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Portarra Whales

The Portarra Whales are a professional hockey team based in Portarra, Galapetra. They compete in the Torland Hockey League as a member of the Willard Division. The team is owned by Steve Duval and plays their home games at the Market Marina Center.

Founded in 1960 by Seymour Duval, the Whales are one of four remaining charter franchises of the Torland Hockey League. The Whales have won 5 Marcotte Cup championships (1960, 1963, 1987, 1988, 1989). The Whales have a deep rivalry with the Port Alrene Anchors, known as the Old Rivalry.

Team history

Team culture

Fan base

Rivalries

Port Alrene Anchors (The Old Rivalry)

Known as the “Old Rivals”, the rivalry between Portarra and Port Alrene goes much further back than just their THL days. The two cities have been competing against each other since their inception. The mutual hatred for each city is taught at an early age and even marriage between families from either city is considered a major taboo. In the THL the two teams have some of the most intense games both on the ice and in the stands.

On the ice, the teams have a long history, including meeting in the playoffs 8 different times.

Team information

Ownership

The Whales are owned by Steve Duval, who took over team operations in 1983 from his father, Seymour Duval, who founded the team in 1960. The Duvals are one of the premier families in Portarra and have been instrumental in developing the city into modern times.

Home ice

The Whales play their home games at the Market Marina Center in Portarra, Galapetra.

Logos and uniforms

The Whales' classic colors are navy and white. They introduced red as a tertiary color in 1984.

Minor league affiliates

The Whales are affiliated with the Taiver Black Diamonds of the CBIHL.

Players & personnel

Current roster

1991 Portarra Whales

Forwards

Line POS # Name
1st C 66 Bill Bronkowski (Team Captain)
1st LW 37 Eric Caparros
1st RW 57 Rod Longo
2nd C 16 Jack Koeneman
2nd CW 23 Red Czekanski (Alternate Captain)
2nd W 73 Maynard Lancaster
3rd C 72 Shaun Park
3rd LW 63 Danny Dawkins
3rd RW 17 Ilya Kovacevic

Defensemen

Pair POS # Name
1st D 26 Eli Priestley (Alternate Captain)
1st D 15 Herb Hass
2nd D 7 Eric Andrus
2nd D 29 Ray Royce
3rd D 22 Keith Iaconnetti
3rd D 2 Zach Flynn

Goalies

Status POS # Name
Starter G 38 Brian Mahaffey
Backup G 49 Zeke Frand

Depth Chart

Caparros Bronkowski Longo
Czekasnki Koeneman Lancaster
Dawkins Park Kovacevic
Priestley Hass
Andrus Royce
Iaconnetti Flynn
Mahaffey
Frand

Team captains

  • Anton O'Reilly, 1960-1974
  • Walt Gulbrandsen, 1975-1978
  • Cal Capezzio, 1979-1980
  • Red Czekanski, 1981-1984
  • Bill Bronkowski, 1985-1993
  • ?, 1994-present

Staff and coaches

The Whales have had four head coaches in their history, beginning with a future Hall of Famer in Cyrus Street who helped spearhead the Whales into early contention in the league. Street guided the Whales to a pair of Marcotte Cups in 1960 and 1963 along with three more appearances in the Finals. He won Best Coach three times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981. Despite his long list of success on the bench, the Whales weathered a downturn at the end of the 60's and early 70's and prompted owner Seymour Duval to make a change. In a mutual but not necessarily amicable split, Street left the Whales and crossed town to helm the expansion Pioneers. Duval hired Larry Weatherford, son of successful THL coach Al Weatherford, despite his inexperience.

The Weatherford era proved to be good if not successful as the Whales proceeded to make 7 straight playoff appearances and developed a new reputation for being unable to win a big game and suffered numerous upsets by inferior teams. Larry brought his dad, Al, as an assistant co-head coach in 1973 but poor health led to the elder Weatherford to retire after the 1974 season. After reaching the semi-finals in 1977-1978, the team fell off a cliff and led Duval and O'Donnell to fire Weatherford in 1980 and begin a complete overhaul of the roster.

They hired Tom Cunningham, another candidate with little coaching experience, to lead the team during the rebuild. Many pundits believed Cunningham would be an easy scapegoat for a bad team during a rebuild and they were right. Cunningham had no success in Portarra while O'Donnell began drafting and trading for a new team. After three seasons of no playoffs, Cunningham was fired in 1983.

Head Coaches
Name Years Employed Playoffs Cups Awards
Cyrus Street 1960-1971 7 2 Best Coach; 1960, 1962, 1968. Hall of Fame, 1981
Larry Weatherford 1972-1980 7 0 Silver Puck: 1972
Tom Cunningham 1981-1983 0 0
Sid Snyder 1984-present 9 3 Silver Puck: 1986, 1987, 1988
Assistant Coaches
General Managers
  • Don O'Donnell (1973-present)

The Whales have only had one general manager in their history, Don O'Donnell, who assumed the role after the league mandate in 1973. O'Donnell was voted Best GM in 1984.

