1960-61 NHL Replay - week ending 22 October

Things begin to shake out amongst the early contenders as the Hawks and Habs meet for the first time, and the two Canadian teams clash in Toronto . . .

16 October 1960 - Boston (2) at Chicago (6)

Chicago scored twice in the last eight minutes of the second period to break apart a close game, and go on to defeat Boston comfortably in front of a pleased crowd at the Madhouse on Madison. Things started off very well for the Black Hawks, as they scored twice (Pierre Pilote, Ron Murphy) in the first ten minutes of the game, but a flurry of goal-scoring early in the second got the Bs back into the game. Don McKenney scored on the PP at 1:13 after Dollard St. Laurent had taken an ill-timed interference penalty with one second remaining in the opening period and, after Tod Sloan had answered for Chicago at 3:28, Bronco Horvath finished off a combination play from Jerry Toppazzini’s pass just a minute later and Boston were back within one goal with nearly two full periods still to play. But Bobby Hull tallied at 12:46 and Kenny Wharram at 18:04, and Chicago had built a comfortable cushion by beating Don Simmons five times on only eighteen shots. Ab McDonald (G, A, five SOG) scored a garbage-time goal with four minutes to go to round out the scoring. Jack Evans blocked three shots for Chicago while Eric Nesterenko landed three hits, and the Bruins managed to play the entire sixty minutes without being whistled for a penalty. [box] [stats]

Jack Evans anchored the Hawks defence in the win over Boston

16 October 1960 - Montreal (2) at Detroit (1)

In a game in which they were outplayed for significant stretches, the Canadiens leaned on the brilliance of their top line to squeak out a narrow road win in Detroit. A first period that was largely controlled by the Red Wings was nevertheless punctuated by Dickie Moore’s goal at 16:17, and the two teams wrestled through a scoreless second period. Nearing the halfway point of the final twenty minutes it was still a 1-0 game and very much in doubt, but Jean Beliveau poked home a centering pass from Moore at 7:49 and Montréal had the breathing space they would need. Gordie Howe scored ninety seconds later to give the Wings a chance again, but Jacques Plante (33 saves) and the Canadiens defence ground out the final ten minutes to hold on to the win behind Doug Harvey’s three blocked shots. [box] [stats]

Jacques Plante stops 33 Detroit shots

16 October 1960 - Toronto (1) at New York (4)

New York struck for two goals in the first three minutes of the third period and won going away after a tight forty minutes at Madison Square Garden. The home team had scored first, when Andy Hebenton beat Johnny Bower to a loose puck off of Camille Henry’s deflection in front, but the Maple Leafs squared things up seven minutes into the second on Ron Stewart’s goal. The game had been equal in almost every measure when the clubs skated off for the final intermission, but that was all to change soon after they returned to the ice. Only two minutes into the final period, Harry Howell cheated in from the point and one-timed Bill Gadsby’s feed past Bower to give the Rangers the lead and, less than ninety seconds later, Andy Bathgate finished off a 2-on-1 with Dean Prentice by backhanding the puck over Bower’s blocker to make it 3-1. A Red Sullivan tally at 15:05 finished off the scoring, as NY took advantage of ten hits to make life in the Big Apple difficult for the visitors. Gadsby had four of those hits, two blocks and four shots on goal while Sullivan had three hits in addition to a goal and an assist. [box] [stats]

Harry Howell scores the game-winner for New York

19 October 1960 - Chicago (9) at New York (3)

In a ruthless display of finishing, the Black Hawks scored nine goals on 31 shots to bury Jack McCartan and the Rangers in front of a very unhappy crowd. McCartan, the Olympic star who is trying to find his footing in the pros, allowed three first-period goals to the Hawks, but scores from Bill Gadsby and Eddie Shack in the final two minutes of the stanza allowed the Rangers had stopped the hemorhaging, at least temporarily. The two sides swapped second-period scores, Ab McDonald getting his second of the game for Chicago, which kept it a one-goal game heading into the final period. The collapse wasn’t sudden, but was rather a slow, steady bleeding that saw CHI beat McCartan for five evenly-spaced goals over the course of the period to turn the game from an exciting affair into a laugher. Well, to be fair, the crowd at MSG certainly wasn’t laughing . . . the calls for McCartan’s removal rang loudly from the rafters by the last few minutes, although these went ignored by Alf Pike. Bobby Hull had two goals and an assist, Kenny Wharram had three helpers, and eight other Hawks had two points each while Pierre Pilote compiled an eye-opening +5 ledger. [box] [stats]

Bobby Hull was all over the ice - two goals and an assist on seven shots

19 October 1960 - Montreal (4) at Toronto (7)

The Maple Leafs blew open a wide-open tilt with three straight scores in the second and third periods to outscore the Canadiens. Five first-period goals left the Maple Leaf Gardens crowd breathless, and also relieved when Frank Mahovlich finally recorded his first goal of the season at 5:19 to tie the game at one. He added a second ten minutes later to lift Toronto into a tie again and the Bob Pulford followed three minutes later to put the Leafs in front, an edge they deserved after outshooting Montréal 15-7. In the second, the Leafs kept up the pressure and struck twice in the final five minutes of the period behind Bert Olmstead and Dave Keon to take a comfortable, but not conclusive, 5-2 lead into the last twenty minutes. When Allan Stanley blasted home just ninety seconds after the restart, it was more or less decided, but the thrill of seeing Frank (four points, nine SOG, hit) finish off his hat trick at 13:48 capped a great evening for the fans in Toronto, as if a win over the Canadiens needed any cherry on top. Dickie Moore did his best to elevate the visitors with three assists, seven shots and three hits.  [box] [stats]

