• Member of the Golden Bears hockey team in the 1950s that accumulated a staggering 45-3-2 record.
• Won the Canada West scoring title in each of his three playing years, averaging 3.97 points per game.
• Set the Canada West season scoring record by scoring 58 points in only 10 games, a record that stood for 29 years.
• Named Golden Bears MVP in all three years of his participation and the U of A's most outstanding male athlete in 1958.
• An All-Star in the WCHL for three consecutive years, later going on to be a star in the American Hockey League.

Vern Pachal (BPE ’58; Bed ’63) was a “hockey player’s hockey player”. He played for the Golden Bears hockey team in an era before the inauguration of CIAU national championships yet he remains as one of the most prolific scorers in the history of Canadian university ice hockey competition. Vern set Canada West scoring records in each of the following categories: single game, season and career. His 169 career points (scored in 42 games) rank him 15th in the University of Alberta historical scoring records despite playing in 78 fewer games than the 14 players now ahead of him on this list. In 1956-1957 Vern Pachal set a Canada West single season record by scoring 58 points-in-10-games mark. In 1957 this superb player established a CWUAA record by scoring 11 points in a Golden Bear victory over Brandon.

This inductee to the University of Alberta’s Sports Wall of Fame 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 and great teamwork resulted in his name being etched on the Wilson Challenge trophy, a symbolic recognition extended to the Outstanding Male Athlete at the University of Alberta in 1957-1958. Vern also won the Andy Purcell Hockey Trophy as the Golden Bear’s MVP during each of his three seasons. In Vern’s three seasons of play the Bears won 45 games, tied 2 and lost only 3 – a.920 record. Their Canada West record during this same time span was 28-2-0.

As a Junior A hockey player in the W.C.H.L. Vern’s outstanding play was recognized through his appointment to the all-star team for three consecutive years. This inductee went on to star with American Hockey League teams in Springfield and Syracuse. He later played in the British Hockey League, participated in international hockey in European tournaments and coached as well as captained the Yorkton Terriers on his return to his hometown. He has coached several sports, starred as a golfer, taught school, served as a school vice-principal, was elected as an Alderman to Yorkton’s City Council and was named to represent Saskatchewan on his home province’s Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors. In 1977 Vern was inducted into Yorkton’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Vern Pachal was a star in many sports, great leader and a builder of competitive hockey and he continues to play. Amazing! The University of Alberta is proud to add Vern Pachal’s name to the Sports Wall of Fame.