed by all who were in attendance.

Much has transpired since the first meeting in 1906. Senior Hockey in Cupar has survived many trials and tribulations over the years and as we look forward to the future, we also remember and take pride in our historic past!



Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OL = Overtime Losses, SL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against