Game 032
St. Pats 10, Canadiens 6
Saturday, February 5, 1921
Arena Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
That the St. Patricks will make matters interesting for any and all comers in the second half of the National Hockey League race was shown at the Arena on Saturday night, when they defeated the Canadiens by 10 to 6 in a game marked by brilliant, as well as poor play.
The locals played fairly consistently, but the Frenchmen went in flashes, and when Lalonde and Mummery were absent were like a ship without a rudder. Substitutions, however, made little difference in the strength of the locals, and in a race such as the NHL produces, this is a marked advantage.
A crowded house saw the Irish beat the French, and they went away satisfied with the result, and convinced that the St. Pats are now stronger than at any other time this season. Harry Cameron played in sensational form – it was his best effort in the last three years. Again and again, he dashed past the bewildered Frenchmen, and his rushes always worried Vézina. Cameron also checked well, and it was well that he did, for owing to the inability of Cleghorn to show at his best the bulk of the defence work devolved on him.
The Canadiens suffered through injuries to Mummery and Lalonde, said injuries being caused by the carelessness of the two visitors who, believing that they were goalers pro tem, attempted to stop shots aimed by that well known marksman, “Babe” Dye. They stopped the shots all right, but in both instances, were helped off the ice by their teammates. Mummery was hurt in the first period, and did not play again, but Lalonde, who was carried off in the second season, was back in his place to open proceedings in the third. The Canadiens believe that Dye purposely hit Lalonde and Mummery, and one man connected with the Montréal club stated that if Dye “beaned” any more of the players, he would eventually get seriously hurt.
The local forward line, Denneny, Noble and Dye combined well together, and were generally unselfish. Denneny tossed away a few chances to pass the puck, but in each case, Vézina was playing for a pass, and was nearly caught flat footed when Denneny shot. Smylie was used oftener than usual, but it is apparent that the one time Dental star has not “found” himself, as far as playing in the pro league is concerned.
In the first period, the St. Patricks had a wide margin on the play, and when they retired at the intermission leading by 3 to 1, the fans fully expected a runaway would result. Imagine their surprise, however, when the Frenchmen came out in the second period, and in less than three minutes ran in as many goals, and led by 4 to 3.
The St. Pats did not appear to be able to do anything right. Their defence work was below par, and their forwards all at sea, but Reg Noble finally checked one of the Canadiens in front of the latter’s net and evened the score. The St. Pats added another in a hurry, and Lalonde chose this inopportune moment to step in front of one of Dye’s shots. The result was painful to Lalonde and beneficial to the locals, because without Lalonde the Frenchmen never had a chance, and the locals soon ran their lead up to four goals.
The teams divided the scoring honours in the last period, but those the Frenchmen got were more or less gifts, Cleghorn making little effort to get back to his defence after attacking.
Story originally published in The Globe, February 7, 1921
BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR GOAL – 05:00 – Dye
TOR GOAL – 06:00 – Dye
MTL GOAL – 10:00 – Arbour
TOR GOAL – 19:00 – Noble
2nd Period
MTL GOAL – 01:00 – Arbour
MTL GOAL – 01:30 – Lalonde
MTL GOAL – 02:00 – Corbeau
TOR GOAL – 03:30 – Noble (Denneny)
TOR GOAL – 13:30 – Dye (Cameron)
TOR GOAL – 15:30 – Denneny (Cameron)
TOR GOAL – 16:00 – Cameron (Dye)
TOR GOAL – 18:00 – Randall
3rd Period
TOR GOAL – 07:00 – Dye (Cameron)
MTL GOAL – 08:00 – Berlinquette
TOR GOAL – 18:00 – Smylie
MTL GOAL – 19:00 – Lalonde
Penalties
TOR – none
MTL – Corbeau (3 minors + major), Mummery, Wilson
GOALTENDERS
TOR – Forbes (W)
MTL – Vézina (L)
ROSTERS
TOR – Goaltenders: Jake Forbes. Defence: Harry Cameron, Sprague Cleghorn, Billy Stuart. Forwards: Corb Denneny, Babe Dye, Reg Noble, Ken Randall, Rod Smylie.
MTL – Goaltenders: Georges Vézina. Defence: Bert Corbeau, Harry Mummery. Forwards: Amos Arbour, Louis Berlinquette, Odie Cleghorn, Newsy Lalonde (C), Didier Pitre, Cully Wilson.
TEAM RECORDS
TOR – 7-7-0 (.500)
MTL – 6-8-0 (.429)
Two Solitudes 