Game 020
Canadiens 4, St. Pats 3
Wednesday, January 14, 1920
Arena Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
That old saying “he who hesitates is lost” was forcibly impressed upon the St. Patrick team here last night, the Canadiens of Montréal being the culprits who did the demonstrating.
The Flying Frenchmen, aided by the poor play of the locals, played rings around them during the first thirty minutes, and tallied four goals. In the last thirty minutes the St. Pats returned the compliment, but they fell short by one goal of tying the score, and lost by 4 to 3. As a result of the victory, the Canadiens are in a good position to win the championship of the first half in the NHL race.
The rink was crowded to capacity, and until the locals truck their stride late in the second period, the fans freely expressed their disgust. Noble and Cameron were away below form, and were roasted to the king’s taste by the spectators. Cameron gave a listless exhibition, and was taken out near the close of the first period. Immediately following the game, the local club traded him to the Canadiens for “Goldie” Prodgers.
There was plenty of reason why Noble did not play up to form. He was a sick boy all day yesterday, and he did the best he could. Near the close of the third period, he went on and looked the Noble of old. When right, he is the best forward in the National League.
To manager Frank Heffernan, “Babe” Dye, Mickey Roach and Corbett Denneny must go the credit for the St. Pats’ brilliant efforts to pull the game from the fire in the final period. It was amateur night in more senses than one, and the former OHA stars were in the limelight. Heffernan, truth to tell, had not been setting the league on fire since joining the pros.
However, last night there was a different tale, and he was one of the most effective players on the ice. He rushed with all of his old time ability, and on occasions made the visiting defence look foolish by the case with which he outwitted them.
The Canadiens came here determined to win, and in the opening period they swept the locals off their feet by their brilliant rushing, checking and passing. That they did not score more goals in this period was owing mainly to the grand playing of goalkeeper Mitchell and Corbett Denneny. Mitchell turned aside shot after shot, while Denneny, with hardly any assistance from his teammates, time after time rushed the puck from end to end.
The visitors tallied three in a row in the first eleven minutes of the second period, and stopped right there. From the faceoff after the fourth goal, Denneny rushed through the visiting team and landed the puck in the twine behind Vézina. Encouraged by this success the locals speeded up, and for the balance of the piece had the edge on the play. Near the close of the period, Dye, who incidentally was one of the stars of the contest, tricked Vézina and tallied the St. Pats’ second goal.
The play in the final session was all in favour of the losers, but the best they accomplished was to score one goal on the visitors, who battled desperately to retain their lead. Noble was taken out at the commencement of the period, and Roach, Denneny and Dye were entrusted with the task of snatching victory from defeat. That they failed to succeed was no fault of theirs, for they certainly gave everything they had to overhaul the visitors.
The Canadiens are a greatly improved team over that which went down to defeat here a few weeks ago by 5 to 1. They are in better condition, and the acquisition of Odie Cleghorn has added to their goal scoring ability. Cleghorn is still one of the best stickhandlers in the game, and his shooting is as accurate as ever.
Vézina gave one of his best exhibitions, and forced the locals to earn with interest every goal they got. Many of his stops were of the sensational kind, which caused some of the fans to remark that he was lucky. On one occasion, Heffernan stickhandled his way through the whole Canadien team, but Vézina coolly relieved him of the puck when at the goal mouth.
Many convalescent soldiers from the hospitals were the guests of the Arena, and manager Querrie saw that they were well looked after. Not satisfied with granting the returned heroes free admission, hot drinks were also served.
Story originally published in The Globe, January 15, 1920
BOXSCORE
1st Period
MTL GOAL – 08:00 – Corbeau (Pitre)
2nd Period
MTL GOAL – 02:00 – Cleghorn
MTL GOAL – 04:00 – Pitre
MTL GOAL – 10:00 – Lalonde
TOR GOAL – 10:10 – Denneny
TOR GOAL – 19:10 – Dye (Roach)
3rd Period
TOR GOAL – 05:00 – Denneny (Randall)
Penalties
MTL – none
TOR – Noble
GOALTENDERS
MTL – Vézina (W)
TOR – Mitchell (L)
ROSTERS
MTL – Goaltenders: Georges Vézina. Defence: Bert Corbeau, Billy Coutu. Forwards: Amos Arbour, Louis Berlinquette, Odie Cleghorn, Newsy Lalonde (C), Didier Pitre, Don Smith.
TOR – Goaltenders: Ivan Mitchell. Defence: Harry Cameron, Frank Heffernan. Forwards: Corb Denneny, Babe Dye, Reg Noble, Ken Randall, Mickey Roach, Cully Wilson.
TEAM RECORDS
MTL – 4-3-0 (.571)
TOR – 3-4-0 (.429)
Two Solitudes 