MARCH 3, 1947
BEES, PACKERS SECURE PLAYOFF SPOTS
Motors Near Locking Up Third Place
The Boston Bees and Chicago Packers have become the first two NAHC clubs this season to secure their spots in the playoffs. The Bees, champions of the coveted Challenge Cup a year ago and owners of four of the silver chalices over the past four years are set to take another stab at adding to their trophy case. The Packers, on the other hand, will embark on yet another quest to bring the Windy City its first-ever NAHC crown.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Motors find themselves on the brink of playoff qualification. With just two points needed from their remaining six games, they stand poised to secure their spot among the top four teams competing for the coveted Cup. The Motors have shown great resilience and now seek to seal their fate with a final push towards glory after failing by just a single point to qualify for the Cup chase each of the past two seasons.
As the season nears its conclusion, the race for the final playoff spot remains a captivating tale. The New York Shamrocks, currently holding 41 points, appear to have a strong chance of clinching it. Though they have only three games left to play, their position seems secure, and their hopes remain high. The Montreal Valiants, on the other hand, faced a setback as they earned just a single point in their recent home and home series against the Greenshirts. While they still have a game in hand, they trail the Shamrocks by five points, making their path to the playoffs a challenging one. Time is running out, and the Valiants must summon all their strength to keep their dreams alive.
The Brooklyn Eagles, in sixth place, continue to fight against the odds. Although they haven't made the playoffs in over a decade, they refuse to give up hope. With six games remaining, they aim to close the six-point gap that separates them from the Shamrocks. Their journey is arduous, but their determination fuels their quest for a place among the contenders.
Regrettably, the Toronto Dukes find themselves all but assured of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1938. Despite their efforts, the gap of 11 points from fourth place proves insurmountable. The Dukes must confront the disappointment of an unfulfilled season and ponder over the changes expected to come as they look ahead to future campaigns.
With just over two weeks remaining in the regular season, the stage is set for a thrilling climax to this captivating campaign. As the playoffs draw near, anticipation rises, and fans eagerly await the unfolding of the final chapters of this enthralling journey.
Code:
NAHC STANINGS
TEAM GP W L T PTS
Boston Bees 42 25 10 7 57
Chicago Packers 43 24 12 7 55
Detroit Motors 42 19 15 8 46
New York Shamrocks 45 18 22 5 41
Montreal Valiants 44 16 24 4 36
Brooklyn Eagles 42 14 21 7 35
Toronto Dukes 42 12 24 6 30
SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Tommy Burns CHI 43 28 31 59
Tommy Hart BOS 41 26 20 46
Marty Mahoney CHI 43 12 31 43
Orval Cabbell NY 42 21 21 42
Quinton Pollack BKN 36 25 16 41
Graham Comeau DET 42 17 23 40
Wilbur Chandler BOS 40 16 24 40
Laurel Albers NY 46 10 30 40
Bobbie Sauer TOR 42 19 20 39
Ed Delarue CHI 40 16 22 38
Wes Burns CHI 34 19 17 36
Tom Brescia NY 39 14 21 35
Garrett Ferrar DET 42 20 14 34
Clarence Skinner MON 37 16 16 32
Sam Coates BKN 35 10 22 32
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME TEAM W L T ShO GAA
Pierre Melancon BOS 19-7-7 4 2.47
Norm Hanson CHI 23-12-4 3 2.53
Henri Chasse DET 18-15-8 5 2.61
Tom Brockers BKN 14-19-7 3 2.70
Etienne Tremblay NY 15-18-5 3 2.82
Millard Touhey MON 12-20-4 1 3.31
Gordie Broadway TOR 10-22-4 1 3.58
LAST WEEK'S RECAPS
Tuesday February 25
The New York Shamrocks held the visiting Boston Bees to just 15 shots will firing 27 of their own on Bees netminder Pierre Melancon as the two clubs skated to a 1-1 draw. In Toronto, Gordie Broadway picked up his first shutout of the season with 27 saves in a 4-0 Toronto victory over a short-staffed Brooklyn Eagles. Maurice Charette scored once and added 3 assists for Dukes, who won despite being outshot 27-19. With Quinton Pollack, Sam Coates and Ian Doyle all injured much of Brooklyn's offense spent the evening in the Dominion Garden Press Box.
