JANUARY 20, 1947
SHAMROCKS MOVE INTO FOURTH PLACE
The New York Shamrocks are suddenly the hottest team in the NAHC and in the running for their first playoff appearance in 4 years. With 19 games remaining in the season the Shamrocks suddenly find themseleves in the fourth and final playoff spot thanks to recent stretch that saw them take 13 out of a 16 points with a 6-1-1 record. The Greenshirts have picked up the pace ever since the trade that brought veteran center Laurel Albers to the Big Apple from Toronto. The 30 year old has 19 points in 15 games since joining the Shamrocks.
Albers acquisition gives New York secondary scoring which may have taken some of the opponents focus off the big line of Orval Cabbell between Gil Corbiel and Tom Brescia. Cabbell has moved up to second in the NAHC scoring parade with 33 points and is tied with Chicago's Tommy Burns for the goal lead at 18.
Speaking of Burns, if there is a team that is on a hotter streak than the Shamrocks it would be the Chicago Packers. Since the calendar has turned to 1947, almost everything has gone the Packers way. They've won six of their seven January games, including a stretch of five straight that ended with a 3-2 win over the first place Boston Bees. This brought the Packers within two points of first with two months left in the regular season. The offense continues to be a strength, as the Packers became the first team to top the 100 goal mark this season. Tommy Burns ranks first in points (38) and is tied for top spot in goals (18) while third in assists (20), but he's not the only Packer in the top 5. Marty Mahoney ranks 4th in points (30) and second in assists (23) while Wes Burns (14) is fifth in goals. With four teams making the playoffs, the Packers and Bees seem to have spots secured, but it should be an exciting race between these two teams to capture homefield in the playoffs.
Going the other way you have the Detroit Motors and Montreal Valiants. The Motors were briefly in first place as December came to a close but have been awful in January, struggling to a 1-7-1 record on the month. Montreal has not been much better, going 2-7-0 since December 31st.
Code:
NAHC STANINGS
TEAM GP W L T PTS
Boston Bees 27 16 8 3 35
Chicago Packers 27 14 8 5 33
Detroit Motors 29 12 12 5 29
New York Shamrocks 29 13 14 2 28
Montreal Valiants 28 11 14 3 25
Toronto Dukes 27 9 14 4 22
Brooklyn Eagles 27 8 13 6 22
SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Tommy Burns CHI 27 18 20 38
Orval Cabbell NY 29 18 15 33
Tommy Hart BOS 26 17 13 30
Marty Mahoney CHI 27 7 23 30
Laurel Albers NY 30 7 23 30
Bobbie Sauer TOR 27 13 16 29
Wes Burns CHI 27 14 14 28
Ed Delarue CHI 24 12 16 28
Graham Comeau DET 29 11 16 27
Quiton Pollack BKN 27 17 9 26
Joe Morey BOS 27 13 13 26
Claude Skinner MON 27 13 12 25
Garrett Ferrar DET 29 13 11 24
Jarrett McGlynn CHI 26 12 12 24
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME TEAM W L T ShO GAA
Norm Hanson CHI 14-8-2 3 2.48
Tom Brockers BKN 8-12-6 1 2.70
Pierre Melancon BOS 11-6-3 2 2.73
Henri Chasse DET 12-12-5 4 2.76
Etienne Tremblay NY 8-12-2 2 3.19
Gordie Broadway TOR 7-13-2 0 3.38
Millard Touhey MON 7-9-3 0 3.39
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
TUESDAY JANUARY 14
New York 4 Detroit 1
Laurel Albers (NY) 1 goal/3 assists
THURSDAY JANUARY 16
Chicago 7 Montreal 1
Ed Delarue, Marty Mahoney and Pete Moreau 3 points each for Chicago
New York 2 Boston 1
Shamrocks are 5-1-1 in last 7 games
SATURDAY JANUARY 18
Detroit 7 Montreal 4
Motors snap 8-game winless streak with highest goal total of season. Graham Comeau has 5 point night
Boston 6 Toronto 5
Bobbie Sauer 2 goals in final 3 minutes (and 3 in total) but not enough for his Dukes
SUNDAY JANUARY 19
Chicago 3 Boston 2
5 straight wins for Packers
New York 4 Detroit 3
Four wins and a tie in last 5 games for Shamrocks, who move into 4th place.
