The Book Shelf: Part 3 of 4
Just in time for Christmas, here’s a brief look at some of the books I have read over the last while:
One Summer: America, 1927 -- My goodness, but this is an entertaining book. Author Bill Bryson puts a microscope on the United States in 1927, a year that featured, among other personalities, Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, Henry Ford, Calvin Coolidge, Al Capone and on and on. Bryson is able to transport the reader back to that year -- there’s a flag-pole sitter and an executioner and prohibition -- and you get a real sense for the excitement that was all over America like an invasion of locusts. This is one of the best books I have read in recent years. (Kindle)
Orr: My Story -- Former NHL defenceman Bobby Orr, now a player agent, tells his story. It’s really straight forward, with no surprises and no dirt of any kind. He does take some shots at his former agent, Alan Eagleson, but other than that it’s a real soft-shoe. Perhaps the most interesting part is near the end where Orr spends time discussing what he calls “the state of the game.” (Viking, hard cover, 290 pages, Cdn$32.00)
The Power of One -- An extraordinary story of the troubles of a nation (South Africa) that is wrapped around the maturing of a youngster known simply as Peekay. His dream is to become the welterweight boxing champion of the world, but the path is anything but straight and narrow. Author Bryce Courtenay weaves a wonderful story through terrific characters in a novel that is based during the Second World War. This one was recommended to me by Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Jim Hiller, who is an avid reader. (Kindle)
Runnin’ Rebel: Shark Tales of ‘Extra Benefits,’ Frank Sinatra, and Winning It All -- This book, written with Dan Wetzel, a prolific author who is a columnist for Yahoo Sports, is Jerry Tarkanian at his story-telling best. Tarkanian (aka Tark the Shark), who came to fame as the head coach of college basketball’s UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, tells all kinds of tales, most of them unkind to the NCAA. He takes the towel out of his mouth long enough to point fingers at almost everyone, too, including UCLA and the great John Wooden. It was released in January 2013. (Kindle)
Seasons in Hell: With Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog and "The Worst Baseball Team in History" - The 1973-1975 Texas Rangers -- Mike Shropshire was with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 1973 when he was assigned to cover the Texas Rangers. They then were managed by Whitey Herzog; later would come Billy Martin. They are only two of the characters in this book, which should come with a colourful language warning. Shropshire does a fine job of detailing for the reader the trials and tribulations of covering a major league team that wasn't very good. He also proves to have a strong liver, perhaps not quite as strong as Martin's, but up there just the same. (Kindle)
Showtime: One Team, One Season, One Step from the NHL -- The OHL's Peterborough Petes gave Ed Arnold, a former managing editor at the Peterborough Examiner, unfiltered access to all avenues of their operation during the 2012-13 season. This book is the result of what he witnessed. How did it go? Well, the general manager (Dave Reid) was fired early in the season. The head coach (Mike Pelino) didn't see Christmas. If you would like a good look at how a community-owned major junior hockey team operates, this book provides it. (Kindle)
Slim and None: My Wild Ride from the WHA to the NHL and all the way to Hollywood -- Howard Baldwin has seen a lot, and been through a lot, in hockey and the movie business, and this is his story, written with help from Steve Milton of the Hamilton Spectator. Baldwin was involved in the ownership of the Hartford Whalers, in the WHA and the NHL, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. That means he was in the meetings that led to the NHL adopting, at a price, four of the WHA's teams, including the Whalers. He has been involved in the making of a bunch of movies, including Ray, the story of Ray Charles. That means he's been in the good seats for the Academy Awards ceremony. So there are a lot of stories and, yes, he names names. But, in the end, this is a light read without a whole lot of depth, kind of like a bun without meat. It touches on this, that and the other thing, but moves on without really digging into any one subject. (Kindle)
A Soldier of the Great War -- Some writers have love affairs with the language; some don’t. Mark Helprin, the author of this wonderful book, first published in 1991, has an intimate relationship with words. This is the story of an aging gentleman who has been through the First World War in a way that is virtually beyond description. He tells his story and a colourful and compelling one it is, all told in such a beautiful way that the reader really doesn’t want it to end. (Kindle)
Sycamore Row -- Another thriller from the keyboard of John Grisham, this one brings back attorney Jake Brigance for the first time since A Time to Kill, a book that was published in 1989. Yes, Brigance ends up being pitted against lots of big-city lawyers. No, there aren’t any real surprises. But that doesn’t take away from this book’s readability. (Kindle)
Showing posts with label Bobby Orr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bobby Orr. Show all posts
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Sunday, December 1, 2013
The Book Shelf: Part 1 of 4
A brief look at some of the books I have read over the last while, perhaps to help you with your Christmas shopping:
An Accidental Sportswriter – You may know Robert Lipsyte as the ombudsman at ESPN. But in an earlier life, he was a sports writer/columnist at The New York Times. Not really a sports fan, he took a different outlook into press boxes and often wrote in just that fashion. He spent a lot of time around Muhammad Ali, in good times and bad, and examines all of that here. He also explores the hypocrisy of journalists covering baseball during the days of the McGwire-Sosa home run wars and not exploring the issue of PEDs. All in all, there is much food for thought here. (Ecco, soft cover, 246 pages, US$14.99, Cdn$16.99)
The Bad Guys Won! – Author Jeff Pearlman, a prolific writer of really good sports-related books, tells the story of the 1986 New York Mets, who owned New York City before, during and after their run to the World Series title. This was the team of Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry et al, and there are stories. Oh, are there stories! You may remember the 1986 Mets as the team that won when the ball went through Bill Buckner’s legs. No. That happened in Game 6. There was a Game 7. A few words of warning: If you are a sports fan of today‘s generation, you will be used to the porridge served up by today’s overpaid athletes. You may not be prepared for how things were in the mid-1980s. (It Books, soft cover, 297 pages, US$14.99)
Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love – Author Dave Zirin makes a case that tax payers who fund the building of stadiums for billionaire owners should have a whole lot more say in the operation of the franchises that inhabit those facilities. He does it with some nightmarish anecdotes and histories involving the likes of Ed Snider, Daniel Snyder, George Steinbrenner, Donald Sterling, David Glass, James Dolan et al. In the NFL, the Green Bay Packers are a community-owned, not-for-profit operation; the league now has it in its constitution that there can't be another such ownership situation. (The New Press, soft cover, 222 pages, Cdn$20.95)
Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick – If you attend a professional baseball game this season, virtually any of the promotions that take place can be traced back to Bill Veeck, who at one time owned the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. He was the first owner who understood – really understood – that the fans come first. That didn’t make him popular with fellow owners, a point that is made abundantly clear by author Paul Dickson. What really is amazing about Veeck is that he was able to accomplish what he did despite living daily with an incredible amount of physical pain, most of it brought on by the loss of one leg. (Walker & Company, soft cover,435 pages, US$19.00)
The Black Box – The latest in the Harry Bosch detective novels by Michael Connelly, The Black Box is a good way to while away a few hours on the deck. There really aren’t any surprises – this one involves a cold case, one that Bosch was involved with in its infancy and one that he picks up again 20 years later – but if you’re a Bosch/Connelly fan you are certain to enjoy it. (Kindle, $10.06)
Bobby Orr: My Story — As the title suggests, this is the story of Bobby Orr, a defenceman who changed hockey as much as anyone. It also is the story of a great player whose career was cut horribly short by knee problems, and who became entangled in the Alan Eagleson mess. Unfortunately, while Orr touches on many things that happened during his career, he really doesn’t provide a whole lot of insight. And if you’re looking for dressing room dirt, forget it. His views on today’s game, which he presents near book’s end, are interesting. (Viking, hard cover, 290 pages, Cdn$32.00)
Breakaway: From behind the Iron Curtain to the NHL — the untold story of hockey’s great escapes – Written by Tal Pinchevsky, it is the story of how the first players got from behind the Iron Curtain and into the NHL and, really, about the only thing missing is Steve McQueen on his motorcycle. There are some amazing stories in there, about what players went through as they escaped oppression to get to North America and about the problems some had adapting to life over here. Like the Russian couple who didn’t believe their chequing account was overdrawn because they still had cheques left. Living the way we do, it is awfully hard to relate to the way life once was in that area of the world. (Wiley, hard cover, 274 pages, Cdn$32.95, US$27.95)
Brimstone – Robert B. Parker is perhaps best known for his three dozen or so novels featuring a detective named Spenser. However, Parker is also a writer of many other genres, including westerns. Brimstone is a sequel, if you will, to Appaloosa. And if you have seen the movie that was made based on Appaloosa, you can’t read Brimstone without picturing actors Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen working through the dialogue. This is light and entertaining stuff. (Putnam, hard cover, 293 pages, Cdn$32.50, US$25.95)
The Cocktail Waitress – James M. Cain died in 1977 and it was believed his writing died with him. But some 35 years later a manuscript was discovered – Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai explains it all in an afterword – and that turned out to be The Cocktail Waitress. The book opens with Joan Medford burying a husband and it goes on from there, adding intrigue along the way as she narrates the story. Cain also wrote, among other books, Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. Like those, The Cocktail Waitress leaves you wondering if all is as it seems. (Kindle version)
The Cold Dish – This is the first book in author Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mystery series. Longmire is the sheriff of Wyoming’s Absaroka County. In the series opener, he is dealing with the murder of young men who, a few years earlier while still in high school, had been involved in the rape of a Cheyenne girl. The characters are terrific, as is their development. As well, Johnson can write. As Longmire struggles through a blizzard on foot, you find yourself reaching for a blanket. (Penguin, soft cover, 354 pages, Cdn$16.00, US$15.00)
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
An Accidental Sportswriter – You may know Robert Lipsyte as the ombudsman at ESPN. But in an earlier life, he was a sports writer/columnist at The New York Times. Not really a sports fan, he took a different outlook into press boxes and often wrote in just that fashion. He spent a lot of time around Muhammad Ali, in good times and bad, and examines all of that here. He also explores the hypocrisy of journalists covering baseball during the days of the McGwire-Sosa home run wars and not exploring the issue of PEDs. All in all, there is much food for thought here. (Ecco, soft cover, 246 pages, US$14.99, Cdn$16.99)
