MARCH 28, 1947
NO SURPRISES AS SEMI-FINAL SERIES GET UNDERWAY
The Boston Bees and Chicago Packers were the class of the NAHC throughout the regular season, so it comes as little surprise that the duo each hold a 2-0 lead in their respective semi-final playoff series. That puts the Bees and Packers each just a victory away from meeting to determine who will lift the Challenge Cup.
In Boston, the first-place Bees opened the playoffs with a convincing 6-1 win over the New York Shamrocks. The opener was the Wilbur Chandler show as the veteran Boston centre scored 4 goals and added an assist. His long-time linemates Waldemar Rupp -with 4 assists- and Tommy Hart -with a goal and 2 helpers- also enjoyed a big night. The Bees won despite being outshot by the Greenshirts 33-25 as Boston netminder Pierre Melancon had an outstanding game while Etienne Tremblay clearly stuggled between the pipes for the Shamrocks.
It was a much closer contest two nights later in New England but once again the Bees prevailed but they needed nearly 11 minutes of overtime before Joe Morey scored to give Boston a 5-4 victory and a 2 games to none lead in the best-of-five series. New York scored the only goal of the opening stanza when mid-season pickup Laurel Albers beat Melancon less than 7 minutes into the coatest. The ice seemed tilted in New York's favour in the second period as the Shamrocks peppered Melancon with 21 shots but only managed to beat him once. The was a Garry Calof marker with 16 seconds remaining in the frame after Wilbur Chandler -with his series high 5 goal- had tied the game.
Orval Cabbell scored twice for the Shamrocks in the third period but the Bees lit the lamp three times in the stanza -on goals by Morey, Craig Simpson and veteran Fred Yeadon- to force the overtime and eventually Morey's second of the game to end the contest. New York badly outshot the Bees once more, firing 50 shots including 7 in overtime on Melancon while the Bees managed 37 shots, including 5 in the extra period on Tremblay.
*** Hanson Blanks Detroit Twice ***
In Chicago the hero was Packers netminder Norm Hanson, who posted back to back shutouts as the Packers won each of the first two games on home ice by indentical 3-0 scores over the Detroit Motors. Tommy Burns, Ed Delarue and Marsh Mansfield -with one scoring in each period- were the marksmen in the series opener while game two was scoreless until David Rankin broke the goose egg with a goal just over a minute into the third period. Mansfield and Pete Moreau would seal the Motors fate when they each scored just over a minute apart. Mansfield notched a short-handed tally at 6:09 of the period to deflate the Motors and then Moreau contributed an insurance marker on a nifty feed from Tommy Burns while on the powerplay at 7:18.
The Shamrocks and Motors each return home for at least one game, with both needing wins to remain alive in the playoff hunt.
CHALLENGE CUP NOTES
- It is looking like a Boston-Chicago matchup for the Challenge Cup, something that has never happened before. The Packers have never won the Cup and only reached the finals once. That was in 1930-31 when they lost to the New York Shamrocks.
- The Detroit Motors are a badly beat-up bunch. Not just because they have been blanked twice by the Chicago Packers and are on the verge of elimination but the Motors defense is extemely short-staffed with 4 regulars nursing injuries. Bernie Dutton and Joe Todd have missed each of the first two games but Todd will be pressed into action for game three despite a tender elbow due to the fact that number one defenseman Bryant Williams and Phil Denman each missed game two and are out for the third game after being injured in the opener. Detroit was forced to use its second leading scorer, 20-goal man Graham Ferrar, on the blueline in the second game and that will be the case again for game three.
- A big reason why the New York Shamrocks are trailing Boston has been Etienne Tremblay's struggles in net. The playoff debut for the 24-year-old has not gone well as Tremblay has a goals against average of 5.05 and a save percentage of just .823 after the first two games with Boston.
- Wilbur Chandler's 4 goals and Waldemar Rupp's 4 assists in the Bees opener against New York are both single game playoff records since those were tracked beginning in 1940. Chandler had 5 points in the opener, equaling a mark for points in a game first set by Rupert Mohr while with Detroit in 1942.
- Playoff point leaders have only been tracked since 1940 but the list is dominated by Bees with Chandler -on the strength of 7 points already this year- leading the way with 50 points in 47 post-season games. His linemates Waldermar Rupp (49 points) and Tommy Hart (48 points) are second and third on the list. Fourth place belongs, at least for the moment to Toronto's Bobbie Sauer with 38 points.
OTHER HEADLINES THIS WEEK
- Rainier College, the #2 seed in the west, falls in the opening round of the AIAA basketball tournament.
- An upset in boxing as well with the Boston Bomber falling at Denny Arena to 21 year old rising heavyweight Lewis Jones.
- The United States Chamber of Commerce told Congress that a flat reduction of individual income taxes by "20 per cent or even more" is of "urgent importance."
Full national sports coverage is available in this week's edition of
THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL.