Game 020
St. Pats 5, Canadiens 1
Wednesday, December 31, 1919
Arena Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
Playing the kind of hockey by which championships are won, the St. Patricks last night outplayed the Canadiens and beat them 5 to 1.
The visitors had the edge in the opening period, which ended 0 to 0, but the locals swept all opposition aside in the second and third sessions and won a well earned victory. The St. Pats are now in the second place in the league, standing half a game behind the pace-setting Senators.
Nearly seven thousand fans attended, and they were given more than their money’s worth. If the St. Patricks can maintain their present good form, they promise to be one of the most popular teams that ever played here. They have youth and ambition in their favour, and these, coupled with ability, should carry them a long way in their efforts to win the championship.
Goaler Mitchell and Reg Noble were the stars of the affair, and it is doubtful if their performances have ever been surpassed here. Noble played in a manner that stamps him as a worthy rival of the great Mickey Mackay, while Mitchell gave an exhibition of netminding seldom equalled here.
He found little difficulty in turning aside the long shots, and when the desperate Canadien forwards did get by the Irish defence, he arose to the occasions and made several sensational saves. Whether he can duplicate last night’s performance in future games remains to be seen, but at any rate he demonstrated that he is one of the best goalers in the business.
The Canadiens came here minus McNamara, but determined to win, and they played so well in the opening period that it appeared they would prove more than a match for the speedy local team. They kept up a terrific pace in the first twenty minutes, but wilted in the next two before the determined attacks of the winners.
The visitors tallied one goal in the opening period, which the goal judge did not see. They played a defence game during the greater part of the period, and defied the efforts of the locals to penetrate it.
Four minutes after the second period began, “Babe” Dye took a pass from Noble’s stick and, with one of his famous shots, drove the puck into the corner of the net. The crowd rose and cheered him to the echo. Randall and Noble combined for the next goal, and in doing so performed one of the neatest passing plays imaginable. One minute before the end of the session, Noble bounced one off the boards behind Vézina, and Denneny, rushing in fast, scooped it in.
Cameron got his name in the score column early in the final twenty minutes when he made a lone rush and beat Vézina from well out. The Canadiens kept plugging away, and Arbour finally landed the goal which saved them from a shutout. Near the close of the game, Denneny dashed in alone and tallied the last goal.
Story originally published in The Globe, January 1, 1920
BOXSCORE
1st Period
none
2nd Period
TOR GOAL – 03:30 – Dye (Noble)
TOR GOAL – 12:00 – Noble (Randall)
TOR GOAL – 19:00 – Denneny (Noble)
3rd Period
TOR GOAL – 00:45 – Cameron
MTL GOAL – 07:45 – Arbour
TOR GOAL – 17:55 – Denneny
Penalties
TOR – Wilson
MTL – Lalonde (3), Berlinquette, Corbeau
GOALTENDERS
TOR – Mitchell (W)
MTL – Vézina (L)
ROSTERS
TOR – Goaltenders: Ivan Mitchell. Defence: Harry Cameron, Frank Heffernan. Forwards: Corb Denneny, Babe Dye, Reg Noble, Ken Randall, Mickey Roach, Cully Wilson.
MTL – Goaltenders: Georges Vézina. Defence: Bert Corbeau, Billy Coutu. Forwards: Amos Arbour, Louis Berlinquette, Newsy Lalonde (C), Didier Pitre, Don Smith.
TEAM RECORDS
TOR – 2-1-0 (.667)
MTL – 1-2-0 (.333)
Two Solitudes 