The Saskatoon Quakers were a Canadian ice hockey team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The team played in various senior and minor professional hockey leagues from the 1930s to the 1970s. The Quakers represented Canada and won gold at the 1934 World Hockey Championships held in Milan, Italy. In 1952, they captured the President's Cup as Pacific Coast Hockey League champions. The team was named for its sponsor, the Quaker Oats Company.1934 Saskatoon Quakers Hockey Club
History
Senior and minor professional The Quakers represented Canada in the 1934 World Ice Hockey Championships in Milan, Italy. The team won the gold medal, defeating the United States in the championship final, avenging Canada's loss to the US in the 1933 championship final.
From 1937, the Quakers were based out of the 3,300-seat Saskatoon Arena in downtown Saskatoon. The Quakers were a founding member of the Western Canada Senior Hockey League (WCSHL) in 1945, where they were known their first two seasons as the Saskatoon Elks. They captured the WCSHL championship in 1950–51. The following season, the Quakers joined the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Flyers in turning professional as the WCSHL merged with the Pacific Coast Hockey League, which renamed itself the Western Hockey League in 1952. As a result of the merger, the Quakers lost their amateur status, becoming a minor-professional team. The Quakers succumbed, after five seasons in the WHL, to the increased costs of operating a minor-professional team.
When the Quakers won the WCSHL 1950–51 championship, they became the western league's representative to the 1951 Alexander Cup for the national major ('open' to both amateur and professional leagues) senior ice hockey championship of Canada. They would lose to the Toronto St. Michaels Monarchs in the Alexander Cup's semi-finals. In 1952, they captured the President's Cup as Pacific Coast Hockey League champions.
Brief second iteration In 1957–58, Saskatoon returned to the WHL when the Brandon Regals, who had just won the league championship, moved and opted to split home games between Saskatoon and St. Paul, Minnesota as the Saskatoon/St. Paul Regals. The two city concept last just one season, and in 1958–59, the team hosted games only in Saskatoon and adopted the name of the former Quakers. They would last only one more season before folding.
Season-by-season record = Denotes Minor Professional status Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Original iteration Team Season League GP W L T GF GA Points Finish PlayoffsSaskatoon Elks 1945–46 WCSHL 36 14 19 2 104 147 30 3rd Overall Saskatoon Elks 1946–47 WCSHL 40 15 23 2 151 210 32 4th Overall Saskatoon Quakers 1947–48 WCSHL 48 19 27 2 187 239 40 5th Overall Saskatoon Quakers 1948–49 WCSHL 48 8 38 2 144 307 18 5th Overall Saskatoon Quakers 1949–50 WCSHL 50 24 25 1 190 227 49 3rd Overall Saskatoon Quakers 1950–51 WCSHL 59 31 27 1 246 234 63 3rd Overall Won leagueSaskatoon Quakers 1951–52 PCHL 70 35 21 14 273 225 84 2nd Overall Won championship Saskatoon Quakers 1952–53 WHL 70 35 26 9 268 240 79 1st Overall Saskatoon Quakers 1953–54 WHL 70 32 29 9 226 214 73 3rd Overall Saskatoon Quakers 1954–55 WHL 70 19 41 11 207 273 49 6th Overall Saskatoon Quakers 1955–56 WHL 70 27 35 8 208 249 2 3rd Prairie
Second iteration Team Season League GP W L T GF GA Points Finish PlayoffsBrandon Regals 1956–57 WHL 70 44 22 4 250 186 92 1st Overall Won championshipSaskatoon/St. Paul Regals1957-58 WHL 70 25 45 0 214 323 50 4th Prairie Saskatoon Quakers1958–59WHL6429314208201624th Prairie
See also Ice hockey in Saskatchewan List of ice hockey teams in Saskatchewan
References
External links hockeyleaguehistory.com WCSHL standings The Old Western Hockey League PCHL/WHL standings