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Old 05-29-2023, 12:48 PM   #26
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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.
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