Playoff Game 02
Canadiens 4, Arenas 3
NHL Championship, Game 2
Wednesday, March 13, 1918
Aréna Jubilée, Montréal, Québec
The Torontos tonight won the championship of the NHL, and the right to play the Pacific Coast League champions for the Stanley Cup, when the Canadiens failed to wipe out the four goal lead which the Queen City team secured on their own ice in the first of the home and home games Monday night. The Canadiens won tonight’s match by 4 to 3, leaving the complete score for the series Torontos 10, Canadiens 7.
The game was rough, with the Canadiens contributing most of the penalty list. The Frenchmen played an individual game for the most part. The Torontos never forgot the lead they enjoyed, and whenever in real danger, dropped into a defensive which easily and successfully checkmated the one-man efforts of the Frenchmen.
Both teams hit up a tremendous pace at the start off, and a series of spectacular rushes was indulged in, both teams pressing in on the goaltenders alternately. Hall was the first casualty, being accidentally poked on the nose with a stick. The pace began to warm up the players, and rough work put Pitre and Randall on the penalty bench. Corbeau soon followed for hitting meeking, who had taken Randall’s place. Coutu, who had succeeded Pitre, was benched for hooking Cameron.
Crawford relieved an awkward situation by a fine run up the ice, but his shot was easily accounted for by Vézina. Malone repeated the performance for the Canadiens, but shot wide. Holmes was hard pressed a moment later, when three shots were put in quick succession, but his defence work was perfect.
Randall was badly cut on the head during a mixup, for which Hall was penalized. Rushing right in on Vézina when play was resumed, Noble scored after taking a pass from Skinner.
Cameron was slashed across the leg and was forced to retire. With Randall and Cameron off, the Torontos went on the defensive, and Holmes was challenged repeatedly. Adams went on for Cameron.
Adams pulled off a couple of runs that momentarily took the puck to the Canadiens’ goal, but the period ended with Holmes once more working hard. The score at the end of the first period was Torontos 1, Canadiens 0.
Cameron and Randall returned when the game was resumed. The Canadiens, however, took up the offensive again, and Corbeau and Malone came near scoring. Holmes was firmly jockeyed out of the net, and Malone got in behind him and scored. Cameron was incapacitated again, but resumed after a second’s rest. The puck remained around Holmes, and McDonald beat him with a short shot. The crowd yelled for several minutes.
The Torontos made a great effort at this point, and took the attack away from the Frenchmen. Lalonde was benched for hooking Meeking. The Canadiens resisted strenuously, and a spectacular spell resulted, abounding in offsides, cross checking and tumbles of the players, and the handing out of a number of minor penalties. Noble’s stick was smashed, and he came on with half of it until a dangerous situation was relieved. Lalonde had only been on the ice again a second when he was chased to the bench for roughing it with Meeking.
After remaining back on the defensive, the Torontos evened the score for the game when Skinner worked the puck up the ice and passed it to Crawford, who netted it. The remainder of the period was passed in ragged work by both teams. At the end of the second period the score was Canadiens 2, Torontos 2.
The Canadiens’ teamwork brought success to them within a minute and a half of the resumption. Lalonde took a long shot at the goal and Holmes misjudged it. It was a stroke of great luck for the Frenchmen.
The luck switched to the Torontos after a fierce period of struggling on both sides, when Crawford caught Vézina off guard and the puck lying motionless in front of the net. He simply had to tap it in. With almost effortless ease, Lalonde scored again.
The Toronto players began to play for time. Aimless shots from mid-ice were pulled off, while the wings did figure skating stunts every time they got the puck. The Canadiens staged rally after rally. Lalonde and Hall tried every trick in their repertoire. The game ended with the Canadiens’ wings bombarding Holmes, but to no purpose.
Cameron and Randall of the Toronto team were marked men, but notwithstanding this, they played a consistent game, and they refused to dislocate the machinery of their team by retaliation. They were injured severely early in the game, but after a short absence from the ice, returned to play for the remainder of the evening, obviously suffering from the effects of the rough handling they had received.
Adams, a brilliant ex-amateur, for the brief periods when he substituted for the other players, showed some fine bursts of speed.
Holmes did some sensational netminding for Toronto, and only let the puck get by him when the championship was virtually assured for his team.
For the Canadiens, brilliant work was done by Lalonde and Hall, although much of it went for nothing, owing to the cleverness of the Toronto defence. The officials always kept a tight grip on the game, and nipped in the bud every outburst of rough work on the part of the Canadiens.
Story originally published in The Globe, March 14, 1918
BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR GOAL – 12:00 – Noble (Crawford)
MTL PENS – Pitre (2 majors), Corbeau (major), Lalonde (major), Hall
TOR PENS – Noble, Randall
2nd Period
MTL GOAL – 04:25 – Malone (Corbeau)
MTL GOAL – 05:30 – McDonald (Lalonde)
TOR GOAL – 16:51 – Crawford (Skinner)
MTL PENS – Hall (2), Lalonde (2)
TOR PENS – Adams, Denneny, Meeking, Mummery, Noble
3rd Period
MTL GOAL – 01:40 – Lalonde
TOR GOAL – 08:00 – Crawford (Mummery)
MTL GOAL – 10:30 – Lalonde
TOR PEN – Adams
GOALTENDERS
MTL – Vézina (W)
TOR – Holmes (L)
ROSTERS
MTL – Goaltenders: Georges Vézina. Defence: Bert Corbeau, Billy Coutu, Joe Hall, Jack Laviolette. Forwards: Louis Berlinquette, Newsy Lalonde (C), Joe Malone, Jack McDonald, Didier Pitre.
TOR – Goaltenders: Hap Holmes. Defence: Harry Cameron, Harry Mummery. Forwards: Jack Adams, Rusty Crawford, Corb Denneny, Harry Meeking, Reg Noble, Ken Randall (C), Alf Skinner.
Two Solitudes 