March 19, 1947 End of the regular season - time for the Challenge Cup playoffs
MARCH 19, 1947
BEES CLAIM TOP SPOT AS NAHC SET FOR PLAYOFFS
The Boston Bees finished with the best regular season record in the NAHC and that will give them home ice advantage in their quest for a fifth Challenge Cup in the past seven seasons. The Bees won the title last year, eliminating Montreal in six games in the finals, ending Toronto's two-year hold on the most famous trophy in sports. Boston had previously won three Cups in a row from 1941 to 1943.
The Bees will have some injuries to contend with on their back line as defenseman Willis Beane, who led the club's blueliners with 19 points this season, is expected to miss at least the opener of the best-of-5 semi-final series with a foot injury. Elmer Jernigan is also out and there is some question about a third defenseman -veteran Fred Yeadon- being healthy enough to play. First line center Wilbur Chandler is also nursing an injury but is expected to suit up. Boston's opponent will be the fourth place New York Shamrocks, who are healthy but will be without rookie forward Adam Greenham for the first 3 games of the series as the 24-year old who tallied 32 points this season, remains suspended.
Boston won the regular season series between the two rivals, winning 4 and tying 2 of the 8 games they duo competed in. For New York to win the series they will need a big effort out of goaltender Etienne Tremblay, who will have his work cut out for himself against Tommy Hart and the Bees.
BOSTON VS NEW YORK
The other semi-final will be a contrast in styles as the league's most dominant offensive club in the Chicago Packers takes on the Detroit Motors, who allowed the fewest goals against this season. The big line of the Burns brothers along with Marty Mahoney leads Chicago but the Packers also have plenty of secondary scoring. Detroit has a balanced offense led by 24 year old Graham Comeau but the real strength of the Motors success lies in goaltender Henri Chasse and solid group of defenseman with ex-Toronto Duke Bryant Williams being the key. Both clubs may be missing key contributors for at least the series opener as Detroit defensemen Joe Todd and Bernie Dunton are both listed as day-to-day as is Chicago's 33 point man Jarrett McGlynn and steady defender Jerry Finch. Wes Burns will play for the Packers but he has not been overly effective in his 4 games back after missing a month with a broken jaw.
CHICAGO VS DETROIT
BURNS SETS MODERN-ERA POINTS RECORD
Chicago Packers center Tommy Burns picked up two points in each of his club's final two games of the season allowing the 27-year-old to establish a new modern day record for points in a season. The Port Arthur, On., native finished the campaign with 67 points, one more than Sam Koger accumulated for the Toronto Dukes in the 1943-44 season. Burns seems a likely candidate to win his second straight McDaniels Award, presented to the NAHC's most valuable player.
The all-time record for points in a season is 80 established by Bert Gordier of Boston back in the 1929-30 season. Gordier and teammate George Tremaine, who tallied 78 points for the 29-30 Bees, are the only players in NAHC history to notch more points than Burns total this year.
Burns was also one of three players to tie for the league lead in goals this season with 30. Joined by Boston's Tommy Hart and Brooklyn Eagles rookie Quinton Pollack, the trio join a select group to score at least 30 in a single season. The modern era leader is Gil Nagle with 32 for the 1941-42 Toronto Dukes while in all of NAHC history, going back to the 1926 merger with the USHA the top mark is 47 belonging to Gordier in his outstanding 1929-30 season.
DUKES JUST HAPPY NIGHTMARE SEASON IS OVER
Toronto Mail & Empire
The Season mercifully comes to a close for the Dukes. A year after winning 31 games and posting a 70 point season the club only accumulates half as many points in suffering through its first non-playoff campaign in over a decade. The final tally is a record of 13-26-9, while surrendering the most goals against in NAHC at 175 -15 more than any other team in the league. Imagine how bad it could have been without career leader in GAA, goaltender wins and shutouts Gordie Broadway between the pipes! Dukes had never finished with less than 23 wins in a season or 52 points in the modern era before this season's debacle. Head coach Norb Hickey was not at the season ending press conference furthering talks that he is out as coach.
Code:
FINAL NAHC STANINGS
TEAM GP W L T PTS
Boston Bees 48 28 12 8 64
Chicago Packers 48 26 13 7 61
Detroit Motors 48 22 16 10 54
New York Shamrocks 48 19 23 6 44
Montreal Valiants 48 18 26 4 40
Brooklyn Eagles 48 15 25 8 38
Toronto Dukes 45 13 26 9 35
SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Tommy Burns CHI 48 30 37 67
Tommy Hart BOS 47 30 23 53
Wilbur Chandler BOS 45 19 30 49
Marty Mahoney CHI 48 15 33 48
Quinton Pollack BKN 42 30 17 47
Bobbie Sauer TOR 48 24 22 46
Graham Comeau DET 48 20 26 46
Orval Cabbell NY 45 23 22 45
Ed Delarue CHI 45 18 24 42
Laurel Albers NY 49 11 30 41
Wes Burns CHI 38 19 19 38
Garrett Ferrar DET 48 20 17 37
Tom Brescia NY 42 14 22 36
Clarence Skinner MON 41 18 17 35
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME TEAM W L T ShO GAA
Norm Hanson CHI 24-13-4 3 2.56
Pierre Melancon BOS 22-8-8 4 2.57
Henri Chasse DET 21-16-10 5 2.60
Tom Brockers BKN 15-22-8 3 2.74
Etienne Tremblay NY 16-19-6 3 2.81
Millard Touhey MON 14-22-4 1 3.31
Gordie Broadway TOR 11-24-6 1 3.53
LAST WEEK'S RECAPS
TUESDAY MARCH 11
The Boston Bees moved two points ahead of the Chicago Packers and into sole possession of first place with a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Dukes. Daniel Fortin's 8th goal of the season, unassisted and the only marker of the third period proved the difference.
THURSDAY MARCH 13
Boston clinched at least a tie for first place with a 6-3 win at home over Brooklyn while the Chicago Packers were losing 3-2 on home ice to Detroit. Wilbur Chandler had a goal and 2 assists to pace the Bees to while Quinton Pollack scored twice for the Eagles in a losing effort. In the Windy City, three different Motors scored while goaltender Henri Chasse made 34 saves to pace Detroit.
SATURDAY MARCH 15
Chicago had to settle for a 4-4 tie with Toronto and in the process gave the Boston Bees home ice advantage throughout the playoffs as the Bees, despite having the day off, clinched the best regular season record. The Packers led 4-2 after 40 minutes thanks to a pair of Marty Mahoney goals but third period markers from Bobbie Sauer and Mahlon Klein earned the last place Dukes a point. In the other game a contest between a pair of non-playoff participants just finishing out the string ended with the Montreal Valiants downing Brooklyn 4-1 behind 34 saves from Millard Touhey.
SUNDAY MARCH 16
Tommy Burns had two assists to set a modern day single season points record with 67 as the Chicago Packers finished up their regular season with a 3-3 draw in Toronto. In Boston, Craig Simpson of the Bees and Detroit's Dave Bradley each scored twice and added an assist as their club's skated to a 4-4 tie while in Brooklyn rookie Quinton Pollack scored twice to give him 30 goals on the season as the Eagles downed the New York Shamrocks 4-1.
TUESDAY MARCH 18
One final game on the schedule to complete the regular season saw the Detroit Motors top Boston 4-1 behind a 35 save effort from goaltender Henri Chasse. The only Boston player to beat Chasse was Tommy Hart, who notched his 30th goal of the season and finished in a 3-way tie for the lead in that category with Chicago's Tommy Burns and Brooklyn rookie Quinton Pollack.
OTHER HEADLINES THIS WEEK
- World Middleweight Champion Frank Melanson wins a close, but unanimous, decision over Nick Harris as the "People's Champion" retains his crown.
- The 32-team field has been revealed for the AIAA collegiate basketball championships. Noble Jones College, Carolina Poly, Central Ohio and Mobile Maritime are the top seeds as number 1 ranked Liberty College was forced to not only head west for the opening round but also claimed just a #4 seed.
- President Truman asked Congress to authorize a loan of $400 million and the assignment of military advisors to Greece and Turkey to prevent the imposition in those strategic nations of "totalitarian regimes." The President never mentioned the Soviet Union by name and only once used the term "Communists" in his 2,500 word speech but there was no mistaking what he meant as he told of this country's protest against "coercion and intimidation" in Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, where Russia has moved in.
Full national sports coverage is available in this week's edition of
THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL.