The Okanagan Senior Hockey League (OSHL) is a defunct
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
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 ...
league that operated for 10 seasons (1951 to 1961) within the
Okanagan
The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is par ...
region of
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. This league is notable as it played hockey at the highest amateur level in North America. This league won two
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...
s (1953–54 and 1955–56) and a
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
(1955).
History
In 1951 the
Okanagan Mainline League split up into two leagues: the
Pacific Coast Senior League
The Pacific Coast Senior League (also known as the Pacific Coast Hockey League) was a senior men's amateur ice hockey league that operated for the 1952–53 season.
Teams
*Fresno Falcons
The Fresno Falcons were a minor league hockey team. They w ...
and the Okanagan Senior League. The Okanagan Senior League ceased its operations after the 1960-61 season. The league was then replaced by the ''Okanagan Junior Hockey League'', the precursor to the
British Columbia Hockey League.
In 1954, the
Penticton V's of the Okanagan Senior League won the
1954 Allan Cup
The 1954 Allan Cup was the Canadian senior ice hockey championship for the 1953–54 senior "A" season. The event was hosted by the Penticton V's and Penticton, Vernon, and Kelowna, British Columbia. The 1954 playoff marked the 46th time th ...
, as a result they were invited to represent
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
at the
1955 World Ice Hockey Championships
The 1955 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 22nd edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Krefeld and Cologne, West Germany from February 25 to March 6, 1955. A total of 14 nations par ...
. With an 8-0-0 record, the V's would become 1955 World Champions. Later, when the
Vernon Canadians The Vernon Canadians were a men's ice hockey team from Vernon, British Columbia that played in the Okanagan Mainline League or the Okanagan Senior League from 1949 to 1961. In 1962, after the Okanagan Senior League folded, the Canadians became a b ...
won the
1956 Allan Cup, they elected to not send a team to the World Championships.
List of champions
* 1952
Kelowna Packers
The Kelowna Packers were a senior ice hockey team from Kelowna, British Columbia. The team existed from 1949 to 1960, and played as members of the Okanagan Senior Hockey League from 1951 onward. They were runners-up in the 1958 Allan Cup finals, ...
* 1953
Penticton V's
* 1954 Penticton V's
* 1955
Vernon Canadians The Vernon Canadians were a men's ice hockey team from Vernon, British Columbia that played in the Okanagan Mainline League or the Okanagan Senior League from 1949 to 1961. In 1962, after the Okanagan Senior League folded, the Canadians became a b ...
* 1956 Vernon Canadians
* 1957 Vernon Canadians
* 1958 Kelowna Packers
* 1959 Vernon Canadians
* 1960 Kelowna Packers
* 1961 Vernon Canadians
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...
Champions
*
1954 Penticton V's
*
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...
Vernon Canadians
IIHF
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...
World Ice Hockey Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...
*
1955 Penticton V's
References
Defunct ice hockey leagues in British Columbia
1951 establishments in British Columbia
1961 disestablishments in British Columbia
Sports leagues established in 1951
Sports leagues disestablished in 1961
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