Game 137
Maple Leafs 4, Canadiens 2
Saturday, November 28, 1936
Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
The Maple Leafs had a little too much “English” on their shots for the Flying Frenchmen here Saturday night and, as a result, the Montréalers bowed for the second time in three nights by a 4 to 3 tally.
And a very obliging lot those “Frenchies” proved. It was anybody’s game until midway through the final period, when Bill Miller was chased for sending Bobby Davidson spinning, and was immediately joined in the “coop” by big “Babe” Siebert, who slammed Syl Apps against the boards with terrific force.
Siebert’s penalty was the cue for some spectacular action, as the rallying Leafs chalked up three goals in 33 seconds against the bewildered Mons. Cude, and “tucked away” their second straight victory.
Close to 10,000 fans unleashed a mighty roar as the smooth skating Nick Metz rifled the puck past Cude, with Apps and Busher Jackson assisting, at 11:11. The cheering had not ceased when Jimmy Fowler’s shot from back of the net was deflected past the Canadiens’ goaler at 11:31, and programs started to fly when Apps batted Jackson’s relay into the cage just thirteen seconds later to make the score read Toronto 4, Canadiens 1.
That thrilling outburst was just what the doctor ordered, for the Canadiens, with their peculiar style of play, had given Dick Irvin’s men a stern argument, and the action had not provided quite enough excitement to satisfy the customers. The calibre of hockey itself was anything but a rave, resembling at times an honest to goodness shinny match.
That double penalty was an unkind turn in fate for Cecil Hart’s troops, who had matched all the Leafs had to offer until that stage. A fine performance was that of Wilf Cude, who had thwarted many dangerous Toronto attackers, but under the same token, Walter Broda, the Leaf custodian, earned a four star rating.
The “Turk” was great, and the fans like him, and gave him many rousing cheers. The menacing Canucks had him at their mercy on numerous occasions, but Broda was equal to the task, as he pulled off some really miraculous saves.
The Leafs took command at 5:43 in the opener, when “Hap” Day took Metz’s pass and outguessed Cude. It was not until 6:07 of the second that the Canadiens struck back. Johnny Gagnon, “The Black Cat,” making it Even Stephen when he collected “Babe” Siebert’s relay, darted around the defence, and rifled the puck truly into the lower corner past Broda.
Superb goaling at both ends featured the play, until the Leafs capitalized on their two man advantage in the third. But even then, after three goals had been rattled into their cage, the Frenchmen did not give up. At 15:32, Joffre Desilets took Gagnon’s pass, streaked around the Toronto defence, and whipped the disc hard and true past Broda, and that ended the scoring, despite repeated closing thrusts.
The Morenz-Joliat-Gagnon united featured on the attack for the visitors, whil the work of Rod Lorrain and “Toe” Blake was also outstanding. Siebert, Jenkins, Miller and Buswell presented a strong defence combination. Morenz showed plenty of his old time zip.
Most of the Leafs earned brackets on their evening’s performance. Metz, Apps, Davidson, Shill, Thoms, Kelly and Jackson were all shining lights. Kelly realized the worst kind of luck around the goal, but he was exceptionally strong going both ways.
George Parsons could not untrack himself. On the defence, Fowler turned in another sterling effort, and his mate, “Red” Horner, was equally as brilliant. The big sorrel-top handed the flying Canucks a good many crushing body checks. And it was pleasing to see Day get that first goal. And might it be said that “Hap” also turned in a brilliant game. Little fault could be found with the play of Jack Howard, who did some excellent blocking.
When Desilets scored the final Canadiens tally, a voice from the gallery boomed out “take Day off!” “Hap” watched the goal scored from the Toronto players’ bench.
Story originally published in The Globe & Mail, November 30, 1936
BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR GOAL – 05:43 – Day (Metz)
2nd Period
MTL PEN – 03:27 – Haynes
MTL GOAL – 06:07 – Gagnon (Siebert)
TOR PEN – 14:43 – Jackson
3rd Period
MTL PEN – 10:25 – Miller
MTL PEN – 11:06 – Siebert
TOR PP2 GOAL – 11:11 – Metz (Apps, Jackson)
TOR PP2 GOAL – 11:31 – Fowler
TOR PP2 GOAL – 11:44 – Apps (Jackson)
MTL GOAL – 15:32 – Desilets (Gagnon, Haynes)
TOR PEN – 19:40 – Metz
GOALTENDERS
TOR – Broda (W)
MTL – Cude (L)
ROSTERS
TOR – Goaltenders: Turk Broda. Defence: Hap Day (C), Jimmy Fowler, Red Horner, Jack Howard. Forwards: Syl Apps, Bob Davidson, Gordie Drillon, Frank Finnigan, Busher Jackson, Pep Kelly, Nick Metz, George Parsons, Jack Shill, Bill Thoms.
MTL – Goaltenders: Wilf Cude. Defence: Walter Buswell, Georges Mantha. Forwards: Toe Blake, Joffre Desilets, Johnny Gagnon, Paul Haynes, Roger Jenkins, Aurèle Joliat, Pit Lépine, Rod Lorrain, Jack McGill, Bill Miller, Howie Morenz, Babe Siebert (C).
TEAM RECORDS
TOR – 3-5-1 (.389)
MTL – 4-4-1 (.500)
Two Solitudes 