The Detroit Red Wings snapped the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 10-game unbeaten streak by shutting out the Toronto club 4-0 last night at the Olympia in Detroit. The game was one of three on the National Hockey League schedule. Montreal dumped New York 6-3 and Chicago downed the hapless Boston Bruins 3-1 in other games.
Crozier Posts 5th Shutout
Red Wing goalie Roger Crozier recorded his fifth shutout of the season to lead Detroit over Toronto. He now leads the NHL in that category. Crozier was called upon to make only 21 saves, with the Leafs managing only three shots on goal in the final 20 minutes.
Parker MacDonald, finally feeling comfortable in Detroit in his third game since being re-acquired by the Wings from Boston last week, led the Red Wing attack with a goal and an assist. The goal was his first since being reunited with former linemates Alex Delvecchio and Gordie Howe.
MacDonald also assisted on Howe’s 16th of the season. Other Detroit scorers were Norm Ullman and Paul Henderson.
Ullman opened the scoring in the fifth minute of the opening frame to give Crozier all the offence he would need. The hard-working Red Wing centre stripped the usually reliable Bob Pulford of the puck at the Toronto blue line and battled his way to the Leaf goal where he beat Johnny Bower with a shot from inside 10 feet.
Detroit has been almost as hot as the Leafs over the past few weeks, and now have won 13 of their last 17 games.
Toronto played without two regular centres – Dave Keon and Wally Boyer. Keon suffered a shoulder injury in Saturday night’s contest against the Boston Bruins when he caught a skate in the boards while being checked by Albert Langlois of the Bruins. Both players fell to the ice with Langlois on top. His knee drove into Keon’s shoulderand the Leafs forward was forced to leave the game.
The injury is diagnosed as a bruise, and the slick centre could be lost to the team for two weeks.
Hull’s Long Shot a Game-Winner
Bobby Hull scored his 29th goal of the season from about 60 feet to snap a 1-1 tie with less than four minutes to play as the Chicago Black Hawks dumped the lowly Boston Bruins 3-1 last night in Chicago.
The Bruins, playing perhaps their best game in weeks, led at the end of the first period on Bob Dillabough’s third marker of the season. Len Lunde notched his second of the year for the Hawks near the midway mark of the second stanza to even the score at 1-1.
Hull’s winning goal came on a long blast from the Boston blue line with time winding down in the third. Bruins goalie Ed Johnston, who played well in defeat, was screened on the play and never saw the bullet drive.
Hull had been kept well in check for most of the game by the shadowing job of Bruins Eddie Westfall. It was only when Westfall was whistled off for holding, and then Ted Green was sent to join him in the sin bin with another minor transgression that Hull was able to find the room to score the game-winner.
Hull then set up Chico Maki for the insurance goal less than two minutes later. As he made one of his patented rushes to the net, the Golden Jet made a lovely drop pass to Maki, who whipped a 15-footer past Johnston, who had little chance on the play.
Habs Score Early, Often
The Montreal Canadiens raced to a 5-0 lead, then cruised the rest of the way to take their second game in a row against the New York Rangers, this one by a 6-3 score.
Montreal came out flying at Madison Square Garden, pumping 16 first-period shots at a beleaguered Don Simmons in the Ranger goal, scoring three times. That would be enough for Simmons, who was replaced to start the second period by rookie goalie Ed Giacomin.
The match was scoreless until the thirteenth minute, when Gilles Tremblay finally beat Simmons for his ninth of the season. Ralph Backstrom and Claude Larose followed with goals in quick succession and it was clear that the Rangers weren’t going to come back in this one.
Jacques Laperriere and Claude Provost upped the Montreal lead to five in the first half of the middle frame before the Rangers finally found the back of the net with three goals within six minutes. Jean Ratelle led the short-lived comeback bid by the home side with two goals, while Donnie Marshall added another.
Taking his cue from Ranger coach Emile Francis, Montreal mentor Toe Blake replaced his starting netminder Charlie Hodge to start the third period with former Ranger Gump Worsley. Worsley didn’t disappoint, blanking the Rangers the rest of the way.
The only goal of the final 20 minutes was scored by Bobby Rousseau. Rousseau notched his 16th of the year on a nice setup from Dick Duff.
OHA: Niagara Falls Tops St. Catharines Twice
The Niagara Falls Flyers took both games of a home and home series with the St. Catharines Black Hawks this weekend in Ontario Hockey Association Junior A play. The powerful Flyers, in third place in league standings but still in contention for first, could have won both games by wider margins had it not been for the outstanding goalkeeping of Hawks netminder Larry Holmes.
Flyers won 2-0 on Saturday, while taking last night’s game 5-4.
In Saturday’s win, Derek Sanderson and Don Marcotte scored for the Flyers. Last night, it was Sanderson, John Arbour, Tom Webster, Jean Pronovost and Bud Debrody. St. Catharines had built a 3-0 lead, which they were unable to hold, on goals by Steve Latinovich, Jan Popiel and Kerry Bond.
Toronto Marlboros, who were mired in a slump going into the weekend, also won twice. The Marlies upset the first-place Oshawa Generals Saturday, then nipped the Kitchener Rangers at Maple Leaf Gardens yesterday.
Defenseman Doug Dunville’s goal with just over five minutes to play pushed Toronto past Kitchener yesterday.
The hero for Marlboros in both games was goalie Al Smith. Smith was replacing regular netminder Bob Whidden and made a strong case for further employment with outstanding netminding in both games. He faced 42 shots from Oshawa, and then took on another 30 by Kitchener.
Campbell: Russians Not Good Enough for Pros
National Hockey League president Clarence Campbell, commenting on a report that Russian national coach Anatoli Tarasov wants his team to play North American professionals, had a simple response:
Let’s be realistic.
Campbell did say that when European hockey eventually improves, some sort of world championship involving pros will be arranged, but that European players are a long way from reaching NHL standards.
Campbell also agreed that the present slate of international tournaments no longer adequately tests the Russian team. He suggests that a professional European or even Russian league would be the best way for those teams to develop the skills needed to compete with North American professionals.
Notes:
- Toronto Maple Leafs have sent forward Wayne Carleton back to the Junior A Marlboros. Coach Punch Imlach says he was more than happy with Carleton’s play.
- Canadian national team forward Gary Dineen says he will not be playing for Canada at this year’s World Championships in March.
- Rochester Americans have now gone 15 games without losing in American Hockey League play. Dick Gamble scored twice to lead Rochester to its latest win, 6-2 over Baltimore.
- Memphis Wings still hold first place in the Central Professional Hockey League.
- Victoria Maple Leafs won their sixth straight Western Hockey League game, 5-3 over the Vancouver Canucks, thanks to two goals by former NHL’er Andy Hebenton.
- Jack Adams says Gordie Howe will play three more NHL seasons and end up with 700 goals.