The Bad Guys Won! – Author Jeff Pearlman, a prolific writer of really good sports-related books, tells the story of the 1986 New York Mets, who owned New York City before, during and after their run to the World Series title. This was the team of Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry et al, and there are stories. Oh, are there stories! You may remember the 1986 Mets as the team that won when the ball went through Bill Buckner’s legs. No. That happened in Game 6. There was a Game 7. A few words of warning: If you are a sports fan of today‘s generation, you will be used to the porridge served up by today’s overpaid athletes. You may not be prepared for how things were in the mid-1980s. (It Books, soft cover, 297 pages, US$14.99)
Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love – Author Dave Zirin makes a case that tax payers who fund the building of stadiums for billionaire owners should have a whole lot more say in the operation of the franchises that inhabit those facilities. He does it with some nightmarish anecdotes and histories involving the likes of Ed Snider, Daniel Snyder, George Steinbrenner, Donald Sterling, David Glass, James Dolan et al. In the NFL, the Green Bay Packers are a community-owned, not-for-profit operation; the league now has it in its constitution that there can't be another such ownership situation. (The New Press, soft cover, 222 pages, Cdn$20.95)
Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick – If you attend a professional baseball game this season, virtually any of the promotions that take place can be traced back to Bill Veeck, who at one time owned the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. He was the first owner who understood – really understood – that the fans come first. That didn’t make him popular with fellow owners, a point that is made abundantly clear by author Paul Dickson. What really is amazing about Veeck is that he was able to accomplish what he did despite living daily with an incredible amount of physical pain, most of it brought on by the loss of one leg. (Walker & Company, soft cover,435 pages, US$19.00)
The Black Box – The latest in the Harry Bosch detective novels by Michael Connelly, The Black Box is a good way to while away a few hours on the deck. There really aren’t any surprises – this one involves a cold case, one that Bosch was involved with in its infancy and one that he picks up again 20 years later – but if you’re a Bosch/Connelly fan you are certain to enjoy it. (Kindle, $10.06)
Bobby Orr: My Story — As the title suggests, this is the story of Bobby Orr, a defenceman who changed hockey as much as anyone. It also is the story of a great player whose career was cut horribly short by knee problems, and who became entangled in the Alan Eagleson mess. Unfortunately, while Orr touches on many things that happened during his career, he really doesn’t provide a whole lot of insight. And if you’re looking for dressing room dirt, forget it. His views on today’s game, which he presents near book’s end, are interesting. (Viking, hard cover, 290 pages, Cdn$32.00)
Breakaway: From behind the Iron Curtain to the NHL — the untold story of hockey’s great escapes – Written by Tal Pinchevsky, it is the story of how the first players got from behind the Iron Curtain and into the NHL and, really, about the only thing missing is Steve McQueen on his motorcycle. There are some amazing stories in there, about what players went through as they escaped oppression to get to North America and about the problems some had adapting to life over here. Like the Russian couple who didn’t believe their chequing account was overdrawn because they still had cheques left. Living the way we do, it is awfully hard to relate to the way life once was in that area of the world. (Wiley, hard cover, 274 pages, Cdn$32.95, US$27.95)
Brimstone – Robert B. Parker is perhaps best known for his three dozen or so novels featuring a detective named Spenser. However, Parker is also a writer of many other genres, including westerns. Brimstone is a sequel, if you will, to Appaloosa. And if you have seen the movie that was made based on Appaloosa, you can’t read Brimstone without picturing actors Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen working through the dialogue. This is light and entertaining stuff. (Putnam, hard cover, 293 pages, Cdn$32.50, US$25.95)
The Cocktail Waitress – James M. Cain died in 1977 and it was believed his writing died with him. But some 35 years later a manuscript was discovered – Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai explains it all in an afterword – and that turned out to be The Cocktail Waitress. The book opens with Joan Medford burying a husband and it goes on from there, adding intrigue along the way as she narrates the story. Cain also wrote, among other books, Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. Like those, The Cocktail Waitress leaves you wondering if all is as it seems. (Kindle version)
The Cold Dish – This is the first book in author Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mystery series. Longmire is the sheriff of Wyoming’s Absaroka County. In the series opener, he is dealing with the murder of young men who, a few years earlier while still in high school, had been involved in the rape of a Cheyenne girl. The characters are terrific, as is their development. As well, Johnson can write. As Longmire struggles through a blizzard on foot, you find yourself reaching for a blanket. (Penguin, soft cover, 354 pages, Cdn$16.00, US$15.00)
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
1966 Memorial Cup
1966 MEMORIAL CUP
Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Oshawa Generals
at Toronto (Maple Leaf Gardens)
The Edmonton Oil Kings made it seven Memorial Cup finals in a row when they eliminated the Estevan Bruins from the Abbott Cup final in six games.