Toronto 4 Brooklyn 0
Backup goalie Terry Russell with 27 save shutout
AROUND THE LEAGUE - BROTHER ACT EDITION
For this edition of Around the League let's take a look at some of the brother combinations in the NAHC. Siblings have played a big role in professional hockey for as long as the sport existed with perhaps the most famous early duo being the Yeadon boys, Bill and Frank. The British Columbia born pair got their start with Jack Connelly's New Liskeard outfit while the game was in its infancy, and then were instrumental in the creation of the first rival league- a west coast outfit dubbed the Transcontinental Hockey Association. The Yeadon name is still very much a part of the sport over 35 years later as Frank is the head scout for the Detroit Motors, who not coincidentally are owned by Jack Connelly's son John Jr. Frank's two sons are also pro hockey players with 34 year old Doug Yeadon a veteran forward with the Detroit Motors and his 31 year old brother Fred now a defenseman with the Boston Bees after starting his career in the Motor City.
The most famous pair of brothers in the league right now are the Burns boys. The subject of a recent Figment Hockey News article on Chicago sports siblings, 26 year Tommy and his 30 year old brother Wes are starring for the Chicago Packers and playing together on the Packers top line. Tommy was the league's most valuable player a year ago and leads the loop in scoring this season with 38 points in 27 games while his left winger Wes has 28 points on the year.
Chicago and Detroit each employ one half of the other currently active NAHC brother act. Windsor, Ontario native Garrett Ferrar is a solid two-way center for the Motors who can also play defense when called upon. The 32 year old has 13 goals and 24 points in 29 games this season. Bernie Ferrar is two years younger than his big brother and like his brother can play either forward or defense. He began his career in Detroit with Garrett but was dispatched to the Packers prior to the 1943-44 campaign. This season Bernie has 14 points in 27 games for Chicago.
Then there are the Klein boys manning the wings in Toronto. 30 year old Mahlon Klein is the younger of the duo from North Bay and skates on the Dukes top line. He has 6 goals and 21 points in 24 games this season. Big brother Dick Klein is 32 and wears an A on his jersey in Toronto, scoring 7 goals and 17 points this season.
We also have the Narand boys who hail form Winnipeg. Tony is a 32 year old forward with Montreal who has been hobbled by injuries this season, scoring twice and adding 4 assists in 10 games with the Valiants. 27 year old Mike Narand began his career in Chicago alongside his older brother. Tony went to Montreal in 1944-45 and Mike was dispatch to Detroit later that same season. Mike had a career high 11 goals for the Motors a year ago but has just 3 goals and 7 points in 24 games with Detroit this season.
There is also one more famous brother connection with Detroit ties but it stretches across multiple sports. That would be Jack Barrell, a long-time NAHC star with several clubs -most notably the Toronto Dukes- and a former coach of the Detroit Motors. Barrell was fired by Detroit two years ago and the 48 year old is now coaching the Tacoma Lions of the Great Western Hockey League. He is the only hockey player in the family, but the Barrell's are well known in many other sporting circles. Most notable of which is baseball where five of his brothers (Tom, Fred, Harry, Dan and Bobby) excelled at the sport. Dan was also an Olympian, participating in Paris in the 1924 summer games, while another brother, Jack, was a professional football star and played Tarzan for a spell in the movies. You can read more about the
first family of Figment Sports here but it is clear that family ties play a key role in the NAHC.
OTHER HEADLINES THIS WEEK
- World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer put on a dominating display in Detroit to successfully defend his title with a 12th round TKO over top challenger Mark Fountain.
- The Toronto Wolves made Michigan high school pitcher Les Ledbetter the first pick in the 1947 FABL draft. The 18 year old won the Adwell Award as a junior last season at Fowlerville High. The Adwell is presented to the student judged to be the best high school baseball player in the country.
- The St Blane Fighting Saints collegiate basketball team improved to 16-3 on the season and is ranked 4th in the latest AIAA cage poll. The Saints are bidding to become the first school ever to win a national title in both football and basketball in the same year.
- The Senate Labor Committee will hold hearings, starting January 23, on all bills intended to reduce industrial strife.
- Like America, England has been hit with a wave of strikes. The latest forced government troops and sailors to move strikebound for to hungry Londoners after truckmen and dock workers walked off the job.
Full national sports coverage is available in this week's edition of
THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL