The Edmonton Oil Kings still had nothing to show after three consecutive
trips to the Memorial Cup Finals. But the 1962-63 Oil Kings, coached by
by Buster Brayshaw, were an aggressive unit capable of taking on Hap
Emms and his hard-nosed Niagara Falls Flyers.

To get there the Oil Kings deposed the Brandon Wheat Kings in the
western Abbott Cup final. The Flyers upset the defending champion
Hamilton Red Wings. The Memorial Cup championship opened in
Edmonton's Arena Gardens before 6,785 fans. In the opening debacle
the Flyers roared to an 8-0 victory, Snell and Maxner scoring twice with
Gardner posting the shutout.

Rebounding in game 2, eighteen year old Butch Paul scored 2 goals
and assisted on three more as the Oil Kings hammered Niagara 7-3.
The Oil Kings carried the momentum into game 3. The Flyers fell apart
in the second period, allowing 4 goals. Butch Paul scored 2 goals in
another strong performance en route to a 5-2 Oil King victory. The game
was very physical. Pat Quinn leveled a crushing check on Gary
Dornhoefer, breaking his leg and with it the spirit of the Niagara Falls
Flyers.

The roughhouse style of play was paying off for Edmonton who clinched a 3-2 victory before 6,719 fans in game 4. But Niagara refused to die, coming back in game 5 with a 5-2 victory. Gary Harmer was the second Flyer to suffer a broken leg in what was becoming a war of attrition. Terry Crisp of the Flyers had a strong performance, and Coach Hap Emms played up the praise in media interviews.

But Buster Brayshaw and his Edmonton Oil Kings fought hard in game 6. Edmonton went ahead 4-0 on goals by Doug Fox, Glen Sather, Butch Paul, and Greg Pilling. But in the 3rd period the Flyers started swarming Russ Kirk,the Edmonton netminder, with goals by Ron Schock and Terry Crisp. Crisp slipped another one by at 18.21 and with one goal behind, the game became a desperate gamble. With 10 seconds left everyone's heart stopped as Terry Crisp fired at the net. The shot rang off the goal post and Edmonton won the Memorial Cup with a 4-3 victory. It was western Canada's only victory since 1930. The roar of the crowd reverberated around the Edmonton Gardens as fans swarmed onto the ice. They lifted Oil Kings goalie Russ Kirk, defenseman Pat Quinn and Captain Roger Bourbonnais to their shoulders in a triumphant and tumultuous celebration.

Sources
The Memorial Cup by Richard M. Lapp & Alex Macaulay
Alberta on Ice by Gary Zeman