This was the last Abbott Cup final before major junior hockey came to the Prairies in the form of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League.
The Abbott Cup final was a clash of hockey legends, what with the Bruins managed by Scotty Munro and coached by Ernie (Punch) McLean, and the Oil Kings coached by Ray Kinasewich and managed by Bill Hunter.
Following the series, the Oil Kings, featuring the likes of Garnet (Ace) Bailey, Al Hamilton, Bob Falkenberg and goaltender Don (Smokey) McLeod, announced they would add three Bruins to their roster for the national final – forwards Jim Harrison, Ross Lonsberry and Ted Hodgson. Hunter also said he would take Weyburn Red Wings goaltender Don Caley as a replacement for Pete Neukomm who had suffered a fractured cheekbone in a western semifinal game against the Fort William Canadians.
Edmonton had spent the season playing in the Alberta Senior Hockey League, there being no junior league in Alberta. In fact, the Oil Kings tied the Drumheller Miners for the provincial senior championship.
The Oil Kings' opposition this time around was provided by the Oshawa Generals, featuring 15-year-old defenceman Bobby Orr, Wayne Cashman, Danny O'Shea, goaltender Ian Young, Billy Heindl, Barry Wilkins and Nick Beverley. The Generals were coached by Bep Guidolin and managed by Wren Blair.
Oshawa, which finished fourth in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, had eliminated the Shawinigan Falls Bruins in the eastern final, winning the best-of-five affair in four games.
All games in this national final series were scheduled for Maple Leaf Gardens – the last Memorial Cup series to be played there.
The politicking began early as Blair announced he would protest (1) the presence of the Oil Kings because they didn't play in a junior league; and, (2) the inclusion of three Estevan players on Edmonton's roster.
Blair admitted he didn't expect success but "I'm going to file them anyway.''
Edmonton, which had lost five of the last six Memorial Cup finals, opened the series on May 4 by thrashing Oshawa 7-2, outshooting the Generals 52-20 in the process. Attendance was 4,310.
Centre Ross Perkins scored two shorthanded goals for Edmonton. And you can bet Blair was livid as the three Estevan players all figured in the scoring – Harrison had a goal and two assists, Lonsberry had a goal, and Hodgson had two assists. Galen Head, Hamilton and Bailey added singles. Hamilton also had two assists.
Orr, who dazzled with his rink-length dashes and had at least 10 shots on goal, and Chris Hayes scored for Oshawa, which trailed 4-1 and 5-2 at the period breaks.
Six players picked up fighting majors six minutes into the third period, the altercation starting when Harrison crashed into Orr, after which he was immediately confronted by Oshawa's Bill White. One of the ensuing fights featured Orr, who scored an easy decision over Dave Rochefort.
Kinasewich was upset and accused the Generals of head-hunting.
"I like a rough, hard-checking game,” Kinasewich said, "and if they can't take it, then let them go home.”
Guidolin countered: "We didn't see one good check all night, and you can tell them to stop sending bushers after Orr.”
Oshawa tied the series on May 6, riding a three-goal performance from O'Shea to a 7-1 victory before 7,210 fans, most of them apparently from the Oshawa area.
O'Shea and Cashman had gone into the final with 21 playoff goals apiece.
Cashman, Hayes, Heindl and Ron Dussiaume also scored for the Generals. Cashman also set up three goals as the Generals took period leads of 2-0 and 5-0.
Defenceman Doug Barrie scored Edmonton's lone goal.
Orr was used sparingly. He was on the limp with a groin injury he said he suffered during practice the previous week. Hamilton, Edmonton's top defenceman, was nursing a sore tailbone and hardly played in the third period.
When this one was over, Hunter pointed a finger at referee Frank Daigneault of Montreal.
When a Maple Leaf Gardens publicist said "we'll get a crowd of 14,000 here (for Game 3),” Hunter added: "Yeah, and we'll get a new referee.”
"He's going to lose control,” Kinasewich added, "and that won't be good for the players or the fans.”
After Game 2, Hunter announced the Oil Kings would use Caley in Game 3 only to be informed by the CAHA that he was ineligible.
After the Generals won Game 3 by a 6-2 count on May 8 before 7,365 fans, Hunter was again all over Daigneault.
