Preseason Game 27
Maple Leafs 6, Canadiens 2
Friday, September 17, 1993
Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
Judging from their performance last night, several of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ hopefuls were reading the newspapers while the veterans of the team were enjoying a week in England.
During the sojourn in London for an exhibition series with the New York Rangers, Leaf coach Pat Burns grumped that too many of his veterans were making like tourists rather than hockey players. What was needed was a group of rookies to make some of the older crowd forget about the sights and worry about their jobs.
After the team’s first game back on home ground, a 6-2 win over the Montréal Canadiens last night at Maple Leaf Gardens, Burns was happier. An enthusiastic display by the rookie line of Brandon Convery, Patrik Augusta and Tomas Kucharcik had him smiling.
“The aggressiveness they showed lifted our spirits,” Burns said. “I complained about complacency over in England. I knew we had to get these young guys in there.”
The rookie line didn’t produce a great deal of scoring – Augusta and Convery each had a goal – but they did make some hits and kept the play out of their own end.
Of the three, Augusta, a 23 year old who played for the Leafs’ farm team in St. John’s last season, has the best chance to make the team. Kucharcik, who played on a line with Augusta on a club team in the former Czechoslovakia two years ago, and Convery, a first round draft pick in 1992, may be another year away.
“I was impressed with Kucharcik’s strength with the puck,” Burns said. “It was hard to knock him down.
“And I liked the way (Augusta) killed penalties.”
Augusta is expected to win a job on the team this season, after a 77 point season with St. John’s. He is aware that’s what management is expecting, but doesn’t dwell on it.
“I was thinking a lot about this game,” he said of his first appearance with the big team this season. “I was happy with the way I played. We’ll see what happens next.”
Nikolai Borschevsky had two goals for the Leafs, while Dave Andreychuk and Todd Gill scored one each. Éric Desjardins and David Wilkie scored for the Canadiens.
Burns said last night that Damian Rhodes will be Félix Potvin’s backup in the Leaf net this season.
Story originally published in The Globe & Mail, September 18, 1993
BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR GOAL – 00:18 – Augusta (Lefebvre)
TOR GOAL – 10:06 – Andreychuk (Borschevsky, Elliott)
TOR PEN – 10:28 – Berg, major
MTL PEN – 10:28 – Muller, minor + major
TOR PEN – 11:30 – Gill
TOR GOAL – 16:50 – Borschevsky (Ellett)
MTL PEN – 17:29 – Haller
TOR PP GOAL – 19:20 – Borschevsky (Andreychuk)
MTL PEN – 19:41 – Brashear
2nd Period
TOR PEN – 02:06 – Clark
MTL PEN – 03:18 – Muller
TOR PEN – 07:12 – Berg
TOR PEN – 10:32 – Clark, double minor
MTL PEN – 10:32 – Brashear, double minor
TOR GOAL – 12:16 – Gill (Borschevsky, Gilmour)
MTL GOAL – 14:44 – Wilkie (Damphousse)
TOR PEN – 17:13 – Lefebvre
MTL PEN – 17:13 – Wilson
MTL GOAL – 18:48 – Desjardins (Dionne)
3rd Period
TOR GOAL – 04:00 – Convery (Clark, Gill)
TOR PEN – 05:24 – Rouse
TOR PEN – 07:46 – Rouse
TOR PEN – 19:43 – Berg
GOALTENDERS
TOR – Potvin (W, 24-26)
MTL – Racicot (L, 24-30)
SHOTS ON GOAL
TOR – 14+9+7 = 30
MTL – 7+9+10 = 26
Two Solitudes 