Posts About "Al Smith"

50 Years Ago in Hockey: Abel's Hunch Works for Wings

March 24th, 2016 Hank Bassen's stellar goaltending lifted the Detroit Red Wings to a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers last night. Bassen was only in the Wings net thanks to a hunch played by Wings coach Sid Abel. The win moved Detroit to within one point of third-place Toronto. Gordie Howe scored at 7:29 of the third period to provide Detroit with...

50 Years Ago in Hockey: Leafs Down to One Goalie – Again

March 1st, 2016 The Toronto Maple Leafs are down to just one healthy goaltender again. Injuries have forced the top three netminders on Toronto’s depth chart out of the lineup for the second time in a week. That means that young Al Smith, goalkeeper of the Toronto Marlboros Junior A team, might be between the pipes tomorrow night against the Montreal...

50 Years Ago in Hockey: Rookie Goalie Stymies Hawks

February 24th, 2016 Toronto Maple Leafs edged the first-place Chicago Black Hawks 3-2 last night thanks mainly to the heroics of an unheralded rookie goalie. But it wasn’t the goalie most expected it would be who did the job. Young Al Smith, up from the Toronto Marlboros Junior A team was the unexpected hero. The Toronto-Chicago contest was one of...