Thursday February 27
Four third-period goals lifted the Chicago Packers to a 4-2 win in Detroit. It was the first time since Christmas that Packers star Tommy Burns was held off the scoresheet in back-to-back games. Elsewhere, the New York Shamrocks took a big step towards eliminating the Montreal Valiants from playoff contention with a 2-1 win in Montreal. Orval Cabbell and Joe Martin each scored in the first period to pace the Greenshirts, who outshot Montreal 41-26 as Millard Touhey was outstanding in net for the Valiants.
Friday February 28
The lone game on the docket saw Hank Walsh score late in the third period to allow the Brooklyn Eagles to claim a 2-2 tie with visiting Detroit at Prescott Arena. Tom Brockers made 34 saves in the Brooklyn net while defenseman Miles Norman assisted on both of the Eagles markers.
Saturday March 1
Jocko Gregg scored twice to give the New York Shamrocks a 2-2 tie with Montreal and increase the New Yorkers six-point lead on idle Brooklyn and maintain the seven-point bulge on the Valiants for the final playoff berth. In Boston, the Bees Benton Watson scored once and added two helpers in a 5-4 victory over the visiting Toronto Dukes. Trevor Parker scored twice in a losing cause for the Dukes.
Sunday March 2
The highlight was a showdown between the league's top two teams in Boston as the visiting Chicago Packers overcame a 3-1 first period deficit to rally and beat the Bees 4-3. Ed Delarue's 16th tally of the season, with less than 4 minutes remaining in the contest, proved the difference. Marsh Mansfield, Kent Drayton and Bernie Ferrar also scored for the Packers who saw their scoring leader Tommy Burns go pointless for the third straight game -just the second time this season that has happened. The news wasn't all bad for Burns as he learned he was named the NAHC's top player for the month February. Chicago is now 2 points behind Boston in the race for first place and home ice advantage throughout the playoffs, but the Bees do have a game in hand.
Montreal's faint postseason hopes remained alive after the Valiants leapfrogged Brooklyn into fifth place with a 5-2 win on home ice over the Eagles. The backend contributed some offense for Montreal with Isaac Finnson scoring twice and adding an assist while Michael Baddock chipped in with a goal and an assist. Detroit took a huge step towards securing a return to the playoffs after narrowly missing the post-season each of the past two years. The Motors powered past the New York Shamrocks 7-1 with seven different Detroiters lighting the lamp.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
BEES TRYING TO HOLD ON TO FIRST PLACE
By Finn LeBec -Boston Globe
The Boston Bees are fighting to keep the top seed heading into the NAHC playoffs. This past week, there was a win, a loss, and a draw. An uninspiring draw started the week, as the Bees tied the Shamrocks, 1-1. After rookie George Anderson scored his 9th goal, it was very quiet. Boston only managed 15 shots in the game and had possession for only about 6-1/2 minutes in the New York zone all game, including just 1:07 in the third period. Things got better as the calendar transitioned to March and the Bees returned home to face Toronto and Chicago in livelier games.
The Bees survived a scare from the Dukes, holding on to win, 5-4, after both teams combined for five goals in the second period and fans were treated to a one-goal game for most of the third. Leroy Hester scored with 3:06 left to give a momentary two-goal bulge, but the Dukes' Les Carlson potted a goal just 18 seconds later to cut the deficit to one. To the relief of the 14,058 fans packed into Denny Arena that was as close as the Toronto club would get and the Bees picked up a valuable two points.