"Daigneault must have signed a contract with Oshawa before the series,” Hunter said. "Generals' defencemen were stopping shots and pulling the puck into their bodies as they fell, and Daigneault, only five feet away, wasn't calling them.”
The Generals, with Orr playing only on the power play, got two goals from O'Shea and singles from Cashman, George Babcock, Bill Little and Dussiaume. Perkins and Ron Walters scored for the Oil Kings.
Kinasewich yanked McLeod and sent in Jim Knox after the first period with Oshawa leading 4-0.
"You don't expect that a fellow who's played well all season will choke up all of a sudden,” Kinasewich said. "But that's what he's done.
"Oshawa's not that good. We've played better teams than that all season. And this is the first time we've played two bad games in a row this year.”
Guidolin fired back: "You can tell 'em we've got a few surprises for (Game 4). We got the same team.”
The Oil Kings held a team meeting on the off day.
"We've just had a revival meeting,” Hunter said. "And we've given our lads the message – God help Oshawa in the next game.”
McLeod was back at his best in Game 4 as he backstopped the Oil Kings to a 5-3 victory on May 11 before 5,761 fans. That tied the series 2-2.
Trailing 3-2 going into the third period, the Oil Kings exploded for three goals, the winner coming at 16:46 when Hamilton went coast-to-coast and set up Head. Perkins followed with an empty-net goal to wrap it up.
Lonsberry, Ron Anderson and Rochefort also scored for the Oil Kings. Hayes, Cashman and O'Shea scored for Oshawa.
Orr took a regular shift for two periods, but took his gear off after that. He aggravated his groin injury when checked into the boards by Perkins.
"We blew it,” Guidolin said. "We didn't skate. You gotta skate. If you don't, you're dead.”
Kinasewich thought it was Edmonton's turn.
"Don't you think we were due?” he said. "We couldn't get much worse than in the second and third games.”
The Oil Kings wrapped up the Memorial Cup posting two victories in two days – 7-4 on May 14 and 2-1 on May 15.
Craig Cameron had three goals and an assist to lead Edmonton in Game 5. Perkins added two goals and four helpers, with Falkenberg and Hodgson also scoring. Heindl, Dussiaume, Cashman and Hayes scored for Oshawa.
In Game 6, it was two of the Estevan players – Harrison and Hodgson – who provided the victory.
For starters, Harrison put two players – Heindl and Paul Cadieux – out of the game with injuries after hard checks.
Heindl opened the scoring on a power play at 9:10 of the first period. Harrison tied it on a 30-footer at 17:02 of the second period and Hodgson won it with a blistering slap shot at 6:47 of the third.
Both goaltenders – Young and McLeod – stopped 37 shots in front of 5,018 fans.
The hero in the end was McLeod, the goaltender who had been so severely criticized in the early going.
"You are looking at the finest goalie in junior hockey,” Kinasewich said.
"When he gets that look in his eye,” Hunter said, "you just know that nobody's gonna beat him.”
Guidolin offered: "They owe it all to the goalie, who they said choked. What are they saying about him now?”
They were saying they had been misquoted earlier in the series.
This was the first time a western team had won the championship while playing in an eastern rink since the Port Arthur West End Bruins did it in 1948.
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Oshawa Generals
at Toronto (Maple Leaf Gardens)
The Edmonton Oil Kings made it seven Memorial Cup finals in a row when they eliminated the Estevan Bruins from the Abbott Cup final in six games.
This was the last Abbott Cup final before major junior hockey came to the Prairies in the form of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League.
The Abbott Cup final was a clash of hockey legends, what with the Bruins managed by Scotty Munro and coached by Ernie (Punch) McLean, and the Oil Kings coached by Ray Kinasewich and managed by Bill Hunter.
Following the series, the Oil Kings, featuring the likes of Garnet (Ace) Bailey, Al Hamilton, Bob Falkenberg and goaltender Don (Smokey) McLeod, announced they would add three Bruins to their roster for the national final – forwards Jim Harrison, Ross Lonsberry and Ted Hodgson. Hunter also said he would take Weyburn Red Wings goaltender Don Caley as a replacement for Pete Neukomm who had suffered a fractured cheekbone in a western semifinal game against the Fort William Canadians.
Edmonton had spent the season playing in the Alberta Senior Hockey League, there being no junior league in Alberta. In fact, the Oil Kings tied the Drumheller Miners for the provincial senior championship.
The Oil Kings' opposition this time around was provided by the Oshawa Generals, featuring 15-year-old defenceman Bobby Orr, Wayne Cashman, Danny O'Shea, goaltender Ian Young, Billy Heindl, Barry Wilkins and Nick Beverley. The Generals were coached by Bep Guidolin and managed by Wren Blair.
Oshawa, which finished fourth in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, had eliminated the Shawinigan Falls Bruins in the eastern final, winning the best-of-five affair in four games.
