It appears that Montreal Canadiens goalkeeper Gump Worsley may miss the rest of the Stanley Cup final with a leg injury. Worsley suffered a torn thigh muscle during the warmup to Sunday’s game in Chicago. He apparently told at least one writer that he fears he won’t play again until next season.
Hodge likely to start again
Charlie Hodge will be the starter in goal for Canadiens for tonight’s fifth game of the series in Montreal. Hodge wasn’t sharp in the 5-1 loss in Chicago on Sunday, but the hope for Montreal coach Toe Blake is that Hodge will regain his mid-season form with time to properly prepare.
Worsley may not be the only hurting Hab. Speculation around the Montreal club has centre Henri Richard slowed by the aggravation of a groin injury that kept him out of the lineup for several games this season. Richard hasn’t been his usual effervescent self in the past two games.
The Canadiens have not announced any lineup changes for game five.
Reay: no lineup changes
Chicago coach Billy Reay also said that he will be going with the same lineup for tonight’s game. Having a healthy Glenn Hall in goal gives the Hawks a leg up on the Habs, especially with “Mr. Goalie” at the top of his game.
Reay was confident about the Black Hawks’ chances.
“My confidence never changes. It’s a two out of three series now. And the series doesn’t really start until the fifth game.”
Reay was buoyed by the return to the lineup of Ken Wharram and Pierre Pilote.
“We played well enough in those two game (that Wharram and Pilote missed) to win without them.”
Pilote and Wharram played major roles in Chicago’s two home wins. Pilote especially benefitted from a new wonder drug that was applied to his injured shoulder. He received more applications during yesterday’s off day.
Pilote said, “It bothers me at night, but it isn’t sore today.”
Reay chortled at the relative health of his team after their earlier injury woes.
“We’re so healthy that I’m the only one with an injury. I’ve got a boil right here” he said, pointing to his right thigh. Stay classy, Bill.
Golden Jet could set two records
Bobby Hull, meanwhile, has a chance to break a couple of Stanley Cup records if he can continue his present scoring pace. With 10 goals so far in this year’s playoffs, he has a real chance with possibly three games remaining to match the record of 12, held jointly by Maurice Richard (1944) and Jean Beliveau (1956).
Hull has 17 points, just four off the record of 21, set by team-mate Stan Mikita in 1962.
OHA done with NOHA
The Ontario Hockey Association has passed a resolution that will end the yearly playoff with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association for a berth in the Memorial Cup Eastern Final, according to OHA business manager William Hanley.
Mr. Hanley says that the resolution calls for the OHA champion to meet the Western Junior champs for the Memorial Cup. The resolution will come before the annual meeting of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, to be held on May 24 at Victoria, B.C.
Mr. Hanley said that if the CAHA approves, the OHA is ready to donate a trophy for a competition between the NOHA champion and the winning team from the Maritime provinces.
At present, the winner of the NOHA – OHA series plays the winner of the Quebec – Maritimes for the right to compete against the West for the Memorial Cup. This series would also be eliminated by the resolution. It’s expected that Quebec will not support this proposal and will want to continue to have a chance at the Memorial Cup.
Hockey News picks Ullman
The Hockey News has announced that it has named Norm Ullman as the outstanding player for the 1964-65 season. Ullman led the NHL in goals with 42. He added 41 assists for 83 points, second in the league.
Sid Abel, Ullman’s coach with the Detroit Red Wings, was named the top bench boss, while Harry Glickman, managing director of the Portland Buckaroos of the WHL, was tagged as the top executive in professional hockey.
Notes
- Rumours have the Toronto Maple Leafs transferring their Victoria WHL franchise to Phoenix. A group in the Arizona city has recently completed a new arena and has made an offer to Toronto president Stafford Smythe for the team.
- More speculation on the Detroit coaching situation. A Detroit paper reports that Bill Gadsby will take over from Sid Abel as a playing coach. Abel retains the GM portfolio.
- Milt Dunnell reports that he thinks Ted Lindsay will reconsider retirement once again next season.
- D. Kenneth McKee of the Globe and Mail speculates that the new NHL referee-in-chief will be one of Frank Udvari, Kenny Reardon or Hugh McLean.
- NHL president Clarence Campbell says that this year’s Stanley Cup final is in no way as exciting or as entertaining as the 1964 final between Detroit and Toronto.
- Harry Lillis Crosby is said to the be the person with the most money backing San Francisco’s hopes for an NHL franchise. Mr. Crosby, like many hockey personalities, has a great nickname – Bing. He’s apparently pretty good at singing.
- New Boston GM Hap Emms says he plans on buying players rather than trading live bodies. It’s thought the Maple Leafs will be happy to surrender some aging veterans to the Bruins to make room for some up and coming youngsters.
- Johnny Bower was asked about Bobby Hull’s booming slap shot. Bower said, “Stopping the puck is only the second hardest thing for a goalie. The hardest thing is to resist the temptation to skate over to the corner and hide.”
Retired police detective, involved in hockey at all levels for over 50 years. Member of Society for International Hockey Research and presently a video analyst for the leader in advanced hockey analytics (we work exclusively for 2 NHL clubs, and provide advice on an ad hoc basis to many other clients). Currently the Assistant General Manager for the Pelham Pirates of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. Previously owned the Faceoff computer hockey simulation and also provided all player ratings for the EA Sports series of NHL computer games from the late 90’s into the mid 2000’s.