Drafts

Seasons

Season GP Record (W-T-L) Points Finish Playoffs
1960 60 43-10-7 139 1st, THL Won Marcotte Cup (4-2 vs. Anchors)
1961 60 30-8-22 98 4th, THL Lost in semi-finals (1-4 vs. Heralds)
1962 60 21-20-19 83 3rd, THL Lost in semi-finals (2-4 vs. Anchors)
1963 60 27-12-21 93 2nd, THL Won Marcotte Cup (4-2 vs. Falcons)
1964 60 22-18-20 84 3rd, THL Lost Marcotte Cup (2-4 vs. Heralds)
1965 60 28-13-19 97 1st, THL Lost Marcotte Cup (2-4 vs. Falcons)
1966 60 26-12-22 90 5th, THL Missed playoffs
1967 60 21-17-22 80 6th, THL Missed playoffs
1968 60 29-14-17 101 3rd, THL Lost Marcotte Cup (1-4 vs. Whales)
1969 60 10-8-42 38 8th, THL Missed playoffs
1970 60 18-12-30 66 6th, THL Missed playoffs
1971 60 9-18-33 51 7th, THL Missed playoffs
1972 71 39-12-20 129 2nd, Willard Lost in quarter-finals (1-4 vs. Captains)
1973 72 27-22-23 107 4th, Willard Lost in quarter-finals (1-4 vs. Captains)
1974 72 37-17-18 128 1st, Willard Lost in quarter-finals (1-4 vs. Anchors)
1975 72 30-23-19 113 2nd, Willard Lost in quarter-finals (3-4 vs. Glaciers)
1976 72 33-16-23 115 3rd, Willard Lost in quarter-finals (0-4 vs. Anchors)
1977 72 31-16-25 109 4th, Willard Lost in semi-finals (2-4 vs. Glaciers)
1978 72 35-14-23 119 2nd, Willard Lost in semi-finals (2-4 vs. Anchors)
1979 72 27-19-26 100 5th, Willard Missed playoffs
1980 76 26-26-24 104 4th, Willard Missed playoffs
1981 76 9-21-46 48 4th, Willard Missed playoffs
1982 76 14-12-50 54 5th, Willard Missed playoffs
1983 76 18-19-39 73 4th, Willard Missed playoffs
1984 76 38-18-20 132 1st, Willard Lost in quarter-finals (3-4 vs. Pioneers)
1985 48 28-9-11 93 1st, Willard Lost in semi-finals (1-4 vs. Electrics)
1986 76 53-14-9 173 1st, Willard Lost in semi-finals (3-4 vs. Kings)
1987 76 52-12-12 168 1st, Willard Won Marcotte Cup (4-3 vs. Electrics)
1988 76 51-14-11 167 1st, Willard Won Marcotte Cup (4-1 vs. Electrics)
1989 76 52-11-13 167 1st, Willard Won Marcotte Cup (4-2 vs. Wizards)
1990 76 43-13-20 142 1st, Willard Lost Marcotte Cup (2-4 vs. Kodiaks)
1991 76 30-23-23 113 3rd, Willard Lost in wild card round (2-3 vs. Serpents)
1992 76 39-17-20 134 2nd, Willard Lost in semi-finals (3-4 vs. Snappers)
1993 76 29-21-26 108 4th, Willard Missed playoffs
1994 76 27-11-38 92 5th, Willard Missed playoffs

Team and league honors

Banners and trophies

Marcotte Cup Louis Trophy Division Title
1960 Marcotte Cup 1960 Louis Trophy 1974 Willard Division
1963 Marcotte Cup 1965 Louis Trophy 1984 Willard Division
1987 Marcotte Cup 1974 Louis Trophy 1985 Willard Division
1988 Marcotte Cup 1986 Louis Trophy 1986 Willard Division
1989 Marcotte Cup 1987 Louis Trophy 1987 Willard Division
1988 Louis Trophy 1988 Willard Division
1989 Louis Trophy 1989 Willard Division
1990 Willard Division

Retired numbers

No. Player Position Career Retired
4 Shane Galbraith D 1975-1979 1980
9 Anton O'Reilly D 1960-1974 1975
11 Marlin Parr C 1960-1971 1973
35 Maxwell Blunt G 1960-1979 1980

Hall of Famers

  • Marlin Parr, C, 1960-1971, inducted 1975
  • Anton O'Reilly, D, 1960-1974, inducted 1977
  • Cyrus Street, head coach, 1960-1971, inducted 1981
  • Al Weatherford, assistant coach, 1973-1974, inducted 1981
  • Shane Galbraith, D, 1975-1979, inducted 1983
  • Maxwell Blunt, G, 1960-1979, inducted 1989
portarra_whales.txt · Last modified: 2025/05/28 22:44 by dvdbubba27