1956-57 Western Canada Allan Cup Playoffs

==Champions==
 British Columbia:	Spokane Flyers
 Thunder Bay:		Fort William Beavers
Note: There were minor pro teams in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in the Western Hockey League. This partly accounts for the lack of senior teams in western Canada.
==Final==
Best of 7
Date 	Winner 	Loser 	Location
March 30	Spokane 3 	Fort William 1	Fort William
April 1 	Spokane 3 	Fort William 2	Fort William
April 3 	Fort William 6	Spokane 5 	Fort William
April 5 	Spokane 2 	Fort William 2	Fort William
April 6 	Fort Wlliam 4 	Spokane 2 	Fort William
April 8 	Spokane 6 	Fort William 1	Fort William
April 9 	Spokane 4 	Fort William 2	Fort William
Spokane Flyers beat Fort William Beavers 4 games to 2, 1 tie.
Spokane Flyers advanced to the 1956-57 Allan Cup Final.
==Newspaper Story==
From the: Spokane, WA Spokesman-Review
Friday, April 10, 1957
Flyers Are Western Champions; Win by 4-2
Spokane Club in Allan Cup Finals; Johnny Sofiak Great
Special to the Spokesman-Review
FORT WILLIAM, Ont., April 9--The Spokane Flyers tonight reign as senior
amateur hockey champions of Western Canada.
Spokane earned the championship and the Patton Cup that goes with it by
downing Fort William's Beavers, 4-2, behind the brilliant goaltending of
John Sofiak. It was the first time in senior amateur hockey history that an
American team was able to win the Western Canada title. The victory advances
the Flyers to the finals of Allan Cup play for the Canadian championship.
Spokane will meet either Whitby or North Bay in the final series. The two
Canadian teams are now playing off in the Eastern final with Whitby leading,
1-0.
Sofiak was the difference tonight as the Flyers took their fourth and
deciding victory in the best-of-seven series.
Zahara Hits Winner
Fort William played its best hockey of the entire series in the first two
periods. But the score was two-all when the second period was over. The
Beavers couldn't cope with the Flyer goalie and finally weakened in the
final 20 minutes.
John Zahara, the swift rookie from Peace River, Alberta, got the winner for
the Flyers with just 3:54 gone in the last period. Passes from Carl Cirullo
and Doug Toole set Zahara up about 20 feet from the net and the Flyer
forward caught Beaver goalie Paul Morin out of position with a shot that
slid in on the short side of Morin. Tom Hodges added a "make sure" goal that
virtually assured the Flyers of victory at 9:10.
Hodges "Home Free"
The Beavers were pressing with everything they had at that time. Tick
Beattie swiped the puck for the Flyers and whipped it to Dave Gordichuk.
Gordichuk came through with his third big assist of the night when he put
Hodges in for a breakaway that Morin had no chance of stopping. Sofiak's
toughest moments came later in the first and second periods.
Art "the dart" Jones put the Spokes in front, 1-0, with 6:32 gone in the
game on a wicked, waist-high eight footer. Then Fort William's Steve Black
sneaked one past Sofiak to tie it at 8:41. The Spokane goaltender was under
heavy pressure through the rest of the period with the climax coming when
Jones went off at 16:38, and Larry Plante at 16:51, to leave the Flyers two
men short.
Big John buckled down and a terific job of penalty skating by Beattie, Jack
Lancien and Don McLeod pulled the Flyers out of the fire.
Writing Out Loud
by Bill Boni Spokesman-Review Sports Editor
Thursday, April 11, 1957
Sofiak Earns Credit for Much of Flyer Success
Far back in February, the Spokane Flyers lost a play-off hockey game to the
Rossland Warriors by a score of 7-4. Even though one of those seven goals
went into a net which large John Sofiak vacated some moments earlier so that
the Flyers might "ice" an extra skater and thus try to pull even, it was a
night on which the round man was not at his best.
