1954–55 was the ninth season of the Western International Hockey League.
Season recap
The Kimberley Dynamiters defeated the powerful Nelson Maple Leafs four games to one in a best-of-seven series for the 1954-55 WIHL championship. The Dynamiters went on to play the Vernon Canadians in the Savage Cup playdowns, and were trounced four games to one. It was a frustrating season for the Dynamiters.
FIRST—they lost the league title to the Nelson Maple Leafs in the final game of the season, 4-3 at Nelson, after leading the pack most of the entire season.
SECOND--Buzz Mellor lost the scoring championship to Nelson's Joe Bell by less than one point, with the percentage basis in force that year. Joe Bell picked up an assist on the Maple Leaf final goal of the regulation season, by just being on the ice. He no more deserved an assist on the goal than the timekeeper, but nevertheless it cost Buzz Mellor the scoring crown. Claude Bell of the Kimberley Dynamiters enjoyed his best season ever, finishing one point behind teammate Buzz Mellor in the scoring race. He paced the league in the goal department that term, with 30 markers in only 34 games, while most of the other teams played a 44 game schedule.
THIRD—the Dynamiters ace goalie, Earl Betker, lost out to Nelson's Ray Mikulan for the goaltending award, by a slim margin of 3.97 to 3.95 average. One consolation: Earl Betker was picked the WIHL All-Star netminder that season.
FOURTH—Earl Betker suffered a severe back injury when he came out of his net to block Fritz Koehle's shot in the second game of the playoffs in Nelson. The courageous Dynamiter goalie, after being carried from the ice, returned to play the ten minutes of regulation time, and held the Dynamiters in the game in overtime, with playing coach Norm Larsen scoring the winner with 12 seconds remaining in the first overtime. It wasn't necessary to dress a spare goaltender in those days, and Betker disobeyed the doctor's advice, and went out and made many brilliant saves, despite the fact he was labouring under terrific pain. He failed to see further action for the Dynamiters that season, with Kimberley securing the services of Spokane Flyers' Jerry Fodey.
Just to show you how desperate the Nelson Maple Leafs wanted to win was when they launched a protest to the WIHL, on the grounds that the injured Betker took approximately 15 minutes to return to action. The protest was disallowed after the league executive conferred with the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association (BCAHA), and the bad publicity the Maple Leafs received didn't help their cause. The Maple Leaf players were not in favour of the protest.
Jerry Fodey proved himself a real sportsman by coming to the Dynamiters rescue. When contacted by the Dynamiters executive, he never even asked about money, but caught a bus for Kimberley, British Columbia and played brilliantly in the Dynamiters net.
FIFTH—The WIHL introduced 12-man hockey in the league that season, and when the Dynamiters met the Vernon Canadians in the Savage Cup finals, they were a tired crew. The Okanagan Senior League played with a 15-man roster that season. The Dynamiters played four games in as many nights in their semi-finals against the Spokane Flyers, and to top it off, rushed right into the WIHL finals against the Nelson Maple Leafs, playing five games in six days. The players were not supermen, and it showed in their series with Vernon.
SIXTH—The Dynamiters were forced to make Kelowna, British Columbia their headquarters, because the BCAHA decided to play games in Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon and Kamloops, because Vernon wasn't supporting senior hockey. In order to bring their roster up to strength, the Dynamiters talked Bill "Tank" Johnston and Jack "Buck" Kavanaugh out of retirement, in order to dress three lines.
Kimberley beat Spokane in Semi-Finals. The Kimberley Dynamiters and Spokane Flyers locked horns in a best-of-five semi-final series; with the Nelson Maple Leafs taking on the last place Trail Smoke Eaters in a similar affair. The Leafs took the Smokies out in four games, with the Dynamiters doing likewise to the Flyers.
Backed by the scintillating goaltending of Earl Betker, the Dynamiters won the opening game against Spokane 5-2, before 1,600 home fans. Claudie Bell paced the Dynamiters with two goals, with singletons going to Buzz Mellor, Gerry Barre and Barry Craig. Lorne Nadeau collected both Spokane goals. Bill Jones, the Dynamiters hard working defenceman, was picked the number one star of the game.