Vern Pachal
A University of Alberta Golden Bear in an era before CIAU national championships, Vern Pachal, 1958 BPE, 1963 BEd, remains one of the most prolific scorers in the history of Canadian university ice hockey competition.Pachal set Canada West scoring records in single game, season, and career categories. His 169 career points in 42 games rank him 15th in the University of Alberta's historical scoring records despite his playing in 78 fewer games than the 14 players now ahead of him on this list.
In 1956-57, Pachal set a Canada West single season record with 58 points in only 10 games, a record unsurpassed until 1985-86, when a player scored 67 points in 38 games. But no one has ever approached Pachal's 58 points-in-10-games mark.
In 1957, this superb player established a Canada West University Athletic Association (CWUAA) record by scoring 11 points in a Golden Bear victory over Brandon.
Pachal won the Canada West scoring championship in each of his three years with the Bears and averaged 3.97 points per game. His superlative play earned him the Wilson Challenge Trophy in 1957-58: the trophy is a symbolic recognition extended to the Outstanding Male Athlete at the University of Alberta.
Pachal also won the Andy Purcell Hockey Trophy as the Golden Bears' MVP during each of his three seasons.
Pachal has coached sports, taught school, served as vice-principal, represented Saskatchewan on the board of directors of that province's Sports Hall of Fame, and was inducted into Yorkton's Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. He was similarly inducted into the University of Alberta's Sports Wall of Fame in 1999.