1960-61 NHL Replay - week ending 15 October

The schedule begins to ramp up as the ice men shake off their summer legs and head into the second week of the regular season . . .

9 October 1960 - Montreal (6) at Boston (1)

The Bruins threw forty shots at the Canadiens’ net but Jacques Plante stopped all but one of them while Jean Beliveau had three goals and an assists as Montréal won the battle in the only place it counts, the scoreboard, by a score of 6-1. The first period was very tentatively played, with only eleven shots, nevertheless the visitors had the lead courtesy of Beliveau’s goal at 16:23. The pace picked up considerably in the second, the game looking like a track meet at times, and that style was just never going to suit the Bruins given the talent gap. The Canadiens scored three times in the period, Beliveau getting the last two after Claude Provost had given the visitors a 2-0 lead five minutes into the frame. To Boston’s credit they kept coming in the third with nineteen shots on goal, and Doug Mohns’ score got them back within 4-1 but there was too little time and too much Montréal as Albert Langlois and Ralph Backstrom piled on in the last three minutes. [box] [stats]

Jacques Plante stopped 39 of 40 Boston shots

9 October 1960 - New York (2) at Chicago (5)

The Black Hawks scored four straight goals after spotting the Rangers an early lead, and rolled to a 5-2 victory. Jim Morrison got New York started, scoring six minutes into the game, but Kenny Wharram answered for Chicago less than two minutes later and Eddie Shack’s tripping penalty set up Moose Vasko’s power-play goal at 13:22 to give the Hawks the lead after one period of play. Pierre Pilote made it 3-1 just a minute into the second and Bobby Hull’s score at 14:11 looked like enough to ensure victory for the Hawks. A Red Sullivan score a minute in the third was a ray of hope for New York, but Chicago made them pay for Don Johns’ tripping call midway through the period as Bill Hay’s PP goal put the game on ice. Hay had a goal and two assists, while Eric Nesterenko registered five hits for the Hawks; Andy Bathgate had ten of the Rangers’ 27 shots on goal. [box] [stats]

Bill Hay's three points paced the Hawks 

9 October 1960 - Toronto (3) at Detroit (1)

Dave Keon scored his second goal of the game with under a minute left to break a tie, and Bob Nevin’s empty-netter with four seconds on the clock sealed a Toronto win away from home. Keon started the scoring seven minutes into the game, but Len Lunde equalized for Detroit at 15:41. The two clubs seemed content to play defensively in the second period, only taking nine shots on goal between them, so the game went to its final twenty minutes tied at one apiece. Toronto were the better team in the final period, controlling possession and generating more opportunities, yet neither team had scored for nearly 45 minutes of on-ice action as the game entered its final minute. At 19:05, Keon tucked the rebound of an Allen Stanley shot around the pads of Terry Sawchuk to put the two points within reach for TOR; two sterling DET chances with the extra man were turned away by Johnny Bower (23 saves) and Nevin turned a giveaway into a goal into the empty net just before the final horn went off. Billy Harris assisted on both of Keon’s goals, and Pete Goegan had an assist and delivered four hits. [box] [stats]

Dave Keon provided most of the Toronto offense at Detroit

11 October 1960 - Detroit (3) at Boston (0)

Hank Bassen recorded the League’s first shutout in his first start of the season, and Murray Oliver and Allan Johnson each scored and assisted on second-period goals that gave Detroit the win at the Boston Garden. The clubs skated to a scoreless result for twenty minutes, but the Wings broke through barely a minute into the second period when Oliver took Johnson’s fed and snapped a shot past Don Simmons; in their next shift on the ice, the line struck again when Johnson returned the favor at the business end of Oliver’s pass. The Bruins had been effectively bottled up by the Red Wing defence and Bassen took care of the rest; he stopped all 22 shots he faced, and Gordie Howe added an unnecessary insurance tally five minutes before the end. [box] [stats]

