1924 MEMORIAL CUP
Calgary Canadians vs. Owen Sound Greys
at Winnipeg (Amphitheatre)
The Regina Pats -- formerly the Patricias, they now were commonly referred to as the Pats -- headed for Winnipeg on March 14. The duration of their stay was unknown at the time.
After lengthy negotiations, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association had ordered the Pats to Winnipeg. There, they would play the Winnipeg Tammany Tigers, the Manitoba champions, on March 18 and 20.
The winner of that series would play the Alberta-champion Calgary Canadians for the Abbott Cup on March 22 and 24.
And that winner would stay in Winnipeg to meet the Eastern Canadian champion in the Memorial Cup's two-game, total-goal final, March 26 and 28.
Regina opened with a 2-0 victory over the Tammany Tigers on third-period goals by Sil Acaster and Ken Doherty. But press reports credited the play of Regina defencemen Johnny Gottselig and Jack Gilhooley, along with goaltender Jack Cunning, who was described as "the elongated custodian.”
Regina wrapped it up two nights later, beating the Tigers 7-2 to win the round 9-2.
"Cunning played brilliantly in goal for the westerners and was largely responsible for holding the Bengals in check,” reported the Regina Leader.
Gottselig scored Regina's first three goals. Acaster and Eric Pettinger added two each. Winnipeg's goals came from Bun Stephenson and ???? Davis.
Prior to meeting Calgary in the western final, the Pats came up with a surprise -- they brought in the man known across the prairies as the Silver Fox.
As reported in The Leader of March 22, 1924: "When the Regina Pats step on the ice at Winnipeg tonight ... they will be taking their orders from Al Ritchie, the skipper who directed them in their final dash for provincial honors. Following continued requests from the players who have implicit faith in Ritchie's powers as a strategist, Al left for the 'Peg last night and will take over the reins this afternoon.”
There wasn't any mention of who had been coaching the Pats. But Ritchie would stay behind the bench for years to come.
However, in this instance, Ritchie's presence wasn't enough.
The Pats played strong defensively in beating Calgary 4-2 in the opener. But the series ended in protestations two nights later as Calgary won the game 5-2 and the series 7-6 thanks to an overtime goal by Johnny Loucks.
Of the protest, The Leader reported: "The Saskatchewan team is lodging its protest on the first goal scored by Calgary in the opening session. Herbie Lewis shoved a pass from behind the Regina net to (Vic) Ripley. Just as Ripley grabbed the puck, referee Bill Noble rang his bell. Ripley lifted the puck from the blue line and scored. Noble allowed the goal and it appears as if Regina has good grounds for its protest.”
Regina, of course, would lose the protest and Calgary went on to meet the Owen Sound Greys in the Memorial Cup final at the Amphitheatre in Winnipeg.
The Greys had split a two-game series with Kenora, winning the first 11-7 and losing the second 5-4, but won it all 15-12 on goals.
Scoring three times on rebounds, Owen Sound led 1-0 and 3-2 at the period breaks en route to a 5-3 first-game victory over Calgary on March 26.
Mel (Butch) Keeling and Ralph (Cooney) Weiland scored two goals each for the Greys, with George Elliott getting the single. Lewis, with two, and Ripley scored for Calgary.
Reports indicated that both teams gave it their all: "The players were pretty well fagged and the last few minutes brought one scramble after the other.”
When the second game, on March 28, ended in a 2-2 tie, Owen Sound went home with the Memorial Cup, victors by a 7-5 two-game score. It was not a popular victory.
"No team escaped with a championship after being so badly outplayed as the easterners did,” read the game report. "For 50 minutes of the 60 they were behind their own centre, battling desperately to stave off the attacks of the western lads, and they succeeded though outclassed and outplayed.”
A lot of the credit for the championship was given to Hedley Smith, the Greys' 16-year-old goalkeeper. “This young lad staved off what looked like certain defeat by his marvelous stops,'' read one report.
It doesn't seem that shots on goal were counted during the game, but one report credited Smith with 24 stops in the third period alone.
Calgary was most disappointed, and claimed to have scored two goals which officials wouldn't allow.
Weiland gave Owen Sound a 1-0 first-period lead, before Irving Frew and Lewis sent Calgary into the third with a 2-1 lead.
It remained for Elliott to score what would be the Memorial Cup-winning goal some five minutes into the third period. The winner was a heartbreaker -- Elliott centred the puck from a corner and it went in off one of Loucks' skates.
NEXT: 1925 (Regina Pats vs. Aura Lee)
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