The Drumheller Miners were a senior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team based in

Drumheller Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of east-central Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often referred to as Dinosaur Valley, has a ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. Two incarnations of the team existed. The first was a member of the

Alberta Senior Hockey League Alberta Senior Hockey League (ASHL) may refer to: *Alberta Senior Hockey League (1936–1941) *Alberta Senior Hockey League (1965–1978) See also *Alberta Junior Hockey League *Alberta Midget Hockey League The Alberta Elite Hockey League or AEH ...

(ASHL) in the late 1930s. The Miners playing in the ASHL featured the five Bentley brothers, Doug, Max,

Reg Reg or REG may refer to: * Reginald (disambiguation) * Reg or desert pavement * Raising for Effective Giving, a charity * Random event generator (parapsychology) * Raptor Education Group * Regal Entertainment Group * Regular language * .reg MS Wi ...

, Roy and Wyatt. Doug, Max and Reg went on to play in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL), while Doug and Max were both elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The second Miners team existed in the 1960s and 1970s. Drumheller won the 1966 Allan Cup played at the

Stampede Corral The Stampede Corral was a multi-purpose venue (ice hockey, professional wrestling, rodeo, tennis) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located on the grounds of Stampede Park, the arena was completed in 1950 at a cost of C$1.25 million ($ million tod ...

in Calgary. They represented Canada at the 1967 Ahearne Cup tournament in Sweden, accompanied by Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president Art Potter. Drumheller finished in last place at the tournament, and lost by a 3–1 score to the Swedish team in a game that nearly resulted in an on-ice brawl. Potter felt that the officiating at the tournament was disgraceful and a deliberate attempt to prevent Drumheller from winning, and had authorized the team to protest the officiating and withdraw from a game in progress. The ''

Drumheller Mail The Drumheller Mail is a community newspaper in Alberta, Canada. Established in 1911, it is one of Alberta's oldest community newspapers. History In 1911, The Mail was started by Grover Cleveland Duncan in Munson, Alberta. In April 1918, the pr ...

'' reported that the Miners were the first free-world hockey team to compete in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

during the Cold War.

References

Alberta Senior Hockey League Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada Drumheller Ice hockey teams in Alberta Senior ice hockey teams 1930s establishments in Alberta 1960s establishments in Alberta 1970s disestablishments in Alberta Sports clubs established in the 1930s Sports clubs established in the 1960s {{Alberta-stub