Hank Bassen holds Boston scoreless in his first start of the season

11 October 1960 - Montreal (5) at New York (3)

Dickie Moore’s short-handed goal early in the third period broke a 3-3 tie and “Boom Boom” Geoffrion put the game away with his hat-trick goal five minutes later. The clubs skated to a eventful 2-2 tie after the first period, Brian Cullen and Harry Howell bookending strikes by Geoffrion and Marcel Bonin. Montréal started to tip the scales slightly in the second, and that paid off with another Geoffrion goal at 14:24 of the period which gave them a leg in front. Howell potted his second four minutes into the third period to tie the game up yet again, and it looked like the Rangers had things going their way when Jean Beliveau got whistled off for flipping the puck into the stands on a clearance attempt a minute later. A minute into the resulting power play, Tom Johnson pounced on a loose puck at the Canadiens blue line and sent Dickie Moore skating into the Ranger zone where he beat Gump Worsley between the pads to give MTL the lead for the third time in the game. This time, though, they made it stick - Geoffrion finished off his second trick of the season on a put-back and Plante and the MTL defence held New York off for the final nine minutes. [box] [stats]

Bernie Geoffrion's second hat trick of the season sinks New York

12 October 1960 - Toronto (4) at Chicago (1)

The Maple Leafs came out of the gate flying, holding Chicago to only four shots in the first period, and ride a pair of goals from the blue line to a 2-0 lead. Tim Horton fired home first at 10:33 and Bob Baun scored on the man advantage five minutes later when Stan Mikita got sent off for cross-checking. The tempo of the game picked up in the middle twenty minutes, but conversions didn’t and the only goal came for Ron Murphy of the Hawks who tipped Pierre Pilote’s shot past Johnny Bower to close the gap to a single goal. The left it all to play for in the third period, and the Leafs got the benefit of a Chicago mistake when Dollard St. Laurent went off for a slash six minutes into the period, and Bert Olmstead cashed in a minute later after a nice quick-fire passing play with Billy Harris and Dick Duff. The Black Hawks were now down two goals at home, but they didn’t muster the aggressive response you might have expected; Toronto continued to control the play for the remainder of the game, and put it in the bag when Red Kelly scored into the empty net with thirty seconds to go. Ten different Leafs earned at least a point, while Bobby Hull was the main protagonist for Chicago with seven SOG and six PIM. [box] [stats]

Bert Olmstead's PPG puts away the Black Hawks

13 October 1960 - Detroit (5) at Montreal (2)

To the surprise and dismay of the Forum crowd, the Red Wings come into Montréal and bully the Canadiens off the ice, scoring three times in the first ten minutes and landing twelve hits as they held MTL to 24 shots. Bob Turner’s hooking infraction gave Detroit an early chance to get on top, and Parker MacDonald scored seventy-two seconds into the man advantage for the game’s opening goal. Midway through the period, Alex Delvecchio took over and almost single-handedly put the Hawks in a commanding position. At 10:11 he took Warren Godfrey’s pass just inside the left face-off circle and whipped the puck past the blocker of Jacques Plante; then, off the ensuing face-off, Norm Ullman found him streaking over the MTL blue line and fed him perfectly for a wrister inside the right post for another score just twelve seconds after the first. Claude Provost scored for Montréal four minutes from the end of the period, but it still looked like Detroit’s game to lose, although Ralph Backstrom’s goal a minute before the close of the second period made it 3-2 and brought the arena back to life. The final period, however, was all Detroit; their physical play stifled the Canadiens attack and Pete Goegan assisted on goals by Marcel Provonost (8:01) and Howie Glover (18:07) that made for a comfortable final score. Goegan and Warren Godfrey each had four hits and two assists for the winners. [box] [stats]

Alex Delvecchio takes over the game in the opening period

15 October 1960 - New York (3) at Montreal (3)

The Rangers took an early lead at Montréal but the Canadiens, still smarting from their home beating at the hands of the Red Wings two days ago, rallied from a two-goal deficit late in the second period to salvage a tie and perhaps deserved better. In a very politely-played game that saw only ten total PIM, the Rangers got out in front courtesy of two important players making their season debuts; Dean Prentice scored in the waning seconds of the first period, and Camille Henry in the opening moments of the second, to put New York ahead 2-0. Don Marshall’s goal at 12:44 cut the NYR lead to one goal, but Prentice potted a second at 16:15 somewhat against the run of play to restore the two-goal cushion. That lasted barely a minute before Bill Hicke converted a Henri Richard feed, and the game went to the final frame with any outcome possible. The Rangers held tight to their slim lead for almost ten minutes, but the MTL fourth line produced the tying score off the stick of Claude Provost at 9:44 and the final half of the third became a test for Gump Worsley as Montréal pressed for the second point. But the Ranger netminder held firm until the end to ring up 37 saves and get New York a point on the road. Prentice had six shots on goal in his first game action of the campaign, and Bill Gadsby anchored the back line with three hits. [box] [stats]

