Game 170
Maple Leafs 4, Canadiens 3
Thursday, December 12, 1940
Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
An early first period goal by Sweeney Schriner gave every indication of signalling a royal shellacking for the Montréal Canadiens at Maple Leaf Gardens last night.
Yet the National Hockey League’s pacemaking Toronto Leafs had to go all out to turn back the scrappiest Montréal team to show here in several seasons. The final count was 4-3 for Hap Day’s league leaders.
Rallying their offensive forces in the late stages of the first period after a disjointed display of puck chasing, the Canadiens finished the chapter on even terms at 1-1. They continued the uphill drive in the second period by spotting the Leafs a man because of a penalty, and went out to produce a goal that put them in front 2-1. Schriner had to come to the rescue of the homesters with his second score of the night to deadlock the teams at 2-2 before the period ended.
The Leafs mustered two goals in a row in the first eleven minutes of the third period, and weathered the storm of a stubborn, persistent attack of the Montréalers to finish on the big end of the 4-3 count. Syl Apps broke the 2-2 standoff when Bert Gardiner failed to handle the Toronto centre’s knee high shot from far out on left wing early in the period. The puck trickled through Gardiner’s mitts.
Billy Taylor made it 4-2 for the Leafs when he waltzed in from right wing on a one man attack, craftily shifted away from a Montréal defenceman, and picked a corner at Gardiner’s right side. But the Canadiens weren’t through by any means. Joe Benoit put them right back into the thick of the scrap a minute later by beating Broda from close range with a backhander off Singbush’s pass.
Murph Chamberlain, the former Leaf forward, set off the fireworks in a game that developed more healthy bumping and more penalties than in any NHL offering here this season. Chamberlain swapped bumps and slashes with practically every member of the Toronto team, and he soon had his Montréal mates following the example. The result was a big penalty box parade in the second period, with Chamberlain drawing two sentences. There were six other penalties. In the third period, Portland and Getliffe of the Canadiens were chased. Kampman got two minutes for tripping and ten minutes misconduct for making a speech that referee Mickey Ion didn’t appreciate.
Toronto’s first midweek game of the 1940-41 season attracted 9,969 customers.
Toe Blake of the Canadiens was fined $15 by referee Mickey Ion for leaving the Montréal players’ bench to dispute a second period penalty meted out to Reardon.
Story originally published in The Globe & Mail, December 13, 1940
BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR GOAL – 04:33 – Schriner (D. Metz, Hamilton)
MTL GOAL – 12:30 – Quilty (Blake, Demers)
TOR PEN – D. Metz
MTL PEN – Portland
2nd Period
MTL SH GOAL – 08:17 – Sands (Getliffe)
TOR GOAL – 08:21 – Schriner
TOR PENS – Goldup, Hamilton, Stanowski
MTL PENS – Chamberlain (double minor), Goupille, Reardon, Sands
3rd Period
MTL GOAL – 00:50 – Benoit (Singbush)
TOR PP GOAL – 04:58 – Apps (D. Metz)
TOR GOAL – 06:37 – Taylor
TOR PENS – Kampman (minor + game misconduct)
MTL PENS – Getliffe, Portland
GOALTENDERS
TOR – Broda (W)
MTL – Gardiner (L)
ROSTERS
TOR – Goaltenders: Turk Broda. Defence: Reg Hamilton, Bingo Kampman, Wally Stanowski. Forwards: Syl Apps (C), Bob Davidson, Gordie Drillon, Hank Goldup, Red Heron, Pete Langelle, Gus Marker, Don Metz, Nick Metz, Sweeney Schriner, Billy Taylor.
MTL – Goaltenders: Bert Gardiner. Defence: Red Goupille, Jack Portland, Ken Reardon, Alex Singbush. Forwards: John Adams, Joe Benoit, Toe Blake (C), Murph Chamberlain, Tony Demers, Polly Drouin, Ray Getliffe, Elmer Lach, John Quilty, Charlie Sands.
TEAM RECORDS
TOR – 11-2-0 (.846)
MTL – 3-8-2 (.308)
ATTENDANCE
9,969
Two Solitudes 