Game 448
Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 4
Thursday, December 20, 1962
Forum de Montréal, Montréal, Québec
Dickie Duff, ending a personal scoring drought, counted half of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ goals tonight in a 4-4 tie with the Montréal Canadiens.
The Leafs, who saw the Canadiens come from behind to tie the game four times, drew to within one point of second place Detroit by the draw.
The National Hockey League game produced violence in its closing seconds when a stick swung by Leaf defenceman Carl Brewer caught Montréal forward Bobby Rousseau on the face. Rousseau suffered a four stitch cut over his eye and atop his nose.
Brewer and Rousseau were against the boards in the Toronto end, and Brewer let go a one-handed swing as they parted. That was at 19:02 and the Leaf was given a major penalty when Rousseau departed with blood flowing.
The game was delayed while programs, rubber footwear and debris were thrown on the ice from among the gathering of 13,588. The game was further delayed when fans began making threatening gestures at the Leaf bench while throwing programs at the players. The Leafs threw some programs back into the crowd and police arrived to push back the fans from the area.
Frank Mahovlich, with his 18th goal of the season, and Ed Litzenberger, with his second, were the other Toronto marksmen in a brisk and, sometimes hard hitting, fast affair. The Leafs were somewhat fortunate to escape with a tie. Goalie Johnny Bower came up with some key saves in the final period when the Leafs were outshot 11-5.
Henri Richard, with his 11th goal of the season, Gilles Tremblay, Rousseau and “Boom Boom” Geoffrion scored for the Canadiens. It was the 12th goal of the season for Geoffrion.
An oddity came on Rousseau’s goal, tying the game at 3-3, when an assist was awarded to goalie Jacques Plante, who started the play with a long pass to the Montréal blueline.
The Leafs opened the s coring in the game’s fourth minute with Lou Fontinato of the Habitants serving a minor penalty. On a faceoff in the Montréal end, Litzenberger got the puck back to Mahovlich, who scored on a quick, low drive.
Richard evened the count 10 minutes later on one of the finest goals of the season. With Toronto rearguard Tim Horton practically riding on his back, Richard took a pass and skated in. With one hand on the stick and the other warding off Horton, he shoved the puck from the side. It went behind Bower and into the cage.
Litzenberger scored on a close-in backhander early in the middle period, and at 17:08, Tremblay’s 14th goal came on a low shot from the side.
Little more than a minute later, while defenceman Jean-Guy Talbot was cross checking Dave Keon along the end boards, Duff scored his seventh goal of the term. He sank a rebound off George Armstrong’s shot after Keon had passed out to Armstrong.
Rousseau tied the score at 3-3 early in the final period on a play started by PLante. The Leafs went ahead again, about two minutes later, when Duff sank a shot along the ice on a pass from Keon.
Geoffrion’s tying goal, in the period’s 15th minute, came after Brewer lost the puck to him at the Toronto defence. With Brewer chasing him, Geoffrion scooted in to beat Bower from close range.
Story originally published in The Globe & Mail, December 21, 1962
BOXSCORE
1st Period
MTL PEN – 02:42 – Fontinato, tripping
TOR PP GOAL – 03:29 – Mahovlich (Litzenberger)
TOR PEN – 10:35 – Armstrong, hooking
MTL GOAL – 13:51 – Richard (J. Tremblay, Provost)
MTL PEN – 14:30 – Gauthier, interference
TOR PEN – 20:00 – Mahovlich, tripping
2nd Period
TOR GOAL – 03:01 – Litzenberger (Stanley, Kelly)
MTL PEN – 10:13 – team, too many men on the ice
MTL GOAL – 17:08 – G. Tremblay (Béliveau, Talbot)
TOR GOAL – 18:50 – Duff (Keon, Armstrong)
3rd Period
TOR PEN – 00:25 – Brewer, hooking
TOR PEN – 02:02 – Horton, hooking
MTL GOAL – 04:17 – Rousseau (Richard, Plante)
TOR GOAL – 06:35 – Duff (Keon, Brewer)
MTL GOAL – 14:15 – Geoffrion (Backstrom, Marshall)
TOR PEN – 19:02 – Brewer, high sticking major
GOALTENDERS
MTL – Plante (T, 24-28)
TOR – Bower (T, 29-33)
SHOTS ON GOAL
MTL – 11+11+11 = 33
TOR – 9+14+5 = 28
ROSTERS
MTL – Goaltenders: Jacques Plante. Defence: Lou Fontinato, Jean Gauthier, Tom Johnson, Jean-Guy Talbot, J.C. Tremblay. Forwards: Ralph Backstrom, Jean Béliveau (C), Bernie Geoffrion, Phil Goyette, Bill Hicke, Don Marshall, Dickie Moore, Claude Provost, Henri Richard, Bobby Rousseau, Gilles Tremblay.
TOR – Goaltenders: Johnny Bower. Defence: Carl Brewer, Kent Douglas, Tim Horton, Red Kelly, Allan Stanley. Forwards: George Armstrong (C), Dick Duff, Billy Harris, Dave Keon, Ed Litzenberger, Frank Mahovlich, Bob Pulford, Eddie Shack, Ron Stewart.
TEAM RECORDS
MTL – 12-9-8 (.552)
TOR – 15-10-4 (.586)
ATTENDANCE
13,588
Two Solitudes 