But ever since--in four straight wins over Rossland that followed, the four
straight over Grant Warwick's Trail Smoke Eaters which came after that; the
eight games of the Vernon titanic series and then the seven more against
Fort William--big John has been at his best almost every night. Sofiak is a
lot like the little girl who had the little curl. There have been occasions
when the Flyer defence sagged, the opposition got two or three quick goals;
and John promptly appeared to lose interest in the proceedings.
There have been none of those nights in Spokane's historic progress to the
final round of the Allan Cup series, from which the winner will emerge with
what amounts to the senior hockey championship of North America. Instead,
John has been at his best--and, to get back to the little girl, when Sofiak
is good, he is very, very good.
How About Forming North American Association?
The powers-that-be of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association may be
greeting the Flyers' presence in this title round with mixed emotions. In
fact, I'd be willing to bet that they are. After all, the Allan Cup has been
a purely Canadian prize ever since it was first put up for competition back
in 1908. But there should be some consolation for the CAHA in the fact that
all of the Flyers, even those who have acquired or applied for United States
citizenship--are Canadian by birth. Over and above that, there might be a
solution to the present oddity of having a United States-based team playing
for a Canadian title. That would be a consolidation of the amateur hockey
operation north and south of the world's longest unguarded frontier.
West of Chicago, the Flyers are the only American team competing in senior
hockey. East of Chicago there are a number of teams competing in what could
be such hockey, or is comparable. There is the Eastern League, whose members
include Charlotte, North Carolina, and Philadephia, both of which were
anxious to play here this spring. There is the International League, with
clubs (I believe) in Toledo and Indianapolis, to name just two.
If all of this hockey on the United States side of the border could be
amalgamated with the CAHA's senior leagues, which stretch from the Okanagan,
east to Canada's Maritimes, it would be possible to set up a North American
play-off which would be just that in name and in fact.
Patrick's Prediction of "Death" Seems Odd
It was odd to read, along with the account of the Flyers' clinching win at
Fort William, of Lester Patrick's decision to pull out of the Western League
hockey operation at Victoria, because, he claimed, "the game is dying."
Perhaps the game is dying in Victoria. But what proof is that, as far as
other cities are concerned?
The sport had been virtually dead in Seattle. In the last two seasons it has
come back with a far-echoing bounce. Until the Flyers moved into the
Coliseum, it was in danger of expiring here. No sports operation in the
entire Northwest now is more solid--and after what coach Roy McBride and his
crew have accomplished this season, it's bound to keep flourishing.
Los Angeles is in the process of building an 18,000 seat indoor arena. The
Califorinans figure on having hockey in there. Portland, it is said, hopes
to get back into the picture as soon as its red-tape-tangled Exposition and
Recreation center gets off the drawing board and on the ground. The biggest
boost the game has had in years came from this last winter's televising of
National League games, which proved helpful from an instructional
standpoint, even for a great many Spokane fans.
Hockey dying? It seems like an odd thing for Lester Patrick to say, since he
is the one man who contributed as much as anyone in giving Canada's national
pastime a solid foothold in the United States.
Things Worked Out Well in the Long Haul
At the risk of boring the nonhockey following readership, let's say it with
a few more paragraphs.
There was considerable indignation when the Flyers were rushed out of here
for Fort William on such a tight schedule, that they ahd to step out of a
group of Fort William automobiles and into their hockey suits to play the
first game, and then had to play another about 28 hours later.
But everything worked out well in the long haul. Bobby Kromm and Don McLeod
arrived on the scene just in time to pick up the injury-caused slack. The
Flyers left no doubt about their superiority in the last two games, and now
have the opportunity--unusual in play-off hockey--of seeing at least two
games of the series which will decide which team they play for the
championship trophy.
What's more, they should have at least a week in which to get in some
practice time, as well as rest their bones from the rigors of the 24
play-off games that are behind them. Twenty-four games? That's right. How
many did they play at home in the regular season? Twenty-four.
It's making, what with one thing and another, for a long season.
==Team Photos==
56-57SpoFly.jpg|Spokane Flyers
==See Also==
List of Western Canada Allan Cup Playoffs
Category:Western Canada Allan Cup Playoffs
Category:1957 in hockey