Boston had a tough back-to-back assignment as just 24 hours later the Chicago Packers invaded the Denny ice palace. Boston led through two periods, 3-2, but Chicago had the understandably fresher legs in the third and scored two goals to win. Marsh Mansfield tied the game with just under nine minutes to go and Ed Delarue capitalized on a costly Len Bentley holding penalty, scoring for the league's second-ranked power play (23.2%) with 3:57 left for the winning marker.
Though Chicago crept two points closer, Boston's lead over Chicago is still two points with a game in hand. Boston has a chance to create a little breathing room on Tuesday night at Lakeside Auditorium in Chicago. The Bees will then travel to Canada for games against Montreal and Toronto before facing Brooklyn and engaging in a season-ending home-and-home against Detroit. In addition to Tuesday night's tilt in Chicago, the Packers have four other games remaining in Brooklyn, against Detroit, and a home-and-home with last place Toronto.
BURNS RETURNS FOR END OF SEASON
Chicago Daily News
While most hockey fans may say the Packers' most valuable player is Tommy Burns, the star center knows otherwise. "It's got to be Wes." Tommy explained to reporters after a 4-3 win over the Bees. "I'm only at my best when big bro is on the ice. Our chemistry takes us to the highest level."
Tommy may be onto something, as since his brother hit the injured list with a fractured jaw after a February 6th loss to the Shamrocks, Tommy has just 4 goals and 5 assists in his past 9 games, while not recording a point in each of Chicago's last three games. Burns still leads the league in goals (28) and points (59), but his 31 assists are now tied with linemate Marty Mahoney. With the season coming to a close, Packers coach Ed Hempenstall has decided it's time to bring the captain back on the ice. "If we want to win our first cup, we need #12 back on the ice. He knows the risks of playing, but he's the type of guy that leaves it all on the ice. He wants to perform for his teammates."
When asked about how he feels, Wes cracked a smile. "See! I'm smiling! It doesn't hurt as much anymore!" That got plenty of laughs from the media room, but the 30-year-old was all business after that. "I've watched all our games while I've been out, and it's motivated me to get better as quickly as possible. I didn't want to miss any time, but the doctors are now more comfortable bringing me back out. I'm ready to go out and put on a show."
"It's good to have the gang back together!" right wing Marty Mahoney told reporters in advance of a crucial game in Chicago against the first place Bees. "It's not the same without Wes on the ice to start the game. Dave [Rankin] has filled in well, but he was one of the happiest guys when he heard Wes was coming back. He credits him for a lot of his success in year one." When asked if Tommy Burns was upset that he tied him for assists, Mahoney chuckled. "He shouldn't be! Half those are because of him! If he wants the assist lead, maybe he should score less."
The Packers have secured a playoff spot, but it will be tough for them to top the Bees. A win Tuesday night is a must, as Boston holds a two point lead with a game in hand. The Packers have five matchups left, three at home and two on the road, including a home-and-home with the Toronto Dukes to finish the season. This is a perfect way to finish, as the Dukes are just 12-24-6 (30 PTS) and five points behind the Brooklyn Eagles for 6th, who the Packers face next Sunday in New York.
DUKES DEBACLE OF A SEASON MERCIFULLY NEARS FINISH LINE
From The Toronto Mail & Empire
The Toronto Dukes have begun their review of players as this lost season winds down. As telling a stat as there is, would be the fact that only one player is on the right side of the +/-. That would be winger Dick Klein, who is +1 and the veteran is fifth on the team in scoring with 21 points. Some of the big minuses belong to the likes of Sam Koger is -24 (in 27 games), while rearguards Frank Featherston at -16 and Francis McGraw, with a -18 rating, having clearly struggled. Center Rosie McInnis, whose days are probably ending in Toronto, is also -18. There were some concerns about the Dukes defense when the campaign opened in November and those have proven to be well founded as the Dukes are giving a league high average of shots against per game of 33.14. while only taking a league low of 25.62 shot on target per game. Definitely not a winning formula, and goaltender Gordie Broadway has been abandoned -although he is not helping himself with a .889 save percentage.