All games in this national final series were scheduled for Maple Leaf Gardens – the last Memorial Cup series to be played there.
The politicking began early as Blair announced he would protest (1) the presence of the Oil Kings because they didn't play in a junior league; and, (2) the inclusion of three Estevan players on Edmonton's roster.
Blair admitted he didn't expect success but "I'm going to file them anyway.''
Edmonton, which had lost five of the last six Memorial Cup finals, opened the series on May 4 by thrashing Oshawa 7-2, outshooting the Generals 52-20 in the process. Attendance was 4,310.
Centre Ross Perkins scored two shorthanded goals for Edmonton. And you can bet Blair was livid as the three Estevan players all figured in the scoring – Harrison had a goal and two assists, Lonsberry had a goal, and Hodgson had two assists. Galen Head, Hamilton and Bailey added singles. Hamilton also had two assists.
Orr, who dazzled with his rink-length dashes and had at least 10 shots on goal, and Chris Hayes scored for Oshawa, which trailed 4-1 and 5-2 at the period breaks.
Six players picked up fighting majors six minutes into the third period, the altercation starting when Harrison crashed into Orr, after which he was immediately confronted by Oshawa's Bill White. One of the ensuing fights featured Orr, who scored an easy decision over Dave Rochefort.
Kinasewich was upset and accused the Generals of head-hunting.
"I like a rough, hard-checking game,” Kinasewich said, "and if they can't take it, then let them go home.”
Guidolin countered: "We didn't see one good check all night, and you can tell them to stop sending bushers after Orr.”
Oshawa tied the series on May 6, riding a three-goal performance from O'Shea to a 7-1 victory before 7,210 fans, most of them apparently from the Oshawa area.
O'Shea and Cashman had gone into the final with 21 playoff goals apiece.
Cashman, Hayes, Heindl and Ron Dussiaume also scored for the Generals. Cashman also set up three goals as the Generals took period leads of 2-0 and 5-0.
Defenceman Doug Barrie scored Edmonton's lone goal.
Orr was used sparingly. He was on the limp with a groin injury he said he suffered during practice the previous week. Hamilton, Edmonton's top defenceman, was nursing a sore tailbone and hardly played in the third period.
When this one was over, Hunter pointed a finger at referee Frank Daigneault of Montreal.
When a Maple Leaf Gardens publicist said "we'll get a crowd of 14,000 here (for Game 3),” Hunter added: "Yeah, and we'll get a new referee.”
"He's going to lose control,” Kinasewich added, "and that won't be good for the players or the fans.”
After Game 2, Hunter announced the Oil Kings would use Caley in Game 3 only to be informed by the CAHA that he was ineligible.
After the Generals won Game 3 by a 6-2 count on May 8 before 7,365 fans, Hunter was again all over Daigneault.
"Daigneault must have signed a contract with Oshawa before the series,” Hunter said. "Generals' defencemen were stopping shots and pulling the puck into their bodies as they fell, and Daigneault, only five feet away, wasn't calling them.”
The Generals, with Orr playing only on the power play, got two goals from O'Shea and singles from Cashman, George Babcock, Bill Little and Dussiaume. Perkins and Ron Walters scored for the Oil Kings.
Kinasewich yanked McLeod and sent in Jim Knox after the first period with Oshawa leading 4-0.
"You don't expect that a fellow who's played well all season will choke up all of a sudden,” Kinasewich said. "But that's what he's done.
"Oshawa's not that good. We've played better teams than that all season. And this is the first time we've played two bad games in a row this year.”
Guidolin fired back: "You can tell 'em we've got a few surprises for (Game 4). We got the same team.”
The Oil Kings held a team meeting on the off day.
"We've just had a revival meeting,” Hunter said. "And we've given our lads the message – God help Oshawa in the next game.”
McLeod was back at his best in Game 4 as he backstopped the Oil Kings to a 5-3 victory on May 11 before 5,761 fans. That tied the series 2-2.
Trailing 3-2 going into the third period, the Oil Kings exploded for three goals, the winner coming at 16:46 when Hamilton went coast-to-coast and set up Head. Perkins followed with an empty-net goal to wrap it up.
Lonsberry, Ron Anderson and Rochefort also scored for the Oil Kings. Hayes, Cashman and O'Shea scored for Oshawa.
Orr took a regular shift for two periods, but took his gear off after that. He aggravated his groin injury when checked into the boards by Perkins.
"We blew it,” Guidolin said. "We didn't skate. You gotta skate. If you don't, you're dead.”
Kinasewich thought it was Edmonton's turn.
"Don't you think we were due?” he said. "We couldn't get much worse than in the second and third games.”
The Oil Kings wrapped up the Memorial Cup posting two victories in two days – 7-4 on May 14 and 2-1 on May 15.
Craig Cameron had three goals and an assist to lead Edmonton in Game 5. Perkins added two goals and four helpers, with Falkenberg and Hodgson also scoring. Heindl, Dussiaume, Cashman and Hayes scored for Oshawa.
In Game 6, it was two of the Estevan players – Harrison and Hodgson – who provided the victory.
For starters, Harrison put two players – Heindl and Paul Cadieux – out of the game with injuries after hard checks.
Heindl opened the scoring on a power play at 9:10 of the first period. Harrison tied it on a 30-footer at 17:02 of the second period and Hodgson won it with a blistering slap shot at 6:47 of the third.
Both goaltenders – Young and McLeod – stopped 37 shots in front of 5,018 fans.
The hero in the end was McLeod, the goaltender who had been so severely criticized in the early going.
"You are looking at the finest goalie in junior hockey,” Kinasewich said.
"When he gets that look in his eye,” Hunter said, "you just know that nobody's gonna beat him.”
Guidolin offered: "They owe it all to the goalie, who they said choked. What are they saying about him now?”
They were saying they had been misquoted earlier in the series.
This was the first time a western team had won the championship while playing in an eastern rink since the Port Arthur West End Bruins did it in 1948.
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Some of Charron's memories . . .
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| Guy Charron, the head coach of the Kamloops Blazers, has some great memories of his professional career. (Photo by Christopher Mast / mastimages.com) (Hockey cards courtesy Joe Pelletier / Greatest Hockey Legends) |
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Guy Charron’s hockey résumé reads like a well-thumbed travel diary . . . Montreal, Detroit, Kansas City, Washington, Switzerland, New Haven, Calgary, New York, Landshut, Grand Rapids, Anaheim, Hull, San Antonio, Florida . . . Kamloops.Daily News Sports Editor
And that doesn’t include all the stops he made while on the coaching staff of Canada’s national junior and senior men’s teams.
When someone in the hockey business has made as many stops as Charron has, it stands to reason that he has come to know some characters.
Players like the late Steve Durbano.
Mention Durbano’s name to Charron and his first response is: “Oh, my gawd.”
That is followed by laughter.
You’re right. This wasn’t a very good team.
Bush loved to use pylons in practices. He would put sticks across them and the players would have to pass pucks under or over the sticks, depending upon his whim. Perhaps he thought opposing teams were using midgets on defence. Who knows?
Anyway, Charron recalls one night when Durbano, who collected penalty minutes like some people collect coupons, got an early ejection.
“He gets kicked out and he grabs every pylon in the hallway and throws every pylon on the ice,” Charron said. So why was Durbano so excited?
“Toupee,” Charron says. “He got into a fight. The guy hit him pretty hard and the toupee flipped up.”
Wait. There’s more.
Durbano’s wife, Lisa, worked as a masseuse. When Durbano, who also had a dog that he really, really liked, was on the road, Lisa would call his hotel room on a regular basis.
“She ended up hanging the Doberman because he didn’t return the phone call one night,” Charron says.
Following the 1975-76 season, the Scouts, who finished on a 27-game winless streak, headed to Japan on a four-game tour with the Washington Capitals.
Durbano, it seems, was one of those people who was habitually late. Charron, as team captain, took it upon himself to try and keep Durbano on point while in Japan.
“I’d go and get Durby and (his wife) would show up at the door half-dressed . . . oh, my gawd,” a laughing Charron says.
“They were,” he concludes, “a unique couple.”
By the way, the Scouts lost their first three games on that tour, to run the winless streak to an even 30. Charron and his teammates can say, however, that they won their last game, as they closed out the trip with a victory.
That would be the Scouts’ final game. After two seasons in Kansas City, the team relocated to Denver — remember the Colorado Rockies?
Tom McVie, one of hockey’s great storytellers, was Washington’s head coach. He had watched Charron in Japan and liked what he saw. The roster included the likes of Garnet (Ace) Bailey and Bryan (Bugsy) Watson.
Watson was one of the NHL’s great pests. When he was with the Detroit Red Wings, his specialty was playing ‘Me and My Shadow’ with Chicago Blackhawks star Bobby Hull.
“I had played against (Watson) when I was with Kansas City and he was in Detroit,” Charron says. “They had Dennis Polonich, Dan Maloney, Watson. They knew the type of player I was so they made life very miserable for me.”
In Washington, of course, Watson and Charron were teammates. That meant Charron got to watch Watson work up close.
“We were playing the Canadiens one day and we were up 3-0,” Charron recalls. “He ran (Guy) Lafleur. That was the end of it. We lost the game, 6-3.
“But that was the way Bryan was. We could easily have cruised to a win without disturbing anything. But he ran Lafleur and that was it.”
At the same time, though, Watson and his wife, Lindy, got Charron involved with Special Olympics and charities.
“Off the ice, he wasn’t what he was as a player,” Charron says. “He was caring. He was involved with charities. He was a quality, super type of individual.