Frank Mahovlich breaks out of his scoring drought in a big way

20 October 1960 - Boston (2) at Detroit (2)

Warren Godfrey’s 35-foot shot somehow found its way through a mass of bodies and past Don Simmons with fourteen seconds left to lift Detroit into a tie with the visiting Bruins. Two Vic Stasiuk goals had brought Boston back from an early deficit created by Alex Delvecchio’s goal only five minutes into the game, and they took a 2-1 lead into the final period still looking for their first win of the season. The Bs had played the Wings to a standstill for the entire game, and still held that lead when a face-off in the Boston zone with forty seconds left gave Detroit a chance to pull Terry Sawchuk from the goal and bring on Howie Glover as an extra attacker. Norm Ullman won the draw, and the puck found its way back to Godfrey at the point - his slap shot threaded the needle past three Detroit and three Bruin bodies tussling in front of goal and Don Simmons (32 saves) didn’t see the puck until it was too late. Heartbreak for the visitors and a roar of relief and disbelief from the crowd at the Olympia.

Warren Godfrey steals a point with 00:14 on the clock

22 October 1960 - Chicago (3) at Montreal (3)

Montréal spotted Chicago three first-period goals and then gradually reeled the Balck Hawks back in until Phil Goyette’s goal at 11:57 of the final period earned them a hard-fought point at home. A cagey opening period burst into life when Murray Balfour snuck in at the back post to redirect Bill Hay’s pass behind Jacques Plate at 13:11, and the Canadiens lost control for what looked as if it would be a very damamging few minutes. At 14:40 Moose Vasko’s wrist shot from the top of the right circle made it 2-0, an just two minutes later Stan Mikita found some open ice at the end of a head-man pass from Kenny Wharram and tucked the puck under Plante’s pads for a third Hawk goal of the period and the further reward of a stunned silence in the Forum as the clubs skated to the dressing rooms. Henri Richard’s goal at 6:34 of the second put a little life into the legs of the Habs, and their defence was stiffening as the game moved on; Richard and Mikita dropped the gloves late in the period to a standing ovation from the crowd. Still trailing by a pair into the final period, the game became a very close-checking affair (15 total SOG) and Chicago held Montréal off for the first half of the period but the Canadiens’ irrepressible top line struck at 9:44 when Jean Beliveau scored from the slot off of Bernie Geoffrion’s feed. It looked like it might be shaping up as a ten-minute siege on Glenn Hall’s goal in search of the tying goal, but Doug Harvey sprung Goyette through the center circle two minutes later and it as a 3-3 game. The expected drama failed to materialize over the final eight minutes as the two clubs sputtered to the horn, Chicago in disappointment and Montréal in exhaustion. [box] [stats]

Phil Goyette's goal in the third period earns Montréal a tie

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

Johnny Bower stopped 23 of 24 Red Wing shots and the Maple Leafs scored the last three goals of the game to win at home. Gordie Howe opened the scoring at 7:26 of the first, but Bob Baun responded at 13:21 to close the period at a 1-1 tie which probably left Detroit feeling slightly hard done by after holding Toronto to just six shots. Their sense of disappointment only deepened when George Armstrong put the Leafs ahead at 13:19 of the second, and turned to frustration when Dick Duff gave the home side a two-goal lead by converting Bert Olmstead’s pass at 6:31 of the third and it was Detroit who could muster just six attempts at goal. Pete Goegan threw his weight around to the tune of four hits for the Wings. [box] [stats]

Johnny Bower stymies the Red Wings

Standings as of 22 October 1960

Team	GP	W	L	T	PTS	Pct	GF	GA
Montreal Canadiens	9	4	2	3	11	0.611	37	31
Toronto Maple Leafs	8	5	3	0	10	0.625	24	24
Chicago Black Hawks	7	4	2	1	9	0.643	28	18
New York Rangers	7	3	3	1	7	0.500	24	26
Detroit Red Wings	8	3	4	1	4	0.438	17	16
Boston Bruins	7	0	5	2	1	0.071	14	29

League Leaders

Goals	Team	G
Beliveau, Jean	Montreal	8
Geoffrion, Bernie	Montreal	7
Keon, Dave	Toronto	5
Five tied with		4

Assists	Team	A
Moore, Dickie	Montreal	11
Beliveau, Jean	Montreal	9
Geoffrion, Bernie	Montreal	9
Harvey, Doug	Montreal	8
Six tied with		7

Points	Team	PTS
Beliveau, Jean	Montreal	17
Geoffrion, Bernie	Montreal	16
Moore, Dickie	Montreal	15
Wharram, Kenny	Chicago	10
Sloan, Tod	Chicago	9

Penalty Minutes	Team	PIM
Talbot, Jean-Guy	Montreal	22
Fleming, Reggie	Chicago	19
Beliveau, Jean	Montreal	15
Hull, Bobby	Chicago	15
Richard, Henri	Montreal	15

Plus/Minus	Team	+/-
Sloan, Tod	Chicago	13
Beliveau, Jean	Montreal	12
Geoffrion, Bernie	Montreal	12
Moore, Dickie	Montreal	12
Langlois, Albert	Montreal	10
Wharram, Kenny	Chicago	10

Goals-Against Average	Team	GAA
Bassen, Hank	Detroit	1.50
Sawchuk, Terry	Detroit	2.02
Hall, Glenn	Chicago	2.44
Worlsey, Gump	New York	2.84
Bower, Johnny	Toronto	3.00

Save Percentage	Team	PCT
Bassen, Hank	Detroit	0.938
Sawchuk, Terry	Detroit	0.924
Hall, Glenn	Chicago	0.913
Worlsey, Gump	New York	0.908
Plante, Jacques	Montreal	0.893

(Boxscores and stats from the BlueLynx hockey spreadsheet.)