Rumours abounded that head coach Norb Hickey is gone soon after the final game is played to be replaced by Jack Barrell who will be task with straightening out the Dukes both on the ice and in the room. Hickey may not be the only staff member that have limited time left at Dominion Gardens. Dukes have the highest league payroll, something that has owner David Welcombe likely joining with the fans in demanding change before training camp next October.
VALIANTS NOTES
Montreal Star- We knew coming into the season that the blue line would be Montreal's weakness, but yikes--it was worse than anticipated. Using Corsi-Relative, only 3 players were positive. That's why the Valiants have a minus 37 goal differential, only 1 better than the Toronto Dukes who are last in goal differential at -38.
- If we go by plus-minus, Clarence Skinner is the Valiants worst forward and Leo Bernard was a pretty bad defenseman. Well, no. They also both led the team in ice time and as a club Montreal has an awful goal differential. So of course, they are going to have a bad plus-minus. It doesn't change the fact that Skinner is Valiants top forward and club scoring leader with 32 points in 37 games, although the 29-year-old is clearly going to fall short of his career best 50 season a year ago.
- 20-year-old winger Claude LeClerc has really grown his game and impressed the scouts during his season at Syracuse. He has been added to the Valiants roster for the final four regular season games. And not just as a favor to his grandfather and Valiants club owner Charles LeClerc--Claude earned the promotion with 13 goals and 30 points in 36 games with the minor league Lancers.
MOTORS ON VERGE OF POST-SEASON
Dan Urbanski, Detroit Times
They are not quite there yet but it certainly looks like the Detroit Motors will return to the playoffs after missing the post-season by the narrowest of margins each of the past two years. A year ago, the Motors were nosed out despite finishing with 50 points in the 48-game campaign. Chicago took third place with 52 points while the Montreal Valiants -who would go on to beat league leader Toronto in the semi-finals and push Boston to six games before falling in the Challenge Cup Finals- finished 1 point ahead of the Motors to claim the fourth and final playoff spot. This after the Valiants nosed out the Motors the previous season when each was tied for fourth place with 51 points only to see Montreal advance due to the fact it had one more victory than the Detroiters.
That first playoff near-miss was a factor in the decision by Motors magnate John Connelly Jr. to part ways with Jack Barrell and replace the long-time Motors bench boss with Mark Moore. After the near miss in his debut last season, it is essential Moore leads the team to the playoffs and gives Connelly some much desired playoff revenue. With what has happened the past two years it is unwise to crack the champagne bottles yet, but with 6 games remaining and the Motors only require a total of two points from those contests the celebration has to be coming.
*** Moore's Defense First Philosphy Working ***
The Motors engine is clearly in the trunk of the vehicle as the team defense -led be a stellar campaign from goaltender Henri Chasse and a solid job from the big three of Shel Herron, Joe Todd and Bryant Williams on the blueline- is clearly why the club is sitting in third place. It is also no coincidence that Toronto is reeling this season after Williams and Todd bolted the Dominion Gardens to take up residence at Thompson Palladium.
A first round playoff date with either Chicago or Boston will be tough and the Motors have struggled this season against both of them. Detroit still has one game remaining with the Packers but their record against Chicago sits at 1-4-2, while entering their season ending home and home with the Bees the Motors sport just a 1-4-1 record in games with Boston.
OTHER HEADLINES THIS WEEK
- A sure sign that spring is fast approaching. The 16 FABL clubs and 8 from the Great Western loop begin spring training games in Florida (for FABL) and Arizona/Mexico (for the GWL) today.
- North Carolina Tech and Detroit City College are a pair of the big name colleges in danger of missing the AIAA end of year cage tournament.
- Another boxing win for rising welterweight Ira Mitchell, as the ex-marine knocked out former title contender Mitchell McFadden in a bout last week.
- President Truman directed Federal departments and agencies to fire or demote all incompetent employees as he issued an executive order placing the Federal civil service system back on a peacetime basis.
Full national sports coverage is available in this week's edition of
THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL.