Bill Brown becomes first owner of the Vernon Junior 'A' Franchise, Junior Canadians, for the inaugural 1961-62 Season.
On November 2nd, 1961 the Vernon News
reported.... "Vernon Junior Canadians
were edged 5-4 by the Kelowna Buckaroos Tuesday
night (October 31st) in a fast, hard-checking
thriller that was decided in a 10-minute overtime
period...
Over 300 fans at Civic Arena were treated to
hockey played with heart and played to win in the
opening game of the newly formed Okanagan Junior
"A" Hockey League..."
Vern Dye would manage the team while the coach for the first year would be local hockey legend, Norman "Odie" Lowe.
Statistics wise, it was not a very successful season for the Vernon Jr. Canadians ... success, was the fact, that they played their first season as a junior 'A' team.
Side Note: It should be noted that the Vernon team was primarily made up of local area players throughout the 60's. This is why the team lacked players for many games, due to work and other commitments. It was also the reason that made the rivalries between the teams, of the league, more intense as, the other clubs also had their own local players on their teams.
VERNON JUNIOR CANADIANS | |||||||||||||||||
Season | League | ||||||||||||||||
Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||
Rank | GP | W | L | T | PTs | GF | GA | GP | W | L | GF | GA | Result / Series-Score / Opponent | ||||
1961-62 | OMJHL | 4th | 29 | 7 | 21 | 1 | 15 | 95 | 182 | 5 | 2 | 3 | - | - | |||
Lost Semifinals, 2-3 (Kelowna) |