Dean Prentice returns to the ice with two goals

15 October 1960 - Boston (1) at Toronto (3)

George Armstrong’s goal late in the second period broke a 1-1 tie and the Maple Leafs went on to win a closely-contest decision over the Bruins. An even-Steven first period resulted in no scoring despite four power plays, and it wasn’t until Red Kelly put a puck behind Don Simmons at 5:35 of the second that the scoreboard operator had to be pressed into service. Boston’s fourth man-advantage opportunity of the game came about ten minutes later when Bert Olmstead was binned for hooking, and the Bs finally made the extra man pay when Don McKenney flipped home at the right post from Leo Labine’s centering pass. The visitors had slightly the better of the play in the period, but couldn’t find another goal, and the Leafs took the lead back at 16:08 when Armstrong deflected Bob Pulford’s wrist shot off the post and into the goal behind Simmons. Matters were still up for grabs with twenty minutes remaining, and the final period featured back-and-forth action, but it was Toronto who got the key play when Dave Keon was sent in alone by Frank Mahovlich to score the game-sealer at 10:50. Johnny Bower made 30 saves, Mahovlich was his usual presence with two assists, five shots, three penalties and a hit, and Johnny Bucyk of the Bruins managed to go home empty and carrying a -2 despite nine shots on goal. [box] [stats]

George Armstrong scores the game-winner for Toronto

Standings as of 15 October 1960

Team	GP	W	L	T	PTS	Pct	GF	GA
Montreal Canadiens	6	3	1	2	8	0.667	28	20
Detroit Red Wings	5	3	2	0	6	0.600	13	9
Toronto Maple Leafs	5	3	2	0	6	0.600	13	15
New York Rangers	5	2	2	1	5	0.500	17	16
Chicago Black Hawks	4	2	2	0	4	0.500	10	10
Boston Bruins	5	0	4	1	1	0.100	10	21

League Leaders

Goals	Team	G
Geoffrion, Bernie	Montreal	7
Beliveau, Jean	Montreal	4
Keon, Dave	Toronto	4
Mohns, Doug	Boston	4
Three tied with		3

Assists	Team	A
Beliveau, Jean	Montreal	8
Geogan, Pete	Detroit	7
Johnson, Tom	Montreal	7
Moore, Dickie	Montreal	6
Geoffrion, Berie	Montreal	5
Harvey, Doug	Montreal	5

Points	Team	PTS
Beliveau, Jean	Montreal	12
Geoffrion, Bernie	Montreal	12
Moore, Dickie	Montreal	9
Goegan, Pete	Detroit	7
Johnson, Tom	Montreal	7
Mohns, Doug	Montreal	7

Penalty Minutes	Team	PIM
Talbot, Jean-Guy	Montreal	22
Beliveau, Jean	Montreal	15
Hull, Bobby	Chicago	15
Fleming, Reggie	Chicago	11
Mahovlich, Frank	Toronto	11
Sullivan, Red	New York	11

Plus/Minus	Team	+/-
Moore, Dickie	Montreal	11
Geoffrion, Bernie	Montreal	9
Beliveau, Jean	Montreal	9
Harvey, Doug	Montreal	8
Johnson, Tom	Montreal	8

Goals-Against Average	Team	GAA
Bassen, Hank	Toronto	0.00
Sawchuk, Terry	Detroit	2.01
Hall, Glenn	Chicago	2.26
Bower, Johnny	Toronto	3.00
Worlsey, Gump	New York	3.21

Save Percentage	Team	PCT
Bassen, Hank	Toronto	1.000
Hall, Glenn	Chicago	0.922
Sawchuk, Terry	Montreal	0.920
Worlsey, Gump	New York	0.901
Bower, Johnny	Toronto	0.895

(Boxscores and stats from the BlueLynx hockey spreadsheet.)