SECOND--Buzz Mellor lost the scoring championship to Nelson's Joe Bell by less than one point, with the percentage basis in force that year.
THIRD—the Dynamiters ace goalie, Earl Betker, lost out to Nelson's Ray Mikulan for the goaltending award, by a slim margin of 3.97 to 3.95 average.
FOURTH—Earl Betker suffered a severe back injury when he came out of his net to block Fritz Koehle's shot in the second game of the playoffs in Nelson.
It wasn't necessary to dress a spare goaltender in those days, and Betker disobeyed the doctor's advice, and went out and made many brilliant saves, despite the fact he was labouring under terrific pain.
Just to show you how desperate the Nelson Maple Leafs wanted to win was when they launched a protest to the WIHL, on the grounds that the injured Betker took approximately 15 minutes to return to action.
The protest was disallowed after the league executive conferred with the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association (BCAHA), and the bad publicity the Maple Leafs received didn't help their cause.
FIFTH—The WIHL introduced 12-man hockey in the league that season, and when the Dynamiters met the Vernon Canadians in the Savage Cup finals, they were a tired crew.
The Kimberley Dynamiters and Spokane Flyers locked horns in a best-of-five semi-final series; with the Nelson Maple Leafs taking on the last place Trail Smoke Eaters in a similar affair.
Cal Hockley was the Dynamiters big gun with the hat trick, with Buzz Mellor picking up a pair of goals, and Norm Knippleberg the other.
Both teams appeared weary, after playing four games in four nights, with the Dynamiters showing just enough pep to tack up a 4-3 victory and in doing so, eliminated the Flyers from the playoff scene.
The Dynamiters, under the capable eye of playing coach Norm Larsen, spotted the Leafs the first game, and then came roaring back to win four in a row.
Lee Hyssop sparked the Leafs with two goals, with Mickey Maglio, Murray Parker, Vic Lofvendahl and Joe Bell adding singles.
It had looked bad for the Dynamiters, with less than ten minutes remaining in regulation time, when Earl Betker received his severe back injury.
Diminutive Jerry Fodey was a stand out in the Dynamiters net, and received excellent support from his blueline patrol of Bill Jones, "Terrible" Ted Lebodia, Barry Craig and Gordon "the Giant" Andre.
It was at least ten seconds before the paralyzed crowd realised that McNevin's long shot ended up behind Chuck Rayner, and then they let out with a yell that rocked the ancestors.
The fourth game was played in Kamloops, with Vernon coming from behind to take a close verdict 5-3, with their final goal scored into an empty net.
The 1954-55 edition of the Vernon Canadians, under the capable guidance of playing coach George Agar, was a well balanced club, backed up by the excellent netminding of Hal Gordon.
The handwriting was on the wall that senior hockey couldn't survive much longer in the Okanagan: for Kelowna had dropped $11,000 in 54-55; Kamloops $7,000; and Vernon only cleared $200 for the entire season; and it was the playoff that bailed them out of serious trouble.
The Penticton V's, despite the fact they had just won the Allan Cup and the 1955 World Ice Hockey Championships, were having oxygen pumped to them, in order to survive their money crisis.