After surrendering ten goals to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, the Detroit Red Wings and rookie goalkeeper Roger Crozier rebounded in excellent fashion at home to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 in one of two National Hockey League contests played last night. In the other game, the New York Rangers downed the Chicago Black Hawks by that same 4-1 margin.
At the Detroit Olympia Stadium, young Crozier played as if completely unaffected by the double-digit defeat he had endured the night before. The 4-1 win over Montreal before 13,259 fans was a rough affair, but provided ample evidence that the Red Wings are not ready to give up their first place perch atop the NHL standings without a fight.
The Habs came out flying against the Wings, pouring 15 shots at Crozier in the first period. Crozier handled them all flawlessly, and many in spectacular fashion, to take the wind out of the visitors’ sails early. The Wings took at 2-0 in that initial frame on goals five minutes apart by Bruce MacGregor and Paul Henderson.
After a scoreless sandwich session, the Wings went up by four, thanks to tallies by Alex Delvecchio and Pit Martin. Ralph Backstrom finally got Montreal on the board at the 10:30 mark of the third. He scored thanks to a great play by Claude Larose, who has been rumoured lately to be on the Habs’ chopping block. Crozier then shut the door the rest of the way to make the final score 4-1.
Detroit coach Sid Abel felt this game, coming off the lopsided loss to Toronto, was an important test for the Wings.
“After Saturday’s bad beating, we had to prove ourselves by making a comeback. And we did so by beating the hottest club in the league.”
“We have four players sidelined and six others that are cripples. So this win gives us a lift with a week’s rest before we play again.”
Referring to Crozier, Abel remarked, “And wasn’t it great for the kid. After having 10 pucks past him, he might have had another bad night. But he was terrific.”
Paille stymies Hawks
In Chicago, Bobby Hull fired his 20th goal of the season, but it was the only time the Hawks would get one past Ranger goalie Marcel Paille, as the Hawks dropped a 4-1 decision. Hull has six assists to go with his 20 goals and has reclaimed first place in the NHL scoring derby, one point ahead of Norm Ullman of Detroit.
Paille’s great work for the Rangers, especially in the first and third periods, enabled the Rangers to claim the two points in this one. He made 16 first-period saves, and stopped all 17 shots he faced in a wild final frame.
Earl Ingarfield gave the Rangers a 1-0 first period lead, and Phil Goyette upped it to two in the second. Hull cut that lead in half late in the second.
Rod Gilbert then scored twice in that third period to give the Rangers a comfortable three-goal cushion.
AHL Amerks bomb Barons; Hornets tie Aces
The Rochester Americans got two goals each from a pair of 36-year-old veterans en route to a 7-1 thrashing of the Cleveland Barons last night in Rochester. In the other AHL contests, the Pittsburgh Hornets and Quebec Aces skated to a 3-3 tie in a game that was played under protest, while Buffalo and Springfield sawed one off 2-2.
Other than the goals by crafty veterans Dick Gamble and Stan Smrke, other Americans to find the range were Bronco Horvath, Less Duff and Eddie Litzenberger. Ron Atwell scored the lone Cleveland goal, thanks to a misplay on an easy shot by Rochester netminder Jerry Cheevers. The Barons were never really in this one, as Cheevers only had to deal with 16 drives during the game.
At Pittsburgh, the Hornets lodged their protest after Quebec forward Red Berenson took his first shift on the ice. The Hornets claimed that Berenson was not listed in the game’s official lineup. The league will look into the matter.
Irv Spencer, Murray Hall and Lowell MacDonald scored goals for Pittsburgh. It was Hall’s third-period marker which sent the game into overtime. Quebec marksmen were Berenson, Leon Rochefort and Terry Gray.
In Buffalo, the Bisons rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to gain their tie with the Indians. Gerry Foley and Dennis Olson had given Springfield the two-goal lead. Hank Ciesla and Oscar Gaudet connected in the final frame to draw Buffalo even.
OHA game in Boston
The Boston Bruins’ two top junior farm clubs, the Oshawa Generals and the Niagara Falls Flyers played a league game at the Boston Garden Saturday. The game was played in Boston because the new Oshawa arena was not ready for play. It was an opportunity for Boston fans to see the talent in the pipeline for the Bruins, and possibly provide some hope for the moribund franchise. The Generals won the game 3-1.
Sunday the Generals returned to Ontario to play the St. Catharines Black Hawks and the results weren’t so encouraging. The Hawks came to play, the Generals didn’t, and the result was an 8-1 thrashing by the Hawks. Ken Hodge did most of the damage for St. Kitts, scoring four times. Mickey Cheveraty, Brian McDonald, Doug Shelton and Wayne Maki had the others. Bobby Orr scored for Oshawa.
In the other OHA games last night, the Toronto Marlboros doubled up on the Montreal Junior Canadiens 4-2. and Peterborough downed Kitchener 3-1.
Ray Winterstein scored for Toronto with just over 11 minutes left in the game to break a 2-2 tie. Paul Laurent added the final goal into an unguarded Montreal cage in the final minute after goalie Rogatien Vachon had been removed for a sixth attacker. Al Osborne and Mike Corrigan had the other Marlie markers. Rene Drolet and Jacques Lemaire replied for the Junior Habs.
Leo Thiffault led the way for the Petes over the Rangers with two goals. He wasn’t around to celebrate at the end, as he was ejected from the match after engaging the Rangers’ Billy Hway in a fight after the second period had ended. Danny Grant also scored for Peterborough while Sandy Fitzpatrick notched the only Kitchener goal.