Game 086
Maple Leafs 1, Canadiens 1
Thursday, January 17, 1929
Arena Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
In a far from satisfying display of National League hockey, the Maple Leafs and Canadiens divided the points at Arena Gardens last night, when they played seventy minutes to earn a 1 to 1 tie.
The game was one of those affairs in which the goalkeepers had all the better of it, the attackers seldom getting in close enough to give them much trouble. The second period, which produced the only goals of the game, was about the fastest of the three, although there were plays in the third frame that thrilled the large crowd.
Without “Howie” Morenz, their brilliant centre player, the Canadiens did not look like the team that has given so many previous brilliant exhibitions here. There was a noticeable tendency on their part to lean toward defensive hockey, and they relied on backchecking and a strong defence to keep the Leafs from boring in on Hainsworth’s net. In the overtime session, both teams looked weary, and each was content to keep the other from taking anything but long shots at the net.
The Leafs took the lead when the midway session was two minutes old. Carson broke away at the Toronto blue line and carried the puck to the opposing defence. He passed to Day, who was on right wing, and the latter bounced a shot off Hainsworth’s pads. In the ensuing scramble for the puck, Cox lifted the rubber into the net.
This lead was short lived. The locals were too careless about checking Sylvio Mantha, the clever defence player of the Canadiens, and he sailed down right wing, carried the puck a round Duncan, and worked in close to Chabot to give the goalkeeper little chance to block his hard drive. From that time on, the teams battled strenuously, but scoring opportunities were few and far between.
Leduc tripped Horne, whose brilliant rush had carried him on the Canadiens’ goal, and drew a major penalty, but the Leafs were unable to take advantage of his absence to get the goal that might have meant victory. The visitors were hard pressed, but some stalwart ragging by Burke, which earned him frequent boos from the crowd, played a powerful part in keeping the locals at bay.
It was the first tie game that the Leafs have played all season, and it was better than a defeat, but it did not profit the locals to any extent in respect to overhauling the teams ahead of them in the standings. In the third period and in the overtime session, the Leafs were handicapped considerably by three penalties to Art Smith and one to Carson, and they were forced to play a purely defensive game on such occasions.
Joliat was benched for spilling Cox when the latter appeared to be headed for a goal, but Carson was in the pen at the time, and any advantage to the Leafs through Joliat’s absence was thus offset. The Canadiens had a golden opportunity to win the game in the closing minute of the third period when Gagné was uncovered on right wing, and he bore in on Chabot after taking a pass from Burke. Chabot made a remarkable save, much to the relief of the fans.
The Toronto goalkeeper was not called upon to give an extraordinary display, but he made a number of excellent saves. Hainsworth was equally as good and twice as cool, and the Leafs resorted to more long shots than is their usual custom.
The first period was mediocre. Both teams had few scoring chances, and all the shots that were directed at the net came from well outside the defence. The puck took several flights into the crowd. In the first six minutes of play, the officials found it necessary to halt play only once, and that was to recover the puck from the south end fans. Play was halted only six times during the period, and on three of these occasions the puck had to be rescued from the reserved seat sections. When the Leafs opened the scoring in the second period, the fans were all prepared to see them roll up a count, but the Canadiens evened the score, and the game seemed to take on a dreary aspect after that.
“Shorty” Horne was one of the most prominent of the Toronto players. His frequent rushes kept the fans in an uproar, and he proved a hard man to stop. Early in the opening period, he crashed into Mantha, and the defence player was frequently relieved after that. In fact, Leduc and Burke filled the defence positions for the visitors for the greater portion of the game. Mantha was used in a relief role.
Blair, Bailey, Cox and Carson worked hard as is their custom, but there was a noticeable lack of clever team play in the attack of the Leafs. Pettinger seemed to have trouble carrying the puck, and much of his effectiveness was dimmed on this account. Duncan and Day worked the first two periods on the defence, but Art Smith relieved Duncan in the third period. Day worked the entire game without relief, and played no mean part in breaking up the rushes of the Flying Frenchmen.
The Canadiens were strong defensively. Not until the last period did the regulars on the forward line appear to advantage. Gagné speeded up at times and threatened occasionally, but Joliat and Lépine were given little chance to show their effectiveness. The subs gave a good display. Mantha’s brother made his first appearance in an NHL game and looked good. He is speedy and clever with the stick, but he was not used to any great extent.
Patterson was one of the best of the visiting players. He was keen on the attack, and his checking was also a worry to the Leafs. Mondou worked hard, but his efforts were largely individual. Burke gave one of his best performances here, but being a Toronto boy, his bumping and high stick carrying did not merit him any consideration from local fans. Sylvio Mantha and Leduc contributed many dangerous rushes, but their chief duty was in keeping the Leafs from taking liberties with Hainsworth, and they performed to perfection in this respect.
Story originally published in The Globe, January 18, 1929
BOXSCORE
1st Period
MTL PEN – Burke
2nd Period
TOR GOAL – 02:00 – Cox (Carson, Day)
MTL SH GOAL – 04:00 – S. Mantha
TOR PEN – Pettinger
MTL PENS – Leduc (major), Burke
3rd Period
TOR PENS – Smith (2), Carson
MTL PENS – Burke, Joliat
Overtime
TOR PEN – Smith
GOALTENDERS
TOR – Chabot (T)
MTL – Hainsworth (T)
ROSTERS
TOR – Goaltenders: Lorne Chabot. Defence: Hap Day (C), Art Duncan, Art Smith. Forwards: Ace Bailey, Andy Blair, Bill Carson, Danny Cox, George Horne, Eric Pettinger.
MTL – Goaltenders: George Hainsworth. Defence: Marty Burke, Gerry Carson, Albert Leduc, Georges Mantha, Sylvio Mantha (C). Forwards: Art Gagné, Aurèle Joliat, Pit Lépine, Armand Mondou, Howie Morenz, George Patterson.
TEAM RECORDS
TOR – 11-11-1 (.500)
MTL – 9-6-7 (.568)
Two Solitudes 