Game 017
Arenas 6, Canadiens 3
Tuesday, February 4, 1919
Arena Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
In a rather listless exhibition, the Arenas last night defeated the Canadiens by the score of 6 to 3.
The locals secured a commanding lead in the initial period, and thereafter were not forced to extend themselves to gain the verdict. The visitors used their regular lineup, with the exception of Hall, who is suffering from an injury to his leg.
The Arenas showed good form and had a distinct edge in speed. Randall proved effective, and his grand rushing enlivened proceedings. Noble also played a nice game, despite the fact that he was the victim of a nasty slash from Lalonde. The incident happened in the first period, and for his part in the affair, Lalonde drew a major penalty.
The game could not compare with several others that have taken place this season, and, with the exception of occasional flashy plays by Meeking, Randall and Noble, the fans were given little opportunity to enthuse. The locals started out well, and notched four goals to the Canadiens’ nil in the initial period.
Lindsay showed good form in the net and made several clever saves on Pitre’s bullet like drives. Mummery blocked in his usual effective style, and also found time to get in some telling rushes. Crawford, Skinner and Adams tried hard and backchecked consistently throughout. Meeking proved an elusive puck carrier, and his work when in close was hard to beat.
The Canadiens did not perform like a championship team, and seemed to be content to trust to long range shooting. In the early stages, the Arena forwards skated right in on top of Vézina and gave him little or no opportunity to stop the shots. Lalonde played on the defence in place of Hall and, although he showed up well, was not nearly as effective as he is when on the forward line. He mixed matters freely with his opponents, and did not increase his popularity any when he attacked Noble.
Corbeau rushed in his usual telling style, and tried hard all the way. Pitre also showed up well on occasions, but his efforts were spasmodic, and seldom brought results. McDonald did some clever stickhandling, and repeatedly worked his way in on the local defence, only to lose the rubber to Randall or Mummery.
The Arenas started out well, and soon forced the visitors back on the defensive. Meeking replaced Noble when the latter was injured, and signalized his appearance by skating through the Canadien defence and notching the initial tally. Randall made it number two a few moments later, and Noble added the third and fourth in rapid succession.
The Canadiens broke away fast in the second session, and in one minute, Berlinquette scored. Thirty seconds later, Pitre notched another. The Arenas then came to life and had the edge, Noble eventually scoring. McDonald shortly afterwards secured the third and final counter for the visitors.
The Arenas had a distinct edge in the final period, and had their opponents on the defensive the majority of the time. Adams beat Vézina for the locals’ last tally on a wicked shot from well out.
Story originally published in The Globe, February 5, 1919
BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR GOAL – 01:00 – Meeking (Randall)
TOR GOAL – 01:30 – Randall (Noble)
TOR GOAL – 05:30 – Noble
TOR GOAL – 06:10 – Noble
2nd Period
MTL GOAL – 01:00 – Berlinquette (McDonald)
MTL GOAL – 01:40 – Cleghorn (Pitre)
TOR GOAL – 17:40 – Noble
MTL GOAL – 18:10 – McDonald
3rd Period
TOR GOAL – 10:00 – Adams (Meeking)
Penalties
TOR – Crawford (minor + major), Noble (minor + major), Meeking (2), Adams, Denneny
MTL – Lalonde (2 minors + major)
GOALTENDERS
TOR – Lindsay (W)
MTL – Vézina (L)
ROSTERS
TOR – Goaltenders: Bert Lindsay. Defence: Harry Mummery, Dave Ritchie. Forwards: Jack Adams, Rusty Crawford, Corb Denneny, Harry Meeking, Reg Noble, Ken Randall, Alf Skinner.
MTL – Goaltenders: Georges Vézina. Defence: Bert Corbeau, Billy Coutu. Forwards: Louis Berlinquette, Odie Cleghorn, Newsy Lalonde (C), Jack McDonald, Didier Pitre.
TEAM RECORDS
TOR – 4-9-0 (.308)
MTL – 8-6-0 (.571)
Two Solitudes 