“But when he played, he played the way he felt he needed to play and he would do those things, (and you would wonder), like, ‘Bryan, why are you doing this? You just created a monster.’ ”
In 1976-77, Charron put up 82 points in 80 games with a Washington team that finished 24-42-14. Charron’s linemates were Bailey and Bobby Sirois. It’s safe to say that Bailey had as much impact on Charron as anyone.
“We were a good fit,” Charron says, wondering if Bailey had a soft spot for him “maybe more to protect me . . . I don’t know.”
“Ace was different,” Charron continues. “He was a special individual. He was good for me. He could abuse his body . . . the next day you would put him through hell and he lived through it. He was an unbelieveable individual.”
And then came Sept. 11, 2001.
Charron, who says he isn’t much of a TV watcher, happened to turn on the TV that morning.
“I saw this plane crashing . . . I see this happening and just thought it was something rare . . . and then hearing what had happened, and him wanting to leave for Boston .. . it touched me,” Charron said.
Ace Bailey, his good friend and former linemate, was on United Airlines flight 175 that crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. Bailey, the Los Angeles Kings’ director of pro scouting, was on his way west from his home in Lynnfield, Mass., for training camp.
“It goes to show you . . . you’re here on earth for something and you don’t have control,” Charron says. “When He’s going to decide, it’s your time.”
Charron played 734 NHL games over 12 seasons, totalling 530 points, including 221 goals. But he had the misfortune of playing for some mediocre teams, so mediocre, in fact, that not one of his teams qualified for postseason play.
What makes that somewhat ironic is that as a junior, Charron played for the Montreal Junior Canadiens. In 1968-69, he was the fifth-leading scorer on what may have been the greatest junior team of all time.
The Junior Canadiens won the 1969 Memorial Cup, sweeping the Regina Pats in the best-of-seven final.
The Montreal roster included the likes of Gilbert Perreault, Rejean Houle, Marc Tardif, Jocelyn Guevremont, Bobby Lalonde, Richard Martin, Andre (Moose) Dupont . . .
The Baby Habs played out of the Montreal Forum and Charron recalls games regularly being sold out.
Later, while with Hockey Canada, Charron ended up at a dinner table that included Sam Pollock, the legendary general manager of the NHL’s Canadiens.
“He said that was probably one of the best junior teams that was ever put together, from his time and what he had experienced,” Charron recalls. “Hearing those comments from Sam Pollock meant something to me.”
So . . . just how good was Perreault?
“Oh my goodness!” Charron enthuses. “People would say, ‘Gilbert, you could be the leading scorer in the NHL.’ You know what his comment was? ‘I don’t want to do it because if I do it they’ll expect that of me every year.’ ”
Before moving up to the Baby Habs, Charron played in his hometown of Verdun, and he remembers watching a defenceman named Bobby Orr. He feels Perreault was comparable.
“I would go to Oshawa and watch Bobby Orr at 16,” Charron says. “Gilbert Perreault, to me, was just an unbelievable forward. You wanted to see this guy play. That’s how good he was.”
“Gilbert could dominate the game. Rejean was explosive, he had speed,” Charron says. “But if you had to choose a player to make a difference in a game, I think Perreault was that player. Because of his strength, his size, his speed . . . he had it all. It was all packaged up in one person.”
Charron thinks Houle became a better defensive forward in order to stick with the Canadiens.
“Rejean was a good player,” Charron continues. “He was explosive. He skated well. He went to areas where you have to go to score goals.
“He recognized he had to be checker, as I was when I first broke in with (Montreal’s system),” Charron continues.
That thinking ended during Charron’s first year as a pro when he scored 37 times for the AHL’s Montreal Voyageurs.
(It was in his rookie season with the Voyageurs when Charron roomed with Peter Mahovlich, a legendary free spirit who would go on to have a pretty good NHL career. “He was easy going and a good teammate. He looked after the younger guys,” Charron says, before chuckling and adding: “But I couldn’t follow him on his outside activities. I was too young and he was a veteran.”)
“I had a lot of opportunities and goals went in,” Charron says. “I scored 37 goals my first season of pro hockey and people thought I was a goal scorer now.”
Charron would approach that goal total only twice more, scoring 36 and 38 goals with Washington in the 1976-77 and ’77-78 seasons. When healthy — he had a history of knee problems — he was a consistent point producer, at one point having four straight seasons of at least 70 points, one with Kansas City and three with Washington, during a stretch in which he missed only two games.
But the playoffs just weren’t meant to be.
Not that long ago, Charron held the NHL record for most regular-season games played (734) without appearing in the playoffs. That record was torched by Olli Jokinen, who played in 827 regular-season games before he got into the playoffs with the 2008-09 Calgary Flames.
“Looking back,” Charron says now, “I would have given up a lot more to play a lesser role on a good team.”
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